Story by Dili Utomi.
The J.F. Ade Ajayi auditorium of the University of Lagos was packed full on Friday as the fifth edition of the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime (TAAM) Conference took place there.
Some of the eminent Maritime personalities that were at the event included the staff adviser, Professor Adewole Olawoyin, Mrs. Jean Chiazor-Anishere, Mr. Yinka Giwa, Madam Bola Muse, Mrs. Olamide Odusanya who represented the NIMASA Director General and the former Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Temisan Omatseye among others.
The welcome address was delivered by the representative of the Chairman of the SIFAX group, Mr. Bode Ojeniyi who noted that ” It is without doubt that the Maritime industry in Nigeria is grappling with various issues including infrastructural deficit, foreign exchange bottlenecks, insecurity on our waterways, low level of technological adoption and deployment as well as inconsistent policies among others”. He added that “These issues have largely limited the ability of the sector to contribute significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If well harnessed, the Maritime industry has the potential to become a major revenue earner for the country, particularly with the declining oil revenue”.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Temisan Omatseye, a former Director General of NIMASA on the topic “Measurable Strides In The Nigerian Maritime Industry: Forging A Path Towards Sustainable Shipping”.
Mr. Omatseye noted that Nigeria has about 850 nautical miles of coastline extending into an exclusive zone of about 250 nautical miles, with 4000 kms of waterways, 8 seaports with an already built Lekki deep sea port and others in Burutu, Snake Island and Bonny in the pipeline.
In trying to measure the strides he added, one would consider the passage of the Coastal and Shipping Act of 2003, the creation of NIMASA in 2007, the formation of the Deep Blue Project for improved security and the training programme called the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).
The ex-NIMASA boss says that in forging forward towards sustainable shipping, the government should approve additional Deep Sea Ports, ensure that the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) is disbursed, see to it that the Coastal and Shipping Act of 2003 is complied with, create a fund where shipping companies pay into for disbursement in ship building, encourage the setting up of ship building free zone, work for the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company.
Others include to make policies for the training of manpower for the industries, put in policies in place for the training of welders with international certification in Nigeria, support the training of marine architects, make Lagos anchorage an international shipping hub by providing delineated areas for bunker operations, work with the learning institutions for the purpose of the training and formation of bunker operations, build the fleet replacement programme for the construction of new vessels that will run on diesel, natural gas and hydrogen, ensure the creation of more campuses of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, ensure the removal of the most criminally minded war risk premium, the deep sea ports are functional and also encourage maritime tourism by taking advantage of the aquatic beauty of the Atlantic Ocean.
On the legal aspect, Mr Omatseye opined that the Federal High Court should be restructured into three areas namely Civil, Criminal and Commercial/Admiralty with competent hands to man the various areas and that there should no longer be jacks of all trades and masters of none in considering the quality of those to be appointed as Judges for the Federal High Courts.
The plenary session had 4 panelists namely Mrs. Eunice Ezeoke, Bar. Funmi Folorunsho, Mr. Bodunrin Adewole and Dr. Emeka Akabogu while Mrs. Foluke Akinmoladun moderated the session.
Bar. Folorunsho says that “a Maritime Arbitration Panel should be set up in Nigeria and that an agenda should be set for the incoming government. She advised that we must be aware of all the opportunities in the Maritime sector and tap into it all”.
On her part, Mrs. Eunice Ezeoke says that “to have sustainability, we must first build vthe human capital, then the infrastructure, the multimodal means of cargo evacuation and conveyance. We should have women move away from the bedroom to the boardroom running a huge part within the whole gamut of the Maritime settings”.
Mr Bodunrin Adewole says that “when the Judiciary enhances the Arbitration process, we shall then be recognised as an area and then benefit from its potentials as a country”.
Dr. Emeka Akabogu opined that the measurable strides recorded in the industry are “few and far in between. The only mearable stride will be the Port concessions. The Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) has not been disbursed since 2007 and this is disgraceful. The NIMASA Fund is highly useful component, but needs proper implementation”. He added that “NIMASA is busy investing in projects that should be handled by the humanitarian agencies instead of investing in those areas that will ensure the sustainability of the sector”.
He urged that going forward “we should be more accountable and hold governments more accountable too and stop reinforcing corruption in our attitudes, ship owners should set a minimum standard for operation, freight forwarders should stop their squabbling and get organised, the single window system should be made to function properly and from the Nigerian percepective we may not acheive the set target of time for zero carbon emission”.
In an interview after the event, Mr. Temisan Omatseye noted that “really and truly, we do not have the Maritime sector with what is going on internationally as Nigeria is not taking advantage of it all. I believe strongly that we have always had the right policies, but we have been complacent, really and truly, we are in a mess. When the shipping business went down, the ship owners went to the Western world and the remaining ones completely exploited us. If subsidy is removed tomorrow, the freight rate is going to kill us because we have not invested in shipping and so in a big mess”.
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