President of a Lagos based maritime media group, Mr. Leye Ajaiyi said the one better way of establishing the Federal Government’s commitment to the maritime industry in terms of capacity building as well as human capital development was the institution of the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).Speaking recently at a two-day seminar on the role of Seafarers in nation building in Lagos, he said NSDP was put in place by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to arrest the dearth of manpower and generational gaps of seafarers.
“The importance of the programme, therefore cannot be over emphasized as there is need for the maritime industry to be well positioned for enhanced efficiency,” he said, saying not only training, but that the welfare of the existing seafarers and maritime workers should be paramount and made the agenda of government.
He said over N150 billion is being lost by Nigeria to foreign seafarers operating in the nation’s territorial waters because over 70 per cent of seafarers operating in Nigeria are foreigners while more than 3,000 vessels are operating within the nation’s coast under the against the spirit of the cabotage regime which requires vessels to be built
He said: “With 50,000 vacancies existing in the seafaring industry, it is necessary for the indigenes to fill such vacancies.
The Association therefore lauds the move by (NIMASA) in collaboration with the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja to train at least 10,000 seafarers in the next 10 years. We encourage all the state governments to forward names of their nominees to NIMASA and provide their counterpart 60 percent funding towards programme which is planned to be on scholarship basis for the beneficiaries.”
Ajayi further urged NIMASA to endeavour to provide the balance of 40 per cent.
He said while government intends to take the trainees abroad to India, Egypt, Malaysia and other countries, his association implores the government to establish more maritime academies in Nigeria, saying providing such trainings at home would no doubt conserve the nation’s scarce foreign exchange.
He lauded the commencement of training by trainees from Ondo and Benue states, and called on the states that have not responded to waste no further time in joining the bandwagon.
Ajayi said he is confident that the Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Temisan Omatseye is committed to the programme “which we believe would create job opportunities and also assist in realizing the NIMASA’s objective to develop Nigeria’s capacity in seafaring.
He also called on the Federal Ministry of Transport, NPA, Shippers’ Council and other maritime parastatals to attach much importance to capacity building.
Follow us on Facebook
