By Stehen Ubanna
In spite of the fact that begitween 2011 and now, the Nigerian Government, through the Nigerian Maritime Administration an Safety Agency, NIMASA, have been struggling to rejoin the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, a Maritime agency of the United Nations, Oyetola Adegboyega, a former governor of Osun state and now minister of Marine and Blue Economy, appears, appears determined to make the difference this time around.
The closest attempt the country was said to have made to rejoin the 20 member group was in 2021 but lost out to the East African country of Kenya. Nigeria was said to have come a distant 22nd among the 27 countries that had contested under the Council.
At present , the countries that was said to have make up the UN, maritime agency includes Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Philippines, Qata, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, and Vanuatu. Other members of the IMO Category C, council, are the African countries of Morocco, Egypt and Kenya.
Nigeria may have lost the bid to secure a Seat in the IMO, Category C, council in 2021, because of some alleged maritime issues, which industry stakeholders had said are currently being fixed.
The former Osun state governor has every reason to beat his chest that Nigeria will secure a Seat in the IMO council, this time around that it has shown interest to contest. This is because the country has been able to address the insecurity challenges in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea forcing pirates a operating with impunity in the region to attack ocean going vessels laden within Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea international waters, to relocate to other regions to carry out their nefarious activities.
As a prelude to ensuring that Nigeria, a major maritime nation in the African Continent, secure a Seat in the IMO Category C, council, the Nigerian Marine and Blue Economy, minister was said to have thrown his weight behind Dayo Mobereola, led NIMASA, to intensify the marketing of Nigerian Candidacy for the position .
The minister, who was said to have repeatedly expressed Nigeria’s interest to seek election into IMO Category C, council, may have thrown a big challenge to Mobereola, Director General, NIMASA and his management team to tidy up the lose ends in the in the nation’s maritime industry to win the heart of the international Community.
The minister may have taken advantage of World Maritime Day parallel event in Barcelona, Spain, to open up about Nigeria’s intention to contest the IMO Category C, council Seat and seeking for international support.
He was said to have made the participants at the World Maritime parallel event in the European country of Spain to understand that Nigerian, under the present Leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had put in place the basic infrastructural facilities ‘’ to develop the industry in line with recognized global best practices’’.
The minister, who could not his feelings had said that the country’s active participation, in following the provisions of key IMO Conventions such as the Safety of Life at Sea, SOLAS, and the International Ship and Port Facility Security, ISPS, Codes, clearly shows the country’s dedication ‘’to ensuring the safety of international shipping in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea region.
Recall that the southern eastern ports of Onne, Rivers port in PortHarcourt, Delta port, Warri and Calabar port in Cross river state had over the years witnessed unmitigated doldrums in their operations and cargo throughput, but the situation appears to have changed for the better in the recent time.
Bashir Jamoh, the immediate, past Director General of NIMASA, may have set the stage to make the maritime domain and Gulf of Guinea region safe which Mobereola, his successor in office is currently doing.
There is no gain saying the fact that in the past, maritime crimes committed across the faces of the nation’s maritime domain, particular, included port paper work, port operation and obstruction during sea voyages, and information transmission from port of origin to the destination ports and cyber crimes
Given the strategic security measures that been put in place by NIMASA, in collaboration with the Nigeria Navy, over the last three years under the close watch of Vice Admiral, Emmanuel Ogalla, here are indications that pirates and sea robbers including kidnappers who could no longer muster the muscle to attack ocean going vessels in Nigerian waters or the Gulf of Guinea have gone underground to avoid playing into the hands of Nigerian Naval personnel patrolling the international waters.
This because Nigeria, which is a signatory to the Gulf of Guinea omission , GGCC, which also includes Angola, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Prencipe, , Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Togo, and Sierra Leone, have effectively provided total security in the region international waters.
The member countries of the, of the Gulf of Guinea Commission, GGC, were said to have established mutual confidence and enthronement of peace and security accross the region which may have encouraged Nigeria , to fully deploy North American country of the United States, US, $195 million maritime security assets made uo of 16 Armoured Vehicles, 17 Interception boats for coastal patrol, Two Special Mission Vessels, Two Special Mission, aircrafts, for Surveillance of Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ, three Helicopters and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, for operations to guarantee peace and security in the Gulf of Guinea region.
Determined to ensure that Nigeria secure a Seat in the IMO Category C, council, this time around may have informed why the forme Osun state governor and his entourage had met the IMO, technical team, in Spain, where he was said to have told them that’’ the country have commenced work on all identified grey areas in the nation’s maritime domain to fill the gaps that had been identified during the last Audit by the agency.
He was said to have also told the IMO, technical team, that’’ the country have commenced the process of effective Communication with other member states of the GGC, using the international maritime agency GIS platform, , among others.
Mobereola, the NIMASA, boss, was said to have told the IMO, team, that NIMASA, will focus on the technical aspects of the preparations for the elections, to be guided by the supervisory ministry that would provide the political will that would facilitate Nigeria’s election back to the IMO Category C council.
Putting on his garb as a politician, the Nigerian minister of Marine and Blue Economy, who was said to have been accompanied by the Chief Executives Officers, CEO, of the agencies under his ministry, including one Babatunde Bombata, Director of Maritime Safety and Security Services were said to have held an engagement sessions with Arsenio Dominguez, the IMO, Secretary General and other Diplomats of at the global parallel maritime event in Spain.
Taking advantage of his privileged position to speak out, Osagie Edward, an Assistant Director and the NIMASA, spokesperson had said that the theme for this year’s, World Maritime Day parallel event in Spain was: Navigating the Future: Safety First.
The event, according to him had brought together World maritime Leaders and experts who were said to have ‘’discussed the future challenges and opportunities in the industry aimed at ensuring that safety is prioritized in the operations of the sector.
