By Stephen Ubanna
Barshir Jamoh, a maritime ICON ,and Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety agency, NIMASA, is not a happy man. Jamoh’s source of unhappiness was the embarrassment which the over 100 students of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP, 2013, set, sponsored by the Maritime Regulatory Agency, in the Asian country of Philippines, has caused Nigeria in the Comity.
The Cadets may have protested at the Nigerian Embassy in Manila, the Asian country’s Capital, over the non-remittance of their allowance ‘’to renew their house rents, procure their VISAs and settle other outstanding expenses to draw the attention of the agency Authorities to their plight.
The aggrieved Cadets who were said have reportedly said that when they were selected for the Philippines training for their Certificate of Competency course, each of them were given $6,564 which could barely take care of their accommodations, medicals, transportation, feeding and trainings for basic courses for the Licensure examination for six months.
The Cadets, who are studing various courses, had said that the money could not cover the payment for advance trainings such as Basic Training, BT, Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats, Medical First Aid, Advance Fire-, fighting, BTOCT, BTLGT, Advance Training for oil Tanker, Advance Training for Chemical, Advance Training for Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG, Engine Resource Management, ERM, human Element Leadership and Managements.

The aggrieved Cadets who had claimed that they have been homeless for about one month and almost starving without the NIMASA management, giving a damn about their welfare were said to have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, going by the account of the online video, which have gone viral ‘’to come to their rescue’’.
The Cadets major worry was that they are supposed to have completed their courses in four months but it is now dragging to 10 years as ‘’there have been several delays and arbitrary extension of their examinations’’.
Edward Osagie, an Assistant Director in charge of the agency Media, Adverts and Brands, when contacted by one of the online publications, not The Value News, would not agree that the Management do not care about the Cadets welfare in Philippines. He may have alluded to the fact that it may look as if there are delays in disbursing their allowances as expected because ‘’the agency was reviewing the cost of direct sponsorship of the Cadets because of the high cost of living in the Asian country to due to the global inflation’’.
The online publication has quoted him as saying that ‘’the Management of agency under the close watch of Jamoh, has approved an additional $2,000 for each Cadet as extra funds due ‘’the global inflation which had hit Phillpines’’.
Although, the extra $ 2,000 , additional allowance approved for each of the Cadets have not gotten to them yet, but the NIMASA, spokesperson is optimistic that that theNigerian Embassy in theAsian country will get in touch with the students soon as the funds are ready to be disbursed, describing ‘’it as a well c coordinated arrangement through the Embassy by the agency’’.

As prelude to getting the root of the matter, Jamoh, the NIMASA, Chief Executive, Officer, CEO, was said to have been given a ministerial approval to send a fact finding Team to Philippines, this October. Osagie, an Assistant Director, overseeing the Public Relations Relation Department had confirmed that Victor Ochei, the agency Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage, has been appointed to lead the Team to the Phillipines on a fact finding mission ‘’ ascertain first hand, the issues behind the protest at the Nigeria Embassy by the seafarers under NSDP,, 2013, ‘’to fully and finally address them’’.
The NIMASA, spokesperson , in a Statement issued, had said that that ‘’the agency is monitoring the unfortunate development in Philippines’’ as seen in a recent online video that was said to have gone viral, stressing that the Ochei led Team on a fact finding mission to Manila, Phillippines, are expected to engage with the School and the Cadets, in order to be able to deal with the matter from an informed position , noting that the problem ‘’far predates the Jamoh’s Administration’’. Many believe that the Cadets sent abroad for training have only received much of the agency’s attention over the last two years because of the Custom of the NIMASA boss, who has made maritime development as one of the planks of the Administration.
Aware of the fact that speculative reporting on this vexed issue may further aggravate the crisis, may have informed why the NIMASA, Helmsman had ‘’called for caution and avoidance of speculative reporting until the official outcome of the on the-spot evaluation to the Phillipines by the Ochei led Team is submitted.He is right because of the tense atmosphere which may be cashed on by mischief makers to push out damaging articles and offensive digital videos to make a mockery of NIMASA, sending Cadets abroad. For training. .