By Stephen Ubanna
Barely two weeks after Bashir Jamoh, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, resumed duties after withdrawal from the Kauna state, All Progressive Congress, APC, governorship race, at the instance of the party Leadership and Nasir El-Rufai, the state governor, to pave way for Snator Uba Sani, the anointed Candidate, the has been occupied with much official matters in the office that requires his immediate attention.
One of such matters that was said to have been brought to his notice was Industry stake stakeholders pressure for the domestication of the agency Capacity development programme now that there various Institutes that can effectively handle the training and retraining of seafarers and dockworkers in the country instead of patronizing the World Maritime University, in Sweden, a country which has recently joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO, at the instance of the North American country of the United states, US, and other foreign Maritime Institutions to do so, thus waiting the country’s scarce .
Informed sources told The Value News that during his absence there was intense pressure on Shehu Ahmed, the agency Executive Director, Operations and other members of the Management team to take a decision on the need to domesticate the agency capacity development but that was how far they could go.
Greg Ogbeifun, an Engineer and Managing Director, Starzs Marine / Engineering Limited, described in maritime circles as a ‘‘shipping magnet’’ was said to have to have masterminded the pressure on the Management to domesticate the agency Capacity building programme to save the huge scarce foreign exchange spent abroad in training the young Nigerian seafarers and dockworkers.
Engineer Ogbeifun who may have cashed in on the huge foreign exchange spent yearly abroad by the agency in training and retraining these young Nigerians to establish the Ogbeifun Institute of Maritime Technlogy, in Edo state to fill the vacuum with the support of the foreign partners, from the Training center for Blue Collar Port Workers in the Port of Atwerp, Belgum, and Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Members, NIMASA, to fill the vacuum
Aware that there is not much Ahmed, the Executive Director, Operations and other members of the agency’s Management Team could do in the absence of Jamoh, the Director General, may have informed why he has waited for the Maritime ICON to resume fully at work after his abortive attempt to become the governor of Kaduna state had failed to reintroduce the issue
Ogbeifun the Chairman of Ogbeifun Institute of Maritime Technology, may have done his homework before pushing for the domestication of the agency’s capacity development programme to the NIASA Chief Executive Officer, CEO.. He may have taken advantage of a recent visit to him in his Apapa office, Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve centre, to bring up the matter of the domestication of the agency capacity development programme for consideration.
He may have won the heart of the NIMASA Director General who was said to have declared that ‘’the agency is committed ‘’to the domestication of its capacity development programme to save the country’s scarce foreign exchange of training young Nigerian seafarers and dockworkers abroad’’.
The NIMASA ceo, may have gladdened the heart of Ogbeifun, the shipping magnate, when he revealed that ‘’’the agency is working on adopting reciprocity policy for recognition of Certificate of competency and other Certificates to facilitate international trade’’.
As a prelude to ensuring that the agency patronize the Ogbeifun Institute of Maritime Technology in the training the young Nigerian seafarers and dockworkers instead of sending them abroad , the NIMASA ‘’boss, was said to have urged the Management ‘’to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding , MOU, with other reputable International L earning Institutes to ensure that the quality of its education meets Internationally acceptable standards. He may have alluded to the World Maritime University, Sweden, which already have a working MOU, with the Agency.
He did not stop there. He noted that as a new Maritime Institute, all the gaps that have been identified by the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, in its’ IMSAS report would be given priority and addressed. The NIMAA Director General did not lose sight of the fact that there had been vast improvement in the quality of maritime training in the country. This may have informed why he is looking inwards in the agency quest ‘’to develop human capacity for the nation’s maritime industry’’.
Hear him: We are providing the required regulation to ensure that Certificates earned from the Institutes of aritime Technology in Nigeria are recognised globally. He may have sent a message to the Management Ogbifun Institutes and other Institutes of maritime Technology across the country not to be in a hurry in the training and retraining of the young Nigerian seafarers and dockworkers , noting that when the agency is satisfied that all the requirements have been met, they will not hesitate to adopt the reciprocity rule in the recognition of Certificates awarded by the Institutes.
He may have assured the Management of the Ogbeifun Institute of maritime technology, during their visit that once the reciprocity rule is adopted by the agency ,’’ it will stop recognizing the Certificates issued by Maritime Administrations of Non-friendly nation’’s whose decision not ‘’to recognise Certificates issued in Nigeria are unjustifiable’’.
Note that over the last couple of years, there have been an increase in the number of maritime training institutions in Nigeria, which Jamoh, who could not hide his feelings had described as a ‘’welcome development’’. Given an insider information of the human capacity gaps in the nation’s maritime sector, he disclosed that studies have established that there are over 600,000 human capacity skills gap.
It is not surprising why he had said that ‘’there is need for more seafarers and dockworkers in Nigeria to be trained and retrained to fill the human capacity skill gap’’. The NIMASA, Director General, had repeatedly said that ‘’Training and retraining of manpower is required to have a virile maritime industry’’. He may have told the Management of the Ogbeifun Institute not to worry about the recognition of its Certificate of Competency and other Certificates that may be issued by the Institution as the agency will ‘’do everything possible in terms of regulations to ensure that the country’s various maritime Institutions training facilities meet international standards’’.
There are indications that the agency had already secured approval of Fiscal incentives of zero percent import duty on brand new vessels and also working on monetary incentive such as the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund, CVFF, which Jamoh had said that the agency is currently awaiting for further directives from the Federal ministry of Transportation.
An appreciative Ogbeifun, Chairman , Ogbeifun Institute of Maritime Technology, was said to have given kudos to the NIMASA CEO, for ‘’championing the quest to secure both Fiscal and monetary incentives for the stakeholders in the nation’s maritime sector’’, giving his words that the Ogbeifun Institute is committed ‘’to collaborating with other existing maritime Institutes in the country, towards attaining the internationally acceptable standards in training seafarers and dockworkers’’.
