By Sephen Ubbana
Barely a year after Oyetola Adegboyega, a former governor of Osun state and now minister of newly established ministry of marine and blue economy, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former governor of Lagos state, and Bashir Jamoh, immediate past Director General, of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, had met Gunter Pauli, a Professor of Economics and entrepreneur, who was said to have created models of the Blue Economy, the ministry and the maritime regulatory are set to host deep Seabed global Workshop In Nigeria .
The duo were said to have met Prof Pauli, at different forum in Nigeria to help provide viable policies for the smooth take –off of the blue economy project in Nigeria. Prof. Pauli, who was said to have discussed various ways to harness the resources in the Nigerian waters in a sustainable manner with the minister and the then Chief Executive Officer of NIMASA, may have equipped them to develop the policies around the Nigerian blue economy project.
The ministry of marine and blue economy in collaboration with the maritime agency under the close watch of Dayo Mobereola, who had replaced Jamoh, as the President could not renew his four year tenure, may have been encouraged to host the global Workshop on the Deep Seabed because of the country’s extended maritime boundary beyond 200 miles or 200 nautical miles .Going by United Nations UN, Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, the area approved for Nigeria in 2023, was put at about 16,00 square kilometers .
A maritime expert had told The Value News online Magazine that the economic potentials of the newly acquired territory, included hydrocarbons, gas, solid minerals and a wide variety of seabed species. The expert had confirmed that the country’s untapped blue economy potentials, prior to the extension of the country’s Continental Shelf was valued at the North American country of the United States, US, over 300 billion dollars. The maritime expert has estimated that the nation’s marine and blue economy if properly explored could generate N7 trillion annually and two million jobs in the next five years in Nigeria.
Adegboyega, the minister of marine and blue economy, had said that Nigeria’s hosting of the Deep seabed international workshop will help ‘’build in-country expertise by equipping industry stakeholders and professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage deep-sea species sustainably’’.
Giving an inside information, the former Osun state governor had stated further that ’’the global workshop will offer training for Nigerian researchers and stakeholders by allowing them to engage directly with other international experts and advanced technologies’’.
The Osun state born politician, who could not hide his feelings had said that ‘’Nigeria has vast ocean resources that are still largely untapped’’, noting that the ministry has taken into consideration the recent extension of Nigerian’s continental shelf. To host the Deep Seabed global Workshop.
He is optimistic that the global Workshop on the Deep Seabed will provide the needed platform to launch the appropriate machinery to tap into these seabed resources sustainably, expected ’’to balance the nation’s economic growth and environmental protection’’.
An elated Adegboyega, had said that the global Workshop, would also provide an opportunity for the stakeholders and professionals in Nigeria’s maritime sector to collaborate with the ministry in harnessing the resources of the seas and oceans , while also creating jobs and wealth for the most populous country in the African Continent.
Osagie Edward, an Assistant Director and the agency spokesperson, who had issued a statement had said that the event, scheduled to take place in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, from September 17-18, 2024, will feature several presentations by experts.
The paper presentations, the NIMASA, Image maker had said , will include ‘’an overview of the Deep Seabed: prospects for the blue economy by Mobereola, the current NIMASA, Director General and an overview of the extended Nigerian Continental Shelf claims , by Surveyor Adamu Adaji, Director General of the National Boundary Commission, NBC, and other presentations.
The NIMASA, spokesperson, who is at home with the Deep Blue Project from the onset, may have made Nigerians to understand that the Deep Seabed lies beyond national jurisdictions, noting that the mineral resources located there are considered the common heritage of humanity.
He noted that ‘’it covers more than 54% of the world’s oceans and presents a future source of mineral resources to support an increasing global population’’. He further stated that ‘’it addresses challenges related to accessing land-based deposits’’. This is in addition to the fact that ‘’it provides the rare metals necessary to drive the future renewable Nigerian economy.
There is no gain saying the fact the Deep Seabed, also plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change which many believe has a devastating impact on the sustainability of the oceans and their resources. It is believed that the Seabed contains a significant portion of carbon dioxide, CO2, produced by human activities to absorb excess heat generated by the greenhouse effect, analysts had said.
