By Stephen Ubanna
Not many were surprised that Bashir Jamoh, a one- time Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, during the Administration of Dakuku Adol Peterside and now Director General of of the agency and and his management team appear to have decided to domesticate its capacity development .
Jamoh and is management team who may have taken the bold initiate to domesticate the agency capacity building programmme are determined ‘to save the country the millions of the huge foreign exchange being spent abroad in training the young Nigerian seafarers , dockworkers including staff abroad.
Take for instance in 2012, alone, N165 billion , equivalent of about $734 million ,based on the exchange rate of N158 .7932 to one North American country of the United States, US, dollar. was spent to send about 75 young Nigerians in the seafaring profession in Egypt, Philippines and other parts of the world, during the Administration of Patrick Akpbolokemi.
Until the current Leadership of NIMASA, took the firm decision to patronize Nigerian training institutions, it had a standing Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Malmo, in Sweden based World Maritime University, WMU, which was said to have been renewed this 2022, ”aimed at enhancing the agency capacity development , in order to grow the nation’s maritime sector”.
Note that capacity development in the nation’s maritime sector is one of the three strategic pillars of the current Management of NIMASA to revamp the nation’s maritime sector, which industry stakeholders had said has helped in improving productivity and professionalism in the agency workforce.
Recall that Akpobolokemi , the former Director General of the agency was the first person to initiate such a plan to domesticate the agency capacity development programme by doling out about N5 billion to four Nigerian Universities for establishment of maritime training institutions but that was how far he could go.
Out of the amount Niger Delta University , Wilberforce , Bayelsa state was said to have got N1.74 billion, University of Nigeria, Nsuka, UNN, N1.2 billion, while the IBB University, Lapai, Niger state and the University of Lagos, got N1billion and N957 million respectively.
As a prelude to kick start the patronage of the Local training institutions in NIMASA, capacity development programme, the agency had recently signed an MoU, with the Institute of Transport Technology, , ITT, Zaria, Katsina, home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, on ‘’research and training towards enhancing maritime Safety and Security in Nigeria.
Jamoh, the maritime regulatory agency Director General, was signed the MoU, on behalf of his Organisation while Bayero Salih Farah, Director of the Institute, signed the MOU, for NITT. The duo were said to have signed the MoU, over the penultimate weekend in Zaria.Jamoh had ‘’hinged the MoU, between the two Organisations on research and training with a view ”to enhancing local content and boosting the quality assurance of the institute’’.
An elated Jamoh had said that the agreement was a follow up on earlier agreements reached between the agency and the institute in their quest to further domesticate specialized training programme at management level in the maritime Administration and the nation’s maritime sector in general.
The NIMASA , Director General, who could not hide his feelings had said that the MoU, between the agency and the Zaria based INTT, is a mutually beneficial partnership, , aimed at ‘’supporting the core mandate of the institute which is in line with the current Leadership of NIMASA’s commitment to capacity building for seafarers and staff’’.
The NIMASA, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, is optimistic that the MoU, between the two Organizations, will go a long way ”to formalise and strengthen the existing relationship between them in terms of research , training and capacity development”. He had charged the institute to ensure that it conducts detailed research to determine gaps in ‘’the implementation of the agency core mandate of Effective Maritime Safety Admiistration, Maritime Labour Regulation, Marine pollution, Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue, Cabotage Enforcement and shipping Development and Ship registration.This is in addition to , training , certification of seafarers , maritime capacity development and development of training programmes to close such identified gaps’’.
Farah, he Director of NITT, may have taken advantage of the signing the MoU, between NITT and NIMASA, to express the management’s appreciation to Jamoh and his management team for their long long standing support to the institute,through direct financial assistance and by utilizing the training services provided for the agency staff.
He may have given his words that that the institute will continue to work closely with NIMASA ‘’to ensure that the NITT provides the required training and research services that are of probablly international standard’’.
At present , the institute, provides training to personnel in all modes of transport , leading to the award of various Certificates : Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Postgraduate Diploma, and Masters in Transport and Logistics. That much was confirmed by Osagie Edward, an Assistant Director and NIMASA spokesperson in a Statement.
As a prelude to ensuring that the agency new policy of patronizing local training institutions in its capacity development programme, is carried out to its logical conclusion, Jamoh, the NIMASA , Director General has revealed they are currently ”reviewing the cost of of direct sponsorship of Nigerian Seafarers undergoing Foreign training under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, NSDP”.
He noted that the review has become necessary due ”to the global inflationary trend s which is very much pronounced in the Asian countries of Philippines, India and some other countries where some of the Cadets are sent for training in order to obtain to obtain their Certificate of Competency , CoC, Examination under the NSDP pogramme. He had said that ”the sponsorship of the Cadets which takes much of the agency Funds covers ”training leading to obtaining the CoC”.
For those who were said to be already in some of these Foreign institutions , they may not have cause to worry about payment of their tuition, cost of feeding, accommodation and examination fees. This is because the agency was said to have paid the fees, and the original in full, with allowance for extra funds as pocket money provided for them .
Despite full payment of all the necessary fees, particular, in Philippines as originally agreed with the schools selected for the training programme , this may not have been enough due to the global inflation, thus posing a threat to the Cadets studies.
Perhaps, to prevent the shool Authorities from sending out the Cadets due to uncompleted payment occasioned by the increase in fees may have informed why the agency is working closely with the Nigerian Embassy in the Phillippines ” to address the challenges” .
Given an insider information of the steps taken so far to address the unexpected price increases, he disclosed that the agency has put in place ”immediate and long term arrangement to minimize the effect of he inflation on the Cadets living standard during the prgramme.
According to him, ”the management under his Leadership has approved an additional $2,000, which he had described as a ”short time measure” for each one of them as extra fund to to the inflation in Phillippines to ensure that the students continue their studies without stress.
The money may have been paid by through the Embassy of Nigeria in the Asian country going by his Statement . ”I am sure sure the Nigerian Embassy will get in touch with the students immediately the Funds are ready to be disbursed. It is a well coordinated arrangement through the Embassy”, he had said.
He further stated that ”while the agency is working closely with the Nigerian Embassy in the Philippines to establish appropriate extra Funds that may required for their upkeep, the NIMASA, management is ”deploying a team on a fact finding to interact with the students, officials of the Nigerian Embassy,, the Maritime Industry Authority, MARINA,Phillippines, some Licensure Examination Training and Review centres, TRCs.
Some 146 Cadets were said to have acquired the Philippines sailing license through the NSDP, programme with another 134 currently undergoing he programme and and further 10 being prepared to proceed to the Phillippines for the examinations.
Given the contract beteen NIMASA and the Cadets before sending them out for oversea training, the agency was said to have made a firm arrangements ”to ensure those who have spent the stipulated six months approved for the CoC programme in the Phillippines return to Nigeria immediately”.
The agency management wwere said to have urged ”the Cadets to ensure they conclude their CoC examinations as scheduled”. It is on record that since the NSDP , was established in 2008, ostensibly to address the dearth of Nigerian seafarers on ocean going vessels and he need to meet the indigenous training requirements of coastal and inland shipping , cabotage regime, no fewer than 2,241 Cadets have bee trained by the agncy, with 841 of the graduates having obtained sailing Licenses Certificate of Competency from Maritime Administrations of various countries.
It is also records that that out of the figure, around 388 are now gainfully employed in maritime -related Organisations, while others are in the final stages of the programme. Vintage Jamoh.
