By Stephen Ubana
Aware that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has a statutory mandate to fulfil, may have informed why Bashir Jamoh, the Director General and his Management Team, have organised a 3-day Management retreat to restrategise ‘ ‘to achieve its mandate’’.
This appears to be the first time that Jamoh, the NIMASA, Director General, who was honoured with the Officer of the Federal Republic, OFR, by President Muhammadu Buhari, alongside 447 other Nigerians and friends of Nigeria , last October, and his Management team , would hold such a retreat since the new Management was inaugurate on March 10, 2020 . Previous retreats may have been organised by the ministry for Chief of Executives Officers of the Parastatals under the ministry and other top officials of the ministry but not at the agency level.
In his opening remarks, Jamoh, the NIMASA, CEO, had told members of the agency Management team that ‘‘there is need for ‘’continuous internal stakeholders retreat’’ to rub minds in order to evaluate their performance as a key component of the Buhari Administration and to help achieve a successful implementation of its tripod mandate: Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and Shipping Development for the betterment of the nation’s maritime sector.
He insists that in order ‘’to achieve its statutory responsibility , ‘‘the agency requires collective efforts from all stakeholders, which will in turn help drive investor’s confidence in engaging in businesses in the sector’’.
Speaking as a maritime expert, which what he is and as someone who knows his onions, the NMASA boss , had described ‘’shipping as crucial to the global economy , as was exemplified during the Asian country of China emerged corona virus, popular, COVID19, where virtually all sectors of the global economy as grounded, excluding the shipping industry’’.
He was said to have alluded to the fact that ‘’the Pandemic had made them to focus on driving the agenda of the Buhari Administration in making the Nigerian maritime sector to be attractive to investors’’. He noted that the Pandemic also gave the agency the opportunity to keep building on the capacity of the staff ‘’to make them compete favourably with their counterparts in other maritime nations within the African Continent, Europe, Asian, North and South American’’.
An elated Jamoh, who had gathered his Management team together for a 3-day retreat, had enjoined the Management statff ‘’to move with the trend in order ‘’to meet up with modern day realities in ensuring that the Nigerian maritime sector is in tandem with other maritime nations’’.
He had said that with the global uncertainty due to largely to the ongoing Ukraine- Russian war, which had entered its ninth 9th-months, and adapting to the new way of doing business brought unto humanity by the COVID 19, Pandemic which may have led to the weakening of the global economy, had seen ‘‘the Blue Economy hold the future for Nigeria’’.
An initiative of NIMASA,Jamoh, the agency CEO, ad repeatedly told those that cares to listen that ‘‘the Blue Economy has the capability of replacing oil as the mainstay of the nation’s economy, stressing that it is one programme that is going to involve more Nigerians-as individuals, communities, and the various levels of government.
Besides the fact that the litoral states that lie on the Atlantic coast which directly bear the natural disasters like ocean surge, flooding, which is currently happening in the south- south states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers , Cross river and some parts of Ondo, and other adverse effects of Climate chang. He noted that other states in the north central , north east and north west geopolitical regions of the country, he had said will also benefit from the Blue Economy.
It was not surprising why he has urged the industry Leaders ‘‘to embrace the use of the technology in the nation’s maritime sector and endeavor to acquire new kills in –demand’’. He was emphatic that ‘’it is the only way that Nigerian can provide leadership in the African maritime sector.
Osagie Edward, an Asistant Director, and the agency Head of Adverts,Brands and Media, who has been following the activities of the Jamoh’s Administration since he assumed office in March 10, 2020, had said that he had ‘’adopted continuous stakeholders Management across board in the quest to realize the agency statutory mandate. The NIMASA, Assistant Director, had said that the Management rethreat, 2022, has an eight –year plan made up of short, medium and long –term clearly stated goals aimed at enhancing the performance of the agency.
Going by the definition of the World Bank, ‘’the Blue Economy is a sustainable use of the ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and creation of more jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem’’ but the European Commission had defined it as ‘’all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts’’ which covers a wide range of interlinked established and emerging sectors.
The Commonwealth of Nations, on its part, considers it as an emerging concept that encourages better stewardship of our ocean and Blue resources’’. The United Nation, UN, had defined the Blue Economy as an economy that range of economic sectors and related policies that together determine whether the use of ocean reources is sustainable.
Note that the center for the Blue Economy, going by the UN’s definition says ‘’it is now a widely used term around the world with three related but distinct meanings: the overall contribution of the oceans to economies, the need to address the environmental and ecological sustainability of the oceans and the ocean economy as a growth opportunity for both developed and developing economies.
There is no gainsaying the fact that port inefficacies, high incidence of piracy, poor port environment, lack of political will and inefficient coastline resources, among others , have been identified over the years as the major setback to African countries , including Nigeria’s prospect of exploiting the ocean economy estimated to be over $4 trillion.
Recall that in 2018, Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state and the then minister of Transportation, had expressed Nigeria readiness to cooperate with countries in the African continent to advance the Continental Blue economy. The immediate pat minister of Transportation had said that ‘’it is one of the primary objective s of the Economic Recovery and growth plan , ERGP, of the government and a major revenue alternative to oil.
