Oluchi Chibuzor
Stakeholders’ in the Nigerian maritime sector have advocated for a national maritime policy to ensure the sector’s support for the socio-economic progress of the country in view of unstable global oil price.
The stakeholders’, who stated this at the ongoing Nigeria International Maritime Summit 2021, said such policy would help Nigeria to harness its maritime potential.
According to them, this policy would create and establish thematic areas for which the maritime sector will thrive on and set the country on the path to become a maritime hub in Africa, while providing a legitimate freedom to achieve both long term and short-term goals for the sector.
Speaking at the summit, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, reiterated the need for the nation to sustain the current level of security in the country’s coastal waters hinting that the federal government has granted physical incentives for the sector.
He said considering the latest report from International Maritime Bureau (IMB) for second quarter of 2021, the level of piracy in Nigeria has reduced considerably noting that security was paramount to tap the potential accrued from the sector to the overall well being of the nation.
“We have 9 months of good report, the way forward is to sustain these records. In doing this, we need effective collaboration with other stakeholders especially the Nigeria Navy. We have to interface with the Ministry of Defense and we are trying to achieve this; we cannot do it without the minister of transportation. In dealing with issues of security, you have to look at what are the other issues that come into play. No maritime sector can grow without incentives.”
NIMASA, he revealed, is working on two broad base incentives for the maritime sector stressing that, “no nation can develop today without the maritime sector, where 90 percent of world goods are transported by sea.”
On what the agency needs to do to bring all serving ministers onboard to foster synergy towards maritime national policy, he revealed that he was supposed to be part of postponed minister retreat, where he will interface with them on the issue.
“On the 10th of this month all the Ministers will be in Asokoro to meet with other CEO like me to make sure to present whatever advice we make to get their backing in other to move the sector forward, ” he said
He said the nation needed to tap from the industry that is globally worth $14 trillion annually, $38billion daily and $1.5million per hour, wondering why the National Transportation Policy has not been approved.
Commenting, the chairperson of the NIMS 2021, Mfon Usoro, said the summit focuses the attention of policy makers, regulators and the industry operators on a critical segment that some consider the substratum for economic growth, the centerpiece for commerce, security and indeed livelihood.
“It is so unfortunate that no African nation has emerged as a maritime superpower; they are not on the list of the top 20 shipping nations. We are not even aspiring to be among these shipping nations. We need to address the domestic and external impediments, we need the transportation policy, ” she said.
On her part, the Chairman, House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu, said the maritime sector was pivotal to the development of any nation.
She noted that while Nigeria is blessed with a young demography of human capital and a coastline of almost 900 kilometres, rich in biodiversity, it is still struggling to be a maritime nation.
Chuba-Ikpeazu also said that the Nigerian maritime sector, with its untapped potential, is capable of driving sustainable economic growth if the right actions are taken and implemented.
She, however, acknowledged that the National Assembly was already paying attention to strengthen the maritime sector by redeeming the legislations on Cabotage matter and shipping among others, while working with the Federal Ministry of Transportation and NIMASA to actualise the intent of this legislations.
“We will be engaging stakeholders for their inputs to ensure these legislative Initiatives begin to reflect the industry’s expectations and realities,” Chuba-Ikpeazu said.
Speaking at the summit, the Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, said there was a pressing need to convert the advantages of Nigeria’s maritime endowment from potentials to actions.
According to him, Nigeria needs to be the maritime logistics hub for sustainable port services in Africa.
He said competitiveness of the nation’s ports rest on how well the nation deploys its assets not just to the service of its markets, but also to address the needs of the region, especially with the landlocked countries with whom the nation shares its borders.
The Africa Union (AU) commissioner for transport, Amani Abou-Zeid, in her keynote address said African nations must pursue full implementation of AfCTA despite the fact that global trade was endangered by the advent of COVID-19 pandemic.
While for the former commissioner and chief executive officer of the Liberia Maritime Authority, Binyah Kesselly, in a panel discussion said African nations must prioritise economic base, legal reforms to stop over exploitation of its huge fisheries by western countries.
The executive secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Emmanuel Jime said the summit comes at a time when the National Action Committee on the Africa Continental Free Trade is mobilising the various sectors of the nation’s economy towards articulating an implementation strategy for Nigeria’s participation in the continental free trade agreement.
He agreed that the rallying together of industry professionals and stakeholders in the sector to discuss and generate ideas would improve maritime trade and as well create a logistic platform to drive the initiative is timely.
“Trade has been a factor for economic, social and political integration of Africa and its countries for many decades, adding that AfCTA, if well implemented, would spur economic growth and prosperity, help reduce poverty, boost job creation, eliminate trade barriers, facilitate movement of made-in-Nigeria goods, movement of vessels and engender investments creation, “he said.