Despite being a leading maritime destination in the West African sub-region, Nigeria is rapidly losing international recognition, especially in the area of manpower development, as the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State, the only training institute recognised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), is plagued by insufficient funding and gross mismanagement of available resources by past and present management of the institute.
The academy, established in 1979 to educate and train shipboard officers, ratings and shore-based management personnel presently cannot boast of a training vessel needed for the mandatory onboard tutelage of seafarers before they are issued the Certificate of Competency (CoC) by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on behalf of the school.
The absence of a vessel for onboard training has left thousands of cadets stranded, as most of them, despite completing their cadet training at MAN Oron, do not have the funds and influence to secure spaces on offshore or onshore vessels to do their mandatory sea-time training.
Today, a huge number of MAN Oron graduands are roaming the streets without CoCs with hopes of getting attached to vessels for sea-time training waning rapidly.
Maritime experts insist the poorly equipped nature of the academy is rapidly robbing Nigeria of international recognition, as foreign ship owners, who are the dominant players in the nation’s maritime business, prefer to employ seafarers with other African countries’ CoC than the one issued by NIMASA.
A typical ocean-going vessel that calls at Nigerian ports is usually crewed expatriates with few or no Nigerians at all.
“The foreign shippers know MAN Oron and other maritime institutes in Nigeria are ill-equipped. The school established over 36 years ago cannot boast of a training vessel despite the fact that Nigeria is a major maritime nation in Africa. It is a shame. Philippines controls 28 per cent of the global seafarers’ market. They train seafarers excellently and many Nigerian cadets are there. Why cant Nigeria with all the marine endowments boast of a good training institute with world-class facilities? So, the ship owners also know that MAN Oron is always having issues with host communities, contractors and so on. These things don’t allow for smooth training and one can only imagine the quality of seafarers they will churn out. When they are eventually out, there is no vessel for onboard sea-time training. That explains why the ship owners prefer seafarers from Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Egypt, even Cameroon and Benin Republic”, a maritime expert told Daily Sun.
Commenting on the development, Comrade Julius Efokpor, Secretary General of the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMMOWTSSA) at a recent briefing said the rejection of Nigerians’ CoCs provided foreign ship owners an opportunity to flood the country with their personnel, thus increasing capital flight.
He said it was a slap on the government’s face for its agencies to issue CoCs to Nigerians and same will be disregarded by foreign companies that are milking the industry dry.
“A lot in injustice is being done to Nigerian seafarers. We have capable hands but you see expatriates coming from Honduras, Philippines and other countries. The main issue is that these people are highly incompetent and yet NIMASA allows them to come and displace our people. Also the government has to look into the issue of half-baked seafarers due to non-regularisation of some maritime schools’ syllabuses in line with IMO standards. But the experienced ones are jobless and this injustice has to stop’, he stated.
Eforkpor called on the Federal Government through NIMASA to look into the ugly situation with a view to correcting all inherent anomalies. He also blamed the rejection of Nigerian workers on the lack of implementation of the Cabotage Act, 10 years after it was enacted.
Stakeholders say MAN Oron needs better funding, complemented by a prudent management that will ensure judicious use of the resources; as many abandoned projects litter the school today. Some of the abandoned projects under the second phase of the school’s development programme include the nautical science block, main auditorium and many others.
They also wondered why the abandoned projects were not completed before the incumbent Rector/Chief Executive, Joshua Okpo embarked fresh ones.
Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that a lot of contractors have not been paid for jobs done, while some others were mobilised but bolted after accessing advance payment.
This, stakeholders insist, has made the smooth running of the school challenging as youths of the host community are regularly at war with the MAN Oron management over lopsided appointments and award of contracts.
However, a top source at the academy confided in Daily Sun that MAN, Oron needs a bail out fund.
“The school needs at least N2.5 billion to meet the training requirements of our cadets and this entails the acquisition of Global Maritime Distress Signal System, radar, ARPA simulator and engine simulator and other composite facilities. Nigeria shouldn’t be sending cadets overseas for sea-time experience when we have such a facility. It’s shameful. We should do it here but there’s no money. We’ve grown beyond the budgetary allocation and internally generated revenue argument. Our worry is that Nigeria is expecting auditors from London-based International Maritime Organisation (IMO) next year. If we don’t close these gaps, we would not pass that audit”, he lamented.
The academy, established in 1979 to educate and train shipboard officers, ratings and shore-based management personnel presently cannot boast of a training vessel needed for the mandatory onboard tutelage of seafarers before they are issued the Certificate of Competency (CoC) by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on behalf of the school.
The absence of a vessel for onboard training has left thousands of cadets stranded, as most of them, despite completing their cadet training at MAN Oron, do not have the funds and influence to secure spaces on offshore or onshore vessels to do their mandatory sea-time training.
Today, a huge number of MAN Oron graduands are roaming the streets without CoCs with hopes of getting attached to vessels for sea-time training waning rapidly.
Maritime experts insist the poorly equipped nature of the academy is rapidly robbing Nigeria of international recognition, as foreign ship owners, who are the dominant players in the nation’s maritime business, prefer to employ seafarers with other African countries’ CoC than the one issued by NIMASA.
A typical ocean-going vessel that calls at Nigerian ports is usually crewed expatriates with few or no Nigerians at all.
“The foreign shippers know MAN Oron and other maritime institutes in Nigeria are ill-equipped. The school established over 36 years ago cannot boast of a training vessel despite the fact that Nigeria is a major maritime nation in Africa. It is a shame. Philippines controls 28 per cent of the global seafarers’ market. They train seafarers excellently and many Nigerian cadets are there. Why cant Nigeria with all the marine endowments boast of a good training institute with world-class facilities? So, the ship owners also know that MAN Oron is always having issues with host communities, contractors and so on. These things don’t allow for smooth training and one can only imagine the quality of seafarers they will churn out. When they are eventually out, there is no vessel for onboard sea-time training. That explains why the ship owners prefer seafarers from Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Egypt, even Cameroon and Benin Republic”, a maritime expert told Daily Sun.
Commenting on the development, Comrade Julius Efokpor, Secretary General of the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMMOWTSSA) at a recent briefing said the rejection of Nigerians’ CoCs provided foreign ship owners an opportunity to flood the country with their personnel, thus increasing capital flight.
He said it was a slap on the government’s face for its agencies to issue CoCs to Nigerians and same will be disregarded by foreign companies that are milking the industry dry.
“A lot in injustice is being done to Nigerian seafarers. We have capable hands but you see expatriates coming from Honduras, Philippines and other countries. The main issue is that these people are highly incompetent and yet NIMASA allows them to come and displace our people. Also the government has to look into the issue of half-baked seafarers due to non-regularisation of some maritime schools’ syllabuses in line with IMO standards. But the experienced ones are jobless and this injustice has to stop’, he stated.
Eforkpor called on the Federal Government through NIMASA to look into the ugly situation with a view to correcting all inherent anomalies. He also blamed the rejection of Nigerian workers on the lack of implementation of the Cabotage Act, 10 years after it was enacted.
Stakeholders say MAN Oron needs better funding, complemented by a prudent management that will ensure judicious use of the resources; as many abandoned projects litter the school today. Some of the abandoned projects under the second phase of the school’s development programme include the nautical science block, main auditorium and many others.
They also wondered why the abandoned projects were not completed before the incumbent Rector/Chief Executive, Joshua Okpo embarked fresh ones.
Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that a lot of contractors have not been paid for jobs done, while some others were mobilised but bolted after accessing advance payment.
This, stakeholders insist, has made the smooth running of the school challenging as youths of the host community are regularly at war with the MAN Oron management over lopsided appointments and award of contracts.
However, a top source at the academy confided in Daily Sun that MAN, Oron needs a bail out fund.
“The school needs at least N2.5 billion to meet the training requirements of our cadets and this entails the acquisition of Global Maritime Distress Signal System, radar, ARPA simulator and engine simulator and other composite facilities. Nigeria shouldn’t be sending cadets overseas for sea-time experience when we have such a facility. It’s shameful. We should do it here but there’s no money. We’ve grown beyond the budgetary allocation and internally generated revenue argument. Our worry is that Nigeria is expecting auditors from London-based International Maritime Organisation (IMO) next year. If we don’t close these gaps, we would not pass that audit”, he lamented.
credit ; sun news
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