NIMASA Should Stop Sending Nigerian Cadets to Mushroom Maritime Academies Abroad—Stakeholders

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been accused of sending Nigerian cadets to substandard maritime academies in the Philippines, India among others through its National Seafarers Welfare Development Programme (NSDP)

Speaking at the PortNews Summit 2024 held at the Rockview Hotel in Apapa Lagos on Wednesday, A Chartered Master Mariner, Capt Kunle Olayiwola criticized the NSDP programme being run by NIMASA, even as he urged the agency to rather focus attention on using its resources to develop the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN Oron)
According to him, many of the NSDP cadets return home as half-baked seafarers because the maritime colleges they attended abroad are substandard.

Speaking, Capt Olayiwola who was a retired staff of NIMASA said “When you are trying to develop cadets for the National Seafarers Development Programme, you don’t need to send them overseas to gain knowledge.

“The reason why people like me trained overseas is that there was no provision to train me locally at that time. I graduated from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, and back then, there was no OOW Unlimited certification available; it was limited to trade.

“The highest qualification in Nigeria at the time was the Master on Trade certification. Now that we have Marine Superiors trained in places like the UK, Australia, and Singapore, who are performing their roles effectively, it’s up to the concerned agencies to focus their training efforts on the Maritime Academy of Nigeria.

“The Academy was established to train young seafarers so they could manage vessels under the Nigerian flag at a master level.

“Sending cadets abroad to mushroom maritime colleges, often in countries like the Philippines and India, does not justify the purpose. Many of these cadets return home as underprepared seafarers.

“The resources spent on training cadets abroad should be channeled to local institutions like the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, the Maritime University of Nigeria, or the School of Fisheries, which are now part of initiatives like Blue Economy and Oceanography.

“We need to train these cadets locally, provide them with vessels, and engage foreign shipowners operating in Nigerian waters to employ and train these individuals.

“Countries worldwide support their cadets; there is no reason why we cannot do the same in Nigeria to build both our cadets and ratings effectively” Olayiwola chided NIMASA.

Also speaking at the function which drew participation of maritime industry big wigs, veteral Master Mariner and former Minister of Interior, Capt Emmanuel Ihenacho said that the NSDP Programme being run by NIMASA is making mockery of Nigeria and its Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

According to him, one of the age-long complaints of maritime capacity development in Nigeria is the lack of seatime for cadets, a development which is causing many Nigerians to embrace training abroad.

Capt Iheanacho however corrected that training institutions do not necessarily need to own vessels before they can churn out good seafarers.

“We have a lot of challenges and seem to confuse ourselves. For instance, people suggest providing vessels for MAN Oron cadets after their training to acquire sea time. However, a training institution does not need to own trading vessels.

“Most institutions that own vessels use small ones for basic navigational training, but sea time can only be acquired on a fully equipped trading ship that sails internationally.

“When we send cadets to countries like India or the Philippines, it undermines the professionals trained locally. Those institutions often exist merely to collect money and don’t train their own cadets similarly” Iheanacho stated.

Speaking further on cadet training, Capt Iheanacho argued that there is no reason why they cannot be trained locally.

“The focus should be on creating a fleet of Nigerian-registered vessels to provide sea time. Efforts to establish a new national shipping line should also learn from past failures like the Nigerian National Shipping Line and Nigerian Unity Line, which collapsed due to poor planning.

“If those in charge are willing, experienced individuals can guide them at no cost on how to train cadets and set up proper evaluation systems for borrowing.

“It’s essential to ensure institutions like Oron meet IMO accreditation standards to issue valid certifications. We have spent significant resources on Oron, and with proper management, it can meet the required standards to develop our seafarers effectively” he said