Nigeria has been a member of the global maritime body; the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for decades.
But her membership took a positive dimension when she took a bold step to contest for membership of Category ‘C’ of the Council of IMO. Nigerian was a member of that Council until 2011 when she lost her re-election bid.
Nigeria has been a member of the global maritime body; the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for decades.
But her membership took a positive dimension when she took a bold step to contest for membership of Category ‘C’ of the Council of IMO. Nigerian was a member of that Council until 2011 when she lost her re-election bid.
Wise enough, the country decided not to seek the post at the last General Assembly. She was compensated with the choice of her High Commissioner to the UK; Dr Dalhatu Tafida as the 1st Vice President of the 27th General Assembly of the body.
Nigeria’s highest level of recognition in the IMO is her retention on the White List, a certification that she is in compliance with the Standard of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping (STCW) ’95.
By implication certificates issued to mariners by Nigeria is acceptable globally
However, countries are not obligated to accept certificates and endorsements from White List countries and may choose to look beyond merchant mariner’s certificates and directly assess mariners’ competence.
The fact that a country is not on the White List does not invalidate its certificates or endorsements as STCW certificates and endorsements from such countries remain valid.
However, Port State Control is not likely to accept these documents at face value as they may detain vessels until ship owners can establish by other means that each crewmember is in compliance with STCW 95.
What this means invariably is that the fact that Nigeria is on the White List does not guarantee global acceptance for her sea farers.
Nigeria’s decision not to contest for a seat in the Council was the wisest; under the circumstances in which she found herself.
Nigeria lost the bid for a third consecutive term in 2011, because we reneged on an earlier agreement that was reached with Ghana which not only supported her in 2007, but also rallied other nations to support.
A little recall may be appropriate at this point. While seeking election in 2007, Nigeria had tough challenges from virtually all countries in West Africa. It was at the peak of the lobby that Nigeria struck a deal with Ghana.
“We have an agreement with Ghana. I was the chairman of the technical committee on Nigeria’s re-election and I led the delegation to Ghana. Our agreement with Ghana is that Nigeria would go to category C and spend four years and move to B, because Ghana says they will only step down for Nigeria for two terms after which they want to come to C and expect Nigeria to move to B and support Ghana. These are major issues in international politics. Four years is enough for us to bring our safety administration to a higher level that will be acceptable internationally”.
The above was the reaction of Dr Ade Dosunmu; the-then director general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) shortly after Nigeria got her first shot at the council seat. This newspaper was also on the delegation that visited a few countries at that time when it appeared like the Category ‘C” seat was all that Nigeria needed to join the big league f maritime nations.
In our desperation to clinch the seat, our delegation promised exactly what Dr Dosunmu stated above, and two years after, Nigeria reneged on the agreement it had with Ghana which many West African countries are aware of.
To clinch the seat in 2007, Nigeria garnered 87 votes to beat Liberia which got 74 votes and Angola which scored 42 votes. Nigeria emerged 19th in the 20-member council. It is on record that Nigeria’s victory was ably made possible by some African countries, especially, Ghana which was the first to step down for Nigeria. Ghana not only stepped down for Nigeria, she also campaigned for our emergence as a member of the IMO Council.
In 2009, Nigeria had a less tedious journey to victory; she not only polled 121 votes out of the available 153 votes, she also stepped up the ladder from 19th position to 8th, that is, out of the 22 nations that contested for Category ‘C’.
The question to ask is: did we effectively use the two terms to advance the cause of Nigerian maritime industry stakeholders; especially, seafarers and ship owners.
Sadly, the answer is No. As it was prior to 2007, indigenous ownership of bottoms still remains a tall dream, while provision of shipping services is nothing to write home about. Added to this is the reality of sea robbery and piracy
Nigeria has really not done much with its membership of the IMO council, so much so that we can say that in all parameters, Nigerian stakeholders have not fared better that they were in 2007.
May be we should take a cue from Jamaica; a re-elected member of Category ‘C’, which shortly after her election said she would use the opportunity to “enhances her capacity and that of the Region to contribute to major policy decisions, rule-making and the development of standards including representing the maritime interests of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in order to implement port, coastal and flag State obligations.
“Re-election to the IMO Council is critical for Jamaica at this time. Our country has evolved as a credible maritime State with port, flag and coastal State standards at the international level and is currently establishing itself as a global Shipping and Logistics Hub.”
Can Nigeria say that the four years were well utilized, can she say that her membership of thev IMO have drawn benefits to the country.
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