The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) has raised alarm over what it called overlapping functions of some of the Federal Government agencies in the Nigerian maritime sector.
It consequently advised that Government should revisit the Acts establishing these agencies so as to deal with conflict arising from their functions.
The association said this at its quarterly lecture which held in Lagos at the weekend. The presentation was made by Rear Admiral Godwill Ombo (rtd). The lecture was titled ‘Coastguards and Navies: The roles and responsibilities of the Nigerian Navy.’
Speaking during the presentation, National President of the association; Capt Joseph Awodeha said the association required the services of legal practitioners to help differentiate the roles of the Coast Guard and the Nigerian Navy.
He specifically decried the conflicting roles of the different agencies, such as: the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Nigerian Navy.
According to him, there is need for the federal government to review the Acts establishing these maritime agencies in order to assign specific functions to them.
“We are suggesting to the government to revisit all the different acts of these agencies, so that they apportion responsibilities specifically to the different agencies.
“It is important, so that there is no confusion in implementation, and that we don’t waste resources duplicating our efforts while other areas are suffering”
“We are very much concerned about the overlapping roles the various government agencies in the maritime sector perform; their boundaries are not well defined. The government should go and revisit the acts establishing the various agencies”, Awodeha said.
Speaking on seatime training for the cadets, the NAMM President expressed disappointment about the fate of cadets who were sent overseas for training and who came back without practical seatime experience.
He canvassed that cadets should be given a platform to practice all they have been thought in school instead of relying more on theories.
"There should be practical experience of what our cadets learn in school instead of relying more on theories. We have different cadets coming out of schools daily but there is no platform for them to practice all that they have been learning in school. They have certificates but there is not platform for them practice all that they have been learning. Unless they government do that, they have not spent our money well", he concluded.
“There is no point to send somebody abroad to train and at the end of the training, he has no practical experience to carry out the job.
“So many cadets have been trained abroad, but they have no practical experience to enable them function as marine engineers or professionals, which is needed to do the job.
“So, they just come back with academic qualification. But, until they get the seatime training they are not complete officers yet,” Awodeha said.
In his presentation, Rear Admiral Ombo (rtd) said that although some maritime nations have both Navy and Coastguard, others have a coastguard or a Navy, with varying command and control structure and fairly precise roles and responsibilities.
"While some maritime nations have both a Navy and a Coastguard others have a Coastguard or a navy with varying command and control structure and fairly precise roles and responsibilities. However whatever maritime force any nation might establish, it is expedient to know that none of the heads of such force procures its own assets. The services may make its staff requirement based on its statutory role and the consequent challenges in meeting mandated responsibilities but remains the prerogative of government amidst all contending factors of government spending, it appreciation of the force's needs and its understanding and zeal to develop the navy or coastguard and the nation's maritime industry to provide the needed naval assets from time to time", he concluded.
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