Chairman of the National Seafarers Welfare Board; Otunba Kunle Folarin has said that requirements put in place by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for running maritime academies in Nigeria are too stringent.
This is even as Folarin has called on the apex maritime regulatory agency to take a cue from other countries like Phillipines, and relax the requirements so as to ensure Nigeria ‘exports’ more seafarers to the world.
Folarin was addressing journalists in Lagos last week also condemned the rampant arrest and incarceration of seafarers by the Nigerian Navy for various offenses they did not commit. He said that many seafarers are languishing at the Ikoyi prison for the sins of their employers.
The maritime expert explained that Certificate of Competency issued to the seafarers is a currency acceptable internationally, he said once NIMASA certifies a seafarer, he or she is qualified to work anywhere in the world.
He however lamented that a lot of fake certificates are in circulation in the country today.
Folarin said "How do we ensure that the maritime sector becomes an integral part of the nation’s economy and competitive in nature, it is by training the seafarers"
"NIMASA has a very long list of compliance for the schools offering training and I don't blame them for that, the requirement from NIMASA to run a training institution is very tough and strict"
"You cannot set up a nautical school just as if you are setting up a secondary school or even a university in Nigeria. There are many maritime academies in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Warri, NIMASA chases them all the time, they go and inspect the school, they close down some illegal school"
"We need to appeal to NIMASA to be a bit lenient in their regulations for those who want to set up schools, guide them how to comply with international standard in training cadets. The good news is that if you train 100,000 people, you can send them to the world, if you don't take them for jobs here, the world is ready to take them"
"When I was in Philippines, in Manila alone, I could count over 40 maritime academies and they are training for the world, they get $13billion dollars yearly as foreign exchange from this, " he said
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