The Rector of Delta state-based private maritime academy; Global Maritime Academy (GMA); Engineer Isaac Aikeroje in this recent interview with Roland Ekama of Shipping Position Daily talked about maritime capacity building in Nigeria, the plight of Nigerian seafarers. He also gave his opinion on the new Nigeria Maritime University (NMU) in Delta State, among other issues.
"Students from private maritime schools can produce air conditioners, refrigerators, which means in their cabin onboard vessels they can attend to any technical hitches"
Do you support for the Buhari led administration to revamp the national carrier for the maritime industry?
I strongly support the move because, is a law all over the world, it’s a convention that officers in all national vessels must be indigenes. American vessels are manned by the Americans. Same goes to officers on British vessels; they are being captained by a Briton. With this we see that Nigerians cannot get to the highest position of master or captain of a ship. Captain we all know is attributed to the navy, while the word Master is used for commercial merchant vessels. However it is the dream of every seafarer to get to the highest position in his career just like every graduate would want to aspire of becoming a managing director of a company. Some people go to school so that they can be promoted for them to be Managing Director, group managing directors; they won’t want to be supervisors for the rest of their career. Same also is applicable to the Nigerian cadets, who will continue to remain as supervisors on board foreign owned carriers, and to me it is not fair, it shows that our cadets will continue to serve other nations as supervisors rather than as masters. But in a situation whereby we have our own carrier, then the Nigerian seafarers can climb the ladder of success in their chosen profession. Apart from that, the vessels will be available for international trade by moving goods from one country to another and from one continent to another as well. It will also bring more revenue for the government of Nigeria, our seafarers will be employed massively, we will have professionals and the issue of inexperience will be a thing of the past. If we fail to own national carrier then in the global trade or international trade, then we still want to depend heavily on what NPA and NIMASA collect as revenue for the government; I believe Nigerian government has outgrown this. With a national carrier in place, all maritime sub sectors will derive a lot of money in their respective businesses. I believe the government is only depriving itself of what can change the economy of the nation. Aside that the number of people this sector alone can engage through employment cannot be quantified. Our government needs to give opportunities to our seafarers for them to take their rightful positions in the international community and the only way out is to float a national carrier and participate in international trade in furtherance to earn more money for the nation's economy. International trade is huge business and it is a shame that Nigeria as a country does not to participate in such business. We have what it takes to participate in it, but I don't know why we have failed to realise the potentials that the sector can create for us. Even doing business within our coastal waters is a barrier for those who own vessels in Nigeria.
As a maritime educationist, what is your perception about the new Maritime University established by former president Goodluck Jonathan?
My perception is that the university will be able to afford cadets that are leaving schools like Stars Maritime Academy, our own Global Maritime Academy, the opportunity to read maritime studies at university level. It is a welcome development because it will bring about opportunity where cadets can be educated to a doctorate level, which I will say is a goldmine opportunity. Issues that surround maritime education from first degree to doctorate level will be taken care of by the Nigeria Maritime University. It is a full fledge maritime university and it is not just one of those conventional universities that run maritime courses on the side line. Unlike FUTO, UNILAG doing maritime courses, a maritime university is for training and studies for maritime academy growth. It is a welcome development, no doubt.
Don't you think the Maritime University is a threat to private school and even MAN Oron in Alwa Ibom State?
No way, it is not a threat in anyway; because it’s a higher institution as regards maritime education and I don't think there is any private university that is into full time maritime studies; in fact the maritime courses we run are keyed into all licensed maritime institutions in Nigeria; like Stars Maritime Academy, Global Maritime Academy and some universities that are accredited by NBTE on shipping management courses. Outside that the school will also run ship building courses in the shipbuilding yard. The yard after fully established is an opportunity for Nigerians to repair ships. Ships that encounter problem will go there and get repaired and it is way of getting back something from the school; if well managed and harnessed. The shipyard of course will include a dockyard comprising a dry dock and a floating dock. It is well mapped out from all angles, but we will continue to pray that it will be managed properly. The same facilities we are talking about will bring about massive employment for Nigerians. With the dry dock, floating dock, ship repair workshops, lecturers, food vendors, part time lectures, transporters within the communities are some areas people would want to explore when the school kicks off fully. I believe that if the government is sincere, that school will reduce youth restiveness from that region in Delta State because a lot of people will be employed.
What then will be your advice to the President Buhari led government on maritime education?
I know the president has a lot to contend with at the moment because there are so many things yet undone, but my advice to him is that he should not neglect the maritime sector because outside oil and gas, the maritime sector is next and this sector will help achieve his objectives seriously. For example if the national shipping lines are established, you will find out that all our master mariners who now work with NIMASA ,NPA and those that have also retired will be instrumental in training the Nigerian youths to become masters to Nigerian owned ships. A single vessel can address issues bothering on unemployment. It will employ from ratings to masters and at berth while discharging its commodity, it can employ hundreds of dockworkers.
How would you describe privately-owned maritime institutions in Nigeria?
We have failed to realise the presence and importance of maritime schools that are privately-owned. We are here to assist the government in areas where they don't have much to do. Now, how many government schools do we have in the country? But we are here to groom future seafarers, officers and ship managers. Though they have a limit they can go because of the dearth of carriers in the country. In our own effort we give the students both practical and theoretical training just like any maritime institution in the world. As we speak, students from private maritime schools can produce air – conditions, refrigerator which means in their cabin onboard vessels, they can attend to any technical hitches and that is a plus to us. Stars Maritime Academy alone has students that manufactured locally made fridge AC, electric stove and other appliances like that. In a nutshell those kinds of students will not find it difficult when they get jobs on ships because nothing will be new to them. Apart from that, we have also imbibed nautical training in our students, let me also add that the sailors we graduate are used to the tools that will make them become whoever they want to be in future professionally and we are all proud about that. Again we just formed an association for the sake of speaking with one voice and one area we are working on is for the Nigeria Navy to assist us with a vessel for us to train our cadets, because it will help us in various ways; notwithstanding, the best is yet to come from maritime academy from the private sector in Nigeria.
Floating an association for the aim of protecting privately-owned maritime schools is not different from other sub sector group, what will you say is unique about this new association?
In the first instance you may wish to know why the association was established; this association was established to have a common ground where we can contribute our quota to the government through advice, in terms of advocacy as regards training, manpower and human capacity development in Nigeria. These schools that make up the association called ‘ALMAN’ have the capability to do such through engaging the government on maritime education in Nigeria. One of the purposes of establishing ALMAN is that we can train Nigerians and NIMASA should not be sending people outside Nigeria for such trainings, because it is quite expensive, it costs the nation a lot of money for foreign training of our seafarers.
How come we don't have government-owned maritime institutions in the association?
We just started and in no distance time, we will expand with more members. It’s for licensed maritime academies, it is open to both public and private schools, so with time the number will increase, as far as we are all regulated by NBTE and the Federal Ministry of Education. We actually want the sector to grow through maritime education.
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