Engr. Matthew Alalade (Former President, Merchant Navy)
I think the NSDP should be scrapped. There should be proper training for Nigerians. We do not have vessels, so where are they going to train? We are just training people more than the required number that can be absolved in the system. So where do they do their sea time? They should train Nigerians locally up till Chief Engineer and Master Tickets. We should also try and acquire vessels through Private Public Partnership. NIMASA just train the Cadets; not even up to half way. So why is the federal government wasting money? We have MAN Oron and we can develop others.
Captain Alfred Oniye (Secretary General, MESAN)
Now, the question is: What value does the NSDP programme add to the Nigerian seafarers? All the NSDP programme has done was to add to the problem on ground. NIMASA started this NSDP because that programme was established to embezzle money. Before this programme came on board, over 70 percent of Nigerian seafarers were already jobless. Now, they now add that to the joblessness. From the over 2,000 to 3,000 seafarers, they claimed to be training, even NIMASA cannot come out to say they have given jobs to 100 out of them.
Now, ask me, where are those people? Some of them are back to the creeks. NSDP has not added any value. The NSDP graduates are not better than the Nigerian-trained. When they come back, they still come out as a cadet on board. Some of them cannot even hold the flag.
Comrade Ifeanyi Abel Chukwu (Admin/Asst. Secretary, Merchant Navy)
My take is that the resources of NSDP should be channeled to train existing officers. It is laughable after spending millions of Dollars to train hundreds of cadets in every phase of the programme, they still come back to be trained practically by officers who NIMASA has not deem fit to also benefit in their training. It is pertinent they should also consider training the trainer, because you cannot give what you don’t have. More so, lots of trained cadets and officers are not engage yet; they are still in the labour market. We don’t have any national carrier that can absolve them, so I don’t know why they keep on wasting tax payers’ money just to train people and dump them in the labour market. It doesn’t make sense. I quite appreciate their zeal to train new seafarers so that Nigeria will not lack required manpower in the nearest future. But as it stands, the already trained should be engaged first of all after which more will be trained as time progresses.
Captain Adetayo Saliu (Chairman, Merchant Navy Shipping Zonal Council)
I don’t see why we need to take Cadets outside Nigeria to train when we have nautical institutions here. All the money we are taking outside can be used to upgrade our institutions here in Nigeria and get them all the instruments and facilities for training. NIMASA should also look into the training of the existing officers to meet up with global best practice to enable our seafarers to be marketable. The programme is good. but there is no need for going out.
Captain Tajudeen Alao (National
There is no blaming game here. Shortage of seafarers is a worldwide challenge. The Government and Chamber of Shipping should prepare for Industry Need Assessment through Trade projection. Young people must be deliberately attracted to a seafaring career. Government and ship owners must encourage outfits like Ocean Ambassador of Laitan Williams. Many of the young seafarers especially NSDP cadets and products of MAN Oron and other MTIs have been frustrated out of seafaring careers due to lack of berth placement onboard and career growth. All hands must be on deck to correct these challenges. Nigeria is a goldmine in the shipping trade, which is a source of employment for our teeming youths. Experts and knowledgeable professionals should be hunted for advice on proper direction.
Officer Utibe-Abasi Isaac (Maritime Graduate)
There are several reasons Nigerian Seafarers are not competitive. As a seafarer and an Officer, I will say that our academic institutions have failed to meet up with global best practices in terms of training and education. Government must invest in its maritime schools and improve their academic and professional training and also provide practical aid, particularly training vessels for the student to utilise for practical learning and field experience. More importantly, our regulatory body must stand up to the task to ensure the implementation of the Cabotage Act, because Nigeria has some of the best sailors in the world, but lack of opportunity to display their professionalism has sent them to the back bench.
Captain Thomas Kemewerigha
The NSDP created a gap which later got widened every day, because it is capital intensive. We got it wrong because it was politicized. The cadets were forced to go for tourism without having a proper perspective of what they were going for. Seafaring is a global job with a lot of politics attached to it. We have a lot of foreign vessels operating in Nigeria that can absorb all Nigerian seafarers. All we need is training vessels for the students coming out from the academies.
