· 95 per cent of NSDP cadets are jobless—Group
By Oluyinka Onigbinde
Despite spending more than N16 billion on training of over 2000 Seafarers over the years, under the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) sponsored by the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) has raised concerns over the whereabouts of Nigerian seafarers who were trained under the NSDP. This is even as it raised concerns about the quality of certified seafarers in Nigeria and other African countries.
According to ITF’s Africa Regional Secretary, Safiyanu Muhammed, Africa accounts for only 78,000 of the over 1 million certified seafarers serving on international merchant ships globally. The figure, he said, stands in sharp contrast to major seafaring nations like the Philippines and China, which have a large pool of trained and certified seafarers.
Lamenting Nigeria’s dependence on international support for training its seafarers, Mr. Mohammed Safiyanu, while expressing his thoughts during a visit by Mrs. Barning Annica Marie, ITF Project Coordinator for Maritime Affiliate Support (MAS), to the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA), questioned why Nigeria, with its advanced facilities and resources, still seeks international support for training its citizens. “Do we have to seek international support for us to train Nigerians to work on the ship? So, I think it’s more of a political issue. What do we do as Nigerians?” he asked.
In a veiled reference to the NSDP, he expressed dismay that in the past, Nigerian governments had invested in training hundreds of seafarers, but their current whereabouts and employment status were unknown. Safiyanu cited a report indicating that only about 100 Nigerian seafarers are currently working internationally, despite the country’s vast resources and potential.
Safiyanu also criticized the policy of waiving employment opportunities for Nigerians in favor of foreign workers. “Why do we have to give waivers to foreign companies when we have qualified Nigerians who can do the job?” he asked.
He emphasized the need for Nigeria to upgrade its training institutions and recognize the importance of investing in its own human resources. He cited Regional Maritime University (RMU) Ghana as an example, where the school is producing highly-trained and employable seafarers, who work globally.
Safiyanu highlighted the discrepancy between the number of trained seafarers and their actual employment opportunities, especially in international routes. He called for a re-evaluation of Nigeria’s approach to maritime training and employment, even as he called for policies that prioritize employment of Nigerian citizens in relevant industries.
Meanwhile, some of the seafarers present at the ITF’s visit lamented that unlike their foreign counterparts with Unlimited Certificates, NIMASA still issues them Limited Certification, which has made securing a job an Herculean task for them. They urged the representatives of ITF to intervene on their behalf with NIMASA to change the status quo.
The Seafarers Development Programme is a programme created by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, to address the dearth of trained and certified seafarers in the Nigerian maritime industry. So far, more than 2,000 Nigerians have been trained since its commencement in 2008.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed that more than N16 billion have so far been spent on the seafarers since 2008.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily last week, the Secretary-General of Merchant Seafarers of Nigeria (MESAN), Captain Alfred Oniye, noted that the NSDP has not been able to solve any problem, but rather created the problem of seafarers’ unemployment in Nigeria. He noted that 95 per cent of the over 2,000 cadets trained under NIMASA’s NSDP are currently without jobs.
Oniye blamed piracy on Nigerian waters for the high rate of unemployed NSDP Cadets. He said many of the first batches of NSDP cadets trained by NIMASA who were mostly ex-militants have decided to go back to the creeks, practising as pirates in order to make ends meet.
He advised NIMASA to focus on the development of indigenous maritime institutions by acquiring more training vessels and simulators for the development of Nigerian seafarers, rather than spending huge revenue on foreign institutions.
