“Unemployment is one of the problems we are facing in this country and our government should wake up to their responsibilities”
In this interview with both Oluyinka Onigbinde and Joshua Yousouph, the Chaplain of Mission to Seafarers, located in Apapa, Lagos; Rev Canon Bimbo Aduroja, takes us into the lonely world of seafarers, the role of the Mission and other sundry issues about the centre, which caters for visiting seafarers
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Rev Canon Bimbo Aduroja, I am the Chaplain, Mission to Seafarers, Lagos.
What is the Mission to Seafarers all about?
The Mission to Seafarers is an international, charity, non-governmental and non-profit making organization. What we do majorly is to care for the seafarers. The seafarers are the people working inside the ships; bringing goods and services to all parts of the world. So this organization was set up many years ago, to care for this people because they are doing a wonderful job, despite what they face such as loneliness and hostility. This is because they can be on the sea for weeks and they see the same set of people every day. We take to them, the message of care and let them know that there are people outside there who still care about them. That is what we do. It is a charity organization; purely concerned with the welfare of the seafarers.
What does your role entail as the Chaplain of the Mission to Seafarers?
While the seafarers that come to our port are sailing, they face a lot of emotional, psychological and spiritual challenges. As Chaplain, I am the Chief Executive of the organization; being an international organization. We have our centers in over 200 ports in more than 50 countries across the globe. In all these centres, we have a Chaplain who resides in the center. I am the administrative head and also the spiritual head.
What does the spiritual challenges entail?
Because of the nature of their job and the challenges they face, they need prayers and counselling. They want to see someone to talk to and open-up to. They want to share their challenges. When they see you as one, they talk about their family back at home. These are the people who can be away for months without seeing their wives and children. So they need someone they can share their mind with, someone who can counsel and encourage them despite what they are facing; due to the nature of their job. They need someone who can tell them that all will be well.
What are the spiritual challenges seafarers face?
First, when they are on board, they work 24/7. So in terms of their religion; either Christian, Muslim or others, they don’t have time to pray. They are always busy. In spite of that, they face a lot of challenges. For example, there was a time, I received a call from the port to come and pray for some crew members. When I got there and saw the condition on ground, you will agree they need prayers. What happened was that one of the crew member (a cadet) who just joined the team (not up to a year) committed suicide inside the ship. You can imagine what will happen to the rest of the crew members because of that fear of not wanting to travel again. They sent for us, we went there, we anointed the vessel, encouraged and preached to them; letting them know that they will be fine and all will be well. That is part of what we do.
Sometimes we’ve heard of issues of seafarers being tormented by marine spirits. How true is this?
Anyways, since I became a Chaplain, I have not had that experience and if any of the seafarers tells me that, I know what to do through prayers and counseling. It is true because the spiritual controls the physical. Whatever happens in the physical, there is always a spiritual meaning to it. So it can happen, because these are people who see water 24/7 everyday, so there is a connection. That is the reason they need more of our support, prayers and counseling.
With the years you have been working with them so far, how will you describe Nigerian seafarers?
Like I said, the Mission To Seafarers in Lagos state is an international organization. So majorly we render our welfare services to foreign seafarers visiting our ports. Although we also have a relationship with Nigerian seafarers, you know we are together here; with some of them and they don’t face what these foreign people are facing, except those of them that are also on the ship and they travel to other countries. They also become a foreigner there and an international organization like this which is in more than 50 countries will also meet with them and attend to them.
Can you share your thoughts on why you think we have a large number of unemployed Nigerian seafarers?
I think that question should not be for me. Our government agencies should be in the right position to give an answer to that. I have heard about that, because I belong to some other local organizations that have relationships with the seafarers and they always complain about this issue of unemployment. They went to school and acquired certificates but they were not employed. I think that is one of the problems we are facing in this country and our government should wake up to their responsibilities. This is because we have government agencies like NIMASA and NPA who should be in charge of this and ensure that our Nigerian seafarers are gainfully-employed and given a sense of belonging and good living.
Can you also share with us some of the challenges seafarers have shared with you?
I have mentioned a few of them before. I have mentioned psychological challenges. Because they have been away from their families for weeks or months on the ship, seeing and talking to the same people every day; you are not allowed to go on shore leave or to come out of the ship to see what is happening outside the ship; that alone can cause psychological problems. They also have emotional problems. Just three days ago, I was on board for Ship visit and I saw a vessel that came all the way from China to Nigeria and it took them 42 days. We have seen a situation where they are here and they hear bad news from home that one of their relatives just died. They cannot go back home. Emotionally, they have been affected. In the course of our mission work, we meet with them and they open up to us in their interaction. That is when we know what to do; to counsel and encourage them. It can still take them some more weeks before they can go back home, because they go from one country to another.
We don’t only visit the seafarers on the ship. We also visit some of them at the hospitals when they are sick or in the prison when arrested for drug-related or other criminal cases; pending the conclusion of investigation by relevant security agencies. We also render advocacy assistance to them when they have issues with their employers.
Watch Also: Shipping Position Interaction with Chaplain Mission To Seafarers
In terms of the welfare of seafarers, do you think the government is doing enough for them?
I think if you ask the government they will tell you that they are doing enough. But if you want to know the real truth, it is the seafarer that would tell you. But I believe that with all the government might have done for them; they can still do more because these people need encouragement. Presently between 85 to 90 percent of the goods and services we use, especially in this part of the world, come through the sea. But unfortunately, little or no attention is being given to the people who bring in these things. They are very important to our livelihood. The government can’t do enough. The stakeholders in the industry can’t do enough for them. So they need more support, more welfare services and encouragement.
Tell us about the Sea Sunday?
The Sea Sunday is an annual service done globally in everywhere we have the Mission To Seafarers Centre and it comes on every second Sunday in July across the globe. That Sunday is set apart as a day when we recognize what the seafarers are doing. We tell people about what they do, and we also encourage people on how they can encourage them to do more. It is also a day when we also pray for them, their profession and families. We also tell others to pray for them too. We discovered that there are many people who just go to the market to buy things without knowing that those things came from other parts and continents of the world. We use that opportunity to let them know who Seafarers are and how they contribute to human livelihood and why all of us must join hands together to support them. We also let them know that part of the areas where individuals, government agencies, and stakeholders in the industry can support them is through our charity organization. This is because we don’t collect a dime for all the services we render to the seafarers. Majorly, we do Ship visits and Center visits. This center has been here many years ago and is presently undergoing redevelopment. It is like a home away from home for the seafarers. When they come around, we have a bus which we use to visit them onboard and ask about their wellbeing, challenges and see how we can be of help to them. We give them our newsletters and souvenirs. We have a swimming pool under renovation, a games room and others. We try as much as possible to put necessary facilities in place for the convenience of the seafarers. We send monthly reports on our activities and successes to our international headquarters in the UK.
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