Even as he admitted tough challenges in the past one year of assuming office, the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Temi Omatseye last week led the management team of the agency to render what can aptly be described as its score card.
According to him, the management team has had to grapple with managing several crises that have distracted the team since coming on board on July 10, 2009.
Leading the executive management, which included Ibrahim Zailani, executive director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Ishaku Shekarau, executive director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development and Adeniran Aderogba, executive director, Finance and Administration to commemorative press briefing, Omatseye admitted that the last 365 have been tasking. "We have been like fire brigade; we have been so busy putting out fire that we ourselves did not even know what our achievements were."
"We came into an industry where we thought we were going to make a change. The most difficult thing in life is change, people like the status quo. We came in and said we need to make a difference.”
Still harping on the challenges, he stressed further, adding that “it has been very difficult; translating from the private sector to the public sector is not an easy task. "I have come to the realisation that the easiest thing to do in life is to criticise. But it is when you are inside the pot that you know how hot the stove is. I have really seen how hot the stove is in government. It is not easy."
Omatseye however explained that the challenges, notwithstanding, the last 12 months have witnessed steady attainment of the 5-point agenda which the present management set for itself in 2009.
Part of the achievement is the realisation that Nigeria needs a good ship repair yard; hence the collaboration with the Nigerian Navy to upgrade and modernise the naval dockyard in Lagos to provide shipyard services on commercial basis.
He also disclosed that the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund(CVFF) has hit an all-time high of more than $55Million; up from a figure of less than $7Million in July 2009 when the current management came on board.
On the implementation the Cabotage Act, the NIMASA DG disclosed that the agency has review guidelines for registration of Cabotage operators and that the agency has witnessed an unprecedented increase of about 450 per cent in the number of Cabotage vessels that have been registered under the Cabotage special registry. Presently, the figure stands at 240 vessels, as against the 45 vessels in July 2009.
Similarly, he said that NIMAS now has a 24-hour ship registration process and that this has led to an astronomical increase in the number of ships in the registry from a mere figure of less that 670 to 1,318; representing an increase of about 45 per cent.
On future plans of the NIMASA management team, he disclosed that such plans have been categorised into medium and long term. According to him, part of the programme is to work towards the establishment of a viable national carrier. He specifically mentioned the resuscitation of the erstwhile national carrier; Nigeria Unity Line (NUL) which will now be repositioned to carry part of the nation’s crude oil.
He also disclosed that NIMASA is considering engaging ex-militants in Niger Delta who will thereafter function as either ratings or officers and as maritime security and enforcement officers for the ISPS Code, Search and Rescue and pollution control personnel.
“The NSDP is been remodelled to provide accelerated training opportunities for the Niger Delta youths. These guys have a natural inclination to the sea, so we want to really assist in whatever way in the post – amnesty programme”, he explained.
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