Oluyinka Onigbinde
The President, Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron (AMANO) Mr. Emmanuel Maiguwa, has said that seafarers play a critical role in Nigeria’s security stating that seafaring in Nigeria should be seen from the aspect of national development where local seafarers are developed for national and international fleet.
Maiguwa, while speaking during a recent event organized by AMANO in Lagos last week said a country that does not have competent seafarers should not be talking about a national fleet, he noted that local seafarers complement territorial integrity, adding that without seafarers, it will be difficult for the Nigerian Navy to protect the nation’s territorial integrity.
According to him, “a situation where you have several ships trading and it’s dominated by foreigners means there will be leakage of information about the Nigerian terrain that should only be accessible by the Nigerian Navy and the maritime administration. This could make it difficult for NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy to protect the nation’s territorial integrity. When there are conflicts and merchant ships are needed for support; where the ships are manned by foreigners, how do we provide this support?” he questioned.
Speaking also at the event an Assistant Director at the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Olaniyan Taiwo, also buttressed the need to develop seafarers in the country.
He said: “We cannot be talking about development of the maritime industry without the development of seafarers; by supporting seafarers, we are by extension supporting everything about maritime development” he said.
Meanwhile, Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh who was also present at the event commended the Nigerian seafarers while stating that NIMASA is committed to the development programmes of seafarers in the country.
Jamoh also commended the Nigerian Navy for its strategic efforts in combating piracy, noting that NIMASA only provides policy framework and support whilst Nigerian Navy carries out the actual battle.
The DG said against the claim that decline in piracy is as a result of COVID-19, he said efforts of NIMASA, Nigerian Navy, and Nigeria Police including relevant agencies has helped reduce piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Jamoh explained that the EU delegation made this claim during a visit to his office as they argued that a drop in shipping activities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic led to the reduction in piracy activities in the nation and the entire Gulf of Guinea.
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According to him, “a delegation from the European Union said that the drop in piracy in Nigeria is because of COVID-19 as most ships aren’t coming into Nigeria. I laughed and asked them what method of research they used to come up with such a deduction. Did they use historical, analytical or statistical research methods to arrive at such claims as the drop in piracy in Nigeria and the entire Gulf of Guinea?”
“We can give the statistical history of piracy in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea to show when the problem became worse and how it has improved in the last few years. In November and December 2020, Nigeria recorded the worst piracy incidents with an average of six attacks weekly. By the first quarter in 2021, we started recording one attack per month. By the third quarter of 2021, we broke a 27-year record of the lowest piracy incidents since 1994. We raised the bar from December 2021 to January 2022.
“By the end of March 2022, the international maritime community removed Nigeria from the list of nations plagued with piracy. These analyses, reports and research aren’t made by Nigerians, but the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). IMB is the global body recognized and approved to make the findings and reports.”
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