The Taraba State Government has assured private maritime training institution; Stars Maritime Academy (SMA) of its support in ensuring that all the northern states of the country key into the manpower development programmes that abound in the maritime sector.
This assurance was given last weekend in Ogun State by consultant to the Taraba State Government on education and training; Dr. Saidu Adamu, during the academy’s Passing out Parade for students from Taraba State.
The Taraba State Government has assured private maritime training institution; Stars Maritime Academy (SMA) of its support in ensuring that all the northern states of the country key into the manpower development programmes that abound in the maritime sector.
This assurance was given last weekend in Ogun State by consultant to the Taraba State Government on education and training; Dr. Saidu Adamu, during the academy’s Passing out Parade for students from Taraba State.
The consultant also revealed that investigations have also shown that indigenes of the state are not gainfully employed by government agencies in the maritime sector of the country.
He said there is need for northerners to participate in the maritime sector, despite the fact that there is no maritime activity within the northern region of the country.
According to him, people of Taraba state have not been able to explore the maritime and shipping sector potentials, he pointed out that northern Nigeria hardly engage themselves in diploma or degree courses on maritime courses, such as : nautical sciences , shipping management and marine engineering.
He however lauded efforts of privately owned maritime institutions like Stars Maritime Academy, noting that "with the establishment of all maritime academies, I see it as an opportunity, I see it as a window for the northern states to take advantage and be able to send their contingent to this type of academy, so that they will be able to represent all sector of the economy including the maritime sector".
He reiterated the state’s commendation to Stars Maritime Academy for training its youths in maritime education. The students are already graduates with BSC and HND from conventional universities and polytechnics respectively.
According to him, Taraba State Government discovered through sectoral analysis that indigenes of the state are not visible in agencies like the Nigeria Navy, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other maritime agencies of government.
"It’s not as if indigenes of Taraba State are not educated to get employment in those maritime agencies and these agencies employ people with specialised knowledge and that is why they decided to send their contingents to attend a training via maritime academy for them to gain employment in those aspects that they are not found"
"If you want to make sectoral analysis of employment in the 36 states of the country and in an organisation where you have 36 employers if it’s a national agency, you are supposed to have at list one person from each state , but in most of the agencies I mentioned, there are actually no one from Taraba State and that is why contingents are sent from Taraba State".
Adamu said the graduation ceremony is a turning point for the graduates from Taraba State, adding that Stars Maritime Academy has written its name in gold as far as the Taraba State government is concerned.
The consultant maintained that the graduates will further pursue a career in seafaring, freight forwarding and ship management.
“This success would not have been possible without the effort and vision of management of Stars Maritime Academy"
"We will also extend the knowledge to other northern states of the country, such that future collaborations will be made in way that not only contingents from Taraba state will be coming down to the school for maritime training, but also to have other contingents from some other northern states", Adamu assured.
Earlier in his welcome address, Rector of the school; Dr. Reuben Ovai stated that the graduates have already been transformed through the specialised courses and when they are eventually engaged, they will equally transform the maritime community.
He assured that the graduates are comparable to any type of cadets trained anywhere in the world, saying that they can perform anywhere they are duly engaged.
The rector further called on government to look inward and encourage professionalism in the maritime sector ,adding that it will help the country in conserving foreign exchange used in training Nigerians abroad.
Ovai told Shipping Position Daily that a total of 32 students graduated from scheme.
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