shippingposition
  • Home
  • News
  • Editorial
    • Vox Pop
  • Maritime safety
  • Oil and Gas
  • Personality
  • Health
No Result
View All Result
shippingposition

Home » What is responsible for the prevalence of fake seafarers on Nigerian waters?

What is responsible for the prevalence of fake seafarers on Nigerian waters?

by Ade
July 5, 2009
in Uncategorized

Aleakhue John (Asst. Sec. Gen, Merchant Navy)
The Nigeria of yesterday is not the Nigeria of today, because throughout the whole country there is corruption and talking about fake certification, Nigeria is a place were we depend on certificates and when you do that without looking at the person’s prospects, they can go extra miles just to get that certificate. Now in the maritime industry they said you much have the Certificate of Competence and the entire mandatory before you are given a place on the vessel and yet you need a job and you are not privileged to have been to Oron or Ghana but the job is at hand. Such persons will go to the authority concerned and get a certificate that is not computerized and nobody can verify it because the serial and batch number do not exist.

I think there should be a way of checking documents and the security should be guaranteed and I also want to say that age matters a lot when it comes to recruiting people to work in agencies and departments in charge of monitoring and issuing certificates because the young ones are too money conscious and they don’t have conscience, such positions should be given to mature persons.

Let me say that it will be good to stretch out the value for the good ones because it will go a long way to help us because it is until we separate the rift from the shaft before seafarers are rate higher and the salary becomes standardized.

Major H.A. Ajetunmobi (GM, Sifax)
We have to take a second look at the regulatory agencies because government has in its wisdom put in place structures and institutions that will check such unwholesome practices and also to regulate the industry so one will have to take a second look at how well and how thorough such agencies are doing their job. But then, it will also not be too surprising to look at it from another angle in the sense that there are fraudsters every where and there is no particular trade or profession that is sacrosanct and exempted from it, if fakes can be working on the American dollar l, then we should assume that anything is possible.

I think government and the relevant agencies should intervene in the situation and put in place checks and balances to correct it, I will not want to blame anyone but let’s just say that there are lacunas and gaps in our structure that some smart alecs have taken advantage of and that is the whole essence of constant review. When any law or regulation is enacted, they are adequate for the time for which they are made because experiences and the sophistication of crime across the world have shown that some of these provisions are no longer enough to curb the existing sharp practices.

We will be moving forward if we look at it from that angle rather than blame anybody, trading blames will generate more heat than light.

Friday Essien (Water Transportant)
I think money is the main cause of the problem, it takes not less than N150, 00 to N200,000 to get these documents, and getting it is not here in Nigeria, the certified school for that document is in Ghana. I am aware that we have the nautical college in Oron and we also have the Institute of Oceanography, but most companies prefer that of Ghana because they believe that of Oron is not up to date and for you to go there you need capital.

What I think is that they should try and bring the college in Oron up to standard to be the same with others because it is the certificates from Ghana that these people get from their friends that might have been there and they clone it, the name becomes different but all other things remain intact as it is on the system of the school in Ghana and the company employing these seafarers does not take the pain to cross check.

Comrade Umar Jimoh (President, NPA Senior Staff Association)
We call them fake because they are not recognized by law but let me say that professionals can not be rendered idle. You and I know what it takes to be a seafarer, and the training the person must have undergone, so anyone of them without certificate must survive and they do anything in the process of survival which we term as illegal. I will not call them fake but illegal seafarers.
It is quite unfortunate that the Cabotage law in this country is not working as expected, foreigners are still owners of the vessels and they are the main employers of Nigerian seafarers, but by the time they send their own people to nautical schools to be trained, they now sack the ones they have before.
Also, Nigerians are not into ship acquisition and what you don’t have you can’t give, you cannot give employment to these seafarers on a vessel that is not your own, if the Cabotage law is functioning and the government is giving financial support to operators in order to acquire vessels, it will reduce the problem because another cause of this problem is the closure of the national shipping line which is the largest employer of seafarers,. These seafarers are still alive and they must continue to survive.

We should have respect for the plight of other maritime stakeholders; we should not call them fake but look for a way of absorbing them because they are professionals too. What these people really need to do is to come together under one association of their own so that they can fight the cause together and make their voice heard by the government.

Mr. Preye Elijah (Seaman)
The maritime industry in Nigeria is more pronounced now in terms of certification of seafarers because of STCW and that is why we are hearing this. I can assure you that after that exercise goes down a bit nobody cares again. We must also know that faking of certificates is not only in maritime industry, it cuts across all other sectors too, we have ghost workers everywhere holding certificates that is not tenable any were.
Again, why it is so in the maritime sector is because the certificate from Oron is not recognized, everybody is talking about Ghana and the credentials from there can be got and forged because the company employing you does not verify it, once you know the job, they are just too happy that you are doing it for pea nuts while maybe another genuine seafarer is demanding a huge sum. So these are some of the problems, we are all Nigerians and we must survive.


Related Posts

VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PORT AS AT TUESDAY 10, MAY 2022

VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PORT AS AT TUESDAY 10, MAY 2022

May 10, 2022
VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PORT AS AT FRIDAY 29, APRIL 2022

VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PORT AS AT FRIDAY 29, APRIL 2022

April 29, 2022

‘Why I Pay More Attention To Rail Than Maritime Sector’- Rotimi Amaechi

September 27, 2021
ANLCA President Calls For Emergency On Reconstruction Of Roads Leading Into Apapa

ANLCA President Calls For Emergency On Reconstruction Of Roads Leading Into Apapa

May 15, 2021

Discussion about this post

Latest News

Amidst Allegation of Fake Certificates in Circulation, NIMASA CoC Verification Portal Breaks down

Amidst Allegation of Fake Certificates in Circulation, NIMASA CoC Verification Portal Breaks down

May 16, 2022

Over 3000 Ex-Cadets Of MAN Oron With National Diploma Certificates Stranded, Unable To Further Their Studies

Despite LASG Suspension, Truckers Say Committee On Removal Of Abandoned Vehicles Still Operating Illegally

ANLCA Sues For Peace, Calls For Retreat To Reunite Association, Resolve Challenges

NPA To Concession Barge Operations, To Clampdown On Illegal Barge Owners

Automation Backbone Of Port Efficiency – NPA MD

High Cost Of AGO, Freight Rate Responsible For Fuel Scarcity In Abuja — Distributors

We’ve Paid Over N58b Bridging Claims To Oil Marketers – NMDPRA

Nigeria’s April Oil Output Drops 13.3 Percent to 1.3 Mbpd

FG Working To Improve West African Gas Pipeline Project Performance – Sylva

“Global West Vessel Specialist is not owned by Tompolo”

The Monster Of Extortion And Failure Of Traffic Control System In Apapa

kindly like our Facebook page

Health

What You Need To Know About Monkeypox
Health

What You Need To Know About Monkeypox

May 16, 2022

According to the latest Monkeypox situation report of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Nigeria recorded 15 confirmed cases of...

Sleep Duration Of 7 Hours Optimal For Elderly – Study

Sleep Duration Of 7 Hours Optimal For Elderly – Study

May 16, 2022
COVID-19 On Increase In Americas, Africa – WHO

COVID-19 On Increase In Americas, Africa – WHO

May 9, 2022
‘65 Per Cent Of Africa’s Population Survived COVID-19’

‘65 Per Cent Of Africa’s Population Survived COVID-19’

May 9, 2022
Seven Hours Of Sleep Ideal For Middle-Aged Persons – Study

Seven Hours Of Sleep Ideal For Middle-Aged Persons – Study

May 9, 2022
Some Things That Are Actually Damaging The Kidneys (2)

Some Things That Are Actually Damaging The Kidneys (2)

May 9, 2022

The World Of Vaccines, Before And After COVID

April 29, 2022
Only 29% Of Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients Make Full Recovery One Year On – Study

Only 29% Of Hospitalised COVID-19 Patients Make Full Recovery One Year On – Study

April 29, 2022
WHO Alerts Countries To Increase In Hepatitis Cases Of Unknown Origin

WHO Alerts Countries To Increase In Hepatitis Cases Of Unknown Origin

April 29, 2022
Some Things That Are Actually Damaging The Kidneys

Some Things That Are Actually Damaging The Kidneys

April 29, 2022
Nigeria Records Continuous Decrease In COVID-19 Cases, Deaths – NCDC

Nigeria Records Continuous Decrease In COVID-19 Cases, Deaths – NCDC

April 25, 2022

© 2021 Shippingposition

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Coast To Coast
  • Oil and Gas
  • Maritime Education
  • The Terminals
  • Maritime safety

© 2021 Shippingposition

No, thank you. I do not want.
100% secure your website.
Powered by EssentialPlugin