AMANO seeks FG’s special intervention fund to attract qualified mariners as lecturers at MAN Oron

The Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron (AMANO) has urged the federal government through the ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to set up a special intervention fund to attract experienced and qualified mariners as lecturers into the Maritime Academy.

Making the call at a press briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, the group led by it’s President, Emmanuel Maiguwa said the intervention fund will enable the academy to adequately match the remuneration package of professional mariners with that earned in the private sector.

Maiguwa noted that despite the remarkable transformation achieved
at the Maritime Academy in terms of infrastructure and training equipment, the Academy is struggling to attract the needed professionals to meet its obligations.

He decried the poor bugdetary allocation for contract employment in Man Oron, which he said is insufficient to attract experienced mariners who are required to provide tutorship to the cadets.

“One of the major challenges is the condition of civil service vis-à-vis the
budget available for contract employment, which is insufficient to attract experienced mariners who are required to provide tutorship to the cadets.

“AMANO wishes to encourage the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to consider special intervention funding that will enable the academy to adequately match professional mariners’ compensation to that of the private sector to attract qualified professionals into the system,” he said.

The group lamented that since 2013 after Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) recruited about 60 professional mariners, including class 1 captains and chief engineers, there hasn’t been any deliberate efforts by subsequent administrations to sustain the initiative to ensure succession plans.

“Those engaged in 2013 have been in a proper placement debate/conflict with the agency, significantly affecting their performance and preventing the Agency from deriving value from the presence.

“We understand that even though the agency has carried out significant
employment since 2014, the employment did not bring marine professionals as required by IMO to maintain the standard required for the Nigerian Maritime Administration.

“We call on the Administration and the Minister to review the gap
alongside the last IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) through an
independent committee that will recommend actionable steps,” Maiguwa stated.

AMANO also expressed concern that Nigeria does not have a data base of it’s citizens who have acquired Class 1 licenses under the Nigerian or other foreign administration.

“We have observed that the country does not have records of its citizens
who have acquired Class 1 licenses under the Nigerian or other foreign
administration. The implication is that the country does not know its
capacity and gap. Understanding our manpower capacity/gap in specialised areas is critical to developing the Marine and Blue Economy.

“We call on the Ministry to work with NIMASA and ensure that a quality
database backed by law is developed to serve as a source of policy guidance and public information tools that will aid the growth of the maritime industry, ” the group said.

AMANO also decried a decline in capacity vessels availability to support maritime capacity development.

“It is important to recognise that seafarers’ training, especially for officers, does not end at the point of acquiring OOW. The officers must be on
suitable vessels consistently to achieve a class one certification. This training phase can only be successful when suitable and gainfully employed vessels are available in the industry.

“It is one thing to acquire a vessel but another to ensure her gainful employment. Currently, only the oil and gas maritime offshore sector which is domiciled inside the maritime industry is providing some considerable number of platforms. However, this sector alone cannot provide all the key elements needed to develop Nigeria’s potential due to the limitation of vessel size and trading areas it presents.

“We understand that there are political exigencies in leadership composition within government agencies. However, we encourage those given these opportunities to fully engage with practitioners within the industry to understand the challenges and work out a pathway to developing our potential collectively.

“AMANO wishes to resonate a clarion call to other stakeholders both within and outside the industry to support this cause, bearing in mind that the quality of our future generation is as good as the quality of the education given to them.

“It must go further to provide a platform for professionally trained to support the nation’s growth and development.

“A progressing nation must begin discussing developing a blue economy with sustainably employed ships.

“For a ship to operate sustainably, it must have competent seafarers, technical managers and highly competent flag administration. With these in place, we will attract growth and attain our potential in Blue Economy,” the group said.

The press conference was attended by other executive members of AMANO including the Chairman, Board of Trustees ( BoT), Capt Jide Olugunwa; Secretary, Capt. Garba Gajere; and the Financial Secretary, Inoma Frances.

Photo caption:

L-R: Chairman, Board of Trustees ( BoT) AMANO, Capt. Jide Olugunwa; President, AMANO, Emmanuel Maiguwa and Secretary, Capt. Garba Gajere, during a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday.