The Port Consultative Council of Nigeria (PCCN) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have started working to evaluate conflicting statutes creating several maritime institutions in Nigeria in an effort to foster cooperation among maritime institutions.
Otunba Kunle Folarin, Chairman of the Council, remarked that there are conflicting laws establishing some agencies in Nigeria that need to be reviewed so that these agencies do not usurp the activities of each other while speaking at a book presentation by PCCN to the administration of the university.
There are inconsistencies in the laws, he said. You may notice contradicting areas if you compare the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Act. We are aware of the reasons why this occurred, but that is not the topic of this article.
The second point is that the world is changing. Are we aware of climate change? Are we concerned about flooding in port areas? Have you noticed how the city has encroached on the ports, causing congestion and jams along the port corridor?
In response, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, the immediate past vice chancellor of the University of Lagos, told Vanguard that the university is prepared to work with the PCCN on the review of the laws establishing maritime agencies and institutions throughout the nation and that a committee will soon be established for that purpose.
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Ogundipe further mentioned that the university system operates on a committee basis and guaranteed the maritime sector that the organisation will provide all necessary assistance to examine these laws in order to build a robust sector.
The University was already working with several government organisations to domesticate their training needs domestically, he added, adding that most of the time, the government would turn abroad rather than inside.
The head of PCCN claimed that Nigeria’s maritime sector had the potential to generate N77 trillion in income.
During the presentation of books and other academic materials to the UNILAG management, Folarin told Vanguard Maritime Report that the institution must focus on research that will generate these prospects for the Nigerian maritime industry.
He said the example of the Philippines shows how a nation without natural resources can nonetheless develop a supportive maritime industry and export goods to other countries.
He said: “I was in the Ministry of Abroad Employment in Manila, where they claim that their overseas workers send home $15 billion in remittances. Philippines built 54 colleges for maritime education in an effort to train its citizens in the industry and export them around the world.
“Today, Philippinos make up 60% of all the ratings on all the ships in the globe, which is employment. They were able to be empowered to take advantage of the economic opportunities made possible by the marine domain in their country since those who founded the schools had been given the same opportunities.
He claimed that Nigeria has the capacity to develop ancillary industries inside its marine sector in addition to exporting maritime services to the rest of the world.
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