MAN, Oron Alumni Europe to develop Maritime sector

The Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Alumni, Europe Chapter, has expressed its readiness to partner international maritime organisations, Nigerian government and companies to develop the maritime sector of the economy.

The chapter, which comprises cadets that have graduated from MAN, Oron, Akwa Ibom State since the school was established over three decades ago, said the Nigerian maritime sector is in need of all the expertise at its disposal to ginger her growth and development.

Members of the association who are doing well in various aspect of the shipping sector in Europe stated this in a communiqué issue at the end of its international maritime summit, which took place in London, United Kingdom.

The summit, which attracted participants from Nigeria, Europe and Asia, provided a forum for experts in various streams of the maritime sector to conceptualise ideas and contribute knowledge towards the strategic growth of the Nigerian maritime sector.

While President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of Transport, was the special guest of honour, Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida; the governor of Akwa Ibom State, represented by the state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Ekpeyong Ntekim; Managing Director of Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Alhaji Habib Abdulahi; Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) represented by the Executive Director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development, Captain Ezekiel Agaba; Rector of MAN, Oron, Mr. Joshua Okpo and the members of the academy governing council, attended the summit.

According to the communiqué, the alumni pledged to contribute their wealth of knowledge and expertise towards the sustainable development of MAN, Oron, in particular, and the Nigerian maritime sector in general.

“We are committed to partnering with all the relevant stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime sector to ensure that the Nigerian maritime policy focuses on the systematic and strategic framework for economic growth in the maritime and related sectors”, it read.

The communiqué signed by the Chairman, (MAN), Oron, Alumni, Europe Chapter Chairman, Mr. Maurice Asuquo, and the Secretary (Europe), Mr. Anyaogu Ogbuh, said the summit was in response to the inadequate development of the available human resources, which has been identified as one of many challenges facing the entire Nigerian maritime sector.

“The Alumni of MAN, Oron, Europe is committed to working with the Nigerian Government and her maritime agencies to train and develop the required sustainable man-power by implementing the invaluable contributions made by stakeholders at this summit. We fully agree that to overcome this challenge, the effective management of the available resources and a critical analysis of the capacity building potential of Nigeria is the foundation to sustainable growth in the Nigerian maritime industry.

“We recognise the fact that diverse global maritime regulations and the lack of adequate legal parameters and monitoring frameworks are major constraints to the developing world and emerging economies, including Nigeria. The alumni of MAN, Oron, Europe remains committed to providing the best legal expertise in the maritime field whenever required to sustain the growth of the Nigerian maritime sector.

“We reaffirm our commitment to work with relevant authorities and utilise our wealth of expertise to provide solutions of international standards to the recognisable challenges in the areas of; port facilities, port controls, maritime administration and port securities, that hinder the free flow of maritime transportation and impact negatively on its economic growth. Government needs to commit to investing on maritime infrastructures to support the growth and development of the maritime sector”, the communiqué added.

The former students of the academy disclosed that in response to the problems of cadet training, personal and professional development, they have commenced discussions with the relevant authorities on possibilities available for sustainable solutions to these challenges.

“We are in negotiations with Global On-board Training Centre (GOBTC) to provide the mandatory sea time training for Nigerian cadets. Discussions on the best approach to provide lectures and tutoring to cadets of MAN on inter-personal and professional development skills and ensuring that academic and professional certificates such as certificate of competencies (COCs) issued from the institution are internationally recognised”, they said.

The summit is expected to be a regular event in the Alumni calendar and will be hosted in Nigeria and internationally. According to the former cadets of the academy, the inaugural summit was hosted in Europe to attract international partners and investors.