As Nigeria moves towards greater role for maritime in the national economy, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has declared the agency’s commitment to capacity-building through its knowledge and research based initiatives.
Jamoh made this known during the official launch of the agency’s e-library at the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre (NMRDC) in Lagos.
He said as a knowledge-based industry with huge opportunities, there was need to encourage research to enable the Nigerian maritime sector reach its full potential.
“You would agree with me that maritime is knowledge-based and we cannot afford to be left behind. This is why we have upgraded this library beyond physical books to the electronic ones.
“The virtual nature of the library makes accessibility of reading materials seamless from any part of the world just with a touch of the button on your phone. We believe this would help Nigeria to diversify its economy and reduce tremendously the oil dependency, as this library is equipped to bridge the knowledge gap in our industry.
“By the official opening of the NIMASA Knowledge Centre E-library, we have once again shown beyond rhetoric that the Agency is committed to bequeathing treasured assets to Nigeria, Africa, and the global maritime community,” he said.
He said the library would help to preserve the country’s maritime history and advance the industry, as it would house a lot of reference materials.
“As you know, libraries are not just facilities for warehousing books and periodicals, they are also important cornerstones of a healthy community.
“More than just storage spaces for books, libraries are important community hubs that serve as centres of learning, professional development and healthcare, among other benefits,” he further stated.
The NIMASA DG also spoke on the NMRDC, which he said was designed as a training institution for the maritime industry.
He likened the resource centre to the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, in Kaduna State, which serves as a training facility for the security services.
“It is our hope that the purpose of this centre would be realised. You can see it is designed to harbour students with a 44-apartment guest house where faculties and students can reside comfortably for a training period.
“It also has a world-class training centre and other facilities that can compete with the best in the world,” he added.
