Rector, Certified Institute of Shipping (CIS), Dr Alex Okuwashi has charged the acting Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Haruna Jauro to priotise maritime capacity building and manpower development.
Okuwashi made this charge while speaking with SHIPS & PORTS DAILY last week.
According to him, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron alone cannot bridge the capacity gap in the industry hence it must come to the rescue of private maritime academies that have been training Nigerians.
He said, “If we talk about Cabotage and capacity building how do we train marine engineers, naval architecture and shipbuilders? Where do we get institutions that do all these if we do not come to the rescue of maritime institutions in the country? We need engineers, welders, artisans and lots of people in core area of marine and we need institutions to train them.
“Government should give opportunities to institutions that will complement development, training and building of maritime capacity. Truly, privately owned institutions are not supported financially to help government in the area of capacity development because we know they cannot do it alone.
“The capacity of MAN, Oron is not less than 350 and that will not be adequate to bridge the manpower gap we have in this country. That was why we said institutions like CIS and others should be encouraged.
“Government should not stifle these institutions out of existence. For instance, the type of resources needed for accreditation for these institutions are enormous. We need like N500million for accreditations alone and how do you expect private academies to meet up with those criteria and what we have in Oron cannot carry the needed capacity.
“I think government should visit the institutions and look at what is available. They should distribute training according to specialities of these institutions and that way things will go on for Nigeria in a couple of years.”
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