The women in International Shipping and Trade association (WISTA) Nigeria, has expressed its readiness to use the association as a platform to rebrand maritime in Nigerian within the international society.
The newly elected President of WISTA, Mrs. Mary Hamman stated this during the last general meeting and end of the year party of the association.
According to her, “We want to gain the confidence of the international society by letting them know that Nigeria has all the resources and all the maritime jobs and they can come to Nigeria to establish and do business with Nigeria, so when going for all those international conferences, we will make sure that we explain the security situation in Nigeria to them, that Nigeria is conducive for them to come and invest and all what they have been hearing, are all propaganda and has nothing to do with where the real business is.”
Regarding her elevation from Vice-President to the President of the association, Hamman said, “I have been there all along and have held so many positions in WISTA and I have seen where WISTA is heading and with my wealth of experience if you are not the one in charge, you cannot be able to make much impact but I believe that with me at the helm of affairs and with the support of the members, we are moving to greater heights.
“My mandate is to be able to bring together all the women in the maritime industry and harness their experiences, because we understand that we will not always be here.” She added.
In her closing remark, she said, “We need to try and network with each other, by letting people know what we do, so that they can gain from our experience. We also need to mentor the younger ones so that they can pick up from where we are going to leave off, to ensure continuity, so that we can advance our impact on the maritime industry.”
She urged members to cooperate with the new executives for the growth of the association, while encouraging members not to hesitate to call them to order if they are not moving in the right direction, so that collectively they can achieve the vision of WISTA.
In her goodwill message, the former President of the association, Barr. Jean Chiazor Anishere congratulated the new president and her executive members and advised them to start on a good note by paying visits to the various managements of government associations.
