WIMA-Nigeria Congratulates Oyetola On Nation’s Return To IMO Council, Urges Gender Inclusion
The Women in Maritime Africa (WIMA-Nigeria) has also joined the host of stakeholders to congratulate the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, on Nigeria’s successful election into Category C of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Governing Council.
The group described the victory as long awaited and deserving.
In a statement signed by its outgoing president, Mrs. Rollens Macfoy, now elected Continental Vice-President, WIMA Nigeria, stated,”This is a diplomatic milestone and reassurance of Nigeria’s maritime capacity and capabilities.
WIMA-Nigeria in its congratulatory message noted that Nigeria desired to be the best maritime nation in Africa and and as such went ahead to put proper structures in place towards this.
“Her resilience towards this achievement is so commendable. We know that this is a preparation done over the years and particularly aimed or projected to achieving same. This however was pivoted by the creation of the Ministry of Marine & Blue Economy, by the current government, headed by president Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
“This has in no small way helped to remove unwanted distractions and bottle necks and gave the Ministry the focus she needed to pull a stronger stride to this great success and has made Nigeria’s maritime capacity building in the recent past second to none. This is evidenced by the repositioning and alignment of Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron and Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology.
“It also gave the Ministry opportunities to collaborate and sign MOU with relevant maritime bodies globally.It is however of note that Nigeria’s role in eradicating and having zero percent piracy record in the last couple of years enabled by the Deep Blue Project and the Nigerian Navy’s expanded patrol has also helped to reduced piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and this is quite outstanding as it is a huge sign of improvement to say that our maritime safety culture/protocols has been strengthened and that Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) & Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) have now been somewhat duly equipped technically to carry out their duties with less stress and within a good time frame, signifying her readiness to achieving safe maritime environment”, the statement added.
According to them, “the Abuja MOU headed by Captain Umoren, an erudite professional is not left out, as it has imbibed great reforms and raised the compliance standards, thereby exhibiting foremost leadership in shaping & reinforcing sub-regional shipping standards.
These achievements have strengthened diplomatic relationships, giving Nigeria the visibility and courage to step forward to this status.”
Tasking the Minister to leverage this opportunity to recreate the industry,the group noted,”As WIMA-Nigeria celebrates Nigeria’s victory, we expect that the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, on behalf of Nigeria will use this opportunity to further strengthen Nigeria’s maritime industry, while using this international foot to expand our maritime collaboration and enhancement with other neighbouring ports, and not relent in technological improvement to match up with the global standard.”
“In all these, the improvement and upgrading of the standard of our seafarers certificate of competence (COC) for our Maritime institutions-
Maritime Academy of Nigeria,Oron & College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos- should not be neglected, this is very necessary, as it will give the Nigerian trained seafarers global acceptance and wider employment opportunity range in more countries in the world. As we know, without doubt that Nigerian seafarers have the expertise and requisite training to match with the world’s best in this regard.” The women asserted.
They further called on the Minister to observe gender equality and inclusivity, saying,
“As a woman advocacy voice also, we urge the Minister of Marine & Blue Economy to also see the need for proper and well established gender equality in this industry. The need for more capacity building/training & development for women in this industry is inevitable, as well as right placement, and promotion. This placements and promotion should not to be done with traditional sentiments, as women have evolved in this industry technically and should be regarded professionally and not be shoved aside when pivotal positioning is required.”
