Mrs. Mary Hamman is the President of Womens’ International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Nigeria. She works in the Shipping Development unit of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). In this exclusive interview with MMS Plus she relates the increase of women in governance internationally to Nigeria, highlights the achievements of WISTA Nigeria under her leadership, points out the challenges facing the Nigerian maritime industry, and more.
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There is an influx of women globally into key positions in governance today. Angela Merkel is the German Chancellor, Theresa May is UK’s Prime minister, while the world awaits with bated breath as Mrs. Hilary Clinton edges closer to becoming the first female president of USA. The Nigerian maritime sector also had the first female MD of NPA, how does this inspire WISTA?
With these changes around the world, women are encouraged to aspire to go higher and higher since we see other women making great accomplishments and the women in maritime are not left behind. We are happy that Ms. Hadiza Bala has emerged as the first female MD of NPA. We have also had a female DG of NIMASA in the past, when Barr. Mfon Usoro headed the Agency. So women in shipping can be confident that we have the ability and the human resources to be able to deliver in any position that we will be opportuned to occupy in the world.
I believe that WISTA Nigeria has grown to the level that we can produce qualified women to fill any position in the country, even if it is the position of President. One of us has just been made a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and that is Mrs. Funke Agbor. We have many other great women including judges that are our members; we also have vessel owners, business moguls, top maritime administrators, etc. These women are waiting for the Nigerian government to give them an opportunity and I can assure you that they would do exploits.
When we met with the DG NIMASA recently, we told him that we were ready to play a significant role if given an opportunity. We have women that can be included in several committees or function in several areas that are related to shipping.
How long have you been the president of WISTA Nigeria and what are your major programmes for this year?
I became the president of WISTA Nigeria in November last year. We are planning a business luncheon which should hold in October this year. We also intend to lunch our quarterly magazine which is going to carry the face of a former President. We intend to celebrate her at that luncheon. We are also planning a separate event to celebrate one of us that has been made a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs. Funke Agbor. We are also planning for the WISTA international conference which is going to hold in Florida onboard a vessel. This is also another avenue for WISTA Nigeria to network and it’s the first time WISTA International is holding its AGM onboard a vessel.
We also have pet projects such as supporting the women in the riverine areas who are facing several challenges. Fishing is the source of livelihood for most of them yet they don’t have boats. We have bought boats for fisherwomen in Oron in Akwa Ibom, Epe in Lagos and we have just identified women in Aguleri in Anambra state. We need assistance to execute these projects but we are very inspired with what these women have done. After assisting the women in Epe they have built a cold-room from their proceeds to enable them better preserve their items.
We are also reaching out to the fisherwomen in the Niger Delta region to assist them by providing fishing boats and other materials but we want them to be in groups and we have told most of them to form groups.
You have been the president of WISTA Nigeria for about nine months. What is the direction of WISTA under your leadership?
My aim is to ensure that we reach the heights in the maritime industry. We have made several efforts to get the WISTA international to come to Nigeria but they have been skeptical because of security challenges such as the menace of bokoharam and recently the Niger Delta Avengers. These are some of the things scaring a lot of people from coming to Nigeria, but we have made it a point of duty to reach out to the women during international conferences to tell them that the security challenge is not as it seems or it is portrayed by the international media.
The perception is that Nigeria is hostile and there are lots of restrictions as a result of insecurity. We have been telling these people that Nigeria is safe for tourism and to do business. Nigeria is a very big country with enormous resources and potentials waiting to be harnessed. WISTA has taken up the responsibility of rebuilding Nigeria’s image on the global terrain. We want more of these foreigners to come to our country to do business and also come with their vessels because the military is out there to protect our coastal areas.
I just came back from Addis Ababa where we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Union (AU) and we also met other women in maritime. WISTA Nigeria has joined the Women in Maritime (WIM) Africa and the next conference by WIM Africa is going to hold in Nigeria. I believe that when the conference holds in Nigeria the world would see what we have to offer and they would realize that we are not at war in Nigeria. It would also be an opportunity for these people to see the prospects of doing business in Nigeria.
How have you been able to influence your followers and how would you rate the commitment of your followers?
They can see what we are doing and as a leader I make efforts to reach out to them personally or via the media. For one to be able to stand tall in this industry you have to know people and we are the ideal association to reckon with because we have members across various aspects of shipping and in major companies, associations and government parastatals. Big women that have big businesses are coming to join us because we are there to support them with requisite resources and give them female cadets.
If we need to place female cadets onboard vessels we have members who are owners of vessels and the WISTA International is also there to assist us in that regard. The current President of WISTA International, Mrs. Karin Orsel heads her family business and they own over 40 vessels. With our networking we can get the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to place the cadets they are training onboard these vessels because we have trained so many cadets but there is no vessel to guarantee sea time experience.
What is the difference between WISTA and WiLAT?
WiLAT is the women group under the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) and we have the Women in Maritime, Women in Aviation, Women in the Rail Transport, etc under WiLAT. WISTA is for the Women in Shipping but we also relate with the women in maritime and logistics but the women in rail transport or aviation don’t have much business with us because when we want to attend to women in the riverine areas it is outside their scope and they may not be interested.
We haven’t seen WISTA International hold any conference or programme in Nigeria recently, why?
WISTA Nigeria is the arm of WISTA international here in Nigeria. Just as we also have WISTA Ghana, WISTA Angola, WISTA Cameroon, etc. It is when we come together that we make WISTA International. The last time WISTA International ought to have had a programme in Nigeria, the timing coincided with the emergence of bokoharam in the country and most of the members were not confident that Nigeria would be safe for the event. This is still a major challenge today and that is why WISTA Nigeria has taken the onus of rebranding Nigeria and telling the world that this is a safe place. We could host programmes in Lagos as there is no bokoharam here neither are there Avengers in Lagos. Most of these people don’t know much about Nigeria, some don’t know that Nigeria is big and you could travel for two hours in the air within Nigeria. This is why we continue to enlighten them. Their embassies here also fuel reports that Nigeria is in chaos so that they would get hazard allowances, better salaries and insurance.
How much professionalism does WISTA bring to the Nigerian maritime industry?
We have members across several professions such as lawyers, judges, maritime experts, administrators, business veterans, etc. WISTA can boast of having professionals in all the aspects of shipping including media practitioners.
What is the place of mentoring in WISTA, how do you ensure that young girls can evolve and make significant contributions to the sector in future?
We have several student members from several maritime institutes such as Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron and we give scholarships to the best female students from MAN Oron. Some of these beneficiaries are in Ghana studying. We don’t just stop there; we also ensure that they are employed. Two of such members have been employed in NIMASA. We know that most of us are about to leave the scene for younger people, that is why we are always organizing lectures and seminars for our mentees who are also members but they don’t pay anything to be members.
Let us talk about the politics and the WISTA diamonds. How have the WISTA diamonds contributed to your tenure as President?
The diamonds are the bigshots in the association; whenever we want to open a door we require their presence. During my regime, I have plans to bring the WISTA Diamonds together so that they would bring all their wealth of experience for others to benefit and this would also inspire other young ones. The diamonds have been giving us special lectures and presentations whenever we had events. It has been an awesome privilege to have them around because they are the major source of knowledge to us. We would continue to learn as much as we can from them before they exit the platform.
As President of WISTA Nigeria, what are the major challenges facing the maritime industry in the country and what are the prospects?
One of the major problems is piracy and it was reechoed at the recent AU meeting. It is not just a problem in Nigeria but across the continent. This has led most foreign investors to feel that our waters aren’t safe and they refrain from bringing their businesses to Nigeria.
Another problem is the fact that we don’t have vessels in Nigeria and in most parts of Africa. The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi is making efforts to ensure that Nigeria attains a national carrier status. This problem has also affected Nigerian seafarers because the absence of vessels has stifled them of seatime experience.
What is the place of WISTA Nigeria in WIM Africa?
We are partners because WISTA Nigeria comprises women in maritime in Nigeria while WIM Africa comprises the women in maritime in Africa. WISTA has keyed into WIM Africa as the WIM Nigeria. WISTA Nigeria has been around since 1994 but WISTA International started in 1974 and about 37 countries have joined.
How long have you been in the maritime industry?
I have been in this industry since 1993. I joined NIMASA, which was known as NMA, in 1993 but I initially worked at the Nigerian Postal Service which was also involved in shipping and logistics. So, I have been in shipping for 23 years.
By Kenneth Jukpor
