DG NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR.

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR has said that the agency is committed to building capacity in the maritime industry, not only for members of staff but also for other stakeholders including the media.

Speaking at a one-day training programme organised by the Agency in collaboration with Maxval Nigeria Limited, a training and management consultants firm for over 40 journalists in Lagos, Thursday, the DG assured that the Agency under his watch would stop at nothing in building capacity for the entire maritime industry in line with its statutory mandate.

The workshop training, which centred on Maritime Conventions and Codes, was broken down into three major components comprising: Introduction to Maritime Laws, Overview of key Maritime Codes and Conventions and NIMASA and implementation of key Codes and Conventions.

Represented by the Director, Human Resources, Hamisu Gambo, the DG said: “NIMASA is conscious of the need to bring Journalists up to speed with current dynamics in the maritime industry across the globe, given that the industry by its very nature is international.

“NIMASA is desirous of tutoring journalists that cover the industry on the statutory functions of the agency. We also need to educate the Journalists on the need to project the country’s image in a positive manner because doing the otherwise would bring about unpleasant backlashes on the nation and its economy.”

The DG further urged the Journalists to put Nigeria’s interest first in their reportage of the industry. He argued that most investment decisions are made based on media reports available on a particular country or jurisdiction, adding that one small negative report could cost the country several billions of dollars in both foreign and local investments.

He therefore urged the participants to utilise the opportunity provided by the training to update themselves on current global issues in terms of international maritime laws, codes, conventions and protocols, which would enhance their reportage of the industry.

Some of the conventions treated include the United Nations International convention on Lives at Sea UNCLOS, Safety of Lives at Sea SOLAS, Marine Pollution Regulation Convention MARPOL, and the Standards for Safety and Watchkeeping STCW, International Labour Organisation Convention and the International Maritime Labour Convention IMLC, among others.

Meanwhile, Journalists, while appraising the trainng programme, commended the organisers for initiating the programme, through which several new knowledge was impacted. They recommended that such training should be done periodically, arguing that the maritime industry in itself is dynamic and always evolving.

The Journalists particularly commended the resource person Peter Agbaminoja Esq., who displayed an in-depth knowledge of the industry and the areas covered by the training, a development that made learning simple and easy and the entire exercise worth the efforts.

They thanked the DG for considering the training programme worth staking funds and the Head, Public Relations Unit of the agency, Osagie Edward for his efforts towards making the programme a huge success.