Government should engage indigenous rather than fake foreign Master Mariners - NAMM

The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) have raised the alarm that many of the foreign marine consultants dealing with government institutions in the nation maritime sector are quacks, fake, and unregistered.

Speaking to selected maritime journalists over the weekend when the association handed out certificates and ID cards to two of its pioneer Presidents, Captain Dennis Osah and Captain Augustine Olugbode; the incumbent President of NAMM, Captain Tajudeen Alao stated that the purpose of the exercise was for members of the association to have identity and respect as well as to eliminate fake Master Mariners parading themselves as consultants in the society.

According to Captain Alao, “Many of the mariners that parade themselves as consultants to our government institutions are fake and quacks. Many of them are Dredger Masters in their countries but come here pretending to be marine consultants, and our government agencies are dealing with them. These people will mislead us because they are here to make money, not to develop our maritime domain.

“Government should look inwards by partnering with NAMM. We have sailed the world and are highly trained with a good education. We hear of stories that Nigerians are not trained, but it is not true. Nigeria has highly trained marine consultants that can help develop our maritime domain. We can train officers and also examine them because we went through that procedure ourselves.

“We also give mentorship to cadets and also guide them on career counselling because as a Master Mariner, you are versatile and trained to be a surveyor, a maritime administrator, port captain and a whole lot of others.

“Look at the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) today; there is no single Master Marina there. NIWA has derailed from its core function of inland navigation and has busied itself with running after collection of the operational permit.

“The other day, the Managing Director of the NIWA was almost involved in a water accident. The question is who was driving the boat conveying the MD? How qualified is the driver of the boat carrying the MD? In maritime circles, we call what happened to the NIWA MD ‘Floaser Mageser’ in the water. We are here to give guidance but they won’t consult with us.

“We have all the charts of all the navigable waters in the country, from Baro to Newman, to Lokoja.

“Even to lecture in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron has proved difficult. We have written to the academy severally, offered our members but the academy has turned us down.

“Up till today, the Director General of NIMASA has refused to see us, and yet all over the world, we are appreciated and celebrated. In these saner climes, if you are not a Master Marina, there are ships you cannot enter, not to talk of manning.

“We are the last batch of Nigerians who have the privilege to have gone round all the continents of the world on Nigerian flagged ship. We have sailed to North America, South America, Russia, and Far East except Australia which some of us went on foreign ships but we don’t know whether we will have such privileges anymore.