Lack of adequate training may extinct seafaring in Nigeria - Engr. Alalade

A seasoned seafarer and National President of the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA), Comrade Matthew Alalade has expressed fear over vacuum being created by lack of adequate training to younger seafarers in Nigeria.

Alalade said if the vacuum persists for years, it could lead to Nigeria having to hire foreigners to carry out seafaring jobs in Nigeria since the present ones are already ageing.

He posited that the reason why younger seafarers don’t grow to occupy the vacuum between the ageing seafarers and the emerging ones is because of the failure of government to acquire vessels where the cadets will be trained.

He added that some of the younger ones who strive on their own and are lucky to update themselves abroad don’t bother coming back to the shores of the country to work citing poor salary as a factor as well as lack of assurance of jobs.

He therefore called on the government to take immediate action so that the country will not revert to what obtained in 1950s and 60s when foreigners were the ones doing the Maritime jobs in Nigeria.

Alalade spoke with our correspondent in Lagos on Sunday.

His words, “The federàl government should engage in having our own fleet for training.and for commercial purpose too. We don’t have any fleet Nd we are claiming to be the giant of Africa.

“If we had a fleet now, there will be training on Board up to second office, chief officer, master, second engineer, third engineer up to Chief engineer and like that

“Now, we don’t have and we are just training cadets who I see as half baked and some of these cadets will struggle on their own and go to other countries and if they are lucky to get themselves updated up to master and they will not come back to this coast because of the mindset that if they come back, there is nothing to benefit and the salary is nothing to talk about.

“If there is no training and the vacuum persists for years, Nigeria will not have maritime experts.

“May be they will be engaging foreigner to come and do maritime jobs.

“If we continue like that, the Maritime is dying and we will go back to the era of the 1950s and 1960s when the foreigners were doing our jobs for government and they may not tell the government the truth.