Eloka Udechukwu
5 March 2008
opinion
Lagos — The complexity of the maritime industry is one that challenges even the most well informed about this all-important sector of the economy. Its transactional vocabulary is peculiarly arcane.
The domestic and international laws guiding the industry are such that a new comer can easily be swept off his feet in the slimy maritime terrain.
Ordinarily, shipping is such a serious business that it forms the bedrock of the economic development of many a nation. Without it, international trade is impossible. Shipping chambers and allied organisations are ever busy trying to offer services that lead to greater understanding of the industry. This is even more imperative in a country like ours in which maritime awareness is relatively low even among major players in the economic sector.
Given Nigeria's rising profile in international maritime trade which has in turn brought about increased interest in the sector by financial institutions, it has become necessary for deliberate steps to be taken to familiarise Nigerians with the activities of the Maritime industry.
In the past few years, the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS), ably headed by Mrs. Ify Akerele, its current Director-General, has worked tirelessly to raise the level public awareness of the challenges and opportunities in the maritime. The chamber has exploited every opportunity that comes its way to sell the maritime industry. Through a series of workshops and seminars which the chamber had put together in collaboration with some other public and private sector operators like the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and a couple of banks, notably Skye, Oceanic and First Bank, the maritime industry is increasingly being de-mystified. Public awareness of the crucial importance of the maritime sector has experienced a quantum leap. That is how it should be.
Of particular note is the public enlightenment campaign which the chamber has waged to improve public understanding of the cabotage Act. At the time that the law was enacted by the National Assembly, it was not understood by many a Nigerian. And because of the widespread ignorance of the essence of the law, a few people even in the industry erroneously thought that it was not exactly in the best interest of the maritime industry. But the combined enlightenment campaign effort of the Chamber of Shipping and NIMASA has changed all that. Today, if you talk about the Cabotage Act, far more Nigerians are aware of what it stands for than was the case in the first few months following the passage of the Act.
Clearly, under the able and painstaking leadership of Mrs. Akerele, the NCS has, despite severe financial and infrastructural constraints, done a lot to advance the cause of the maritime industry. The benefits of such efforts are already being felt in the increased number of banks that are showing serious interest in the financing of maritime-related businesses.
The latest effort in that regard is the chamber's first ever, week-long Nigerian Maritime/Shipping Book Fair slated for March 17 to 21, this year at the Chamber's Gardens at No 13c Marine Road, Apapa GRA, Lagos. The fair tagged "Reading for Excellence in Maritime/ Shipping " will start at 10 o'clock every morning and end at 4.30pm. It is a conscious effort by the chamber to sustain the development of the industry through the expansion of knowledge base on maritime and shipping. In the words of Mrs. Akerele, the fair is in line with the chamber's pursuit of its "role in promoting and advancing knowledge advocacy...and encouraging authors in the industry by exposing their works to the public."
The Maritime Book Fair will showcase a plethora of books, journals and publications on maritime and shipping by Nigerian and international authors. Also to be participating are government agencies like NIMASA, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Shippers Council, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and a host of other such bodies. The fair will be complemented with a presentation of maritime art featuring maritime and shipping-related paintings and sculptures.
Certainly, the book fair will be an excellent opportunity for banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions as well as commercial sections of embassies and High Commissions seeking to interface with the maritime/shipping community. The oil and gas sector and manufacturing companies have so much also to benefit from participating in the fair.
On each day of the fair, a special guest of honour will make a presentation on a topical issue concerning the maritime/shipping industry which will enlighten, inform and educate the public on the critical roles played by the various stakeholders in the maritime shipping industry. For all participants, it promises to be a win-win situation.
By its nature, the fair is expected to attract stakeholders in the maritime/shipping industry, including shipping companies, freight forwarders, ship chandlers, ship charterers/brokers, government parastatals, academic and professional institutions, diplomatic bodies, libraries and the general public.
Public exhibitions like the one being put together by the NCS are no doubt one of the most effective ways of streamlining the nation's maritime industry. If the industry is to bring the nation the kind of prosperity it does to other nations, it must be widely embraced. More and more information on the maritime sector need to be put in the public domain. It is a challenge that the NCS and NIMASA as well as other stake holders appear to be determined to face squarely. With the efforts they are making at the moment, there is great hope for this all -important industry.
Udechukwu wrote from Lagos
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