The First Lady, Aisha Buhari, will be leading other dignitaries and stakeholders in the maritime community to campaign and encourage more female participation in seafaring and maritime trade as the country joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s Seafarer on June 25.
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director General, Dakuku Peterside, who disclosed this, at the weekend in Lagos, said Aisha Buhari’s presence would further boost the ongoing campaign to encourage participation of more females in seafaring and the maritime sector, in line with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) campaign for this year to get more women into the hitherto male dominated profession.
Dakuku regretted that few females were in the profession of seafaring and said NIMASA was working with stakeholders to reverse the great imbalance.
He said the presence of the president’s wife, who will be leading other prominent women in the maritime industry to the event scheduled to hold in Lagos, will be a boost to the efforts to attract more female involvement in the sector.
He noted that this year’s event, themed: “On board with gender equality,” was geared towards encouraging more women to take advantage of opportunities in the maritime sector, particularly as seafarers; as marine engineers, nautical scientists, marine surveyors, deck officers and even grow to become master mariners.
The NIMASA DG said this year’s Day of the Seafarer is focused on highlighting the fact that the seafaring profession is not a career solely preserved for men but one that can accommodate all genders.
Dakuku said the agency is planning an awareness programme that would enlighten Nigerians on the seafaring profession.