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Maritime stakeholders have queried the Federal Government’s decision in warehousing over N100 billion in the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), while the purpose for its establishment continues to suffer.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) for public relations officers of maritime and related organisations, the Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Farinto, attributed warehousing of the fund to lack of patriotism.
“Our indigenous ships will continue to die because of the fact that we are not saying the truth,” he insisted, adding that Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund was supposed to assist our indigenous shipowners with funds. “The CVFF holds nothing less than N70 billion in an escrow account. What happens to that fund?”he asked.
Similarly, the Special Adviser on Seafarers Affairs to the President-General of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Henry Odey, said that Nigeria was only able to rescue citizens trapped in Liberia during its civil war because the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) was still operational.
Agreeing that cadets from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron are half-baked, the retired sailor recalled that the NNSL “had a training ship made for cadets, which carried cargo and cadets to give them sea-time experience.”
Faulting the new trend whereby the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) shuttles from country to country seeking assistance with sea-time training, Odey wondered: “How would you think that other countries would like to train your cadets for you to compete with them?
“It is a shame on our country because we are doing nothing. Do you think you can go to The Philippines and ask them to train your cadets so that you can compete with them? I worked onboard the British ship, Dempsa, and if you were not a good sailor, nobody would employ you. But today, nobody cares.”he said.
Also, the publisher of maritime daily, Ships and Ports, and Chairman, Board of Trustees of SCAN, Mr. Bolaji Akinola, noted that “indigenous shipping is dead.” He blamed the situation on NIMASA, which he said, has lost focus on shipping development.
Akinola regretted that NIMASA was now a money-making agency, as its 3 per cent freight levy on ships has made it a big attraction for political appointments, adding that while CVFF grows in idle billions of naira in escrow account, MAN, Oron continues to churn out ill-trained and ill-qualified cadets.
According to him, no fewer than 6,000 of those cadets are today stuck with their National Diploma programme because they could not get the required one year sea-time training to proceed for Higher National Diploma.
