The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) moved a notch higher in its capacity building initiative — the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) — as 59 of the beneficiaries recently graduated from the Liverpool John Moores University, United Kingdom.

This brings the total number of graduates of the scheme from various institutions in United Kingdom, Egypt, Romania and Philippines to 1,343 since inception.

At the graduation ceremony, which held in the United Kingdom, four of the students graduated with a First Class, while 36 of them had Second Class (Upper Division) degrees, while the others had various grades.

A press statement signed by Isichei Osamgbi, NIMASA’s Head Corporate Communications, stated that the Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside expressed delight at the performance of the students, describing the graduates as the future of the Nigerian maritime industry while also assuring that plans were in top gear to ensure they do their mandatory sea times training to enable them qualify as seafarers.

According the statement, the DG, who was represented by the Agency’s Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Ahmed Gambo, enjoined the students to continue to be good ambassadors of Nigeria, stating that very soon they would be expected back home to take over the Nigerian maritime space.

“Let me congratulate you on this great feat of your graduation from this prestigious university. On our part as a government, we are committed to capacity building initiatives as it remains the only means the maritime industry can survive and compete favourably with its counterparts globally. We will ensure you all go through the mandatory sea time training so that you can become better experts and professionals in the maritime sector both in Nigeria and internationally,” Peterside said.

Meanwhile, two outstanding NSDP cadets, who had earlier graduated from the same university and thereafter earned scholarships to pursue their Doctorate programme, were also presented to the Nigerian delegation.

As part of the commitment of NIMASA to ensure that the NSDP programme is fully optimised, the Agency has entered into partnership with various maritime institutions abroad to provide sea time training opportunities to NSDP cadets to enable them qualify fully as seafarers.

So far, about 2,000 Nigerian youths are beneficiaries of the NSDP scheme. The programme was conceived in order to address the shortfall in the seafaring profession in Nigeria.

•Photo shows NIMASA Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Ahmed Gambo; and Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology of the Liverpool John Moore University, United Kingdom, Professor Ahmed Al-Shamma with some of the NSDP cadets during their graduation ceremony recently.

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