NIMASA DG Restates Importance Of Blue Economy To Nigeria’s Economic Development

NIMASA DG Restates Importance Of Blue Economy To Nigeria’s Economic Development

·          As Agbakoba Again Calls For the Creation Of a Maritime Ministry

Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has said that the potential of Nigeria’s untapped blue economy presents great optimism for economic development and a boom for the country.
Noting that Nigeria was blessed with a coastline of over 850 kilometres stretching from Badagry in Lagos to Bakassi in Cross River State, Jamoh said deliberate development of the potential remained a huge economic advantage to the country.
The NIMASA DG in a lead paper delivered at the Bullion Annual Lecture organised by the Centre for Financial Journalism with the theme: Banking on Blue Economy for Nigeria’s Economic Development, also pointed out the need for diversification as part of the efforts to achieve the desired development goals.
He explained that this is even more so with the current economic realities both locally and globally with trends in the oil market, noting that Nigeria has been over-dependent on the oil sector for economic survival, he called for diversification of the economy by harnessing the vast and rich blue economic potential moving forward.
According to him, “Nigeria had focused on a hybrid economic structure that blends oil with agriculture but the former remained consistent as economic mainstay ahead of the latter over the years. Today, the waters provide now low-hanging fruits to diversify the economy. It is increasingly being accepted that the country’s future lies in the Blue Economy.
“We need to take stock of what is out there in our waters, we need to know what we have in terms of what will create jobs, build coastal communities, grow careers, enhance transport of humans and cargo, renew and sustain the environment, reduce poverty and make our nation competitive by maximising our comparative ocean advantages.”
Jamoh argued that the time has come for the blue economy to take a centre stage considering the successes recorded in the area of piracy on the territorial waters.
Speaking further, he said: “Nigeria’s Government policy direction towards economic diversification from oil dependence to Blue Economy is deliberate because studies have proven that the oil industry is to be subject to limitations in the face of global demand for environmentally sustainable sources of energy.

“It is also an accepted fact that the country stands to benefit more from her waters if sustainable steps are taken to harness the many untapped marine potentials for investment and job creation while preventing marine pollution.
“Under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, there is an Expanded Partnership Committee on Sustainable Blue Economy in Nigeria (EPCSBEN), chaired by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. Participation in the EPCSBEN cuts across various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), with the Federal Ministry of Transportation playing a leading role.”
Also speaking, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) once again, maintained that Nigeria should create the Ministry of Maritime Affairs as is the case in the aviation sector.
Agbakoba, who explained that such a ministry will deepen development in the maritime sector, urged the management of the Centre for Financial Journalism to ensure that the deliberations from the lecture should be passed on to the next administration as an agenda setting.
Chairman of the event, Mrs. Jean Chiazor- Anishere (SAN), in her remarks, said that efforts to unlock the potential of the blue economy needed to be coordinated and accelerated.
Anishere, who is President of the Women in Maritime Africa (WIMA), said that in doing so, the unique needs and challenges of the country’s coastal communities should be considered and addressed.