Retired
Rear Admiral Godwill Ombo has called on the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA) to have direct supervision of
the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom.
Ombo, who
is also the Deputy Secretary-General of the Society of Nigerian Mariners
(SNM) made the call in an interview in Lagos.
He said the call became necessary because the
academy had not been given the
required attention to enable it to train manpower to international standards
for the maritime industry.
academy would only fulfill its purpose when professional seamen
were given the opportunity to run the academy as it should be.
“MAN, Oron should be completely upgraded.
“MAN, Oron had failed the maritime industry for
bringing up tomorrow’s captains and tomorrow’s chief engineers because
they lack the basic necessity in today’s terms to bring those young men
and women to meet up the standards that is international.
“NIMASA
is supposed to have an oversight function of what MAN, Oron should
be doing.
“We need to have the persons that drive the
MAN, Oron, should be professional
sailors.
“They must be professional sailors; there are
so many sailors that are retired
that are willing to go back to MAN, Oron and give that institute
what it
really needs.
“We need
professionals who have been there at sea, who have lived their lives at
sea to be running MAN, Oron.
“It is a
technical thing. It is not a state thing, it is not a political thing,
it should be a technocrat, somebody who has been a chief engineer at sea
for years that will bring his personal experience to train the younger ones
coming.
“Somebody
who has been a captain at sea for years should bring his personal
experience to train the younger ones coming.’’
Ombo, who
was also a former Flag Officers Commanding, Naval Training, said NIMASA
should as a matter of urgency, ensure the upgrading of facilities in the
academy to meet 21st century standards.
He said
that if the nation’s maritime industry would have chief engineers and
captains to run it in the future, concerted efforts to make it happen must
begin today.
