The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) has set in motion efforts to sanitise the sector by ensuring its members are duly cleared and certified for practice in Nigeria as master mariners.
The association, at the weekend, started the exercise by issuing membership certificate and identity card to its pioneer presidents, Capt. Dennis Osah(the association’s first president) and Capt. Augustine Olugbode, who took over as president right after Capt. Osah.
At the presentation event, current President of the NAMM, Capt. Tajudeen Alao, remarked that the exercise aimed at ensuring a proper structure for practitioners as master mariners in Nigeria, with a view to further dignify their members and expose fake people who parade themselves as qualified master mariners.
He said: “The purpose of the membership certificate and the identity card is for our people to have identity and respect. So you will be able to know that there are no more fake master mariners as genuine ones in the society.”
Alao said that while the association did that to ensure value from practitioners, it behoves maritime agencies that engage master mariners to ensure they get clearance from the apex body of master mariners in Nigeria.
“What we want is that when you come into Nigeria as a master mariner, you must come and be cleared and registered here before you can practice out there. A lot of people, especially foreigners are just dredge masters, but they are held in high esteem in this country,” Capt. Alao said.
He blamed the government for engaging mainly foreigners as master mariners, who most times were not as qualified as the Nigerian master mariners.
The master mariners president argued that as Nigerians, the indigenous master mariners would offer the best advice to the industry in their sub-sector as they are suitably qualified, experienced and above all, more patriotic.
He said: “We are highly trained and educated as master mariners. We have a lot of things to contribute to Nigeria including the inland waterway. We can never mislead Nigeria in our advice.
“We are the last batch of Nigerians who have the privilege of going round the world, all
the continents of the world on Nigerian flagged ships going to South America, North America, Russia, far East, except Australia which some of us still went on foreign ships, giving us vast
experiences.”
the continents of the world on Nigerian flagged ships going to South America, North America, Russia, far East, except Australia which some of us still went on foreign ships, giving us vast
experiences.”
