Nigeria’s shipping business gains traction as African Maritime conference begins today
As maritime players across African continent gather today in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, for the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) conference, expectations are high that Africa and indeed, the world’s maritime industry vis-à-vis the shipping business, will be repositioned for greater growth.
President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to receive and host heads of African Maritime Administration from 32 African countries under the aegis of AAMA, and other important dignitaries from the global maritime arena, in a brainstorming session.
The session, which is organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation through its agency, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in partnership with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), is tagged, ‘Sustainable Use of Africa’s Oceans and Seas’ and geared towards charting paths for the future of maritime business in Nigeria in particular and Africa at large in line with the United Nations 2030 agenda and the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
President Buhari, who had earlier approved the participation of Nigeria through NIMASA in the IMO council election coming later in the year, will also address the conference on policy directions of his administration as it concerns the maritime industry. The President is also expected to unveil the new NIMASA brand during the event which begins today, 19th of April to 21st April at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
AAMA as an association was formed in 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the sole aim of bringing all the players in African maritime sector together after the signing of the African Transport and Maritime Charter. It is the umbrella body of five African maritime stakeholders’ groups including the Association of Maritime Administrations of Africa; Africa’s Ship Registry Forum; African Ship Owners Association and Africa Shippers’ Council and Seafarers’ Forum.
Following the African Union (AU) declaration of the year 2015-2025 as the ‘Decade of African Seas and Oceans,’ the theme of the conference was generated based on that premise. Accordingly, 25th July was declared as Africa’s Day of the Seas and Oceans being the date of the official launch of the 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy), which was first celebrated at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2015.
At the end of the 2nd Heads of African Maritime Administration Conference held in Sandton, South Africa in October 2013, it was resolved that the 3rd AAMA Conference would be convened in 2014. The designated host, Nigeria, at the time, was unable to host the 3rd conference in 2014 as scheduled due to technical reasons. However, the new leadership of NIMASA reactivated the proposal to host the 3rd conference.
As stakeholders express hope for a better maritime business in Nigeria and Africa at large, it is expected that the delegates would adopt the resolutions on the institutionalisation of July 25th of every year as Africa’s Day of the Seas and Oceans; finalise and adopt AAMA Constitution; ratify, domesticate and implement relevant international maritime treaties and adopt best practices on Port State and Flag State responsibilities.
Other expected resolutions include setting agenda for African maritime activities for the next biennium, collaboration in the training of cadets; determine the role of regulatory agencies in maritime trade facilitation and elect a substantive chair for the association.
Dakuku Peterside, the director-general of NIMASA, said that the hosting of AAMA will not only boost Nigeria’s quest for maritime hub in the West and Central African region, but will also help Nigeria to showcase its maritime potentials to African maritime community.
“The African heads of maritime administration would today be brainstorming on ways in which Africa can come together to maximise the economic opportunities of the continent’s large ocean,” Peterside added.
While assuring delegates that all is set for the conference to hold without limitation, the NIMASA boss also promised the delegates fruitful deliberations, which in turn would create enormous opportunities for maritime investors and development to African maritime states.
Importers and exporters including shipping firms, freight forwarders and even chandeliers, among others will have ample opportunity to interact, which will lead to increase in maritime activities in Nigeria thereby helping the country to attain the desired hub port status within the sub-regions to grow the economy.
The conference will create opportunity for interactions, business meetings, exchange of ideas and contacts among the maritime stakeholders in Africa, as Kitack Lim, the secretary general of IMO, is also expected to lead a delegation from the United Nations specialised agency to Nigeria for the conference.
The importance of this conference to the development of the nation’s shipping business, especially at this time of economic downturn cannot be over-emphasised, as it will afford Nigeria the opportunity of improving its economy via the maritime sector as issues such as port development and modernisation, maritime tourism, shipbuilding and repairs will be well discussed for the benefit of potential investors.
Also on the sideline of the conference, the NIMASA management will also hold strategic sessions to garner support for Nigeria’s bid for category “C” seat on the IMO council, the highest decision-making body of the IMO.
Nigeria’s participation, according to industry close watchers, will further add value to the economy by boosting the country’s prestige among comity of maritime nations as it affords Nigeria the opportunity to participate in critical decision-making sessions on global maritime level.
Africa is endowed with a lot of natural resources including those in maritime. Out of the 54 countries in Africa, 39 are either littoral or island states.
Africa’s economic development is to a reasonable extent tied to the optimal utilisation of its maritime resources. Apart from the fact that some African countries like Nigeria have huge deposits of
hydro-carbons or other resources in commercial quantities in their maritime domain, most of these countries depend largely on the maritime sector for their imports and exports.
Besides, Africa is also blessed with a wide expanse of arable land generating primary raw materials that are being exported, but sadly lifted by foreign vessels. The time to therefore change the narrative is now.
The African continent needs to align its strategies because policies will succeed if they are interlinked and pursued in an integrated manner.
BusinessDay search shows that Nigeria controls the highest cargo throughout the West and Central African regions with over 200 million metric tonnes of cargo annually and more than 6,000 ocean-going vessels calling at her ports yearly, sitting on the council will further reinforce the country’s leading role in the maritime industry in Africa.
Due to limited opportunity to share ideas, many maritime nations with great potentials, have failed to keep in tune with the IMO’s policy in assisting and enhancing their local capacity in Maritime Administrations in-country, said Tony Anakebe, a maritime analyst.
To effectively adhere and implement IMO instruments for the growth of member states’ maritime domain and to effectively tap into the inherent opportunity, he called on delegates especially Nigerians to ride on the event to tap into the opportunities in African and global maritime sector.
AAMA Conference will also feature notable speakers like the Kitack Lim, secretary general of IMO; Sobaitu Tilayi, chief executive officer of South African Maritime and Safety Agency (SAMSA); Malaysian Maritime Authority and European maritime association among others.
During the second session, Hadiza Bala Usman, the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), would be leading discussion with a group of selected discussant while Hassan Bello, executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council is expected to do the same on the day two of the event.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE