A maritime lawyer and principal partner at Akabogu Law Firm, Dr. Emeka Akabogu, has canvassed the utilization of river ports to decongest the nation’s traditional seaports, reverse environmental degradation, open up the hinterlands, increase revenue generation for the government and create jobs for the country’s teeming youth population.
He also listed opportunities in the Marine and Blue Economy to include the fact that 28 of the country’s 36 states are linkable by water, while 17 of the 28 states have navigable waterways, as well as 15 navigable inland rivers and water bodies.
These, he said, speak to the urgent need to develop inland water transportation, map and chart the rivers and water bodies, dredging the water channels, providing incentives for investors and creating public awareness.
He stated this at the sixth edition of the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime (TAAM) Conference organized by the Maritime Forum of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and sponsored by the SIFAX Group with the theme: A Blueprint for Sustainable Shipping: The Significance of the Ministry of Maritime and Blue Economy.
This followed as stakeholders of the maritime industry set an agenda for achieving greater heights in the sector at the event, which was held at the main bowel of the J. F. Ade Ajayi Hall, UNILAG, Akoka
Akabogu, who delivered the keynote presentation on the conference theme, said the subject matter of this year’s conference is not only timely but also crucial, especially as Nigeria navigates the evolving dynamics of the global, regional and sub-regional maritime industry.
He noted that sustainable shipping remains the backbone of a resilient, thriving economy, as it encompasses practices that ensure the long-term health of the oceans, while meeting the economic and logistical demands of global trade.
“These practices comprise holistic approach to shipping that ensures the activities involved do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs and the needs of their era.
“This also involves ethical conduct that speaks to the ethical standards set for the industry stakeholders that are aimed at balancing economic growth, environmental stewardship and social responsibility, which in simple terms entails optimal exploitation or execution of shipping and allied activities in a way that the coming generations would have a shipping sector that they themselves can further exploit (Legacy),” he stated.
According to him, it also entails a self-evolving system of laws, regulations and practices that are not only relevant per time, but also intrinsically sustainable or self-replicating.
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He categorized activities in Nigeria’s shipping industry into five major sections including ship operations, which involve navigation, cargo handling, on board vessel maintenance, safety and security and port operations, which involve cargo and passenger handling, Customs clearance and bunkering.
Others are allied services such as logistics and freight forwarding, Maritime Insurance, Maritime Law, which addresses legal issues related shipping contracts, accidents and disputes, while shipbuilding and repair cover construction of ships, designs, materials procurement, fabrication, as well as sub-assemblies and units, which include surface preparation, painting, outfitting, testing and delivery.
He listed the last layer of shipping activities, which come under regulation including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other Multilateral conventions and regulations at the global level and other local regulations that come under NIMASA, NPA, NSC and NIWA Acts.
For Blue Economy, he divided the industry into two segments, comprising the traditional Blue Economy, which covers ships, ports and services, while aquaculture, tourism, real estate, telecommunications, energy and natural resources and other non-ship transport are subsumed under non-traditional Blue Economy.
As a strategy, he noted that the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy would need to evolve a clear-cut legal framework, as well as a clear-cut supervisory architecture, arguing that a multiple and cross-cutting legal and supervisory framework might bring about the risk of complicated and sub-optimal policy formulation.
As a blueprint, he listed four guiding lights for the new ministry, which include integrating the environment, society and economy in that economic growth should not come at the expense of environmental degradation or social inequality and inter-generational equity, which speaks to responsible use of resources and preservation of the environment for future inhabitants.
Other two guiding lights for the ministry, he said, include pollution prevention, which speaks to minimizing air, water and land pollution, which speaks to involving the use of cleaner technologies, responsible management and stricter regulations, while the forth guiding lights speak to conserving both the resources and biodiversity.
