Despite the huge natural and human resources in the Nigerian maritime sector, negligence on the part of government and stakeholders has been identified as one of the reasons why job and revenue opportunities in the sector are not optimally explored for sustainable economic growth.
An industry expert and Managing Director, GOG Marine Ltd, Bem Ibrahim Garba, who disclosed this, said Nigeria still lagged behind Greece despite having similar opportunities in the industry and had to depend on many other seafaring countries, including the smaller European states, to meet her maritime and logistics requirements.
Garba said, “If you are like me, and you think about situations like this deeply, you will find that the difference is not about a lack of resources, a lack of manpower or one country being better endowed than the other.
“The difference actually lies in what each country knows and how she chooses to make use of that knowledge.
“As a country, the Nigerian government officials responsible for the shipping industry’s development theoretically know and understand the significance of a well-developed indigenous shipping industry.
“They know about the millions of good paying jobs that this industry can create for local Nigerians. They know about the valuable taxes that the country could earn if this industry was fully optimised.
“The challenge lies in how well we choose to utilise this well-articulated knowledge.”
Garba further said despite having the natural advantage of proximity to the sea which gave its citizenry the natural advantage of seeking employment, trade and wealth creation from trades associated with the sea, Nigeria, unlike Greece, had not prioritised the development of its maritime business.
