Mr. Hakeem Olanrewaju, chairman, council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), has expressed support for African Maritime Academy (AMA) and other private maritime training institutions for their contributions to manpower development in Nigeria.
Olanrewaju said this in a message to AMA at the latter’s recently held Passing Out Parade(POP) and award presentation ceremony of the 63rd batch of trainees and Diploma Course 14 graduates of the academy held in Oyo town.
The CRFFN helmsman who was the review officer for the POP described the establishment of private academies like AMA as a good way to support the federal government’s owned Maritime Academy of Nigeria, in Oron, Akwa -Ibom state, which cannot meet the manpower demands of the Nigerian maritime and oil sectors.
“I must express my profound gratitude to the founding fathers of African Maritime Academy for the initiative of establishing this private maritime academy. This is highly commendable, especially when the maritime industry is in need of professionals, therefore, the academy deserves support, it is worth invest in,” Olanrewaju said.
He added that “With over 3,650 kilometers of coastal area, the need for professionals in the Nigerian maritime industry is ever growing. The establishment of private academies such as yours is in order so as to support the federal government owned Maritime Academy in Oron, which cannot provide all the manpower requirements of the industry.”
Olanrewaju also reemphasized government’s commitment to job creation for Nigerian seafarers through the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),while urging the graduands to work harder towards excellence so as compete favorably with the expatriates that are alleged to have dominated the nation’s maritime scene.
He also urged AMA to expand its curriculum by teaching freight forwarding as a course in the academy and invited interested graduands to embrace the profession that is now being regulated by the council under his watch. He advised that cadets should keep themselves abreast of developments in the industry through participation in seminars, conferences and other events that will update their knowledge about the sector.
A total of 78 cadets graduated with 35 of them bagging the AMA diploma certificates in nautical science, marine engineering and maritime business with 43 students completing short courses and orientation for further maritime studies. AMA is one of Nigeria’s fastest growing private maritime training institution with over a decade of creating training opportunities for Nigerians at home and abroad with designed training programmes for various cadre of industry professionals. Some alumnus of the academy are working on board foreign vessels.
It has pioneered the first maritime secondary school in West Africa-Merchant Navy Comprehensive High School (MNCHS) and its expansion involves an ongoing construction of a post graduate school where it will run more courses leading to the award of Post Graduate Diplomas and Masters Degrees in collaboration with Indian based Amet University.