Stakeholders in Nigeria’s Blue Economy have been urged to evolve a clear national maritime vision to ensure a sustainable blue economy for the country.
Dr Sylvanus Eferebo, the National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (NIMENA), made this known on Friday at the opening of the 14th Annual Conference of NIMENA in Port Harcourt.
Eferebo also Fellow, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), said that in tune with the theme of the 14th national conference, digital transformation, smart solutions could enhance policy reforms in Nigeria’s maritime industry.
In an interview with Maritime Reporters on the sidelines of the conference on Friday in Port Harcourt, he said, “Last year, we discussed policy and regulation. This time, we are talking about digital transformation because we want smart processes and solutions in terms of addressing our problem.
“As an institution, we are policy advocates, but we do not enforce shaping policy to help the government. Now, every year, we choose one relevant topic. We must also know that maritime is a global phenomenon, not just about Nigeria. So, Nigeria cannot afford to sit and watch while other nations are looking ahead. We have to be updated in line with the global trend.
“Even these challenges, including rickety crafts, overloading, poor maintenance, marine accidents, and dirty waters, boat mishaps, are caused by a lack of solutions. This conference boils down to policies, digital transformation can be applied in policy reforms.
“We have different subtopics especially on how we can be sovereign in having our solutions. These are the structured pathways that we are looking at Conferences like this collaborate and engage. All of this will serve as an advisory. We come up with a communication that can be used in policy aggregation. We have industry experts, policy makers, the academia, every group; a complete ecosystem.”
According to him, the resolutions from the institution’s yearly conferences had galvanised policy changes.
“Yes, part of the recommendations that we rolled out in previous years are what have informed the current engineering regulations. In fact, critical members of this institution are part of drafting the regulations we talk about. I personally am the chairman of COREN ERM&E (that is Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, Engineering, Regulation, Monitoring and Enforcement) committee. I was also one of the principal members of the institution.
“We are also part of the people who viewed the COREN regulations that have just been gazetted for marine engineers and marine architects. We cannot be separated from the regulatory bodies.
“Just as one of our presenters, Chandni Jaja, a Singaporean, said, we need to have a clear national vision for maritime. When we have that, we will now get a structured roadmap or pathway to having a sustainable blue economy, and we will need fine steps to take. It will form one single national maritime vision.
“She has made it clear that Nigeria has the potential to lead Africa’s maritime industry. We have huge assets in the blue economy; the long coastline, the highest oil and gas activities happening over a vast area, and young people who are resilient and brilliant enough to create solutions.
“Nigeria has to create a pathway to advance our blue economy.
As it is now, we have different agencies doing their own things. We must come together to forge one national vision, one pathway.
“Singapore’s national asset is the sea. So, they now forge a national vision that surrounds the sea and everybody works toward this vision. Until we create ours, we won’t move forward,” Eferebo said.
He said that Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy vision’s pathway should be driven by dedicated stakeholders, including NIMENA.
“NIMENA has come out from the professional angle to form this advocacy. You cannot talk about sustainability without engineering infrastructure. So, that is the reason why, as the foremost institution, we have come for this. For over two years, we have talked about the blue economy and one of our members has been appointed as Special Adviser to a governor (Ondo State).
“We are doing our best to see how we can work within the scope of our jurisdiction. Now, we need to have a national discussion and chart a national roadmap for the advancement of the blue economy.
“One of the principal things is that NIMENA is also a part of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). In the larger of the NSEs, we have a voice.
“We are having a national conference in Ibadan (Oyo State) next week and I am a speaker there. The themes: are Engineering Innovation for Sustainable Blue Economy. It is attracting world leaders, national leaders, etc.
“We expect that at the end of this discussion, we will be able to take what we have resolved to a national advisory note for policymakers to do their work. The good thing about professional conferences like this is that we go deep into technical aspects, and that is what we are doing here.
“We may not have that depth in the general one, but at the end of the day, as a division, we will link up and come up with a robust policy framework.
“As Changdi said, the key issue is not technology but policy and efficient regulation,” Eferebo added.
He said Minister and President Bola Tinubu were key drivers of the transformation.
He said’ “The President has done well by creating a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. That Ministry has a lot of responsibilities, though a baby ministry. They are one of the key sponsors of the NSE Conference next week. These conversations are ongoing.”
According to him, there is a “very big hope that the Blue Economy is happening” in Nigeria.
The Conference, tagged “DigiMarTSS 2025” had as its theme ‘Digital Maritime Transformation and Smart Solutions: A Pathway to the Advancement of Nigeria’s
Blue Economy.’
According to the organisers, the conference serves as a premier platform for stakeholders, including the Energy and Maritime Reporters of Nigeria (EMR), industry experts, policymakers, and academics to collaborate, promote innovation, and advance Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy sectors.
By Dianabasi Effiong
