For the fourth time running, Nigeria has bided to be admitted into the International Maritime Organization (IMO) category C, to enable it participate in making key decisions in the global Maritime space but failed, despite the huge sums spent. This has unfortunately put Nigeria, the African giant in the global gray box. However the campaign for the biennial election is on again, and history may just repeat itself in the December 32nd session except for some divine twist, WRITES FOSTER OBI
According to Franz Fanon, French West Indian Psychiatrist and Political Philosopher, “history repeats itself, first as a tragedy and secondly as a farce. In the case of Nigeria, the experience is almost transcendental.
For the fourth time, Nigeria has failed in its bid to be admitted into the coveted Category ‘C’ seat on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council.
This development has continued to dampen the morale of stakeholders in the industry, because despite Nigeria’ size and coastal advantage, the failed attempts has denied the country the pivotal role of contributing its quota in shifting the global maritime landscape.
Category C comprises countries, which have special interest in maritime transportation or navigation, and whose election to the IMO council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.
At the election held during the 31st Session of the IMO in 2019, Nigeria lost to Kenya by one vote in the Category C elections. Kenya got 111 votes to come 20th, while Nigeria got 110 votes to make 21st.
This failure made West Africa to lose its only seat in the council, as Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, and Kenya retained their seats in the 20-member Category C of the IMO.
The last time the country got elected into the council was in 2009, during the administration of Dr. Ade Dosunmu as the Director General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) after its initial election in 2000. Dosumu’s role cannot be forgotten in a hurry.
However, Nigeria’s chance has again surfaced.
The Minister of State Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, who led the country’s delegation to the failed bid 2 years ago, said the campaign for the 2021 bid had begun. Saraki said it was of paramount national interest that “Nigeria gets a seat on the maritime table”. After the loss, she said the country’s first task was to appraise the factors behind its narrow loss. “We are going to go back to the countries that voted to ask them what they did not think we have done well or why they did not vote for us.”
She however insisted that Nigeria has done remarkably well in reforming its maritime sector, to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She pointed to the milestones in maritime safety and security, gender equality, and environmental responsibility.
Nigeria had lost consecutively in 2009 and 2011. In 2017, the nation went all out, but lost again. The preparation for the 2021 IMO Council election had been on since the beginning of this year with many strategies and campaign mechanism targeted at clinching that seat.
Some stakeholders and experts believe that despite the commercials and political stump Nigeria is not ready for the seat. They believe that Nigeria is still
politicking and playing the Ostrich at the expense of real overhaul of the Maritime environment. Some also believe that the event affords some government officials opportunity to earn estacodes and other loose allowances, so it does not matter whether we win or we lost .
Former Director, Shipping development at NIMASA, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, is one of those who believes that Nigeria has not done enough to upstage opposition to the coveted seat.
“Cat C is basic. There are necessary things you must put in place to get there. You see that the number of people showing interest in that category is rising, so its not about politicking but putting practical things in place for all to see.
“What are your navigable waters like? How safe is your Maritime environment, what is your ship inspection regime, what kind of officers are your country producing” he querried.
Warredi who is the only known Nigerian youth who could pilot an ocean going ship as well as fly a Boeing aircraft said that a country cannot expect to be voted for when it keeps sending its mariners to be trained outside the country instead of putting in place the proper architecture to train its personnel.
“if you send your officers to be trained in India, it is India you are promoting within the IMO environment and not Nigeria,” he noted.
“Where are your professionals. It takes at least 10 years to train a Master Class one. How many such people do you have. What about Surveyors. How many do you have?
He disclosed that the inspection done in 2009 by IMO revealed so many of such gaps which prompted the regime of president Goodluck Jonathan, under auspices of Patrick Akpobolokemi to employ surveyors. He noted since that step was taken, nothing has been done again, even though these officers are aging and will soon retire.
He also noted that the inspection revealed that Nigeria has no profound monitoring system in the coastal state. “When ships come into our waters, they can send signals which we don’t even receive.”
He said until Nigeria gets its priority right, we will continue to lose the seat because the people we are dealing with have vessels that come into our waters and they understand our marine environment very well, adding, “that is why no matter what we try, they will make something go wrong and you see yourself losing with one vote. They know what they are doing.”
Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu, former General Manager Public Affairs, Nigeria Ports Authority refused to be drawn into the politics as he tried to play safe. He told DFC News, “I am no longer current so I don’t know what is required now. I was once in the committee long ago, but I don’t know what is current now.”
President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Tony Iju, while ruminating on the 2019 outing said the nation should review its international relationship and then look inward to examine the reasons behind the loss, and make necessary amendments.
Iju said: “We have to look inward on why we are loosing the elections. First and foremost, we have to put our house in order when it comes to maritime industry. We have to streamline our relationship with international best standards amongst other nations. We need to pursue our trade relationship with all neighboring countries. Most importantly, Nigeria has to be very friendly in our relation with other nations; you can imagine us losing to Kenya. This is not a jamboree issue. It’s a very serious matter, and we need to take it as such,” he said.
However thee Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is bent on Nigeria clinching the seat this time around.
Recently the agency again called for support for Nigeria’s move for reinstatement into the Council.
Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Director General of the agency, made the call ahead of the December IMO council election.
Speaking at a seminar of the Atlantic Center in Lisbon Portugal last Tuesday, Jamoh sought support from Nigeria’s friends to vote for the country into the Council of IMO in the election that comes up in few weeks time.
The election for Members of the IMO Council will be held during the IMO Assembly 32nd session, which comes up from the 6-15 December 2021.
He said: “We ask for your votes and count on your continued confidence in the efforts of Nigeria to work in partnership with other nation states in the Gulf of Guinea to continue keeping our corridor of the Atlantic Ocean a safe passage for seafarers, their vessels and the vital supplies they transport for our common sustenance.”
The DG, who also requested removal of Nigeria by the global shipping community from designation as a war risk zone, also explained recent efforts by the Federal Government to make the country’s waters safer for crewmembers, vessels and cargoes.
He added that deployment of security vessels on waters adjoining the Atlantic Ocean should be in line with international laws without undermining the national sovereignty of countries in West and Central Africa.
Jamoh said, “In 2018, Nigeria initiated a project known as Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure (Deep Blue Project), as a robust tool to combat piracy, armed robbery, and other maritime crimes within Nigeria’s territorial waters and by extension the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
“To further bolster Nigeria’s effort in fighting crimes at sea, the government signed into law the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, (SPOMO) 2019. This piece of legislation gave effect in Nigeria to the provisions of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 on piracy and the International Convention on the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Navigation (SUA), 1998 and its protocol. Since the law came into effect, convictions of at least 20 pirates have been secured under the Act with offenders currently serving various jail terms.
“At the regional level, following the United Nations Security Council resolutions of 2011 and 2012 Calling on the countries in the ECOWAS, ECCAS, and the GoG to work together on a strategy to fight piracy, armed robbery, and other illegal activities at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria joined other heads of States and governments to sign the Yaoundé Declaration on the 25th of June 2013 to collaborate in the fight against piracy and other crimes in their Atlantic oceans. This decoration known as the ‘Yaoundé declaration’ led to the establishment of the Inter-regional Coordination Centre (ICC Yaoundé),” Jamoh noted.
The IMO Council is made up of 40 countries elected in three categories – A, B and C. Category A consists of 10 States with the largest interest in providing international shipping services. The States are China, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Panama, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Category B also has 10 States “with the largest interest in international seaborne trade”. These are Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
Category C comprises 20 States not electable under Categories A and B. According to IMO, Category C Council members are States with “special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world”. Category C Council candidature for the 2022-2023 biennium include: the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Singapore
Nigeria became a member of IMO on March 15, 1962. The country was, however, expelled from the organization during the regime of late Gen. Sanni Abacha, after the execution of environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni Nine. It was readmitted in 1999 with the return of civilian rule. In 2000, then Minister of Transport, late Chief Ojo Madueke led a delegation to secure Nigeria’s election as Category C Council member. However, the country could not secure enough votes to retain its seat on the Council after the initial two years, but it staged a return in 2007 and served two consecutive terms until 2011, when it could not secure enough votes to retain its seat. In 2013, the country did not participate in the election.
