The Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators’ Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Dr. Vicky Haastrup has said that the kind of understanding terminal operators have inculcated in the Dockworkers which has overtime changed their mindset was responsible for the cessation of unrest and strife by the Dockworkers at the nation’s seaports.
Haastrup who spoke to newsmen shortly after her investiture as the fourth President of the Certified Institute of Shipping Nigeria (CISN) recently in Lagos stated that the problem they had where the Dockworkers did not had the right kind of attitude before now was as a result of lack of understanding even as she argued that they did not had the right attitude because they did not know.
According to her,”Now that they have knowledge, the kind of understanding that we inculcated in them have been able to change their mindset and that is why you see the kind of progress that you see in the maritime sector, in the port operation today.
“In those days, the Dockworkers will just stop ship, now they know that time is of essence to ship, they know that when they a stop ship, it is costing Nigeria money, it is costing everybody money, everybody is losing, government is losing, we are losing, shippers of cargoes to Nigerian ports are also losing. They now have that understanding and I think that is what we want to do, more so that they come to a place like that to learn how to offer better charge, how to discharge cargo, there is nothing wrong with that”.
While describing labour operation as very important, Haastrup disclosed that labour operation was one of courses she had identified as part of the courses the institute needed to include in its curriculum.
“As the fourth President, I will see to it that such courses are run”.
Princess Haastrup who is also the Executive Vice Chairman of the ENL Consortium Limited said that her interest in the institute was in the academic and structural turn around of the institute.
She pointed that the institute needed infrastructure to bring academic life into bearing.
“I am interested in both, I don’t know how you got that. I am passionate about both because if I am passionate about academic and not infrastructure, it won’t work. You need infrastructure to bring academic into bearing.
“The two works hand in hand, I am interested in infrastructure and that was why I was able to make huge donation here. It is actually to help the school to start some of the projects that they were waiting to do”, she said.
On what she intended to do as the institute’s fourth President, she opined that she intended to see to the growth and development of the institute adding that “the school as it were is running a lot of courses and the good thing about it is that there are Universities in Nigeria that are supporting this institute.
“So, my job as the fourth President is to see to the growth and development of the school and to see that those courses that I see as very critical to the maritime industry as it were today especially those that I mentioned when I was speaking are run in the school because they are very important”.
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