The Chairman, Shipowners Forum, Barr. Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi has made a passionate appeal to the Nigerian maritime stakeholders not to allow the Nigerian Maritime Expo (NIMAREX) die.
Orakwusi who made this appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos stated that although she don’t know exactly what happened that the event which is believed to be the biggest maritime event in Nigeria and perhaps in the whole of Africa not to take place last year after a stuttering outing two years earlier.
She however suggested that the failure of the event could not be unconnected with the multiplicity of associations within the sector which she believed shouldn’t be a problem but a strength to spur the event.
According to her,” I remember the contingent from Dubai, they couldn’t believe that NIMAREX was just few years old and they asked us, what did you guys did to get it to where it is? And they invited me as the Chairperson of NIMAREX to Dubai, they wanted to learn one or two things from us. To me, that was amazing, we still have enquiries. We shouldn’t let NIMAREX die because this is an industry we are trying to attract more investors both indigenous and foreign investors. It is an industry that has great potentials to grow, we are all talking about freight, transportation, we are talking about cadets, capacity building in ship ownership, in a lot of things.
“And what was the essence of NIMAREX? It is to open up the maritime door and let investors come in, show the investor the various things that we have and it is coming together of both the public and private sectors, we had all the government agencies participating led by the Ministry of Transportation, we had insurance companies, we had brokers, we had so many things, anything that has to do with the maritime was fully represented.
“So, I pray to see it happen again. I don’t know exactly what has happened but I will like to associate it to the multiplicity of associations now but that shouldn’t be a problem, that actually should be our strength”.
Orakwusi who was a two time chairman of NIMAREX therefore hoped that probably someone who would be reading this piece may take the bull by the horn and summon a meeting with the intent of reviving the expo which said most countries of the world had come to key into their calendar as an annual event.
Recounting the successes made by the event in the past years, she said,” we were able to showcase developments on new built of boats, ships even the Navy, Nigerians were saying, you mean this Naval vessel was built in Nigeria? Everybody was part of it; Customs, Immigration and what have you. It was a good partnership between the private and the public sector, the regulators also got to know the problems of the stakeholders and the stakeholders started understanding why they are asking us to pay for tis or do like this. It was a collaboration that was fantastic”.
On the cost of not having to organize NIMAREX last year, the Shipowners forum boss added that it went beyond how much was lost in terms of Naira and Kobo as Nigeria lost a lot in businesses, exchange of opportunities, new innovations in the industry within and outside the shores of the country.
“The point is when you start something, it gathers momentum and then it disappears, that is huge loss on its own and NIMAREX is a fantastic brand for the country. We all came to look forward to it. We had international speakers; it was a brilliant idea, brilliantly executed that could have grown from year to year. When people like Dubai, even America, we were going to the point of exchanging courtesies with them. In fact, it was alarming the successes we recorded within a short period and probably we took that for granted.
“So, in terms of losses, it is not only when you lose Naira, we lost a lot, we lost businesses, we lost exchange of opportunities, we lost knowing even the new innovations within the industry in Nigeria not to talk of outside Nigeria. It was a good platform, a melting point for all interest groups”, she observed.
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