Following the inability of the maritime industry stakeholders to organize the biggest maritime exhibition, Nigerian Maritime Expo (NIMAREX) in the last one year, the National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), Engr. Emmanuel Ilori has said that the association is working with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other statutory government agencies to come out with an event everybody will be proud of.
It will be recalled that NIMAREX, a brainchild of NISA pioneered in the nation’ maritime industry in the year 2011 and run into its 4th edition before it abruptly disappeared from the industry last year, a development which many had described as a waste of covered ground and resources made over the year.
But speaking exclusively to Primetime Reporters in Lagos, Engr. Ilori pointed out that the state of the industry at the moment coupled with the recession currently being experienced in the country had not encouraged the organization of such an event adding that NIMAREX was not just an event one would want to organize for the name but an event that must come with substance.
According to him,” The industry at the moment is undergoing serious restructuring, the nation itself is going through a period of recession, we understand the challenges of oil price and how it depressed the maritime sector. So, at the moment, the important thing is not just to go for a jamboree but to hold an event that is going to add value to the industry. So, what is happening at the moment is that we are trying to rebuild the foundation of the industry, if you remember, the maritime industry came from a negative publicity in the past, in the present time, recession came in and they are trying to rebuild the negative publicity attracted to the maritime sector and we are working with NIMASA and other major statutory bodies to ensure that we build a maritime sector that worth its name.
“Don’t forget that NIMAREX tried at that time to promote businesses within the Nigerian maritime sector but we are at a stage now where there is actually more or less the need to rebuild the sector itself, give it a new positive image, remember NIMASA just rebranded. So, what we are doing is to work with administration to ensure that when NIMAREX is held, it will be held but it will not just be such that we are in a rush just to hold an event because we want to hold an event”.
Asked if the gains made over the years with NIMAREX would not be lost by the time they were through with the restructuring having missed to hold the event last year, he retorted,” That’s not correct, if you look at the great maritime events globally, most of them are held every two years and I will like to liken it to Greek Shipping, the Posidonia. If you know what Posidonia is, Posidonia is being held every two years and when that event is held, it attracts best of the best in the Greek Shipping and the global Shipping. If you remember, the Greek shipping at one stage had a lot of negative image but they went to the drawing board to build the Greek shipping and Greek shipping is the pride of the global shipping attracting best of the best.
“So, what we are trying to do is to make sure that the Nigerian maritime sector is restructured such that it is adding value to the people who want to do business in that environment, Nigerian ships carrying Nigerian cargoes, all the various support system that make sure that maritime industry thrives are in place, we have Foreign Direct Investments to the Nigerian maritime sector, we stem capital flight and have thriving ship repair, ship building, ship management, ship operating structures in place where all the various services that support the shipping business can thrive and that was the original intention of NIMAREX”. So, it is not a case of starting something new, no! We haven’t lost any ground but the important thing is sometimes, there is stock taking and we go back to the drawing board and redesign and refocus the exhibition”.
On the allegation that the inability of the stakeholders to hold the event in the last one year was as a result of multiplicity of associations, he added,” I don’t think the duplicity of association is the issue, everybody still claim to be members of the Nigerian Shipowners Association including those who formed some associating bodies, none of them have come out to denounce their membership of Nigerian Shipowners Associaton. Don’t forget that the Nigerian Shipowners association represents the breath and the strength of the Nigerian Shipowning community and bodies that make sure that ship ownership and ship management thrives. So, the vision of supporting ship owning busness in Nigeria is unshaken and the EXCO is working very hard to provide substance for the business of ship ownership in Nigeria”.
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