The Principal Partner of Jean Chiazor & Co., Barr. Mrs. Jean Chiazor Anishere has called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to collaborate with the Management of Platform Communications in collating data of the best graduating maritime students to aid government and maritime companies in hiring the best hands for the job whenever the need arises.
Anishere who made this call in her opening address at the 3rd edition of the Maritime Students’ Conference tagged,” A Day with Nigerian Maritime Students” organized by Platform Communications in Lagos yesterday said tapping into the databank of students who graduated with distinctions in their various fields of endeavors in the maritime studies as kept by the organization would made the hiring of qualified hands easier for both government and private operators in the industry.
According to her, the event aimed at bringing maritime students together from various schools as well as to afford them the opportunity of meeting with great men and women from the nation’s maritime industry who hitherto they may find difficult to see ordinarily, not only to meet with them but also to interact with them and to give them and also to celebrate the best students in their various fields of study.
“I have had the privilege of employing the best of the Nigerian maritime law student from this platform. Mr. Obasi awarded the best graduating student to Mr. Olusegun Awoyinfa of the great University of Lagos, the great Akoka, I couldn’t help but throw my net to employ this young man who is with us today.
“I have also heard that the great Starzs is also employing the best marine engineer this year. So, to me, the federal government should also encourage the Maritime Platform to ensuring that there is a form of data, I believe Obasi should have a data, to collate the data of students with distinction of these various institutions to ensuring that when maritime companies and the government wants to employ the young ones, they could tap from the Maritime Platform’s data by seeing that we have young ones who have excelled from their various fields to be properly engaged in their various places of work”, she said.
While admonishing and encouraging Platform Communications to keep up the good work, she also congratulated the students who had excelled in their various fields of study especially those that had been identified for special recognition on the occasion while wishing those aspiring to get there the best of luck.
Also speaking, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Temisan Omatseye encouraged the students to remain focus in their chosen career assuring them of great benefit from the industry in the long run.
Omatseye however regretted that Nigeria had failed as a country to take advantage of the maritime sector which he said was very big sector to the extent that 95% of all goods moved worldwide were moved on ship adding that, “It is unfortunate also that in Nigeria, we are moving out so much products, we are producing 2.2 million barrels of crude oil today, we are also importing so much products and everything else but it is sad to know that 0.01% of that move on Nigerian flagged vessels which basically will not give us the opportunity to have Nigerian seafarers onboard which is what you are growing up to be”.
He recalled that the older generation of seafarers had a wonderful time with the defunct National Shipping Line by which time they had trained a lot of strong and good officers even as he regretted that those were aging away and there was no replacement coming in to take over from them thereby warning them of a great challenge before them soon.
“I am here to encourage you but I will tell you things that you may not know are happening but surely, they are happening in our industry and you are at the right place and be rest assured that you will benefit from it. Don’t leave the industry because one thing I can assure you is that the maritime industry is going to get much bigger and better as time goes on”, he admonished.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer of Platform Communications Concepts, Mr. Sylvanus Obasi noted that A Day with the Nigerian Maritime Students was a convergence of both old and young maritime professionals, a day when all the professional bodies, government agencies and stakeholder groups would set aside to be with the upcoming professionals.
He however pointed out that three years down the line, his organization was yet to see a large turnout of industry practitioners in the occasion even as he hoped that they would key into the concept and intent of the organization by setting the day aside and choosing to be with the young ones the 27th of May every year.
Photo: Principal Partner, Jean Chiazor & Co., Mrs. Jean Chiazor Anishere.
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