….hails NIMASA floating dock
Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) at the weekend said that the only way the Nigerian Navy, as well as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), can boost the nation’s capacity in the maritime trade is by championing the development of its own ships.
This is even as he hailed the efforts of NIMASA in acquiring a floating dock, saying such a facility would develop the nation’s capacity in shipbuilding and maintenance when put into full use.
The Deputy Governor who was the Special Guest of Honour at a sailing competition organized by the Nigerian Navy Sailing Club, Ojo, Lagos, said there is the need for the navy and NIMASA to begin in-country design and construction of its own vessels in order to create jobs and arrest capital flight.
Admiral Jonah was the head of a team of naval engineers who built the nation’s first warship known as NNS ANDONI. The warship is now participating actively in the war against crimes and drug smuggling, illegal fishing and human trafficking in the country’s territorial waters.
in his speech, the Deputy Governor noted that millions of dollars are spent annually to procure vessels abroad, but that locally produced one’s would meet the immediate need of the nation.
According to him, Nigeria is basically a maritime country and that there are so much activities in the maritime area which accounts for the growing need for platforms to meet up with the demand.
He said: “One thing that is in favour of Nigeria is genuine engineers who are willing to embark on such projects. The Cabbotage law also creates opportunities for the navy to produce crafts at certain level which can be easily mentioned locally. I believe we can do far from what we are doing if we put our mind at it, Am very optimistic when it comes to the capacity of this country.
“If we produce here, we will employ our people. If we produce here, it will be so enormous.
Though it will take time but the only problem I see is that we have got a culture of wanting to get result immediately and if you fail, everybody will rain abuses on you but do you know how many researches failed before people came to inventions? We must get that culture, industrial culture is still not ours. it is still too regimentery because we don’t encourage. If we encourage fellow Nigerians, I am telling you a lot can be done.
“As a nation, we should be able to exploit our resources that is why anytime we have engineers conference I try to involve naval personnel to participate and network with them and that is the only way. Without production, we are nowhere”.
On how NNS ADONI was built, explained that, though he had retired by the time the nation’s first warship was completed but that from the beginning the engineers on the project was able to identify some problems, but said that the did not allow the challenges to dampen their spirit since everyone the ships in the inventory of the Nigerian Navy had to come from outside coupled with the fact that there was also insufficient knowledge then.
In his address, the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Admiral Oladele Daji, he was particularly fascinated to note that the Deputy who happens to be his boss and sponsor of the water sport still has a strong passion for aquatic games despite his busy schedule as a seating Executive in Bayelsa.
The FOC said that water makes up over 70 percent of the earth Space and that Nigeria being a littoral nation makes the maritime environment the mainstay of Nigeria‘s economy and the Nigerian Navy is saddled with the responsibility to defend the territorial integrity of the country from the maritime front.
