Bashir Jamoh, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),has said that collaboration amongst all organs of government and the organized private sector will accelerate harnessing the Blue Economy in Nigeria.
Jamoh disclosed this while delivering a paper titled ‘Opportunities and Challenges in Harnessing the Blue Economy at a seminar organized by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs.
He expressed that NIMASA’s task is to explore how Nigeria can maximize the benefits derivable from our Blue Economy.
This concept of Blue Economy which gained prominence some few years ago requires local, regional and international collaboration to manage critical factors,he said.
He said that the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs(NIIA), has a critical role to play for Nigeria to fully harness the potentials of the Blue Economy.
He added:”The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs should play a role in advising government on policies which would facilitate the realization of the Blue Economy.Just as in maritime security, the Deep Blue Project has shown that through co-operation and collaboration, great results can be achieved reason why I appreciate the participation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Customs Service as well as the Nigerian Navy.”
The Director-General of the NIIA Prof. Eghosa Osaghae, while acknowledging the progress made in securing the Nigerian Maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea, emphasized the import of the Blue Economy globally and called for sustainable use of ocean resources to be considered when shaping government policies.
He said:”When considered in economic terms, the global Blue Economy would be the seventh largest in the world which highlights its importance. “As such, sustainable use of the Blue Economy for economic growth should be at the core of any policy formulation by government.”