The year 2021 has been very eventful for Nigeria’s maritime and rail sectors, ushering new grounds for the development and improvement of these two major sectors, while also setting new precedents in the way the nation manages some issues in both sectors, writes TOLA ADENUBI.
Rail
2021 began on a high for the nation’s rail sector with the introduction of e-ticketing for train services on the Abuja-Kaduna route by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in January. According to the Managing Director of the NRC, Fidet Okhiria, the essence of e-ticketing is to enable people to access tickets easily, especially during the period of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Okhiria added that the e-ticketing would also ensure that the database of all passengers boarding the train was captured in case of emergencies and for other purposes.
This initiative was also followed by the commencement of full passenger train services on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail in June of 2021 when President Mohammadu Buhari flagged off the service in Lagos. The commencement of the Lagos-Ibadan train services, alongside the Abuja-Kaduna and Warri-Itakpe train services which had earlier begun in 2020, revolutionized train services in Nigeria. The Lagos-Ibadan rail services commencement completed the trio of provision of modern train services to Nigerians as earlier promised by the Federal Government.
However, a bomb blast on one of the rail tracks of the Abuja-Kaduna train services in October almost changed the way passengers view the train services as an alternative to road transport that had now become prone to bandits attacks and abductions.
In the words of Mohammed Hassan, a train passenger who was onboard when suspected bandits blew away one of the Abuja-Kaduna rail tracks, “It is important that the Federal Government and the NRC improve security on the train services because they have become the only alternative for many who travel between Kaduna and Abuja in recent days due to insecurity on the roads. If bandits now have the effrontery to bomb rail tracks, I think more security patrol should be carried out along the rail tracks periodically to avoid stories that touch the heart.”
Maritime education
The nation’s maritime education recorded giant strides in capacity development with the arrival of 20 pieces of Ocular Vision simulators in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in April of 2021. This followed the 2020 acquisition of three state-of-the-art simulators, namely the Full Mission Bridge Simulator, the Full Mission Engine Room Simulator and the Multifunctional Classroom, which is the latest in marine training simulators and can sit up to 30 cadets in a work station.
Rector of the Academy, Commodore Duja Effedua (Rtd) who made this known to newsmen, said the Academy had placed its order early in January 2021.
The Ocular Vision is the latest in the world of engine room simulators. When worn on the head (head-mounted), it launches you into a virtual engine room in which you can carry out all functions as is done in the engine room.
According to the Rector, these additional simulators further strengthen the academy’s purpose to be outstanding in maritime education and churning out cadets of global standard.
He also disclosed that the faculty has an additional professional marine engineer for the training of the cadets.
The academy also rounded up the year with its 2021 graduation ceremony where 219 cadets graduated with different honours in Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND.
Maritime security
Nigeria in June of 2021 launched its maritime security assets under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
The Project, which was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Federal Ministry of Defence, is being implemented by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The main objective of the Deep Blue Project is to secure Nigerian waters up to the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). The Project has three categories of platforms to tackle maritime security on land, sea, and air.
The land assets include the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence Centre (C4i) for intelligence gathering and data collection; 16 armoured vehicles for coastal patrol; and 600 specially trained troops for interdiction, known as Maritime Security Unit.
The sea assets include two Special Mission Vessels and 17 Fast Interceptor Boats. The air assets comprise two Special Mission Aircraft for surveillance of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); three Special Mission Helicopters for search and rescue operations; and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
The Deep Blue Project is the first integrated maritime security strategy in West and Central Africa with the aim of tackling the cases of piracy, sea robbery, and other crimes at sea.
With the official launch of the Deep Blue project in June (though it had been operational since February 2021), the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in October said incidents of piracy in the first nine months of 2021 in the GoG are the lowest reported in 17 years.
The latest report from the IMB showed that the Gulf of Guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, compared to 46 at the same period in 2020.
The report noted that: “Nigeria reported only four, compared to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018. Crew kidnappings in the region dropped with a single crew member kidnapped in quarter three of 2021, compared to 31 in five separate incidents during the same quarter in the preceding year.
“All 2021 quarter three incidents were against vessels at port anchorages and the average successful kidnapping location was 100 nautical miles from land.
“The overall reduction of piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region bears testament to enhanced maritime security and response coordination measures adopted by regional and national authorities.”
The year also saw the presence of more foreign navies in the GoG, with two of them, the Russian and Danish Navies helping to thwart what would have been another piracy attack off Nigerian waters.
Port development
The nation’s apex port development agency, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) saw a change of guard in May 2021 when President Muhammadu Buhari approved the suspension of the agency’s Managing Director, Hadiza Bala Usman and an Administrative Panel of Inquiry was set up to investigate the NPA under her.
In her absence, the agency’s former Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mohammed Bello-Koko has held sway in an acting capacity, battling with the many ills that had plagued the nation’s port environment prior to his appointment.
While the agency declared a record haul of revenue in November of 2021 by earning N256.28 billion as of the end of September as against the expected N214.65 billion approved for it by the government, the roads leading to the ports have remained an issue the current acting Managing Director of the NPA is still yet to resolve.
Despite the successes of the E-Call-Up system popularly known as Eto in Apapa port and its environs, the initiative has failed to address congestion issues and extortion activities in and around the Tin-Can ports axis. The ports access roads leading to Tin-Can ports as continued to be manned by unauthorised checkpoints where truckers are extorted of un-receipted charges. The influx of miscreants and area boys popularly called ‘Ecomog Boys’ along the Tin-Can ports access roads have made a mess of the NPA’s E-Call-System. With 2022 beckoning, it is expected that the agency will find a lasting solution to the menace of illegal checkpoints along the Tin-Can ports.
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