Captain Michael Ifesemen, a member of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) has disclosed that for Nigeria, being a green maritime nation, communities are being enriched through catch-them-young activities that are designed to engage the youths in maritime affairs .
During the commemoration of the World Maritime Day (WMD) in Lagos, he disclosed that various schools are usually invited to compete through Essay Writing.According to him, awards are usually given out to winners of the essay writing competition.
The theme for this year’s celebration was “Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity”.He emphasised that every year, WMD is set aside to discuss issues affecting the maritime industry.
Captain Ifesemen said the essence of this initiative is to bring to their knowledge, the importance of marine and blue economy. He added that the press has a role to play in reaching out to communities also.
“We are still a green maritime nation. Whatever the International Maritime Organization (IMO) says about sustainable oceans, for some countries it’s easier to adopt. For us, because of our level of literacy, it’s a bit difficult.When we talk about enriching the communities, what we do here is that we invite students from different schools because through the students, with the press and every other persons, we can get to the communities.We make sure the catch-them-young students are gotten from different states
“We’re incorporating a kind of catch-them-young into these maritime activities that we do within this room, which people think is just for the elites. Catch-them-young means bringing the students together and involving them in essay writing exercise. The different parastatals of the ministry conduct essays, even at primary school level now. These essays are being done within the week, all in commemoration of this activity. Those efforts are efforts being made to reach the people.
“Last year, there were efforts made for a team to go across to Takwa Bay . Takwa Bay in Nigeria is a polluted area .The essence of going there was to sensitize the people but because of security reasons and because most of these places are a bit remote, we catch them from this catch-them-young process .
“The press is really part of this. They should participate in maritime matters often and get the message across to the public.Considering the fact that Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) , Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and others have other locations and offices in other locations in the country, with the efforts of those other locations, we still sensitise them just the same way it’s done in Lagos. Even as the venue for the event is in Lagos, we make sure it reaches other states.”, Ifesemen explained.
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