Cadetship Education: The NLNG Moves To Override MAN

SILHOUTTE

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

The teaser was not lost on discerning Nigerians, penultimate week, when the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) through its subsidiary, the NLNG Shipping and Marine Services Limited (NSML) advanced reasons graduates of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron cannot sail on their vessels.

While MAN is the federal government of Nigeria’s pioneer, sole maritime training institution, which produces middle level manpower for our maritime, oil and gas industry, Nigeria holds 49percent equity in NLNG through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; with Shell Gas B.V owing 25.6percent, Total NLG Nigeria Ltd 15percent, and Eni International 10.4percent.

For a long time already, graduates of MAN together with their counterparts from other private maritime training institutions have suffered the lack of sea-time training and accreditation with its twin problem of dismal attestation tied to Nigerian Cadets poor showing in the mandatory Certificate of Competency (COC) examination provided by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); as part of the completion course requirements for cadets.

While the story of the lack of sea-time, accreditation and certification epitomizes the sorry state of our system failure, it also brings to the fore the rascally, faulty systemization of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of allied institutions including the NNPC, NLNG, NSML, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the character, manner and ways they extend support to MAN over the years.

Thus far, any and or, all observable failings by MAN invariably rubs off on all the above named organizations, among others, which failed to provide the required and appropriate support towards helping the Academy and cadets achieve their objective and dreams.

It will be recalled that the NSML in a recent media interview said it has so far shut out graduates of MAN Oron from sailing aboard its vessels because of lack of global accreditation and certification.

Yet NSML speaks with unabashed glee and a sense of pride and achievements how it is recruiting foreigners from Asia and Europe to take up seafaring job openings within its fleet; in which Nigeria supposedly has the controlling stake; and in which policy wise, the job distribution should be 85 to 15 percent ratio; Nigerian/ non Nigerian.

While speaking with business editors on its corporate rebranding penultimate week, the Managing Director of NSML, Abdul-Kadir Ahmed said products of MAN Oron are restricted to the offer of industrial attachment in its offices; further noting that opportunities for sea-time training onboard its vessels cannot be extended them because of the general lack of accreditation and perceived fears over their competence.

While confining Nigerian cadets from MAN Oron to office administration duties, NSML takes delight in sorting out the accreditation and certification challenges of Nigerian cadets under the auspices of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), a creation of NIMASA, which programme was contrived to achieve set political motives.

The NSML position manifests an unfair scenario in which NSDP Cadets are given preference over and above cadets from MAN Oron , which was established by statute since 1977.

Speaking broadly on its achievements since inception and fielding questions on its local content programme, as per how many Nigerians are working onboard its vessels, Ahmed was quoted as saying:

“We have a Nigerianization objective or goal and that was defined a very long time ago, that we are a Nigerian company and of course, we were created to provide opportunities for Nigerian seafarers to participate in the LNG shipping industry. So we defined the Nigerianization objective, which is, we want to have at every moment 85 percent of our crew on board our vessels to be Nigerians.

“In shipping, when we talk about standards, it’s a global thing. And because we want to have a cross-fertilisation of cultures, of ideas onboard, that was why we kept 15 percent for other nationalities. Today, we have Polish, we have Ukrainians, we have Indians, we have Malaysians, we have Filipinos on our vessels. When you go onboard our vessels, it’s one family.”

But the NSML boss, apparently an unquestionable technocrat with strong leadership credentials however betrayed a huge dose of what is known as the Nigerian factor- the tendency to be ‘politically correct’- that disposition to promotes narrow considerations over and above national interest; as he plays down NSML’s corporate posture to sideline graduates of MAN in favour of NSDP Cadets.

Ahmed said: “You talked about the cadetship program. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is the co-sponsor of Nigerian cadets under the NSDP program. Part of their certification program is to go on board vessels and have their sea-time. And that is a very fundamental aspect of their certification. They go to the colleges first, then they go on board ships, and then they go back to the colleges for their final exams.

“So we, in conjunction with NIMASA, have been one of the most consistent, if not the largest provider of sea-time to Nigerian Cadets. I don’t want to say absolutely the largest because I don’t know what others do. But we’ve been one of the most consistent in terms of providing sea-time for Nigerian cadets.

“So far, almost 300 cadets have sailed on our vessels. And we take this very, very important. Because it is in line with that desire to deepen the Nigerian maritime sector. We are one of the few companies with ocean-going vessels in Nigeria today. We’re the only LNG technical management company, I dare say, in sub-Saharan Africa today. So the opportunity that we give them to be on those vessels is actually top-notch.

“But most importantly, it is also an opportunity for us, that they come on our vessel, they train on our vessel, we imbibe them with our standards, with our culture, and they go back to their colleges and finish their courses. We can also, where the opportunities arise, recruit from that group. And so far, almost 100 Nigerian Cadets have been recruited into NSML, and we’re very proud of that.”

Continuing, he said: “I’m sure some of you were there when we had the induction program for the Romanian cadets. Those are people who unfortunately went to Romania, finished, but unfortunately, their certification were not recognized. We stepped in to provide a solution to NIMASA, which is simply that the Romanian Cadets will go on our vessels, and I think about 65 of them are already on the vessels. They’re about to finish their sea-time, and then they will go to a maritime academy in the UK for their certification, which is a bridge program. So we’re exploring multiple ways to provide solutions and provide opportunities for Nigerian seafarers.”

On NSML’s collaboration with the MAN, Ahmed said:

“We do collaborate with the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron. In 2014, if I remember correctly, we actually went to the Maritime Academy in Oron, evaluated their curriculum, identified their needs, and supported the upgrading of their facilities. Some of our top management today all went to the Maritime Academy in Oron.

“We currently developed a program where we’re taking their Cadets on industrial attachment. I think we have about 20 students on industrial attachment from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron in our offices. Now, there is a fundamental problem, which is the certification that NIMASA issues to the Cadets, which is Near Coastal Voyages. Unfortunately, the NIMASA accredited certificate is not recognized internationally for ocean-going vessels.

“So, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, as good as they are in terms of their facility and their curriculum, do have a certificate accreditation recognition problem. But that’s something that we’re discussing and we’re working with NIMASA to find a way to resolve that. It’s more of an organizational issue than anything else. It’s not a quality issue. Let me be very frank, it’s not a quality issue. It’s a quality assurance issue. Let me give you examples, you can say I’m good and nobody can argue against the fact that I am good. But somebody must then test me to say, yes, you are good. That is a quality assurance issue. I may believe you are good, but my word will not count for somebody else. Somebody needs to have said, okay, what is the assurance process to ensure you are good today and you’ll be good tomorrow. That is why we having discussion with NIMASA to resolve this issue.

“Our discussion is centered on how do we support NIMASA to upgrade their systems, their processes, to ensure others internationally can come in and say, yes, we believe and we assure ourselves that your systems and processes are accredited and we believe they are good. It’s just a matter of perception, but discussion is still ongoing.

“Unfortunately, because we are an ocean-going company, (our vessels call at various international destinations), we cannot have NIMASA-trained officers with Certificate of Competency’s on those vessels yet because those certifications are not fully accepted internationally yet”, he said.

For NSML, it was easier to support NIMASA to resolve the certification issue of the Romanian NSDP cadets, an NSDP established about ten years ago, over and above almost 60 years old MAN’s cadets accreditation and certification challenge.

Twist as it may, Ahmed merely showcased NLNG’s bias for doing the right thing; and the bias appears to stem majorly from Nigerian insiders with unquenchable desire for foreign tastes and the obsession to tilt the greatest advantage in the company to foreign stakeholders.

Above also explains the obsession for foreign training of Nigerian cadets at huge cost and the attendant capital flight created there from; while MAN despite running shoulder to shoulder with the best maritime academy anywhere else, is neglected and deliberately rendered, dysfunctional.

And like NIMASA which administratively oversights its operations and monitors its tax obligations to the federal government, NLNG has also developed a system to sideline MAN and technically its graduates, as these institutions constantly create and weave an unhealthy corporate image for MAN; with the ultimate goal to always make it a second best option and never as a standard outlet or final authority.

Through careful scheming and quite unable to conceal its bias anymore, and haven successfully flown the kite why MAN Cadets cannot sail on its vessels; the NSML has also, tactically, announced plans to run its own cadets training programme, with the support of foreign maritime training institutions and technical partners.

According to Abdul-Kadir Ahmed, the cadetship courses is been planned to run at its Maritime Centre of Excellence (MCOE) located in Bonny, Rivers State. In fact, Ahmed disclosed that the MCOE has already received accreditation from the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (UK-MCA).

While he was quick to say that the development does not amount to a competition with MAN Oron, discerning minds also reckon with the politically explosive reality the NSML  alternative stunts portends for MAN and ordinary Nigerians cadets who find MAN as the common man’s last hope of achieving a dream in seafaring.

Hear the NSML boss: “MCOE is an advanced marine training institute. It’s like going to college, when you go to college or you go to the university, you will be issued a degree after completion of your courses. But for you to get all the necessary certification to ensure that your degree remains relevant and up to date, you will have to go to a training institute. That’s what the MCOE is.

“So, we’re not competing with the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) or other maritime institutions. We are rather complementing what MAN, Oron and other maritime training institutions are doing. They are the ones that provide the basic training and COC certification.

“What the MCOE does is to provide the additional courses over and above what the Cadets have been able to achieve. The MCOE aims to be an advanced maritime training institute that can provide those advanced maritime certifications in specific courses.

“We have aligned ourselves with the UK-MCA. The UK-MCA is the UK Coast Guard and Marine Agency. They are deemed to be the gold standard of maritime certificate accreditation in the world today. So, we have a partnership with an institution in the UK.

“The plan in place this year is to upgrade the MCOE both in terms of facility, resources, and courses so that the center itself is 100 percent accredited by the UK-MCA. With the upgrade of our simulators, we are also about to commence DP courses at the MCOE.”

But like in most cases our leaders display uncanny cleverness in running around issues, Ahmed also had his limitations as he admitted to plans to run additional courses, which cannot be put  past similar faculties been undertaken by MAN.

He says, “Like I said, it’s a plan which we have started. The UK-MCA has done the audit of our facility. They’ve identified the things that we need to have more. They have acknowledged what we have. That’s why they’ve accredited those two courses. But we want to go beyond specific course accreditation. We want to go to full center accreditation which is why we are upgrading the facility. We are increasing the courses and the resources provided at MCOE.”

The problem of Nigeria has been one of leadership failure often propelled by conspiracy with foreign actors. Here is a JV Company in which Nigeria has controlling shares and in which, unfortunately, successive leaders have worked to protect interest of foreign stakeholders over and above the interest of Nigeria.

This tendency resonates with many other orgnaisations including the NNPC, which appears to be a major culprit. The NNPC has a history of constantly advancing foreign advantages over sovereign national interest, as typified by NNPC under Gaius Obaseki, who was notorious for talking down on local content participation in coastal transportation of crude oil; thereby making it an exclusive preserve of foreigners.

And it is ongoing as can be observed with the criminal waivers and the consequent domination of the Cabotage Trade by foreigners.  Ahmed, the NSML boss claimed that NLNG has been supporting MAN Oron and cited the construction of a project in the Academy in 2014.

Unfortunately, he was not interrogated on the integrity and usefulness of the said project in terms of the actual needs of the Academy when it was given. Like others, they just go to the Academy and dump whatever they feel like doing, irrespective of whether it meets an urgent need or not.

In 2017, MAN’s Interim Management Committee (IMC) set up by then Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi visited NLNG to seek for accreditation support. Feelers from that meeting indicated that NLNG said they were not a charity organization and that if MAN needed support, it must paid for and that the payment must be in dollars. At that point, apparently disappointed, the IMC of MAN left.

. Part of our sad reality is that our systems are failing and collapsing everywhere, due to leadership failure, with few exceptions. Since it is unclear what the position of our political leadership is in regard to the ongoing scheme by NLNG to run alternative cadetship courses in Bonny, the National Assembly should step in purposefully to interrogate the plans and force the relevant departments of government to sit up and to begin to carry out a purposeful review of MAN accreditation and certification.

As at today, the Academy rank as one of the best maritime training institution in the world, which change was brought about in the past seven years, through rare stewardship service and dynamic leadership.

It would amount to a national sin and not just a collective, national guilt if the Academy is allowed to flounder, roll aimlessly, ditch and go to waste, again.

The Academy’s criticality to the national economy is no less, compared to NNPC, NLNG, NIMASA, etc. Each is significant and meeting set objectives; and efforts must be sustained to ensure that as a critical national asset, the Academy is supported to perform and perform exceedingly, well.

President Ahmed Bola Tinubu who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum and his subordinates, namely Senator Heineken Lokpobiri  (Oil) and Epkerikpe Ekpo (Gas), should take more than passing interests in getting NLNG, NIMASA and the NNPCL to act more  responsibly in their obligations to support MAN and hence the national growth, correctly and statutorily; through clear policy implementation and programmes.