Jamoh’s Giant Strides in Repositioning NIMASA
In the words of Harry S. Truman, “Men make history and not the other way around.
In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”
This quote reflects the effective leadership of the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who is engineering transformation at the Agency.
President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Jamoh as the DG of NIMASA, in March 2020 to replace the former DG Dakuku Peterside whose tenure expired on March 10, 2020. Prior to his appointment, Jamoh was the Executive Director for Admin and Finance at NIMASA.
Jamoh, 58, joined NIMASA in 2003 as Assistant Chief Commercial Officer in charge of Eastern and Central Zones. He worked with the Kaduna state government before switching services to the then National Maritime Authority (NMA) in 1994.
Jamoh is the current president of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria (CIoTA).
Qualifications
Jamoh has over 34 years of professional experience in the transportation and maritime sector.
He has also organised and facilitated leadership training and manpower development programmes in many countries including UK, USA., UAE, South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia and Sweden, among others.
He attended Kaduna Teacher’s College, Kaduna where he obtained Grade 2 Teacher’s Certificate in
He proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained Diploma in Accounting. This was followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Bayero University, Kano in 1993.
The NIMASA boss holds a Master’s Degree in Management from the Korean Maritime and Ocean University as well as a PhD in Logistics and Transport Management from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In his quest for more knowledge, Jamoh has attended several leadership and management courses at many oversea universities including
- Harvard University, United States;
- Oxford University, United Kingdom;
- Cambridge University, United Kingdom;
- International Training Centre of ILO, Turin, Italy; and
- Institute of Public Private Partnership Washington DC, United States.
Others are:
- International Law Institute, United States;
- Institute for Leadership and Development for the Public Good, United States;
- Royal Institute of Public Administration, United Kingdom; and
- World Maritime University, Sweden, amongst others.
He is also a
- Fellow of the Institute for Service Excellence and Good Governance;
- Fellow, Institute of Business Development;
- Fellow, Academy of Entrepreneurial Studies;
- Fellow, Institute of Public Diplomacy and Management; and
- Fellow, Institute of Information Management.
In addition, the maritime expert is the author of the book, ‘Harnessing Nigeria’s Maritime Assets – Past, Present and Future.’
So far, so good
NIMASA is the apex regulatory and promotional maritime agency in Nigeria.
The Agency was created from the merger of National Maritime Authority and Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council (former parastatals of the Federal Ministry of Transport) on August 1, 2006.
Its areas of focus include effective Maritime Safety Administration, Maritime Labour Regulation, Marine Pollution Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue, Cabotage enforcement, Shipping Development and Ship Registration, Training and Certification of Seafarers, and Maritime Capacity Development – using modern tools that guarantee efficiency and effectiveness, as well as the development of indigenous capacity.
The Agency also implements domesticated International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions. Since assuming office, Jamoh has not only made the Agency more effective, but improved its level of efficiency in both policy and service delivery.
In his first three months, a total of 27 alleged pirates were arrested by various security agencies. Under Jamoh’s leadership, security on Nigerian waters has improved significantly.
On June 10, 2021, President Buhari in Lagos, performed the official launch of the assets under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
According to Jamoh, “With the deployment of the assets of the Deep Blue Project, we are entering another level of national security designed for total spectrum maritime security and better domain awareness using some of the latest technology.
“This effort to secure our waters would give Nigerians more leverage to harness the enormous resources of our maritime environment and aid the drive towards economic diversification.”
The Project, which was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Federal Ministry of Defence, is being implemented by NIMASA.
The main objective of the Deep Blue Project is to secure Nigerian waters up to the Gulf of Guinea. 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 Agency in June also took delivery of additional 2 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), 9 boats and 10 armoured vehicles.
The Deep Blue Project is the first integrated maritime security strategy in West and Central Africa with the aim of tackling the incidences of piracy, sea robbery, and other crimes at sea.
While prosecution of suspected criminals used to be a challenge, the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offenses (SPOMO) Act passed by the 9th National Assembly would now provide a legal backing for prosecution and punishment of offenders.
‘‘I am confident that the project, which provides a robust maritime security architecture, will enhance maritime domain awareness capability and improve law enforcement action, particularly in the prosecution of suspects under the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act which I signed into law in June 2019.
‘‘This flag-off is an important step in the continuing shift in strategic action about regional maritime security,” Buhari said at the launch.
‘‘It will serve as a benchmark for member states in the Gulf of Guinea and other relevant stakeholders to further develop innovative strategies and align efforts with the subsisting framework to improve maritime security in the region.”
Jamoh’s impact touches on areas like timely and easier interpretation of the SPOMO Act which aims at achieving a safer maritime domain; alternative dispute resolution in the maritime industry; limits of admiralty jurisdiction in Nigeria amongst others.
In July, 2021, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos sentenced ten (10) pirates to a total of 48 years each in prison under SPOMO ACT, for hijacking a Chinese fishing vessel, FV Hai Lu Feng II, in May 2020.
Justice Ayokunle Faji convicted the defendants 12 years each on all four counts as charged. The 48 years imprisonment is however to run concurrently.
In addition to each of the convicts spending 12 years behind bars, they would also pay a cumulative fine of N10 million.
Special intervention
Jamoh in July, gave assurances that two special mission aircrafts in the Deep Blue Project fleet of the agency would be deployed to fight oil theft and protect the nation’s economy.
Oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal refining are unlawful activities that are threatening the economic and environmental well-being of Nigeria.
According to Jamoh, the aircrafts from the mobile assets of the Deep Blue Project, will support existing platforms being deployed by other security agencies, which NIMASA has subsisting Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in July, disclosed that the country lost $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2022, due to oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
The aircrafts would assist in patrolling oil facilities, installations and other assets to observe suspicious human and vessel movements in and around the facilities.
“We shall be deploying our 2 special mission aircrafts for aerial surveillance to prevent and fight oil theft in the country. With this, we aim at using the aircrafts to patrol sensitive areas, record suspicious human and vessel movements to process intelligence for timely action by our security agencies,” Jamoh said at an industry event.
“The oil industry is critical to our national economy and no space of the sector should be left for criminals to occupy or operate. We have recorded gains in our maritime security efforts and more needs to be done to sustain and consolidate on these gains.
“Our collaborations with security agencies which we have MoUs with is, among other reasons, to collaborate and work ahead of criminal elements. I am happy to state that our synergies have been beneficial to the country in many ways.”
Collaborations and partnerships
Jamoh-led Management of NIMASA, recently agreed to set up a working Committee with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), that will be meeting regularly to ensure improved liaison between both organizations in the interest of Nigeria.
The NIMASA DG believes that a better working relationship between the Agency and the NLNG would greatly enhance operations in the maritime sector of the country.
He has assured the NLNG Management that NIMASA would extend the already existing working relationship the Agency has with the NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML) to the parent body, while also urging NLNG to consider the Nigerian Flag as first option for her vessels.
“This is a new beginning; our focus should be what is best for Nigeria and not just for the NLNG or NIMASA,” he said.
NLNG has been providing platforms for Sea time to train Nigerian Seafarers, and the NIMASA boss has reiterated the Agency’s commitment to attaining best global practice, so that Certificates issued by Nigeria will be recognized globally.
“We are working to ensure that the Certificates of Competency issued by the Nigerian Maritime Administration are of international standard. This he said will make it easy for the NLNG and other international organizations to accept them,” he stated
“NIMASA needs the NLNG, we desire to have Vessels of the NLNG fly the Nigerian Flag, just imagine that Vessels of the NLNG are on the Nigerian Registry, our tonnage will increase exponentially, the Nigerian Flag will earn much more respect globally and we will get better recognition.”
The collaboration with the NLNG is a step in the right direction because of NLNG’s commitment to the deliberate indigenization of the human component of its operation, and it is ready to partner NIMASA to enhance safety and security of lives and assets in the Nigerian maritime domain.
“We at NLNG have realized that for us to fulfill one of our key vision elements, which is helping to build a better Nigeria, it is important for us to work with all our stakeholders including NIMASA.
We are aware that NIMASA and our subsidiary, NMSL are working hand in hand for the progress of this country and we desire that same spirit of partnership and collaboration should be extended to the NLNG,” said the Managing Director of NLNG, Dr Philip Mshelbila.
“I believe that for NLNG to fulfill its mission as a business it needs to partner with NIMASA. NIMASA is an important stakeholder for us; we don’t just see it as a regulator only.
I know we have various training programs, working closely with NIMASA, being explored by NMSL to provide sea time training for Seafarers, which has enabled the seafarer to fulfill their qualifications and get certifications”.
“We can certainly testify from the report that we get both locally and from international bodies that there has been a huge success in the war against criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea and we know that the Deep Blue Project is instrumental in attaining this success,” he noted.
“Based on the information at our disposal; I don’t think there has been any case of abduction since this year and that’s a testament to the success of Deep Blue Project initiative that NIMASA has driven and this has been in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy, Regional and non-regional bodies.”
NIMASA and the NLNG have also agreed to urgently look into areas including Port Charges and how best to make Nigerian Ports competitive, effective implementation of the Cabotage Law, Stevedoring charges, CoC recognition, and Registration of NLNG Vessels on the Nigerian Ship Registry amongst others.
Similarly, NIMASA in August, signed MoU with the National Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, on research and training towards enhancing maritime safety and security in Nigeria.
The MoU is hinged on research and training, with a view to enhancing local content and boosting the quality assurance of the institute. This is a follow up on earlier agreements reached between both Agencies of government in their quest to further domesticate specialized training programmes at management cadre in the maritime sector.
The MoU is a mutually beneficial partnership, aimed at supporting the core mandate of the NITT, while also in line with Jamoh’s administration commitment to capacity building for NIMASA staff.
“The MoU is to formalize and strengthen the existing relationship between NIMASA and the NITT in terms of research, training and capacity development in general,” said Jamoh.
“We appreciate your visit to NIMASA sometime ago and we are glad that much progress is being made in terms of our collaboration”. We hope that your institute willconduct detailed research to determine gaps in the implementation of our core mandate and develop training programs to close such identified gaps.”
The Agency, recently, also signed an MoU with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) on Seafarers’ Travel document amongst others.
Jamoh strongly believes that the role of NIS in enhancing security in the maritime domain is crucial, and notes that seamless issuance of travel documents to seafarers is a key component in the nation’s quest to grow the maritime industry.
“Security on land is key to achieving a safe and secure maritime domain. NIMASA appreciates the need to work closely with the Immigration Service to improve security in the maritime domain.
We need the Service to play a major role in issues of crew nationality, seafarers travel document and managing issues of stowaways, amongst others,” said Jamoh.
Capacity development
Human capacity development is a key policy in Jamoh’s leadership at NIMASA.The Agency is currently reviewing the cost of direct sponsorship of Nigerian cadets undergoing foreign training under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).
The review, Jamoh has noted, became necessary due to the global inflationary trends which is very pronounced in the Philippines, India and some other countries where Nigerian cadets are undergoing Certificate of Competency (CoC) Examination training under the NSDP programme.
The sponsorship covers training leading to obtaining a Certificate of Competency, CoC.
“We are not unmindful of the unforeseen global inflationary trend which has affected the cost of sustaining our cadets who are on sponsorship in some schools under the NSDP programme.
Though NIMASA paid the tuition fee, examination fee and the original cost of feeding and accommodation in full, with allowance for extra funds as pocket money, however, it’s obvious that cost of living has increased particularly in the Philippines due to the global inflation.
The Agency is working closely with the Nigerian Embassy in the Philippines to address the challenges associated with the unexpected price increases,” he said.
“We have put in place immediate and long term arrangements to minimize the effect of inflation on their living standard during the programme.
The Management of the Agency has approved an additional $2,000 dollars for each cadet, as extra fund due to inflation. This is a short term measure to cushion the effect.
I am sure the Nigerian Embassy will get in touch with the students immediately the funds are ready to be disbursed. It is a well coordinated arrangement through the embassy.
“While working closely with the Nigerian Embassy in the Philippines to establish appropriate extra funds that may be required, NIMASA Management is deploying a team on fact finding to interact with the students currently in the Philippines, officials of the Nigerian Embassy, the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippines, some Licensure Examination Training & Review Centres (TRCs).
“146 cadets have acquired the Philippines sailing license through the NSDP programme with 134 currently undergoing the Programme and a further 170 being prepared to proceed to the Philippines for the examinations.“
The Agency has also made arrangements to ensure that cadets who have spent the stipulated 6 months approved for the CoC programme in the Philipines return home immediately.
Awards and recognition
As a result of Jamoh’s impressive performance as the DG of NIMASA, he was named winner of the Vanguard Public Sector Icon, Maritime, 2021, in April this year.
This is in addition to other awards and recognitions he has received.
Jamoh is a patriot, a visionary leader, a professional par excellence who is committed to service to the nation. With his accomplishments in just a little above two years as NIMASA DG, he has proven to be a leader with immeasurable leadership ingenuity.
