Abuja: Nigeria has sent 100 youths to India to receive training in various maritime fields to enable the oil-rich nation to take control of its coastal trade. Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi said that the seafarers would receive training at Chennai-based AMET University of Maritime Transport.
Akpobolokemi said the training is aimed to place Nigeria in a strategic position to "effectively take control of its coastal trade within the next 10 years." The beneficiaries were enjoined to treat the opportunity given to them by the country and the agency as a rare one by dedicating themselves fully to their studies and be guided by the rules and regulations of the university in addition to the laws of India, Akpobolokemi said.
"President Goodluck Jonathan is interested in the seafarers development programme and the cadets were admonished to be good ambassadors of Nigeria while in India," he said adding that he hopes Nigeria would become a hub of maritime activities in Africa as far as human capacity is concerned. Many Nigerians have benefitted from government sponsored scholarships in India.
In August 2011, 25 Nigerian repentant militants were sent to India to undergo trainings in diving and underwater welding under the African country's post-amnesty programme designed to make the former rebels more relevant in the petroleum sector. After an education fair held in Nigeria by India in 2012 more than 1,200 Nigerians went to India to study and the high commissioner to the oil-rich African country enthused that he expects this growth to accelerate further after an exhibition held in May 2013.
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