The Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has described the “Public Sector Maritime Icon” award given to him by Vanguard newspapers as a challenge to selflessly work harder in the interest oaf Nigeria and humanity.
While commending Vanguard Media Limited, publishers of the titles, for finding him worthy of the award, Jamoh said he regarded the recognition beyond a honour, but rather as a call to pace up his level of service.
According to him, whatever was being done that attracted the accolades and honour to him and NIMASA under his leadership would be improved upon to make all Nigerians and Vanguard newspapers proud.
The DG said that NIMASA’s good works, which has manifested in inter-agency and international collaboration against piracy and other maritime offences resulting in an all-time reduction in vessel and crew attacks, would be redoubled.
He thanked members of the NIMASA Board, Executive Management team and all staff for their contributions to the success stories the nation’s foremost maritime administration has been associated with.
Jamoh assured that in months to come, NIMASA would scale up its activities to achieve more for investors, professionals and all stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry.
“This calls for more work, more tasks, and more sustainable success. We have so many things in place, and God willing, within the coming months, we must double up our efforts to justify this award,” Jamoh said.
“It is a challenge, and whatever we did before that impressed the selection committee, now we have to double our efforts. For me, I don’t see the award as just an award in name, but as a challenge.
“The essence of leadership wherever you go is to make a difference to the people and the society. So if your position of leadership cannot change dimensions, then the essence of leadership is far from being achieved.
“The Vanguard newspapers recognised our efforts because there are some impacts and changes. But there are so many areas in which we need to do more, which we must be able to do in the coming months. So we to double our efforts”, he further said shortly after receiving his award plaque and certificate.
Notable maritime stakeholders who witnessed the ceremony agreed that the NIMASA DG has worked hard within a short period to justify the honour.
Prominent shipowner, Mrs Margaret Orakwusi described Jamoh as a NIMASA DG who came with three decades of experience in the sector and sound maritime academic background which he has deployed to productive benefits for the Nigerian maritime sector.
Other stakeholders who identified with and commended Jamoh for the honour included Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko; two former Directors General of NIMASA, Dr Ade Dosunmu and Dr Dakuku Peterside; President Nigerian Shipowners Association, Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung; President Alumni Association of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Emmanuel Maiguwa; and President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju.Since assumption of office two years ago, Jamoh has won several awards including the 2020 Zik Prize in Public Policy.
Chairman, Selection Committee, Prof. Pat Utomi said Jamoh’s capacity to have extensively managed the restructuring, reformation and repositioning of NIMASA earned him the prestigious award.
He stated that “the Deep Blue Project and the Blue Economy initiatives Dr Jamoh continues to champion have brought massive gains to the Agency and the nation’s economic diversification goals”.
In its recent report, the International Maritime Bureau disclosed that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which had in recent times become the global epicentre for sea piracy, fell to the lowest since Q2 2019 after Jamoh started enforcing the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
