… women come into the space to support and not to take away our jobs – Capt. Umoren
It was a gathering of the titans in the Nigerian Maritime Industry as the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIoTA) recently hosted its maiden International Day for Women in Maritime focusing on training and retraining of women to attain proficiency.
An initiative of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), this year’s celebration themed; ‘Training-Visibility, Recognition And Supporting A Barrier-Free Work Environment,’ had stakeholders harp on the need to train women to global visibility and recognition, as well as work towards achieving a barrier-free work environment in terms of gender, tribe and religion.
The virtual meeting held on Wednesday 18th of May, 20222 was moderated by the National Publicity Secretary of CIoTA, who is also a staff member of NIMASA, Mrs. Chizoba Anyika supported by CIoTA’s Registrar, Mr. Rasheed Aiyelabegan.
Taking the centre stage with her presentation, Hajia Lami Tumaka (a retired Director at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), noted that supporting a barrier-free work environment is quite auspicious.
In further endorsement of the theme, she said it was apt, especially as IMO is a global organisation.
She revealed that in the National Assembly of Nigeria (NASS) out of the 409 members only 19 are women translating to 4 per cent of the entire membership, in a country where women and youth account for the 75 per cent of the population.
“The National Assembly threw out five Bills until they were prevailed upon to bring them back,” she noted.
Also noting that the maritime industry is male-dominated, Tumaka noted that even so, there are women in the industry who have stood out and are performing so well.
“For the UN we congratulate ourselves, I congratulate you for today being the International Day For Women in Maritime Industry. I congratulate us for the observance of this day,” she said.
Continuing, the retired NIMASA Director said the theme for her presupposes that women should be trained and retrained to make them well educated and give them the desired visibility that would earn them skills and competence for global recognition and awards.
She said: “By the theme it presupposes that women should be trained and retrained to make us well educated and to give us visibility that we so desire.
“When you train yourself you get the skills, you get the competence and you can compete in any environment.
“So, this year’s theme presupposes that we should be trained to attain proficiency, be given visibility for the world to see that we’re doing great things and our effort to be crowned either with recognition or even be given awards.”
However, most importantly, Tumaka said the theme encourages everyone to work towards a barrier-free work environment whether on the basis of gender, tribe or religion.
“In the sports world, you would find out that in terms of payments, there is a wide gap between the men and the women.
“For some reasons, I don’t know why, female police officers cannot have children for a certain length of time, but it is different for the men, this is gender disparity,” she pointed out, charging that in the maritime industry, the narrative has to be changed “by creating opportunities for the women because there are roles they can play in the sector.”
She therefore, charged women in the industry to build their capacity in their chosen careers, for them to qualify and take available opportunities for themselves.
According to her, there is a need for training as a fundamental tool for development while women seek for visibility and recognition.
“Training is critical for women to take up higher responsibilities in the maritime sector. Nobody will give you a seat because you are a woman; you have to build your capacity and show that you can be there and play at the highest level.
“That is what the theme for this year’s international day for women in maritime is about. While we know we are not yet where we should be, but we can get there.
“There are various women who have been outstanding and have distinguished themselves; the likes of the first Director General of NIMASA, Mrs. Mfon Usoro, first woman President of CILT, and Abuja MoU; Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi, Princess Vicky Haastrup, Jean Chiazor-Anishere, Juliana Gunwa, Mrs. Bola Muse, Dr. Amy Jadesimi, Lami Tumaka, and many more.
We all tried to break the bias. We worked hard and built our capacity,” Tumaka said.
She commended the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 5) for seeking to promote women; hence, she called for more inclusiveness for women on boards of parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
The Rivers State Coordinator for Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), Dr. Mercy Bello-Abu, on her part also hailed the theme saying that training and retraining should be followed as avenues to achieving great goals as women.
In her words: “I love the theme of training, visibility and recognition. As a consultant, I know the importance of training for our women.
“I am here today because I am always hungry for new knowledge to improve on what I do. If your voice must be heard, then you must embrace training.”
Bello-Abu encouraged women to start by knowing and valuing their worth and to make efforts to become visible even after acquiring knowledge and being trained.
She also charged women in the maritime industry to acknowledge compliments given to them as well as make impact in the career lives of younger women, as a way of making themselves even more visible.
“You can only make a mark with knowing yourself and identifying the needs you have to improve your capacity on.
“For the women in the industry, do acknowledge compliments, appreciate others and prepare the next generation. We must be selective in networking with people, choose and plan your relationship, use your talent and know what you are doing with it.”
She praised women for showing much resilience during the COVID-19 lockdown, and called for more barrier-free work environment to enable women showcase the best of their capabilities.
“MDAs in Nigeria should follow the vision and mission of the international bodies – UN and IMO to ensure women have opportunities to contribute in greater capacities. You have to be prepared by getting the skills and knowledge,” she advised
Bello-Abu also advised women in the maritime industry to be authentic and follow the words of former First Lady of the United States of America, Mitchell Obama, who wrote in her book that “I know myself.’
The Secretary-General of Abuja MoU, Captain Sunday Umoren, while giving the vote of thanks, appreciated how a number of women had worked on board with him in time past.
He described the special day for celebrating women in the industry as a welcoming development and encouraged women to give themselves to training and exude excellence, which would make it impossible for them to be denied a place in the affairs of the industry.
Umoren said: “On my last few ships, there were five girls on board the ship and they were good. Training should be two-angled. Men should accept the fact that the women come into the space to support and not to take away our jobs.
“Excellence will make you visible. The spirit of excellence will break barriers. It is about competence.”
Anyika who summarised the presentations called on women to see opportunities in the industry and make themselves available however tough the terrain may seem.
She appreciated the women who worked during the pandemic lockdown, charging them to build barrier-free work places.
Other stakeholders who contributed to the discussion included; Dr. Ifeyinwa Nwakwesi, Professor Dayo, Mrs. Asagwara, Jessica, Chika, and Professor Calistus Ibe.