Minister promises to maintain waterway security in order to increase marine tourism

In order to increase marine tourism, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, has promised to maintain the safety of the nation’s waterways.

On Tuesday in Lagos, Oyetola made the commitment while on a tour of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Oyetola claims that maritime tourism can support Nigeria’s economy, necessitating the need to safeguard the waterways.

“Nigeria has a coastline of around 853 kilometres, which is ideal for maritime tourism.

“To encourage people to use our rivers for transportation, we must first secure their security.

“Investors need to be invited. There is a beach in Kenya where there are 10,000 villas. Imagine the type of income they receive. I want to be able to guarantee that investors will come and invest in the industry.

“If we can’t guarantee security, investors won’t want to invest. Therefore, the first step is to guarantee the security of our waterways, he stated.

The minister praised NIMASA’s administration for the actions done thus far to safeguard the safety of the nation’s waterways.

They performed admirably. The degree of piracy has been brought to a complete stop because to the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4i) system. We ought to maintain that.

“We will get the maximum benefit that other nations in the world are getting,” he continued, “if we can encourage people to come and invest in our coastline.”

Oyetola suggested that the youth be encouraged to pursue fishing as another activity that should be utilised.

“We should support them by ensuring that we have fishing trawlers, which will enable our young people to find decent employment.

Additionally, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, fish imports cost billions of dollars last year.

The absurdity of the situation is that the majority of these fish are taken from our waterways, transported to adjacent nations, and then returned to us in canned form.

This is the time, he continued, for us to make sure we control our waterways and realise their full potential.

He pointed out that Nigerians eagerly anticipate the ministry’s unlocking the blue economy’s potential, which has always existed but should be done in a cooperative manner.

“I have seen NIMASA facilities, including the enforcement area, the head office, the training centre, and the C4i manning the waterway security.

“I am impressed by what I have seen so far, and I believe that we are truly prepared for the marine and blue economy.

In order to ensure that the ministry is properly prepared for the challenges that lie ahead, he stated, “where we have issues, we are going to look at them.”