The Minister of State in charge of Transportation, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki yesterday decried the poor budgetary funding of ocean research.
Saraki specifically said that only two per cent of the National Research Funding budget was dedicated to ocean research.
She spoke at this year’s World Hydrography Day (WHD) symposium organised by the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office (NNHO) in Lagos.
Saraki said without adequate research funding, the data and the understanding necessary to manage ocean science suffers.
According to her, countries like Nigeria with enormous strategic ocean assets need the resource allocation and expertise of the Navy as a national strategy.
The minister said the alarming statistics of illegal activities around the ocean was what triggered the United Nations in 2017, to declare the period from 2021 to 2030, as a decade of ocean science for sustainable development.
“The declaration by the UN aims to leverage ocean sciences, drive actions and processes for reversing the decline in ocean health.
“Hydrography’ is the key driver of ocean science studies and depicts the physical features of the ocean, and that is the starting point for any meaningful understanding of the world oceans. It is this knowledge that enables us to better manage our ocean’s assets and deliver economic and environment solutions to the maritime public and stakeholders across Nigeria.
“Every day is Hydrography Day to a Naval Officer or a Cadet. Like other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, hydrography has traditionally seen low rates of female participation.
“Yes, I am going there. It is my hope that in your pursuit of excellence, you will begin to promote and include women in hydrography daily as well.
“And of course, this will be a good project for the Hydrographer of the Navy, Rear Admiral Emeka Okafor, to champion.
She hailed the Navy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and other relevant agencies for recording five consecutive months without an attack on the waterways, the first time in 28 years.
She said: “Today marks five months of zero attack. This is the first time in 28 years that there has been no attack. This is a feat being duly recognised by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)…I hope that the collaboration that made this possible will continue.”
She advocated more inclusion of women in hydrographic field.
The minister decried the presence of wreckages, plastics and other pollutants that posed safety risks to mariners, assuring that all hands were on deck to get owners of abandoned vessels to evacuate them and the wreckages cleared.
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo said the navy has in two years produced nine more navigational paper charts, five cells of Electronic Navigational Charts while its hydrographic office has commenced production of nautical publications. He said the recent commencement of the first indigenous systematic survey of Nigeria’s coastal and offshore waters by the Navy would be sustained until the entire offshore waters were completely surveyed.
Hydrographer of the Navy, Rear Admiral Chukwuemeka Okafor, said the country has witnessed development in hydrographic strength and capacity under President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that it has joined the list of chart producing nations after several decades.
“My optimism is predicated on the fact that Nigeria has never witnessed the type of development in Hydrographic strength it currently has.
“Nigeria today is among the chart producing nations in the world capable of producing not just nautical charts but also specialised hydrographic products like environmental sensitivity index charts and several nautical products which would guide policy makers and Maritime security agencies and mariners alike while engaging in their activities within the Maritime sector,” said Okafor.