Gloria Odion, Maritme reporter 

The Blue Lagos Sustainability Initiative, in partnership with the New Generation Directorate, has brought together 250 young people representing 125 riverine and coastal communities across Lagos State to discuss grassroots development,youth empowerment, and inclusive governance.

The Lagos Riverine Community Youth Leaders Dialogue, held at the Badore Ferry Terminal, Ajah, provided a platform for youth representatives to present community challenges, identify development priorities, and propose practical solutions to issues affecting underserved riverine and coastal settlements.

The initiative aimed to strengthen engagement between government institutions and grassroots communities while ensuring that young people in hard-to-reach areas have a voice in decisions concerning their welfare, opportunities, and future.

Mr Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Blue Economy, stressed the importance of involving young people in governance and development planning, particularly in communities facing geographical and socioeconomic challenges.

Emmanuel emphasised that sustainable development requires effective communication between government and the people, noting that understanding local needs and incorporating community perspectives into policy formulation and implementation are essential to achieving meaningful progress.

During the interactive session, youth leaders outlined pressing challenges confronting their communities, drawing attention to gaps in essential services, infrastructure, and economic opportunities.

The issues raised included inadequate access to education and healthcare, unemployment, environmental sustainability, transportation, poor infrastructure, youth empowerment, and limited access to essential social services.

Participants also called for improved access to government programmes and the implementation of targeted interventions that reflect the unique circumstances of riverine and coastal communities.

Emmanuel acknowledged the concerns presented by the youth representatives and assured them that their requests and recommendations would be communicated to the appropriate government authorities for consideration and necessary action.

He reiterated the importance of maintaining constructive engagement with grassroots communities to identify development priorities and explore practical approaches to addressing their needs.

In her goodwill message, Princess Damilola Sonayon James, APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in Lagos State and Director of the New Generation Directorate, urged young people across the state’s riverine and coastal communities to take an active role in governance and contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities.

She encouraged the youth leaders to move beyond expressing concerns about government policies by actively contributing ideas, engaging constructively with public officials, and participating in decision-making processes at both grassroots and state levels.

According to her, young people possess the energy, creativity, innovation, and community level understanding needed to promote responsive leadership and sustainable development.

James also urged the participants to remain united, organised, and committed to the progress of their respective communities, stressing the need for continuous engagement with government institutions and other relevant stakeholders.

She further called on young people to see themselves not merely as beneficiaries of government programmes but as active partners in governance, community development, and the future of Lagos State.

The dialogue also featured engagement with Mr Mobolaji Ogunlende, Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, alongside other stakeholders from the New Generation Directorate.

The engagement provided an opportunity to discuss issues affecting young people in riverine and coastal settlements, particularly youth development, employment and livelihood opportunities, education, healthcare, infrastructure, environmental protection, and community welfare.

Participants emphasised the need to strengthen communication between grassroots communities and public institutions, improve awareness of available government initiatives, and ensure that the needs of underserved settlements are adequately reflected in development plans.

With 250 young people representing 125 riverine and coastal communities in attendance, the dialogue underscored the importance of grassroots participation in shaping policies and programmes that respond to the realities of local communities.

The partnership between Blue Lagos and the New Generation Directorate also highlighted the role of collaboration in promoting youth inclusion, strengthening community engagement, and expanding development opportunities across Lagos State.

The initiative further reinforced the need for a coordinated approach involving government agencies, traditional and community leaders, youth organisations, civil society groups, and other stakeholders to address the challenges confronting riverine and coastal settlements.

For the Blue Lagos Sustainability Initiative, the dialogue represents a step towards strengthening grassroots participation, promoting inclusive governance, and ensuring that the concerns of underserved communities receive attention in development planning.

Through the engagement, Blue Lagos and the New Generation Directorate reaffirmed the importance of sustained dialogue with young people as partners in building stronger communities, improving access to opportunities, and advancing sustainable development across Lagos State’s riverine and coastal areas.

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have formalised a partnership to promote the mental health and wellbeing of Nigerian seafarers and cadets, in a move aimed at strengthening welfare standards and improving safety in the maritime industry.

The partnership was sealed with the endorsement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused on training, awareness creation and capacity building to help seafarers identify, manage and cope with the psychological challenges associated with life at sea.

The agreement was reached during a three-day Seafarers’ and Cadets’ Wellbeing Awareness and Train-the-Trainers Programme organised by NIMASA in collaboration with the ITF, with the theme, “Stress: Understanding, Early Management and Coping.”

Speaking at the programme, NIMASA Director-General, Dr Dayo Mobereola, said the partnership would strengthen capacity development and support the integration of seafarer wellbeing modules into maritime training curricula.

Mobereola, who was represented by the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr Jibril Abba, said the initiative was designed to make mental health awareness and wellbeing a permanent feature of preparations for life at sea. Abba also endorsed the MoU on behalf of NIMASA.

According to the Director-General, the wellbeing of seafarers is fundamental to safe shipping, making it imperative to equip maritime training institutions, agency officials and union representatives with the knowledge and skills required to identify stress, manage its effects and provide psychological first aid when necessary.

He stressed that seafarers face significant psychological pressures, including stress, anxiety, depression and burnout, arising partly from the demanding nature of their work and prolonged separation from their families.

To underscore the scale of the challenge, Mobereola cited a 2019 study commissioned by the ITF in collaboration with Yale University, which found that one in four seafarers surveyed showed signs of depression, while approximately one in six exhibited signs of anxiety.

He said the findings reinforced the need for sustained interventions to safeguard the mental health of maritime workers and promote a healthier working environment at sea.

The ITF Africa Regional Secretary, Mr Safiyanu Dauda Mohammed, described the agreement as a significant milestone, disclosing that it was the first MoU of its kind the federation had entered into with any African country.

“It is very exciting for me because it is the first in Africa, and we are starting with Nigeria,” Mohammed said.

He emphasised the strategic importance of seafarers to the maritime industry, noting that their contributions made it necessary to prioritise their welfare and wellbeing.

According to him, addressing the anxiety and depression experienced by seafarers would help strengthen their welfare and support their ability to perform their duties effectively.

Also speaking, the President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Comrade Francis Bunu, welcomed the partnership, describing it as an important step towards ensuring that seafarers remain mentally fit to carry out their responsibilities.

“We need seafarers to be mentally sound while doing their job, and that is why today is a very significant day for the seafarer in Nigeria,” Bunu said.

Other stakeholders at the event included the National President of the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Chief Engineer Bob Joseph Yousou; ITF Wellbeing Coordinator, Dr Asif Altaf; and ITF Inspector, Mr Hamani Amadou, among others.

The programme comes amid growing recognition of the mental health challenges confronting seafarers, whose jobs often involve demanding working conditions, extended periods at sea and prolonged separation from family members and loved ones.

These conditions can increase the risk of psychological distress, making early identification, appropriate support and effective coping strategies essential components of seafarer welfare and maritime safety.

Through the MoU, NIMASA and the ITF are seeking to strengthen institutional collaboration and build the capacity of maritime stakeholders to provide more effective mental health support for seafarers and cadets.

The partnership also underscores the importance of integrating wellbeing into maritime education and professional development, recognising that the physical and psychological fitness of seafarers is central to safe and efficient shipping operations.

The initiative reinforces the shared commitment of both organisations to advancing seafarer welfare through sustained training, greater awareness and improved access to mental health support, underlining the principle that a healthy seafarer is a safe seafarer.

Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

At the African Ports Conference (COPAF 2026) in Casablanca, Morocco, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, dropped a piece of unvarnished realism that should govern all future maritime discourse on the continent.

Speaking on the theme of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, Dantsoho issued a vital warning: African ports must establish effective, uncompromised digital foundations before they rush to deploy artificial intelligence (AI).

In an era where public officials routinely weaponize trendy buzzwords like “AI,” “Big Data,” and “Smart Governance” to perform administrative progress, Dantsoho’s perspective is a refreshing return to structural logic.

Smart ports, he rightly argued, must be measured by tangible operational realities—faster vessel turnaround times, shorter cargo dwell times, lower costs, and watertight revenue accounting—not by the sheer volume of technology purchases.

The numbers coming out of Nigeria’s maritime sector suggest that getting the basic digital foundations right yields immediate economic dividends.

The deployment of foundational tools like the “Eto” truck call-up system, alongside initial frameworks for the Port Community System, catalyzed a staggering 24.8 per cent increase in Nigeria’s cargo throughput.

This foundational digitisation is precisely why the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index recently recorded strong upward trajectory rankings for both the Tin Can Island and Apapa Ports.

But as Nigeria embarks on its massive $1 billion Lagos ports modernization program, we must face the hard, structural truth that lies beneath these celebratory statistics.

Digitisation is not merely about software procurement; it is about political will and institutional harmonization.

For over a decade, Nigeria’s biggest maritime bottleneck has not been a lack of computers, but the fierce, territorial resistance from various state agencies refusing to plug into a single, unified data ledger.

A “Smart Port” cannot exist in a vacuum where customs, immigration, terminal operators, and security agencies run isolated, analogue silos designed to preserve bureaucratic fiefdoms and rent-seeking opportunities.

If the $1 billion modernization fund is spent buying sophisticated AI predictive maintenance tools and automated vessel planning systems while the National Single Window remains structurally sabotaged by agency politics, we will simply end up with a highly automated system that accelerates corruption and bottlenecks.

You cannot run a predictive AI algorithm on data that is manually altered or hidden by a human clearing agent at the wharf.

Dantsoho is entirely correct: we must build the digital plumbing before we chase the AI crown.

Going into 2027, the yardstick for evaluating the NPA’s modernization program must not be the number of smart cameras or automated gates installed.

The true metric of success will be the complete, legally enforced integration of all port stakeholders into a single data ecosystem.

Until the data flows seamlessly and transparently from the vessel to the final exit gate without human friction, any talk of an “AI-driven smart port” is mere window dressing.

We must fix the foundations first, or watch a billion dollars clear out into the ocean of unfulfilled potential.

Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.