By Tola Adenubi | Lagos
The Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has raised the alarm that foreign seafarers handling critical aspect of shipping in Nigeria are threatening to leave the country and abandoned vessels over fears of violence due to the incoming general elections scheduled for this weekend.
Speaking exclusively with the Nigerian Tribune, President of SOAN, Dr MKGeorge Onyung, called for calm, stating that election is not a do or die affair.
According to the SOAN President, “In the past, the American embassy issued an alert over possible breakout of violence as a result of Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and some American embassy officials were evacuated from the country.
“As a result, fear is being injected into shipping in Nigeria. Some of our very high-level vessels are being manned by captains of foreign descent, like Indians, Philippines and others.
“These foreign seafarers handle critical operations onboard our vessels. Now, many of them are threatening to leave the country over fear of violence due to our forthcoming elections.
“The different pockets of violence that have been happening across the country has further helped to deepen this fear that there could be breakdown of law and order across the country due to the elections. As a result, some of the foreign seafarers are threatening to abandon our ships.
“As President of SOAN, my message at this critical time is to call for calm and remind everyone that the election is just a one-day event and Nigeria will continue to exist after the elections.
“Election is not a do or die affair. Nigeria will continue to exist after this election. We shouldn’t forget that shipping is the biggest economy in the world. Without shipping, there is no shopping.
“Right now, shipping in Nigeria is not yet where it ought to be, and thus we cannot afford to have seafarers manning critical aspects of our shipping operations leaving the country and abandoning our vessels.
“Let us not instil fear into critical sectors of our economy, which includes shipping. We cannot afford to allow our highly trained seafarers to abandon our ships at this time.
“Shipping is a fragile aspect of our economy. Those beating the drums of war should be warned not to instil fear into critical aspects of our economy. Election is a one-day event and the country will remain afterwards. Business will continue after the elections. We shouldn’t kill shipping all in the name of general elections. All those beating the drums of war should desist from doing that because things like this hurt shipping.”
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