The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), Dayo Mobereola, has stated that Nigerian youths is at the heart of the country’s Marine and Blue Economy Policy, stressing that Nigeria’s ambition to become Africa’s Blue Giant will be driven by the younger generation.

Speaking at the 10th Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime (TAAM) Lecture at the University of Lagos, the NIMASA DG, who was represented by the Director, Reforms Coordination and Blue Economy, Mrs. Nneka Obianyor, noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Blue Economy Agenda is central to economic diversification and that the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has mandated NIMASA to equip young Nigerians with the skills and opportunities to drive the sector.

Mobereola highlighted key youth-centric initiatives of NIMASA to include, the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), newly introduced Blue Economy Accelerator Initiative, skills acquisition centres located in the six-geopolitical zones and the establishment of Institute of Maritime Studies in some Nigerian universities; describing them as strategic interventions to build capacity, create jobs, and encourage innovation among young Nigerians.

In the same vein, NIMASA engaged doctoral and master’s students from the University of Lagos in an interactive knowledge-sharing session, led by the Director of Cabotage Services, Ms. Gloria Anyasodo.

The session featured presentations on shipping development, maritime logistics, cabotage implementation and maritime labour regulation. The engagement underscored the value of stronger collaboration between academia and the maritime industry to advance research, build capacity, and develop practical solutions to the evolving challenges of Nigeria’s maritime sector.