As Countries and regions of the world brainstorm on successes, opportunities and challenges of Sustainable Development Goals, there is need for a balanced and equitable global distribution of resources and reduction of inequalities.
This was the submission of the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, in a message to this year’s World Maritime Day celebration, with the theme, “Sustainable shipping for sustainable planet”, held in Lagos.
Mr Amaechi who explained that the resource gap in Africa should be considered a matter of global emergency
because of global consequencies it portends, such as illegal migration, terrorism, covid 19 epidemic and environmental pollution, noted that, today, no region of the world was powerful enough to exist in isolation from the rest of the society.
In her address, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs Adejoke Orelope – Adefulire, stressed the fact that the maritime industry was huge, growing and must remain safe, secured and developed with no threat to the environment and called on the participants to capitalise on the availability of local resources, invest in infrastructure and machinery that would be economically and physically resilient, in line with the aspirations of Sustainable Development Goals seven, nine, thirteen and fourteen.
Issues tackled at the event included, Effect of pollution and climate change on coastal communities, Sustaining Equitable Blue Econmy, Diversification of Economy through non oil Export Promotion as it relates to the SDG number one, which is No Poverty as well as Sustainable Shipping.
The event Organiser, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh however expressed regrets over the ochestrated attacks and other criminalities on the nations maritime domain and pledged to fight it with all available arsenals of the Agency.
The event drew participants in the maritime industry to proffer solutions for the future of shipping in Nigeria and how best to sustain the planet.
Godwin Udor
