Nigerian Divers Blame FG for Unregulated Practices, Foreign Dominance

Nigerian divers have blamed the stagnation of the sector on unregulated practices and increased foreign dominance allegedly fuelled by the failure of the Ministry of Labour and Employment to establish a Diving Advisory Board in line with the nation’s 2018 Diving at Work Regulations.

A Chief Diving Inspector, Mr. Julius Ugwala stated this in an interview on a television station monitored in Lagos.

According to Ugwala, in order to harness the potential in the sector, the nation would have to inaugurate an advisory board as stipulated by exiting regulations to oversee the activities of diving including safety, education, remuneration and local content development.

The diving expert lamented that despite Nigeria’s 853km long coastline that runs through several states and the numerous maritime activities requiring services of professional divers, the federal government is yet to the see the enormous potential in the sector.

He said: “The government isn’t aware of the viability of the diving sector and how much it could contribute in terms of revenue for government and job opportunities for the teeming youth in the country. I think the practitioners in the country should take up the onus of convincing the government about the need to regulate the profession.

“Setting up the Advisory board would see the diving sector become a duly regulated one in Nigeria. It would also lead to an influx of people into the profession. People will be more willing to pick a career in diving and experts would no longer have to travel out of the country to be trained.”

He disclosed that the diving sector has capacity to put an end to youth restiveness across Nigeria by catering for over 10 per cent of the nation’s unemployment margin.

“The board would ensure proper regulation leading to the establishment of quality schools in the country to train professionals. This nation is facing a serious unemployment gap but this diving sector could reduce the margin of unemployment drastically by more than 10 per cent,” he said.

He also decried the high mortality rate of divers in the nation, noting that unsafe practices have become the norm following the absence of a regulator.

Ugwala opined that the inauguration of an Advisory Board would bring uniformity to diving practice and guarantee safe operations, insurance for divers and appropriate remuneration to curb the paltry wages given to Nigerian divers unlike expatriates.