Harboursandport.comA: Lagos - A book, authored by a versatile mass media producer and publisher of a dredging and maritime quarterly print magazine, Dredge Drill & Haul, Edmund Chilaka is to be launched on Thursday 17, 2021 at Etal Hotel in Apapa.
The booked titled "The Rise, Fall and Liquidation of Africa's Pioneer Carriers: Nigeria National Shipping Lina and Black Star Lines" is the culmination of a Ph.D. research on the activities of the first two shipping lines to be floated by the Governments of Ghana and Nigeria in 1957 and 1959, respectively.
Expected as key note speakers at the launch are Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh and President of Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), MkGeorge Ongoing.
Chief Launchers on that day are, Taiwo Afolabi, Executive Vice Chairman of Sifax Group, Musa Danjuma, Chairman of Comet Group and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sea Transport Group while the book will be reviewed by Prof. David Aworawo, Head of Department, History and Strategic Studies, University of Lagos.
The host of the event will be Capt. Emmanuel Ihenacho, Chairman of Integrated Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited.
With the floating of those two liners, an era of strong economic nationalism was declared and it pervaded West Africa, bringing many socioeconomic benefits to the people.
However, when the carriers collapsed and were liquidated forty years later in the 1990s, the region unfortunately reverted to the helpless importation of shipping services from Europe, Asia and North America.
Their fall compounded socio-economic development in the region and caused huge capital flight annually. Moreover, the non-participation of Africa’s indigenous operators from international shipping runs counter to the advice of development partners, lenders from the First World and even the ambitions of serious political leaders from Africa who made promises based on the successful operation of the carriers.
The book surveys the problem historically and offers feasible options for a return to profitable venturing in sea trade by West Africans. Scholars, policymakers and investors will find the book insightful and captivating while former employees of the NNSL and BSL, their families and other stakeholders and aficionados will discover much empathy and nostalgia in its pages.
Chilakam holds a Ph.D in History and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos. His research interests include maritime and general transport studies, port security, dredging and sand mining activities. In 2018, he managed the hosting of the maiden edition of the University of Lagos International Conference on Land and Development as a member of the Local Organizing Committee. He is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Lagos. His other published works include “Piracy and Nigeria’s National Security in the Early 21st Century”, “Current Trends of Nigeria’s Dredging Industry, 2005-2010”, “Fifty Years of Maritime Trade Development in Nigeria, 1960-2010: A Review of the Major Milestones”, “Changing Patterns of Crime and Malfeasance in Nigerian Port Environments”, and Dredging and Sand Mining Activities in Nigeria: A Compilation of Papers and Presentations of the Nigerian Dredging Summit 2007-2014.
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