Maritime Labour and Trade Union
Unity is our Strength : Comrade Owolabi Speaks on Justice, Safety and Welfare of Workers on Lagos Waterways
Unity is our Strength : Comrade Owolabi Speaks on Justice, Safety and Welfare of Workers on Lagos Waterways
An Exclusive Interview with Comrade Omotayo Patrick Owolabi, Chairman, Lagos Commercial Private Boat District, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria
By Oghenewoke Osaweren | Labour and trade Union Correspondent | March 2026
Sequel to Comrade Larry’s Interview — in which he highlighted the need for cooperation between workers and boat owners — we turn our attention to the man at the helm of the district, the newly elected chairman. Comrade Omotayo Patrick Owolabi is an experienced union leader whose voice carries the weight of thousands of boat workers whose daily lives and livelihoods play out on the waterways of Lagos. In this exclusive interview, he speaks candidly about the challenges face by members of the union, the future of boat workers in Nigeria, and his expectation of a safer, more just waterway sector.
Q: Comrade Chairman, you now lead the Lagos Commercial Private Boat District after years in the movement. What does this chairmanship mean to you personally, and to the thousands of workers who look to you for direction?
A: Thank you for this opportunity to speak directly to our members and to the public. This chairmanship is not a trophy — it is a burden I carry with both hands. When I look at the faces of our boat workers at the jetties of Marina, Apapa, Ikorodu, Badore,Epe and Badagry , I see people who wake up before dawn, who risk their lives on the waterways every single day, and who go home at night unsure of tomorrow. That responsibility humbles me. I did not take this seat to enrich myself. I took it because someone has to stand in the gap. Our members deserve a chairman who will lose sleep over their welfare, and I intend to be that man.
Q: Your colleague Comrade Larry recently spoke of the need for workers and boat owners to learn to work together. As chairman of this district, how do you view that relationship between labour and capital on the Lagos waterways?
A: Comrade Larry spoke well, and I align fully with his position. The waterways of Lagos are not owned by any single man — they belong to the people, to commerce, to the history of this city. Boat owners bring capital and vessels (boats); our members bring skill, discipline, and their very lives. Neither can function without the other. But let me be frank, cooperation does not mean submission. It does not mean that workers should accept exploitation in the name of peace. True partnership requires mutual respect, fair wages, and decent working conditions. When boat owners fulfil their obligations to our members, they will find in us the most dedicated and loyal workforce in this country. We want harmony — but it must be a harmony built on justice.
Q: Safety remains a persistent concern on Lagos waterways. Overloading, poorly maintained vessels, lack of life jackets — these issues have claimed many lives. What concrete steps is the union taking to address this?
A: The deaths on our waterways are sometimes not by accidents — they are consequences of neglect. When a boat capsizes because it was overloaded beyond capacity that is not an act of God. That is the result of greed, poor regulation, and the absence of enforceable safety standards. Our union has been at the forefront of demanding that every boat owner who intends to operate his or her boat on the waterways of Lagos should provide in the boat, certified standard life jackets for every passenger. We have engaged the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA and the Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA. We are pushing for regular safety audits and for operators who violate safety standards to face real consequences. I am also calling on the Federal Government to take maritime safety on inland waterways as seriously as they take aviation safety. A life lost on the Lagos lagoon is no less precious than a life lost on an aeroplane that is why we are also advocating that the boat ferry transportation to be included in the disbursement of the CVFF fund for boat operators to access and acquire standard modern boats on a prescribed lenient condition by the government, it will go a long way to enhance safety on our waterways because the rickety boats will be removed significantly from the waterways. I will use this media engagement opportunity to commend the effort of NIWA Lagos Area Manager in the person of Engr Sarat Braimah for providing a platform for the training and licensing of some boat captain (workers) recently in Lagos State for free. This will certainly enhance their capability for safety on the waterways. We in the Union really appreciate that act from the NIWA Area Manager. I will also commend the efforts of LASWA General Manager in the person of Mr Damilola Emmanuel who always engage the union over Lagos state waterways development projects. I commend these two government agencies for their swift respond to boat emergencies on Lagos inland waterways by promptly deploying rescue teams to scenes of boat mishaps
Q: Many boat workers lack basic welfare coverage — no health insurance, no pension, and no formal contracts with their employers. How is the union fighting for these workers’ rights?
A: This is one of the most urgent battles we are fighting. The majority of our members exist in a shadow economy — no paper, no protection. Boat captains, engine operators, ticketing staff, jetty hands — they work for years and have nothing to show for it when they are injured or when they grow old. We have been in dialogue with the relevant authorities and with the Boat Owners Associations to establish a contributory welfare scheme. We want every worker in this district registered, documented, and covered. Under my chairmanship, we have begun a registration drive across all our terminals. We are building a database of our members so that we can negotiate from a position of knowledge and strength. No employer should be able to tell us there are no workers when we come to the table — we will bring the names, the numbers, and the facts. The rights, privileges, security, safety and welfare of the boat workers on our waterways needs to be discussed with relevant stakeholders including government agencies.
Q: Irregular and withheld wages remain a common complaint. How does the union intervene when members report that their earnings have been seized or delayed?
A: This is unacceptable, and we treat every such report with the seriousness it deserves. Our district has a grievance management procedure. When a member reports wage non payment — we first engage the boat owner directly. We give them an opportunity to correct the wrong. If they refuse or delay, we escalate the issue. We are not afraid to mobilize our members, and boat owners know that a jetty without workers is a jetty with no business. But I want to be clear: we do not use industrial action as a first resort. We are responsible leaders. We pursue dialogue, then arbitration, and only when all else fails to correct the situation that we exercise our legitimate rights as organized labour. What we will never do is remain silent while our people are cheated.
Q: The Lagos waterway is being described as an underutilized economic asset. Do you see the commercial boat sector playing a bigger role in Lagos transportation, and what must happen for that potential to be realized?
A: Lagos state has the most extensive network of inland waterway in West Africa. The road congestion in this city — the gridlock that steals hours from people’s lives every day — can be significantly relieved by a modern, efficient waterway transport system. But to get there, we need investment. We need modern ferry boats, proper terminals with amenities, trained and certified boat workers, and a serious regulatory framework. Our members are ready. They have the experience and the commitment. What is needed is political will from government and responsible investment from the private sector. There is the multi-billion naira aqua tourism economy potentials of Lagos state that remains grossly untapped. I commend the Lagos state Government under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu on the state’s efforts to invite investors to the Lagos waterways through projects such as the OMI-BUS project and OMI-EKO electric ferries project. I am convinced that when all stakeholders come together with organized labour at the table, we can transform the Lagos waterways.
Q: There are concerns about the proliferation of unregistered boats and unlicensed operators. How does this affect your members, and what is the union’s position on regulation?
A: Unregistered boats and unlicensed operators are a threat to everyone — to passengers, to legitimate operators, and most importantly to our members who follow the rules. When a cowboy operator undercuts proper fares, endangers passengers, and try to escape consequences, it creates pressure on legitimate operators to cut corners too. It undermines the standards we have fought hard to establish. The union fully supports a robust licensing and registration regime — provided it is applied fairly and transparently, and not used as an instrument of harassment or extortion by officials. We want regulation that protects workers and passengers alike, and we want to be part of the process. The union must have a seat at the table when regulations are being designed, not just when we are being told to comply.
Q: What message do you have for boat owners who remain hostile to union activities and who attempt to intimidate workers seeking to exercise their rights?
A: My message is simple and I will say it plainly: the era of treating boat workers with disdain is over. This is the 21st century. Our members have rights enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution and in the Nigeria Labour Act. Any boat owner who victimizes a worker for joining this union, for attending union meetings, or for speaking up about unsafe conditions will face the full weight of our legal and industrial response. We document everything. We have members who are now learning their basic rights these days, and we have solidarity across districts. I also want to say to those boat owners who have embraced responsible partnership with the union — we see you, we appreciate you, and we will work with you to build a prosperous and sustainable waterway sector. It does not have to be adversarial. We choose partnership.
Q: As you look ahead, what is your primary vision for the Lagos Commercial Private Boat District under your chairmanship?
A: My vision is a district where every single member can go to work with dignity and return home safely. I want a district where boat workers are not ashamed to say what they do — where being a waterway worker is a respected profession with a career structure, training pathways, fair pay, and social protection. I want to build the institutional capacity of this district so that long after I am gone, the structure remains to serve the next generation of workers. We are putting in place mentorship programmes, working with NGO’s, technical institutions on certification courses for boat operators and engineers, and establishing channels of continuous dialogue with government agencies and employers. We are into talks with an NGO called SWAAADO over this same training, licensing and waterways safety sensitization. This is not about Owolabi. This is about the movement.
Q: Finally, Comrade Chairman, what is your direct message to the workers of the Lagos Commercial Private Boat District — the men and women on the waterways every day?
A: To our members on the waterways— the boat captains and deckhand who navigate the lagoon everyday, the engine operators who keep those vessels(boats) moving, the ticketing staff who face the crowds at the jetties, the cleaners and the loaders and every hand that makes this industry work — I say to you: you are seen. You are not invisible. Your sacrifices are not in vain. This union belongs to you, not to me. I am your servant in this office. Stay united, know your basic rights, participate in the union activities, and trust the process we are building together. The road is not easy, but we are walking it together to success. No condition is permanent. A better day is coming for the Lagos waterways and to all our members with the support from our great Union, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria-MWUN under the able and charismatic leadership of our President General Comrade Francis Bunu,we will build a better future with our own hands for the waterways workers. Thank you.
Comrade Omotayo Patrick Owolabi is the Chairman of the Lagos Commercial Private Boat District of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN). This interview was conducted on March 16 2026 as part of an ongoing leadership interview series with key figures in Nigeria’s waterway transport sector.
Maritime Labour and Trade Union
NPA Pensioners Storm Marina Headquaters, Vow Escalation Over 16-Year Pension Freeze
NPA Pensioners Storm Marina Headquaters, Vow Escalation Over 16-Year Pension Freeze
Retirees earning as low as N30,000 monthly; nationwide ports shutdown possible
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News Correspondent
Scores of retired workers of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) descended on the agency’s Marina headquarters in Lagos on Monday, demanding immediate resolution of pension increments left unimplemented for nearly two decades — a standoff that has brought the spectre of nationwide port disruptions closer to reality.
The protesters, operating under the umbrella of the Nigerian Ports Authority Pensioners Welfare Association (NPAPWA), accused the NPA management of failing to fully implement statutory pension reviews as prescribed under Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The demonstration drew a charged crowd of retirees bearing placards with stark messages. Inscriptions included: “Nigerian Ports Authority is owing its pensioners 16 years’ constitutional benefits,” “President Bola Tinubu, save our souls — NPA pensioners are dying daily; we need your intervention,” and “My pension is N30,000 per month, save my soul.” A 69-year-old woman was seen in tears during the demonstration.
Decades of Service, Peanuts in Return
The NPAPWA president, Charles Ayo Binitie, said the decision to protest follows years of frustration over the NPA management’s failure to implement the constitutionally mandated five-year pension increment, which he said has not been properly applied since 2008.
Binitie was unsparing in his assessment: “Notwithstanding the fact that the NPA remains a first-grade parastatal like the NNPC, its retirees are paid peanuts, and their so-called pay rise falls short of the constitutional provision in Section 173, Sub-Section 3. The law states that all pensioners are entitled to a pay rise every five years and whenever there is an increase for those in service; however, the management just adds whatever amount it likes, which mostly hovers between 3 and 11.5 percent.”
According to the retirees, some pensioners currently receive as low as N30,000 monthly, while previous increments described as arbitrary have proven wholly inadequate in the face of worsening economic hardship.
Former NPA worker James Igwe, who joined the agency in 1977, painted a grim picture of life after retirement. “I am still receiving N30,000. Many of us are now sick, paralysed and homeless. Some are sleeping in churches because we cannot pay rent. Our children are out of school, and many families have been scattered because of lack of money,” he told journalists.
Another pensioner, identified simply as Otaro, said he retired in 2006 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and had struggled to survive ever since.
Suspended Shutdown, Not a Cancelled One
The protest follows earlier threats by the association to shut down port operations nationwide in April 2026, after issuing a seven-day ultimatum to the NPA. That planned shutdown was suspended following interventions by the Presidency, relevant government agencies, and NPA management — with negotiations over payment of arrears and pension reforms still ongoing.
Binitie made clear that Monday’s action was only a prelude to greater pressure. “Our protest is nationwide. The next protest will be larger and more aggressive, involving units in Lagos, Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt if our demands are not met,” he warned.
On documentation, Binitie alleged a critical administrative failure: the NPA had yet to furnish the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission with its documents for over 15 years, effectively blocking any upward review of pension entitlements.
Leadership Disputes Resolved
Binitie also addressed questions over NPAPWA’s internal cohesion. He pointed to a judgment by the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, which directed the association to hold an annual general meeting and conduct elections — processes that led to his emergence as president. A separate legal battle over alleged impersonation was resolved in September 2025, when a magistrate court in Apapa affirmed his leadership.
With internal disputes behind it, the association now insists it speaks with a single voice — and that voice is demanding urgent action.
Among their demands is a call on the federal government and relevant agencies to compel the NPA to implement all outstanding pension increases, including those tied to the 2024 minimum wage.
Nigeria Watch | Analysis for Maritime Sector Stakeholders
Monday’s protest at NPA’s Marina headquarters is not merely a welfare dispute — it carries direct implications for Nigeria’s port operations and the broader maritime economy.
For terminal operators and port users, the recurring threat of a port shutdown — even if suspended — introduces operational uncertainty into an environment already strained by congestion, infrastructure deficits, and cargo clearance bottlenecks. A coordinated withdrawal of participation by retiree associations, backed by active workers as observed during Monday’s demonstration, could cascade into disruptions at Lagos, Apapa, Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt terminals simultaneously.
The constitutional dimension is equally significant. Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution is unambiguous on pension review obligations — a point that, if tested in court, could expose the NPA to substantial financial liability. With over 16 years of increments left unimplemented, the backlog represents a contingent liability that NPA management and its supervising ministry have, thus far, declined to quantify publicly.
For freight forwarders, shipowners and logistics operators, the central question is how long the current diplomatic holding pattern — sustained by Presidency interventions — can contain grievances that are, by all accounts, deepening by the month. Until the NPA addresses the Wages Commission documentation gap and tables a credible arrears settlement framework, the threat of escalation remains real and the cost of inaction continues to compound.
Editor's Choice
Global Maritime Welfare Charity Expands Wellbeing Tracking Beyond the Ship’s Rail with New Shore-Based Index
Global Maritime Welfare Charity Expands Wellbeing Tracking Beyond the Ship’s Rail with New Shore-Based Index
The Mission to Seafarers launches the ShoreHI — a first-of-its-kind tool to measure happiness among maritime professionals on land
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
For nearly a decade, the maritime world has had a window into the emotional and psychological state of seafarers at sea. Now, a global welfare charity is turning that lens landward — and the people who manage Nigeria’s ports, crewing agencies, maritime law firms, logistics companies and shipping operations may soon find their own wellbeing under scrutiny.
The Mission to Seafarers has announced the launch of its Shorebased Happiness Index (ShoreHI) — a new welfare measurement tool designed to capture the wellbeing and job satisfaction of maritime professionals working on land, for the very first time.
The ShoreHI mirrors the structure and methodology of the internationally recognised Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) and will consist of a 10-question, 1-to-10-scale survey targeting those employed ashore in maritime roles — including ship management, port operations, maritime law, insurance, logistics, finance, and technology.
The move has particular relevance for Nigeria’s maritime sector, where tens of thousands of shore-based professionals — from NPA staff and freight forwarders at Apapa and Tin Can Island to NIMASA regulators and shipping agents — work under significant pressure with little formal measurement of their workplace welfare.
The key objectives of the ShoreHI are to generate industry-wide insights that enable data-driven improvements in workplace culture, retention, and performance, and to provide robust comparative data to support better welfare policies.
Steven Jones, who founded both indices, explained the rationale behind the expansion. “We have spent years measuring happiness at sea,” he said. “Now it is time to measure the wellbeing of the people ashore whose decisions shape life onboard. If we want happier, safer, and more supported seafarers, we need to understand the pressures and realities on both sides of the ship-shore divide.”
Ben Bailey, Director of Programme at the Mission to Seafarers, said the new tool completes a picture that the SHI alone could not provide. “The Seafarers Happiness Index has given us a clear view of life at sea. What it also shows is that many of those pressures originate ashore. ShoreHI is the next step — connecting both sides of the sector so we can move from anecdote to evidence, and target the changes that will have the greatest impact on wellbeing across the maritime workforce.”
The survey will be conducted anonymously and built on the existing Seafarers Happiness Index infrastructure, keeping additional resource requirements to a minimum. Over time, ShoreHI results will be aggregated alongside seafarer findings to build the most complete picture yet of how work and organisational culture interact across global maritime operations.
The announcement comes at a time when Nigeria’s maritime workforce is under considerable strain. Port congestion, policy uncertainty, low welfare standards for terminal workers, and the mental health burden on shipping professionals have all been subjects of growing concern — issues that Waterways News has reported on extensively.
The SHI, which is now in its 10th year, is run quarterly by the Mission to Seafarers in collaboration with Idwal and NorthStandard, and supported by Inmarsat. Its most recent edition recorded a modest rise in seafarer happiness to 6.98 out of 10, up from 6.91 in Q4 2024 — though concerns remain around aging vessels, maintenance pressures, and shore leave restrictions.
With the ShoreHI now joining the suite, maritime professionals on both sides of the gangway — including those working across Nigeria’s major ports and waterways — will for the first time have a formal channel through which their wellbeing can be tracked, compared, and acted upon.
NIGERIA WATCH
How this story connects to Nigeria’s maritime sector
The launch of the Shorebased Happiness Index arrives at a defining moment for Nigeria’s maritime industry — one in which the human cost of keeping Africa’s busiest port economy running is rarely counted, let alone measured.
Nigeria’s shore-based maritime workforce is vast and varied. It spans the dock workers and terminal operators at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)-administered facilities in Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne, Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt; the freight forwarders and clearing agents regulated by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS); the seafarer certification and vessel inspection teams at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); the waterway transport operators and inland port personnel under the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); and thousands more employed across crewing agencies, maritime law firms, logistics companies, and ship chandlers spread across the Niger Delta and Lagos corridor.
Despite the scale and strategic importance of this workforce — one that underpins Nigeria’s import-export lifeline and a significant share of its non-oil foreign exchange earnings — there is currently no formal, structured mechanism for tracking the welfare and job satisfaction of these professionals. Their grievances, burnout levels, workplace pressures, and morale are largely invisible to policymakers.
This is where the ShoreHI could change the conversation. Should Nigerian shore-based maritime workers participate in the index in meaningful numbers, the resulting data could provide the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy — led by Minister Adegboyega Oyetola — with an independent, evidence-based picture of workforce wellbeing across the sector. It would complement the Ministry’s ongoing reform agenda and give added weight to calls for improved welfare conditions, better pay structures, and more humane working environments at Nigeria’s ports.
For NIMASA, whose mandate includes the welfare and certification of Nigerian seafarers and maritime labour compliance, the ShoreHI represents an opportunity to benchmark Nigeria’s shore-based workforce against global standards — and to identify systemic gaps that internal reporting alone may not capture. The agency has in recent years expanded its focus on seafarer welfare, but the wellbeing of the shore-based professionals who support seafarers has remained a blind spot.
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), which advocates for the interests of cargo owners and monitors port service quality, would also find value in ShoreHI data. A demotivated or poorly supported port workforce — from berth allocation officers to terminal gate staff — directly affects cargo dwell time, port efficiency, and ultimately the cost of doing business at Nigerian ports.
For organised maritime labour, including the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and the National Union of Seafarers of Nigeria (NUSN), the ShoreHI offers a rare external validation tool — one that could strengthen their advocacy with port employers and government regulators by replacing anecdote with hard data.
Nigeria’s participation in the ShoreHI is not automatic. It requires deliberate engagement — from NIMASA and the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy encouraging participation, to industry associations like the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), and the Shipping Companies of Nigeria (SHIPPERS-COMP) circulating the survey among their members. The more Nigerian voices that feed into the index, the more relevant and actionable its findings will be for our sector.
At a time when Nigeria is positioning itself as the maritime hub of West and Central Africa, understanding whether the people who run that hub are fulfilled, supported, and fairly treated is not a soft question. It is a strategic one.
Waterways News will continue to monitor Nigeria’s engagement with the Shorebased Happiness Index and report on any findings with implications for domestic maritime policy and workforce welfare.
Editor's Choice
WORKERS’ DAY SPECIAL REPORT: Between the Tide and the Struggle — The State of Nigeria’s Maritime Workers in 2026
WORKERS’ DAY SPECIAL REPORT: Between the Tide and the Struggle — The State of Nigeria’s Maritime Workers in 2026
A Waterways News Special Investigation | May 1, 2026
By Larry Osaweren | Waterways News
As the world marks International Workers’ Day, the men and women who keep Nigeria’s ports, terminals, and waterways moving remain among the most underserved labour forces on the continent. From the creeks of the Niger Delta to the crowded jetties of Apapa, their stories are ones of grit against institutional neglect, unpaid wages, and structural abandonment — set in sharp relief against a global maritime labour framework that Nigeria has ratified but struggles to enforce.
The Wage Gap That Indicts a System
Begin with the most basic measure of worker dignity: pay.
In April 2025, the International Labour Organization concluded minimum wage negotiations in Geneva, setting the global maritime floor at USD $690 per month for an able seafarer — effective January 2026, rising to $704 in 2027 and $715 in 2028. That figure, the product of decades of collective bargaining between the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Transport Workers’ Federation, represents the baseline below which no seafarer anywhere in the world should legally fall.
Nigerian seafarers fall below it routinely.
Testimonies gathered by industry investigators indicate that Nigerian seafarers earn five to seven times less than their international counterparts in comparable roles. One seafarer, speaking anonymously, confirmed that the minimum wage document — a tripartite instrument midwifed by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the National Joint Industrial Council of the Federal Ministry of Labour — is routinely disregarded, with shipping companies paying figures well below what is stipulated. Calls for Nigerian seafarers to be paid in US dollars, in line with the global nature of the profession, have gone largely unanswered.
On land, Nigeria’s national minimum wage stands at ₦70,000 per month — roughly USD $45 — signed into law by President Bola Tinubu in July 2024. The average monthly salary across all sectors hovers around ₦339,000 (approximately $220). Against this already-depressed baseline, maritime workers on the waterways — canoe pilots, boat skippers, and jetty workers who move millions of Nigerians daily — frequently earn below even these modest benchmarks.
The Stranded Cadet Crisis
Nigeria’s maritime workforce challenge is not simply about low wages. At its core, it is a crisis of structural abandonment — one that wastes billions of naira in training investments and condemns thousands of qualified young Nigerians to idleness.
Across the country’s maritime training institutions — from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron to private offshore training centres — hundreds of cadets graduate every year. They emerge certified, ambitious, and trapped. The bottleneck is sea-time: to become a licensed international seafarer, a cadet must complete mandatory onboard training. That requires vessels. And Nigeria, bluntly, lacks a meaningful national fleet.
The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), established under the Cabotage Act of 2003 to help indigenous shipowners acquire vessels, sat largely un-operationalised for over two decades despite billions of naira in accumulated contributions — a damning verdict on successive administrations. NIMASA under Director-General Dr. Dayo Mobereola has taken visible steps to revive the CVFF, launching an application portal in January 2025, with meaningful disbursements to indigenous operators anticipated through 2026.
But the human cost of the delay is already tallied: over 4,000 trained Nigerian seafarers — deckhands, officers, cadets, and marine engineers — are currently adrift in the job market, qualified but largely idle. Meanwhile, industry insiders report that over 80 per cent of vessels flying the Nigerian flag or trading in Nigerian waters no longer carry Nigerian cadets. The roles are going to foreign nationals while Nigerian-trained talent withers on the vine.
The comparison is instructive. The Philippines exports over 400,000 seafarers globally and earns an estimated $6 to $7 billion yearly in remittances. Nigeria’s seafarers, with the country’s enormous coastline, river systems, and maritime heritage, represent one of the nation’s most squandered economic assets.
The Certificate Recognition Problem
A further dimension of the crisis is the global non-recognition of Nigerian maritime credentials. Certificates of Competency (CoC) issued by NIMASA are not widely accepted aboard international vessels, dramatically curtailing the professional reach of Nigerian seafarers compared to peers from India, Greece, or the Philippines.
Captain (Dr.) Abdulrasheed Onakoya, a researcher and member of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners, has publicly highlighted that Nigeria’s maritime training institutions suffer from inadequate funding, outdated equipment, and limited access to sea-time — a combination that makes it difficult to meet standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Shipowners, aware of this gap, use it as justification to underpay or refuse to employ Nigerian seafarers altogether.
NIMASA has responded: the agency has dispatched over 235 cadets to premier institutions in India and Greece, and has integrated technology for verifying Certificates of Competency. These are the right moves. But they must be accelerated and matched with domestic sea-time opportunities at home.
MWUN: Progress, but Not Enough
The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has recorded genuine milestones. Under President-General Comrade Francis Bunu, the union secured a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with shipping companies in August 2024 — the first meaningful minimum conditions framework in twenty years of failed negotiations with the Shipping Agencies, Clearing and Forwarding Employers Association. The agreement, brokered with the involvement of NIMASA and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, established minimum standards covering wages, working hours, and health and safety.
In July 2025, MWUN also concluded a peace accord with Melsmore Marine Nigeria Limited following a protracted dispute over workers’ welfare and pension remittances, with Bunu declaring a “new dawn for Nigerian seafarers” and announcing full unionisation of Melsmore’s workforce.
These are genuine victories. But they remain islands of progress in a sea of structural deficit. Union penetration remains incomplete. Pension remittances by shipping companies to workers’ retirement savings accounts continue to be a site of dispute. And the broader Nigerian labour landscape — with over 75 million informal sector workers excluded from the Contributory Pension Scheme — means maritime workers outside the formal MWUN structure are particularly exposed.
The Inland Waterways: Nigeria’s Forgotten Workforce
Beyond the seafarers, there is a second maritime labour force even more invisible to policy: the operators of Nigeria’s inland waterways — the boat skippers, canoe pilots, and jetty workers who carry millions of Nigerians across rivers, creeks, and lagoons every day.
Nigeria’s approximately 10,000 kilometres of navigable waterways connect 28 of its 36 states and link to five neighbouring countries. This is an extraordinary geographic asset — one that remains criminally underutilised, and whose workers remain almost entirely unprotected.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has intensified training efforts, completing a three-day Boat Navigation and Safety Training for 75 operators from Lagos, Ogun, and Ondo states in December 2025, and distributing 42,000 life jackets across 12 riverine states. These are commendable steps. But NIWA remains overwhelmingly dependent on government grants and generates barely 20 per cent of its required funding — a structural fragility that constrains both infrastructure development and worker welfare.
Boat operators themselves have historically borne multiple, overlapping levies from competing agencies — a burden so contentious it required a Supreme Court judgment in January 2024 to settle the jurisdictional boundary between NIWA and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).
Nigeria Watch: What Must Change
This Workers’ Day, Nigerian maritime labour stands at a crossroads. The legal architecture exists — Nigeria has ratified the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 — but enforcement remains uneven and frequently dependent on the goodwill of individual shipping companies rather than institutional compulsion.
The path forward is clear, even if the political will to walk it is not yet assured. NIMASA must convert CVFF momentum into actual vessel acquisitions that create the sea-time berths stranded cadets desperately need. Training reform must be matched by domestic opportunity. MWUN must extend its reach to the informal and inland waterway operators who remain outside its protection. And the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy must treat maritime labour not as a residual concern, but as a strategic pillar of the blue economy agenda it has championed.
Nigeria’s waterway workers have kept the nation moving — through floods, fuel crises, and fiscal austerity. On this Workers’ Day, the question is not whether they deserve better. It is whether the institutions charged with their welfare will finally deliver it.
Waterways News | waterwaysnews.ng
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