SIFAX, UNILAG groom next-generation maritime leaders
Lagos, July 21, 2026, The SIFAX Group and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) say they are grooming a new generation of maritime professionals and policy leaders.
They said the professionals would help shape Nigeria’s maritime policies and drive the country’s blue economy.
Group Executive Chairman, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, stated this on Tuesday at the 10th Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference in Lagos.
Afolabi, represented by Group Coordinating Director, Mrs Wunmi Eniola-Jegede, stressed the importance of knowledge-driven collaboration between industry and academia.
The conference, organised in partnership with the UNILAG Maritime Forum, has grown into West Africa’s largest student-led maritime event.
He said the 2025 theme, ‘Ten Tides of Impact: Raising a Generation to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Blue Giant,’ reflected progress and future leadership.
Afolabi said Nigeria’s coastline, ports, trade opportunities and potential jobs remained largely untapped.
He urged young people to bring fresh thinking to longstanding challenges in the maritime sector beyond conference discussions.
“This partnership began modestly but now closes the gap between lecture halls and industry practice,” he said.
He added that students now engaged directly with policymakers and operators involved in real-world maritime decisions.
The event featured a keynote address delivered on behalf of NIMASA Director-General, Dr Dayo Mobereola.
The address was presented by Mrs Nneka Obianyor, Director, Reforms Coordination, Strategic Management and Blue Economy at NIMASA.
Mobereola said the Federal Government was placing young people at the centre of the blue economy.
He said investments were being made in maritime education, seafarer development, vessel financing, innovation and security.
He listed the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme, Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund and Blue Economy Accelerator Initiative.
According to him, the initiatives are creating opportunities in careers, vessel ownership and maritime technology.
President of WISTA Nigeria, Dr Odunayo Ani, congratulated UNILAG, SIFAX Group and partners on the conference’s 10th anniversary.
Ani, also NIMASA’s Director of Finance, described the event as a decade of sustained industry-academia dialogue.
She said the conference had become a respected platform for exchanging ideas, shaping policy conversations and inspiring future maritime professionals.
Ani said the theme aligned with Nigeria’s potential in its coastline, ports, waterways and marine resources.
She stressed that Nigeria’s greatest advantage was its people, urging deliberate investment in human capital.
According to her, WISTA Nigeria supports human-capital development to drive innovation, competitiveness and leadership in the maritime sector.
Maritime Forum President, Dare Damilola, described the 10th edition as more than an anniversary.
He said it strengthened academia-industry collaboration while preparing new professionals and policy leaders for the sector.
Dignitaries included UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, and the Dean of the Faculty of Law.
Other highlights included policy dialogues, panel sessions and the Blueprint Debate Competition.