Mr. Ubong Essien, a guest speaker in the on-going Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Correspondents Chapel, Rivers State, has described Nigeria as sea blind.
Essien who disclosed this at NUJ Secretariat, Port Harcourt during the opening ceremony of the Correspondents Chapel Press Week, further described Rivers State as a clueless state as far as Blue Economy is concerned.
Speaking on the theme; Blue Economy: Starting Steps For Rivers State, he maintained that the Nigerian Nation has remained sea blind due to failure to explore the potentials available in the blue economy that could be utilize to diversify her economy and resources.
According to Mr. Essien, Nigeria has over 853 Km of Coastline, vast Inland watereays, rich biodiversity, bustling port cities,and a geo-Strategic maritime location in west Africa.yet, we behave like a landlocked country. Despite multiple economic shocks- crashing oil prices, declining U.S. Crude imports and rising youth unemployment – we continue to overlook the ocean. He stated that by 2020, US crude oil imports from Nigeria dropped from over One Million Barrels Per Day to 5000 BPD, stressing that this should be a wake up call to diversify but because the country is obsessed with oil we become blinded to an even greater wealth – the Blue Economy.
On the part of clueless Rivers State he states, if you live on the shorelines, living next to Atlanta Ocean and still be indifferent, yet coastal and clueless whereas Rivers State should be the Blue Economic Headquarters, being home to ports, pipelines, mangroves, marine tech. fisheries, and floating opportunities but Rivers State remains ignorant of such opportunities the sea, ocean and marine which surrounded it could offer.
