The International Maritime Institute of Nigeria (IMION) will host a three-day executive training on Nigeria's Blue Economy Policy from April 15 to 17, 2026, at its auditorium in NNS QUORRA, Harbour Road, Apapa, Lagos. The programme aims to deepen stakeholders' understanding of the country's maritime economic framework and improve implementation capacity. Facilitators include Prof. Comfort Etok, former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Barr. (Mrs.) Mfon Usoro, and Mrs. Funke Agbor, SAN, immediate-past president of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA). The event is being led by IMION's Director General, Rear Admiral Thaddeus Udofia (rtd) Ph.D. He said the training will cover core topics such as the fundamentals of the blue economy, Nigeria's regulatory environment, investment opportunities, and policy challenges. A capstone session will focus on producing a Strategic Policy Implementation Brief. The institute emphasized that the curriculum is designed to deliver practical, policy-relevant knowledge to support Nigeria's efforts to harness marine resources sustainably.
Rear Admiral Thaddeus Udofia's leadership of a high-level blue economy training through IMION signals the Nigerian Navy's expanding footprint beyond security into economic policy shaping. That a retired naval officer heads an institute now driving executive education on maritime economics underscores how deeply the military's institutional influence runs in Nigeria's strategic sectors.
The involvement of figures like Prof. Comfort Etok and Funke Agbor, SAN, adds technical credibility, but the event also reveals a recurring pattern: critical economic policy knowledge is often concentrated among a narrow elite with ties to state institutions. While the curriculum promises practical insights, the venue—NNS QUORRA in Apapa—highlights access barriers for stakeholders outside Lagos or without military-linked affiliations. This is not just a training session; it reflects how maritime economic planning in Nigeria remains insulated from broader public and private sector participation.
Ordinary Nigerians in coastal communities, small-scale fishers, and local entrepreneurs—who stand to benefit most from a functional blue economy—are unlikely to attend or influence such dialogues. Their exclusion risks rendering the policy an elite document with limited grassroots impact.
This mirrors a broader trend: Nigeria's strategic economic initiatives are frequently designed in closed rooms, even when public inclusion is essential for success.
