No fewer than 150 cadets sent to Greece under the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, flagship NSDP program risk deportation if by month ending February, 2025, NIMASA fails to meet her statutory financial obligations. In an emotion laden Save our Souls letter sent to the Editor Shipping World tagged ” Urgent Appeal for Awareness,Nigerian NIMASA Cadets in Greece Facing Unpaid Stipends and Crisis”, dated January 29, 2025, the students alleged that they have been abondonded by their sponsors, NIMASA, which despite repeated appeals, by the prioprietors of the Metropolitan College, Greece, has fallen on deaf ears. They have therefore appealed to the Publisher of Shipping World, Elder Asu Beks, to prevail on Dr Dayo Mobereola, the Director General of NIMASA, to do the needful and save them from deportation. Below is the full text of their SOS to Shipping World January, 2025.
The Editor,Shipping World. Subject: Urgent Appeal for Awareness – Nigerian NIMASA Cadets in Greece Facing Unpaid Stipends and Crisis. Dear Editor,We, the Nigerian cadets currently studying in Greece under the sponsorship of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), write to seek your assistance in raising awareness about a dire situation we are facing.Like our counterparts in India, we have been struggling for months due to unpaid stipends. We recently discovered that Shipping World helped shed light on their situation, leading to NIMASA settling their outstanding payments. We appreciate your efforts in bringing attention to their case and hope that you can do the same for us, as we have been suffering in silence.We are the second batch of cadets brought to Greece by NIMASA in 2022 to train as seafarers. During our first year, we received a monthly stipend of €200, which helped us cover basic personal expenses like hygiene products, school materials, and other necessities. However, since returning to Greece in October 2024 after completing our sea-time training, we have not received a single stipend.When we inquired, we were told that NIMASA owes outstanding payments for our accommodation and feeding, and as a result, our stipends have been suspended. Despite writing letters, we have received no official response from NIMASA. We are now financially stranded as we are now struggling to afford even the most basic necessities. Some cannot afford to print academic materials for upcoming projects, and we are now lacking our basic needs i.e, toiletries, hygiene products, etc. Our situation is worsening daily, and we are reaching a breaking point.Now, we face an even greater crisis: if NIMASA does not settle its outstanding debts by the end of February, 2025, we will be evicted from our accommodation, and our feeding will be stopped. This would force us to abandon our studies entirely, throwing away everything we have worked for and leaving us stranded in a foreign country with no means of support. Many of us left behind important academic and personal opportunities in Nigeria to be here, believing in the promise of this program. To have it all end like this would be devastating.We are deeply frustrated and exhausted. The recent payment of India’s outstanding debts by NIMASA proves that action is possible when attention is drawn to the issue.
We need the same awareness and pressure to be applied in our case. We urge Shipping World to highlight our plight, just as you did for our fellow cadets in India.We are not asking for anything beyond what was promised to us. We only seek the support we need to continue our education and complete the program that we have dedicated ourselves to. We hope that by bringing this issue to light, NIMASA will be compelled to take immediate action.Thank you for your time and consideration. We sincerely hope you can help us in this difficult time.Yours sincerely,Nigerian NIMASA Cadets (2nd Batch)Metropolitan College, Greece