RESEARCH PROPOSAL/CONCEPT NOTES

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

THE RESEARCH IS FOCUSED ON THE “ANALYTICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE
NATIONAL INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AS
VERITABLE PLATFORM FOR HARNESSING THE POTENTIALS FOR NIGERIA
BLUE ECONOMIES AND GROWTH”.

RELEVANCE OF STUDY TO SELF AND SOCIETY:

THIS RESEARCH IS VERY RELEVANT TO ME BY VIRTUE OF BEING A
PRACTITIONER IN THE MARITIME SECTOR. AS A PUBLIC OFFICER WHO
REGULATES THE ACTIVITIES OF OPERATORS IN THE SECTOR, THE
RESULTS AND OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY WILL ASSIST ME IN TAKING
CRITICAL DECISIONS AND AS WELL, MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO
THE GOVERNMENTS AND OTHER RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES THAT WILL
BE UTILIZED TO CREATE POSITIVE IMPACT FOR THE GROWTH OF THE
SECTOR. THE OVERALL BENEFIT OF THIS WILL BE THE EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATIONS OF POLICIES ARISING FROM THE RESULT OF THIS
STUDY, THAT WILL AFTER ALL ENHANCE JOB/WEALTH CREATION IN THE
COUNTRY AND PROMOTE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND WELLBEING OF
THE SOCIETY.

AIM(S) OF THE STUDY:

 TO CRITICALLY ASSESS THE VARIOUS OPPORTUNITIES THAT
EXIST ON THE INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
OF NIGERIA
 TO ESTABLISH A NEXUS IN MAXIMIZING THE USE OF NATIONAL
INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS TO
HARNESSING THE DEEP BLUE ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE
NATION.
 TO ANALYZE IN NUMERICAL TERMS, HOW THESE LINKAGES CAN
BE MAXIMIZED FOR THE EXPLOITATION OF THE SUSTAINABLE USE
OF THE NATION’S OCEAN RESOURCES.

JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY:

NIGERIA HAS EXPANSIVE INLAND WATERWAYS SYSTEMS THAT CAN BE
ACCESSED IN 28 STATES. THIS WATERWAY COVERS A COASTAL LENGTH
OF ABOUT 4,000-KM, AS WELL, OVER 200 NAUTICAL MILES OF OCEAN
RESOURCES ZONES THAT CAN BE TAPPED INTO. WITH THE CREATION
OF MINISTRY OF MARINE AND BLUE ECONOMY BY THE NIGERIA
GOVERNMENT, THERE TEND TO BE A RENEWED INTEREST AND VIGOR
BY THE AUTHORITIES TO MAXIMALLY USE THESE RESOURCES FROM OUR
OCEANS. THE MARITIME SECTOR IN THIS RESPECT ARE THEREFORE
BEING REGARDED AS THE ECONOMY OF THE NEAREST FUTURE, WHICH
WILL EVENTUALLY SURPASS THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR WHICH IS
PRESENTLY CONSTITUTE THE MAIN STAY OF NIGERIA ECONOMY. A LOT
OF ATTENTIONS ARE GRADUALLY SHIFTING TOWARDS THIS DIRECTION,
AND COUNTRIES THAT ARE ENDOWED WITH MARITIME RESOURCES ARE
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF IT TO GROW THEIR ECONOMY. THEREFORE,
ANY RESEARCH IN THESE AREAS, AIMED TOWARDS FACILITATING THE
OPTIMAL EXPLOITATION AND USE OF THESE NATURAL ENDOWMENT,
WILL BE A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT AND VERY JUSTIFIED.

METHODOLOGY:
THE STUDY WILL BE ANALYZED THROUGH THE USE OF BOTH
SECONDARY AND PRIMARY DATA, SECONDARY DATA WILL BE SOURCED
FROM MATERIALS AND DOCUMENTS OBTAINED FROM GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES, LITERATURES FROM LIBRARIES, SCHOLARLY WORKS FROM
SIMILAR STUDIES. THERE WILL BE ALSO PRACTICAL FIELD DATA
OBTAINED FROM PRACTITIONERS IN THE INDUSTRY, COASTAL AND
LITTORAL COMMUNITIES, ADMINISTRATION OF QUESTIONNAIRES, ORAL
INTERVIEWS WHICH WOULD BE ANALYZED USING APPROPRIATE
STATISTICAL TOOLS AND METHODS TO ARRIVE AT A DETERMINED
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS.

BRIEF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:

MANY RESEARCH AND STUDIES HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT IN MANY
MARITIME FIELDS, SOME IN TRANSPORTATION, ADMINISTRATION,
OPERATIONS, REGULATION, MANAGEMENT, LAW AND LEGISLATIVE
REFORMS. THIS STUDY THEREFORE INTENDS TO COLLATE AND FURTHER
ADVANCE THIS VAST KNOWLEDGE IN THESE AREAS OF INLAND
WATERWAYS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN RELATION WITH THE
NOVEL BLUE ECONOMIC RESOURCES AND COME UP WITH IDEAS ON
HOW THE NEXUS OF THESE TWO SUB-SECTORS CAN BE PROPERLY
ALIGNED TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR THE
COUNTRY.