UNILAG, OAU, UNN emerge winners of Maritime Blueprint competition

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Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, (thrid left) flanked by winners of the Taiwo Afolabi Maritime Blueprint Competition.

For displaying excellent understanding of the legal aspect of the maritime industry, students of University of Lagos (UNILAG), have emerged the overall winner of the “Maritime Blueprint Competition,” in which law students from eight universities participated.

With 85 points, the students outshined their counterparts from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife and University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), which came second and third respectively with 78 and 75 points.

The competition, sponsored by SIFAX Group, is one of the activities of the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference, which is in its second edition and held in partnership with the Maritime Forum of the Faculty of Law, UNILAG. Mouth-watering prizes including laptops, smart phones and cash were given to the winners.

The contest, which used a debate format, featured various maritime topics Some of the topics were: “Is a reduction of port custom charges favourable to the Nigerian maritime sector”, “Carriage of goods by Sea: Rotterdam Rules or Hamburg Rules, which is more Suitable”, “Is Arbitration the most Effective means for Settlement of Maritime Disputes” and “Is Insurance Pivotal to Achieving prompt Settlement of Maritime Claims. ”

Speaking at the competition, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, said the need to deepen the knowledge base of the law students and to stimulate their interest in the country’s maritime industry were responsible for the company’s sponsorship of the competition.

“We don’t have enough maritime legal experts in the industry as I speak to you. Very few students also show interests in the legal aspect of the sector. Having identified this, the company decided to take up the sponsorship of the competition. We believe that this gesture would go a long way in stimulating interest of students in maritime law. I am personally leading the mentorship charge because as a lawyer, I have experienced firsthand the many opportunities inherent in the application of law to the maritime sector,” he said.