Bowen University students win Maritime Blueprint competition

For displaying good knowledge of maritime legal practices, Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, has emerged winner of the 2018 Maritime Blueprint Competition, in which law students from six universities participated.

With 85 points, the school’s representatives Adekeye Olanrewaju and Dunmade Samuel emerged champions of the keen contest, which used a debate format.

While Pius Bankong and Ipinnuoluwa Ade-Ademi, of University of Lagos (UNILAG) came second with 81 points; Durola Ayobami Tosin and Oyewole Sunday of Ekiti State University (EKSU), clinched the third position with 78 points.

Other schools that participated were University of Benin, University of Ilorin and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

The competition, which is in its third edition was sponsored by SIFAX Group as one of the activities of the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference. It is held in partnership with the Maritime Forum of the Faculty of Law, UNILAG.

The first round of debate was on the merits and demerits of foreign direct investments in the maritime sector. The final round of the debate was on the topic “Port costs & charges: A recurring decimal under port reform regime.” Mouth-watering prizes including laptops, smart phones and cash were given to the winners.

Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi, while speaking at the event, 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. We are also doing this because at SIFAX Group, it’s part of our corporate philosophy to positively affect the society,” he said.

SIFAX Group is one of Africa’s fastest growing multinational corporations with diverse interests in Maritime, Aviation, Haulage & Logistics, Oil & Gas and Hospitality.