“Why is it that today even small countries in Africa can boast of a national carrier while we cannot fly the national flag”

About two months after he was appointed as the Director General of NIMASA, Mr Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi last week met with the maritime media family in Lagos. Even though, he was described as a novice who is bringing nothing into the industry; especially, to NIMASA, the new DG tried to cut the picture of a man who is determined to do things differently. Dapo Olawuni was there and he captures highlights of the DG’s thoughts on issues and his plans for NIMASA and the maritime industry, at large.

“I Am Not The Best To Have To Run NIMASA, But In Any Time There Must Be Somebody To Captain A Ship, If It Is The Will Of God That Today It Should Be Me, Then It Should And Anytime God Asks Me To Step Aside I Will Do.”

Overview of the maritime industry
The maritime industry, if well handled and if we do not allow the Nigerian factor to kill it, with the will and above all with God on our side, is supposed to be the major employer of labour in the country. It is like a virgin land of thousands of miles that is uncultivated, what has happened so far is that we are just scratching the surface, the main thing that must be done to propel the industry, galvanize it and make it competitive globally has so far been relegated to the background, this is an industry that if well- positioned, the teaming youths that are into violence, crimes and so on are supposed to have been gainfully employed to raise the social status of our people and increase their economic well – being. It is an industry that (from the little that I have seen) we have not even started. This is an industry that today as we speak is being taken over by non- Nigerians and it is quite unfortunate that God has bless us so much considering the resources that are available in the maritime domain; talk about the oil and gas that is also tied to the maritime industry, talk about the aquatic lives and so many other things that are in the maritime industry, then why are we in this stage of development in this industry? It is a question that not be answered by I alone, we all have to sit down, articulate and provide answers.

I do not know all
It will be funny for me to assume that I know so much and I keep saying that the only person that is perfect and knows all is God, so we are all learning, and there is an adage that says that absolute perfection in any human undertaking is impossible, which means that the room for improvement and advancement is endless. NIMASA is not my property and can never ever be my property, I am only called to offer leadership, I am only called to pilot the affairs of the organization for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians, the problem we have in this country is that we like to personalize things, the office of the DG is to create an enabling platform for the potentials of this industry to be actualized so that you and I and our unborn children can benefit. Today, we can see all sorts of problems; arms, drugs and so on, but if we can redirect our energy and restructure the industry to ensure that thousands of persons are employed and capacity is built, then it will be to the credit of all of us.

Policing the waters
There is no amount of policing that we can do in this country, if we don’t create jobs and build capacity, no amount of Navy or solders can solve it, sooner or later if we do not do the right thing none of us will be able to move in this country, and when we see that the maritime industry can offer us ample opportunity to actualize that dream of employing thousands of our people, train them and make them productive, why can’t we relate and arrive at a positive conclusion on issues that will benefit all of us, when we come together we can benefit more than when we antagonise ourselves.

I Have Not Come Because I Want Money
I have not come because I want all the monies in this world, all the monies that we acquire will one day vanish. We are primarily mandated by government through enabling laws to provide safe and secured oceans in order to galvanize shipping, we are mandated to provide clean oceans, to control pollution and when it does occur to find solution to such problems; that is our job. Our job is far much more than just sitting down in the office and issuing contracts, this is not the core of our activities, the core of our activities is first of all to provide safe and secure shipping environment; both for national and international trade. Why is it that today even small countries in Africa can boast of a national carrier while we cannot fly the national flag, it is a cause for us to weep, yet we are talking about one contract here and there, busying with trivial issues, this is not good enough.

Cabotage
Why is it that Cabotage that is supposed to be owned and managed by Nigerians is not working, where are we today? All our jobs are in the hands of foreigners, but yet it does not bother us, all we concern ourselves with is personality issues of who is DG and who is not. When you attack me because of incompetence then you will become my friend, but if you attack me because of religion or colour of my skin or my background then it becomes too parochial. By nature I don’t like publicity, I have interfaced with the highest categories of people in this country and the lowest categories too, for so long, but I have not been publicity crazy, it is what you do that matters and not ego and so much use of the press to polish your image. Why is Cabotage in this stage, why is it that the foreigners have taken away all our jobs, just for you to get a visa to any of those countries, you can see how much you sweat for it, but they come here, after bringing all the toxics, they collect our jobs and as a result there is capital flight, and because there is capital flight, unemployment is occasioned, and because of this, crime sets in, and because there is crime, everybody is feeling insecure, and as a result of this, you cannot sleep well which leads to you having high blood pressure that reduces your life span. It is a problem that we have all created for ourselves and this is a time for us to sit down and reflect on these things. When I came into this industry, I cry virtually everyday, any step you take there is one or two interest group that will want to sabotage you, even if you don’t like me as a person, if the policies are good, for the sake of the people who will benefit even after I leave, why not let it work. Because NIMASA is not my private property, I have been emphasizing on prudence and due process, we must know how we spend public money, if I had earned N1,000 through my hard work, whichever way I want to spend it without hurting the next person there is no problem, when you come into a public office even if nobody sees you, God sees you, if your intentions are negative, God sees you, it is when I leave office that I want people to talk about me and whatever I have done, if you come to me now and sing my praise I become skeptical about you because I don’t know the premise from which you are coming, I don’t like sycophants and more so I don’t belong to any of the political parties, NIMASA is the political party that I belong to and that is where I am, God has sent me to go and revamp this industry, go and build capacity, make sure our national carrier to come on board, make sure you create jobs for the teaming youths, providing Cabotage not in theory, but in practice, make sure piracy is curtailed, make sure that arm robbery does not happen and to make sure that we are internationally respected and IMO standards are complied with. These are the key parameters that I need to be judged, and if people judge me on these things I will be very happy. I have given a promise that we are going to take over this industry from foreigners, this is a covenant that I have entered with God, Nigerians are going to take over the jobs, particularly the Cabotage, it is not rhetoric, I don’t say things because I want to please you, if I do this I am underrating your capacity to reason as a human being, I am not the best to have to run NIMASA but in any time there must be somebody to captain a ship, if it is the will of God that today it should be me, then it should and anytime God asks me to step aside I will do.

A lot of DG’s have come and they have spoken well as you are doing but at the end of the day, they have no achievement to show for it .
It is not wrong if you have that stereotype impression on me, but allow my actions to prove if I fall into that category, so hold that stereotype on me and allow me to prove otherwise.
Why are your executive directors not here with you? We understand their relationship with you is not so smooth
The executive director of shipping development is in Abuja for an official function, the executive director of Cabotage is also in Abuja for an official function, the executive director of finance and administration is in the office. I asked him to prepare certain documents that we want to give out to some people in furtherance of our job, not because I am fighting with them, these insinuations are wrong, I did not write any 10- page letter of resignation, I was not summoned, I have not quarreled with any of them, but don’t take my words, you can also go and confirm it by yourself and report what you genuinely feel is the truth. I am not fighting with any persons because it is not my characteristics. When you come into a place, a lot of things will be said about different people, but due to the kind of training that I have, I will give the person a chance to create, perhaps if he was not good maybe he was not given the opportunity to create and that was why he created trouble. I am working with the executive directors and all other levels of staff peacefully and amicably in one spirit.

The directors in NIMASA are always brought from outside without promoting those that are due for promotion, what are your plans in this regard?
If the government of the federation decides that a man should be relieved of his job in the ministry and be sent here, I can only advice and suggest. I can not stop government from carrying out its policies, its beyond my brief, let me contend with things that I can solve and be held responsible in areas that are my core responsibilities. The directors, right now some are acting, some have been acting for quite some time and I am doing something about it; at the top, promotion is not as simple as when you at the lower rung , when you want to promote there must be a vacancy, if you want to promote somebody from deputy director to be a director and there is a director in place, then you know there is already a problem, there is nothing you can do until the man retires or the new policy that says a director should not stay more than eight years is used, if not there is nothing we can do in that regard, you only promote when there is vacancy, you cannot cause further crisis by promoting the person to another director when there is no vacancy there.

What are your plans about the welfare of NIMASA staff?
Welfare in NIMASA is a priority, nobody is happy if his welfare is not given proper attention. As I came in, I have seen a lot of problems and I have set up a lot of committees, the good thing about the focus now is that the workers that are affected are part of the committees that I am setting up, I do not just bring directors to form the committees, I bring from the lowest, even from level three officials are part of this promotion and salary issues you have raised, and I am expecting reports to take further actions. The salary structure of staff in NIMASA is more than the average in the core civil service, the difference is much irrespective of the anomalies that we still have, you can not compare it to the core civil service, that does not mean that it must not be improved, when we do the proper thing that will take the revenue to the level we envisaged and we perform our core functions, the workers who are catalyst in that process ought to benefit and I will not forget or relegate this aspect into the background, the only thing is that there is a lot of backlog things that need to be attended to, why there is quarrels in the house is because a lot of things have been unanswered, combined with the fresh challenges, it is not easy to solve these problems within the tinkle of an eye. I have been interfacing and dialoguing with them and they are giving me respect with that.

What are your plans about engaging and partnering with ISAN?
I have been engaging ISAN, last week they came to my office, we talked and had agreements in various areas, it was the last meeting I was holding before I came here, ISAN delegation came again and we brainstormed, I keep telling them to come and let us exchange ideas. If you think I have all the knowledge to move this industry forward, it is going to be a fundamental mistake that you people are making, so even within the past four days, they have come twice.

We understand that the CVFF fund has been increased, when is the disbursement going to commence?
Because of the efforts that are being put in place, the fund is actually being improved upon, and it is not meant for foreigners, it is for Nigerians so we are studying the situation because Nigerians are terrible people, if you give loan to 10 men, nine of them will go and marry more wives, it is supposed to be a very soft loan that is revolving in nature so that others will benefit, when they come with their sugar coated mouth, there is nothing that they will not say to convince you, but as soon as the loan is given, you will not see them again and that is why we have crisis in the banks, so we are taking our time to study who the real business people are, not political frontiers that are coming. One thing that I can assure you of is that I have developed immunity for pressure, no kind of pressure that you can build around me that will make me to bulge, not even with a gun, and even the president at every point in time I am going to report to him the right thing to move this industry forward, I am not going to say anything because I want to retain my job, and I thank God he is a listening person and because at the end of the day, he will take superior arguments, so nobody can pressure me to do something that I feel is not comfortable, because at the end of the day my God must be my judge, and that is the yardstick I will use in judging myself, my conscience should judge whether my actions are good or bad. So sooner or later we will make the funds available but tell our brothers and sisters that it is not the fund for marriages, they should be prepared to do what is right in order to benefit and tap into these funds. If well used, the funds will be of great benefit to our people.

We understand that one of the executive directors who went to contest an election in his state and lost is still allowed to come back to NIMASA
Well, I am not aware of that and even if I am aware, it is not within my capacity to sack anyone. If that was the case, persons giving appointments will use their wisdom in doing what they want to do, I do not have powers to do that, I am not a law enforcement agent and I am not EFCC, I will do my part and allow other agencies to do their part, I will not be the one to report any individual, the law agents have their own mode of operation, so I will not interfere with anybody’s job, so it is outside my control to do anything about that.

On Contract Awards
When I came in, there are strings of things to be approved and what I have been doing so far is to cross check if due process was complied with, if a contract is beyond the threshold of the approval of the DG, the parastatal’s tenders board or the ministerial tenders board, that is supposed to go to the BPP and from there, you route it to Federal Executive Council and bring it for approval, if something like that is not seen and you bring such document, and pressure is coming for me to sign it, I will never do it, and this is the reason why some people are uncomfortable with me, if you want to do a contract then do it, if it is not within my approval then we take it to the next level of engagement of approval threshold and present it, if in their own wisdom they see merit in it then we sign. Even an office that I ought to stay since I was appointed as DG of NIMASA from 23rd of December till today I have been operating from the board room, I have subjected even the renovation of my office to the parastatal tenders board and we have had over six to seven meetings for something I can give a fiat to do. Since I came in, I have been operating a make shift arrangement, it is within my fiat to operate but I have subjected that to parastatal, everyone have to sit to agree because NIMASA is not my private property and that is what I keep telling people, when I came in, even my entitlements and hotel bills, I paid by myself. It should not be an enterprise that somebody will just come in to take whatever they want and go. One of the areas causing the problems is this contact approval, since I came the pressure have been up but yet the contract situations are very untidy, what we should be looking at is the genuineness of the contract and whether it follows due process and extant government regulations, prudence is one of the major problems that I am having and I want you to help me in solving them, the ones that I create for myself I don’t want you to help me with it, let me bear my cross.