When he was appointed almost four years ago, not many had hope that he was capable of doing anything good; he was certainly not the Messiah that the maritime industry, nay NIMASA was expecting. He isn’t a maritime person, they had argued.
Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi has certainly broken the jinx and of course truncated the unenviable history of quick succession in the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
When he was appointed almost four years ago, not many had hope that he was capable of doing anything good; he was certainly not the Messiah that the maritime industry, nay NIMASA was expecting. He isn’t a maritime person, they had argued.
Patrick Ziakede Akpobolokemi has certainly broken the jinx and of course truncated the unenviable history of quick succession in the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
Not only is he about the youngest chief executive officer of NIMASA, he is also the first to have fully served one term and to have also got a second term, even before completing his first. He was first appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan in December 2010.
His re-appointment last week, came not as a shock; it was probably a confirmation of his understanding of the politics of succession at the NIMASA.
No doubt, the office of chief executive of NIMASA (and even the then- NMA) has been over politicized. Each minister wants his own protégé to be the director general.
This started towards the tail end of the tenure of Alhaji Munir Jafar’ as the director general of the then-NMA when he was allegedly removed on the instruction of the then-Head of State (now late) General Sani Abacha who directed his minister of transport (now deceased too) Major General Ibrahim Dahiru Gumel to kick the crown prince of Zauzau Emirate in Kaduna state out of office. He was replaced with Alhaji Buba Galadima who was later to use NMA to fund the allegedly transmutation campaign of late General Abacha.
From Buba, the agency has had John Egesi, Dr George Eneh, Ferdinand Agu (an Architect), Festus Ugwu (an engineer), and Mrs Mfon Ekong Usoro (a maritime lawyer) and Dosunmu (a PhD holder in Public Administration, Mr Temisan Omatseye.
Sadly, when examined from the angle of its core mandates which are: shipping development, maritime labour, safety and security, Cabotage and so on, the verdict of most stakeholders is that NIMASA has performed below average.
So, what has Akpobolokemi done to deserve a second term? A lot of stakeholders may want to argue that his only achievement is his widely acknowledged closeness to President Goodluck Jonathan. But there is more to his re-appointment than just knowing the President.
In his first term which ends in December, 2014, Akpobolokemi will certainly be credited with a new vista of improved maritime safety and security in the nation’s maritime domain.
Under Akpobolokemi, NIMASA achieved full maritime domain awareness through enhanced surveillance of the maritime environment with the introduction of a satellite surveillance system which covers the entire Gulf of Guinea and beyond.
The NIMASA has also procured various platforms and electronic surveillance equipment through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement for a round-the-clock monitoring of the Nigerian maritime domain. Under his watch also, NIMASA signed working agreements with the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, a development which has aided the fight against piracy and related crimes within the Nigerian maritime domain.
As the nodal agency for the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code, NIMASA is ensuring adequate compliance in all the port facilities in the country.
In the area of manpower development, Akpobolokemi has driven the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), with vigour so much that, under the programme, NIMASA has so far sponsored more than 2,500 Nigerian youths for trainings in recognized maritime universities in the United Kingdom, Philippines, India, Egypt, Romania and Malaysia.
Another milestone that can be attributed to him is the setting up of Institutes of Maritime Studies in the University of Lagos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai, Niger State and Niger Delta University, Amasoma, Bayelsa State.
This is in addition to the establishment of a Nigerian Maritime University and NIMASA Shipyard and Dockyard, in Okerenkoko, NIMASA Science and Technical College, Okoloba, Delta State.
NIMASA under Akpobolokemi also launched several creative programmes, including the online verification of seafarers' certificates, online sailing certificate and ship manifest as well as automating the process of ship registration in Nigeria.
As the second term begins in two months, perhaps what requires total attention is the implementation of Cabotage. Also a more purpose-driven implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 will further add to his achievements.
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