A former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); Dr Ade Dosunmu said he prepared for his exit from the exalted position right from the day he was appointed.
Dr Dosunmu, who was DG NIMASA until July 2009, after serving for about two years, told Shipping Position Daily exclusively that, he was conscious of the short tenure-ship of the CEOs at the apex maritime regulatory agency.
When asked if there were things he would do differently if he had a second chance at NIMASA, Dosunmu who is eyeing the Governorship seat in Lagos state told our correspondent that he has outgrown NIMASA.
“I don’t look forward to any second chance, because I think I have overgrown that now. The best I can do now is to offer my advice and share my experience with those that are in the saddle; let us rub minds together and see how I can contribute to the policy initiatives that they are trying to put together and let us see to the growth and development of the industry”, he said pointedly.
Dr Dosunmu also acknowledged the existence of the proverbial ‘Banana Peel’, which has been figuratively accounted for the early removal of successive DGs at NIMASA.
He said he came into NIMASA very conscious of the fact that most of his predecessors did not finish their tenure. “The negative impact such removals have on the system can better be imagined”, he noted.
“But in my case, honestly, from the day I was appointed, I prepared myself to leave that job anytime. The reason I had that mindset then was because I looked at the history of that agency and discovered that most of my predecessors did not finish their tenure. There was this “Banana Peel” syndrome that is associated with NIMASA”, he lamented.
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He added that: “So when I got there, I just felt like doing my best during the time I am there and if tomorrow they say it’s time, then I go. That really helped me because I didn’t feel it (removal from office). What I meant by I didn’t feel it is that, already I was prepared for it. If I was not prepared for it and was still hoping that my letter states a four-year tenure, then I will be shocked because I left after two years and three to four months. Don’t forget that I was an Executive Director in the same agency for about a year and some months.”.
Lamenting that, out of the agencies in the maritime sector, NIMASA has an unenviable record of high turnover of CEOs, Dosunmu compared it with the Nigerian Shippers Council.
“Shippers’ Council has not had more than five Chief Executives since it was set up. We had Dr Kingsley Usoh, Chief Adebayo Sarumi, Captain Adamu Biu, Mr Hassan Bello and the new man there now. They are just five. If you look at the NMA/NIMASA, even NIMASA alone has had more than five. I am talking of NIMASA from 2006 and not NMA from 1987. We had Mfon Usoro, Dosunmu, Omatseye, Akpolomokemi, Dakuku Peterside and now Jamoh. We have had six in less than 12 years. Whereas in about 30 years Shippers’ Council, had just five CEOs”, he pointed out.
He spoke to our correspondents on many other issues, including his political ambition, the Cabotage Act, the National Seafarers Development Programme, the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, and many others.
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