NIWA: Oyebamiji changing the narrative of Inland Waterways
By Seun Ibiyemi
With boat mishaps frequently happening on Nigeria’s inland waterways, the Federal Government in October 2023 appointed Bola Oyebamiji as MD of NIWA. One year down the line, the once turbulent tides are gradually becoming calmer. Excerpts:
Since his appointment as Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Bola Oyebamiji is not one to sit down in the office in Lokoja and call the shots.
For most part of his one-year in office as NIWA MD, the former Osun State Commissioner of Finance have crisscrossed the length and breadth of the nation’s inland waterways, ensuring that there are less accidents on the waterways and that moribund waterways facilities and watercrafts are replaced.
Evaluation
Immediately after his appointment, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji came up with a Performance Management System (PMS) for management staff of the Authority.
The NIWA MD during his maiden Management Retreat with the management team, warned management and staff against compromising their duties and responsibilities.
Oyebamiji said that the Performance Management System (PMS) which has now replaced the hitherto Annual Performance Evaluation Report (APER) has become a veritable tool to measure performance and to reward staff accordingly.
The MD gave the warning during the Special Retreat for the Management staff of the Authority themed “Repositioning NIWA for excellence.”
He said while some staff are to design policy directions, others have been picked to be the drivers of such policies.
The Retreat witnessed the signing of a Performance Bond by the management staff to ensure set targets are achieved.
“As the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy and the Permanent Secretary have signed a performance bond with Mr. President, I have equally signed my performance bond with the Honourable Minister and the Permanent Secretary, and today, the NIWA management team will be signing a performance bond with me to ensure everybody delivers on their mandate,” Oyebamiji stated during the Retreat.
Transportation Code
Also under the NIWA leadership of Bola Oyebamiji, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy launched the Inland Waterways Transportation Regulations 2023 otherwise referred to as Waterways Transportation Code.
The Waterways Transportation Code is expected to significantly standardise water transportation, minimise accidents, and provide a structured environment for potential investors.
Commenting on the speedy gazetting of the Waterways Transportation Code, the NIWA MD stated that, “After receiving my appointment letter, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy charged me to find a lasting solution to incessant accidents on the Waterways.
“In response to that charge, my team and I have already put measures in place to address that situation.
“The first thing we did was to ensure that the Inland Waterways Transportation Regulation (2023) for safety regulations on the inland waterways was gazetted.
“The process to have the code gazetted had been on for so many years. However, within six months, we have been able to conclude the process and the code has been launched by the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
“The Code will guide the operations of boat operators on the inland waterways, regulate the conduct of passengers using the waterways; and provide a framework for potential investors in water transportation.
“This would no doubt help to eliminate incessant accidents on our Waterways.”
Projects Commissioned
In the last one year of leadership of NIWA under Bola Oyebamiji, the agency has seen the commissioning of 15 boats of varying capacities and purposes, designed to enhance surveillance, safety enforcement, and emergency response on Nigeria’s inland waterways.
Notably, the commissioned fleet comprises three surveillance boats, five safety enforcement boats, a gun patrol boat, a 62-seater passenger boat as a pilot scheme to replace traditional wooden canoes, three water ambulances, and two hydrographic survey boats equipped with multi-beam echo sounders.
Speaking during the commissioning of this projects, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola stated that, “The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is determined to maximise the comparative advantages our maritime resources present in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“These initiatives fulfil our commitment to ensuring our inland waterways are well-utilised for both cargo shipment and passenger transportation.”
Safety
To ensure that the waterways remain safe for the movement of goods and passengers, the Authority, under the supervision of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy led by Chief Oyetola launched 80 Water Marshals to monitor critical loading and offloading points across different locations in the country.
This initiative, as mentioned by the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy in Lokoja, is to reduce the rate of accidents on the waterways by enforcing the Transportation Code at all times.
Similarly, the Bola Oyebamiji led management team has made safety campaigns a priority across the country. In a new wave of media campaigns, NIWA has commenced aggressive safety campaigns across all loading points through its area offices using the local languages. This is in addition to the ongoing safety campaigns in national dailies, television and radio stations in the country.
Investment
In a bid to attract private investments to enhance the nation’s Blue Economy initiative, the management of NIWA under Bola Oyebamiji recently took a tour of the Onitsha, Warri and Port Harcourt Offices of the Authority.
Speaking during the tour, the NIWA MD called for deeper private sector participation in the blue economy initiative with a view to harnessing greater benefits for national development.
Oyebamiji also said that NIWA is determined to revamp the nation’s economy by consolidating on Public/Private Partnerships (PPP) initiatives.
In the words of the NIWA MD, “This initiative is part of our deliberate plans to open up new opportunities to maximise the full economic potential of the nation’s waterways.
“The PPP is the way to go but we need people or investors, who have genuine intentions and purposes to enable us to align with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for economic recovery.”
The agency boss tasked the staff to live up to expectation by working harder in revenue generation that could open rooms to better their welfare.
He warned the staff against indolence and laxity since he was committed to staff welfare and revenue generation.
Prospects
As part of efforts to expand Nigeria’s navigable waterways, the NIWA MD upon assumption of office, charged his Area Managers to increase the number of navigable waterways that the country currently has from 3,000kilometres to 5,000km of navigable inland waterways.
Oyebamiji said the agency would license 2,200 boats annually in Lagos and train 1,500 skippers before the end of 2024, adding that Lagos being the hub of inland waterways activities in Nigeria had already seen the deployment of five patrol boats to monitor activities on the state waterways.
“Nigeria has about 10,000km of waterways in this country, but anytime you search via Google, you would always find out that only 3,000km are navigable.
“I have given the Area Managers a target of increasing navigable waterways in Nigeria from 3,000km to 5,000km.
“This means that as part of the deliverables that I gave the Area Managers, NIWA has to dredge an additional 2,000km of waterways to meet the target of 5,000km of navigable inland waterways.
“On the issue of wrecks, I gave each Area Managers numbers of wrecks to remove. Lagos, being our busiest area, got a target of five wrecks to remove yearly.
“Again, on boat operations, I expect 2,200 boats to be licensed every year in Lagos. Also, I have charged the Lagos Area Manager to train and licence 1,500 skippers every year.
“Also, another target I gave the Area Managers was tied to the number of jetties that NIWA has. I asked them to give me the number of jetties that they want to add to what they already have.
“In the next four years, we need to know the number of jetties that we will want to build so that by 2027, we would have said that these numbers of jetties were built during this period.
“So, all this formed part of the targets that I gave to each Area Manager during our meetings so that they can measure their performances in offices yearly.
“This will let everybody have a sense of direction and know what they are expected to do,” Oyebamiji added.
