By Dr. Jimoh Olorede
Born on September 29, 1954, the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, CON, on Friday, September 29, 2023, clocked 69 years of age. However, there appeared to be little or no preparation for the celebration of the sexagenarian birth anniversary, as the supposed Celebrant has been busy since assumption of office as Minister.
Immediately after the ministerial inauguration by President Bola Tinubu at the Villa on August 21, 2023, the former governor of Osun State assumed office in Abuja as Minister of the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. His maiden address on his reception by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Magdalene Ajani and other management staff of the ministry obviously showed the new helmsman was ready for the national assignment.
“I must say that I am privileged to join this amazing team as the team leader. I want you to know that I am here to support you, to listen to your ideas, and to champion the growth of our marine resources. Together, we shall embark on a journey that holds immense promise and responsibility. As we look ahead, my vision is rooted in the responsible management and utilization of our marine resources to benefit not only our economy but also the health of our planet,” Oyetola said in his maiden address.
It’s noteworthy that Nigeria, as a nation, in many areas, has many huge potentials for economic growth. But unfortunately, many of these potentials are untapped! Marine and Blue Economy is one of the sectors ladened with humongous potentials which remained unutilised in the last 30 years. Stemming this unwholesome tide must be reason President Tinubu, in his sound wisdom, carved out the ministry from Transportation with its own vantage for potential maximization and revenue generation for national economic growth.
As evident in his proactive disposition, commitment and clear vision, the Minister also knows the nature and demands of the new ministry in terms of innovation-driven management and coherent policy framework and implementation. No doubt, this is what the erstwhile Osun State Governor has been busy with, not a flamboyant celebration of his 69th birthday anniversary. And that is why, in its stead, this piece celebrates Adegboyega Oyetola’s patriotism and novel approach in his administration and management of the new ministry.
Proactively, to drive home his vision of engendering a responsible management that would see to the maximal utilization of the marine resources, the minister started leading by example with work schedules that clearly show a new era of management.
Inter-agency Engagement
One of the factors that make Oyetola’s new ministry a synosure of ‘economic conscious minds’ is the attachment of high-profile agencies to Marine and Blue Economy. However, this comes with a challenge, as coordinating these agencies requires experience, expertise and managerial acumen. Being someone that has these requirements, Oyetola didn’t waste time in engaging stakeholders in the agencies. By the following week of his office assumption, precisely as from Monday, August 28, 2023, he had started engaging the agencies in his Abuja office, receiving briefings on their mode of operations, general affairs, challenges and other related issues.
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Mr. Muhammed Bello-Koko, the Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Chief George Moghalu, and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC),Hon. Emmanuel Jime, among other heads of agencies, have met with the minister with commendations for his unique managerial approach.
Inspection Tour
People have been commending the minister for leaving the comfort of his office and moving round, without wasting time, to inspect facilities at the agencies. On Monday, September 4th, 2023, after he had engaged the stakeholders of the agencies in Abuja, the Minister was in Lagos for facility inspection at the Nigerian ports.
“Today, we have come to see some of the things you told us in Abuja and to properly appraise the situation of things with a view to taking practical steps towards addressing them. Here in Nigeria, like some other countries around the world, we also have what it takes to attract tourists to waters. Therefore, we shall be developing the infrastructure in cities and towns that are lake or coastal-facing for this purpose,” Oyetola said.
Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Concept
In his novel approach and innovative drive to address port decay and other challenges in the agencies, esptecially in the areas of infrastructural renewal, rehabilitation and implementation of rail-to-port project and stemming the tide of cargo delay, the Minister said he would adopt public-private-partnership concept of management in his administration of the ministry, as he intends to establish a national carrier and thereby eliminate unnecessary fees on petroleum products, including the 30% charge for freight exportation.
Collaboration with Stakeholders
On Tuesday, September 12, 2023, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy was in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, attending the Council of Ministers’ meeting of the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for West and Central African Region, where, on regional collaboration, he charged member states on the need to achieve full ratification and domestication of all relevant instruments.
Also, no sooner had the Minister arrived Nigeria from Abidjan than he left the country again on Sunday, September 17, 2023, for an international collaboration on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he met with the U.S Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and spoke at the ministerial meeting with other 31 coastal Atlantic Countries on Nigeria’s willingness to join global initiatives and contribute to policies that would ensure sustainable utilization of marine resources for development.
This Monday, September 25, 2023, the Minister arrived the country from his international collaboration-meeting abroad. A cursory appraisal of his novel performance in 35 days in office as Minister, as chronicled above, vivdly shows, in actual fact, that he has the merits for the position of Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, and for this, the sexagenarian’s 69th birth anniversary is worthy of celebration, as we welcome the Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, back to Nigeria.
Dr. Olorede, Varsity don and media scholar, writes from Iragbiji via oloredejimoh@gmail.com/08111841887.