The recent pronouncement by the
Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, that the federal government was
not favourably disposed to continuing with the Maritime University
located in Gbaramatu, Delta State, is still generating considerable
controversy. Iyobosa Uwugiaren examines the untold story and the intrigues behind it
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi
Amaechi, killed the joy of the people of Okerenkoko, Gbaramatu in Delta
State when he stated recently that the establishment of the Nigeria
Maritime University by former President Goodluck Jonathan was a misused
undertaking, which the present federal government would not support.
“We are not going ahead with the
Maritime University project proposed by the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) because we have an institution
in Oron, we have Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria and
we have the Nigerian College of Aviation in Zaria, which we could be
upgraded to a university status and NIMASA is proposing to build a new
one,’’ the minister in an emotional tone stated.
He added: “Who will attend the
university? How many parents will allow their children to go to such a
place where it proposes to site the university? I do not think we are
proceeding with the university proposed by NIMASA because it is a waste
of resources.’’
Amaechi further claimed that a lot of
money had already been released for the university project with no
‘’structure on ground but just the feasibility study,’’ asking whoever
that is holding on to the money to return it.
But THISDAY findings are at variance
with Amaechi’s outburst. To underscore the seriousness the previous
government attached to the project, former President Jonathan had
appointed for the institution Professor (Mrs.) Ongoebi Maureen Etebu and
Mr. Anho Nathaniel Esoghene Lucky, as Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar
respectively through a government publication dated May 22, 2015, and
signed by the then Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr.
MacJohn Nwaobiala.
The letters of appointment issued to
the two officials was with a reference number HME/FME/41/X/139, and
signed by the then Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau dated
May 26, 2015. The university is number 41 on the list of approved
universities released by the National Universities Commission (NUC) in
May 2015.
Also, through the Banking and Payments
System Department, the Central Bank of Nigeria in a letter dated August
19, 2015 with reference number: BPS/CSO/OAGF/CON/01/86 and signed by
the Director of Banking and Payments System, Dipo Fatokun, formally
opened an account for the university domiciled with its (CBN) Asaba
branch with the following details: Nigeria Maritime University,
Okerenkoko, Delta State, Account number 0240522742016.
THISDAY checks revealed that the
directive conveying the opening of the account is contained in a letter
dated August 25, 2015 with reference number FD/LP2008/72A/C/I/DF and
signed by the Director of Funds in the Office of the Accountant General
of the Federation, M.K. Dikwa. The letter was addressed to the
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Etebu.
A trip to both the temporary and
permanent sites in Kurutie and Okerenkoko communities, both in Gbaramatu
Kingdom, creates an attractive tincture about the controversial
university. The journey of 45 minutes on Yamaha 200-horsepower engine
speed boat, first berthed at the permanent site, Okerenkoko – where
construction work had already commenced before Amaechi announced the
cancellation of the project.
The new site of the proposed Maritime
University is about three kilometres from the temporary location. The
area covers about 100 hectares land, donated by the community, while the
only compensation paid for were the economic trees and farmlands owned
by the community.
At the site, are 12 completed
buildings prior to the minister’s pronouncement; and construction of the
main gate and two other structures are already at an advanced stage
when THISDAY visited the site. About 20 make shift-buildings, which used
to house the site workers, are now housing the heavy duty construction
equipment of the contractor.
However, for the Transportation
Minister, all these accomplished structures appear inadequate for the
university to sail smoothly. To be sure, when Amaechi appeared before
the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, headed by Senator Ahmed Sani,
on January 14, 2016, to brief the Senate panel on the activities of the
agencies under his supervision, he deliberately repudiated the existing
structures.
But Amaechi was wrong. Hardly has he
left the Senate building than he started receiving attacks by those who
believed he lied through his teeth to the Senate.
For instance, a former Federal
Commissioner for Information and Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin
Clark, first threw the salvo: “It is unfortunate that the Minister of
Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has come to lie and deceive the
federal government and indeed, Nigerians.’’
The elder statesman said that “Amaechi
carefully avoided mentioning the take-off campus of the university in
Kurutie, which boasts of competitive and acceptable standard facilities
that meet NUC standard for university campus, as part of the property of
NMU, Okerenkoko and for which NIMASA paid the sum of about N13
billion.’’
Clark was not alone in condemning
Amaechi’s manipulation of the Senate. A former Acting Managing Director
of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Power Ziakede
Aginighan, called on Amaechi to retrace his step, describing his
statement as an error of judgment.
Setting the records straight, the
former NDDC boss said the idea of siting a tertiary educational
institution in the crude oil and gas-rich Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri
South West Local Government Area of Delta State was first proposed and
adopted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led government as a
critical component in the roadmap to peace and sustainable development
of the Niger Delta.
‘’For the Niger Delta and the nation
in general, the advantages of having the university far outweigh every
argument to the contrary. Apart from capacity building for Nigerians in
the maritime industry, bringing in direct foreign investment and
arresting capital flight, the Nigeria Maritime University will play a
key role in the re-integration phase of the Amnesty Programme,’’ he
said.
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the
umbrella body of Ijaw youths in the Niger Delta, also considers
Amaechi’s move as provocative. In a letter jointly signed by its
president and spokesperson, Messrs. Udengs Eradiri and Eric Omare,
respectively and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari protesting the
minister’s decision, the group said the reasons advanced by the Minister
of Transportation were not only ‘’weak, mischievous and misleading,’’
but also ‘’highly provocative and inciting.’’
But if the positions canvassed in
favour of the take-off of the Maritime University by the Ijaw leaders
are justifiably, ethnic induced, according to some critics, that of Hon.
Reyenieju, an Itsekiri and member of the House of Representatives
representing Warri, appears apt.
While addressing Ijaw and Itsekiri
youths, who besieged him in Warri, the lawmaker said that the statement
credited to Amaechi regarding the cancellation of the Maritime
University was “provocative, vexing, insensitive and consequently
unacceptable.”
He said the minister’s outburst does
not possess the force of finality, saying that the House of
Representatives would not allowed such “brazen arbitrariness without
subjecting it to parliamentary scrutiny,” wondering why the university
one of those established by the Jonathan administration “is being
singled out for cancellation.”
The position of another Itsekiri
scholar, Professor Tosan Harriman, not only gives potency to the
lawmaker’s submission, but reinforced the need for further concern. ”The
only way out of the present looming violence is for the Maritime
University to take off. It will reduce criminality, stem agitation and
create jobs for the people of the region,” he said.
Speaking on the development, the
Secretary-General of the Federated Okerenkoko Community, Comrade Ernest
Bebenimibo, expressed surprise at the fate of the Maritime University,
saying the entire situation is at variance with the aspirations of the
people of Gbaramatu Kingdom.
He said: ”Our position has already
been stated and well known to the world. As a community, we wrote
several letters to the Transportation Minister on the need for the
university to take off. As far as we are concerned, there is no fraud on
the issue of land as widely being speculated.
”Sometime in 2012, NIMASA approached
the community on the need for land for the institution. The land, which
is more than 100 hectares, was acquired through due process and the
community was issued a certificate of occupancy by former Governor
Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State.’’
Bebenimibo added that what the
community needs is the reversal of the cancellation, saying their
children are ready to be educated and prepared to acquire technical
knowledge concerning the maritime industry. ‘’This is a clarion call and
the government has a duty to show that it has the people of the Niger
Delta at heart. Again, we are prepared to protect the workers of the
university against any form of criminality,” he added.
At the Mieka International Diving
Institute, Kurutie, which serves as the temporary site of the Maritime
University, the architect who designed the project, Architect Piniki
Azaiye, conducted some journalists round the site, saying he
conceptualised the project and built it to its present status.
He said that the institute, which was
originally owned by Chief Government Ekpemupolo, (Tompolo) before it was
taken over by the federal government, had planned to train divers of
international standard.
”At the inception, Mieka Dives Limited
had a plan to train world class divers who will be useful to both the
maritime and oil sectors,’’ he stated. ‘’But, when the idea of the
Maritime University came up, and the federal government approached us to
take over the school, we entered into all necessary deeds and we handed
over to the federal government.’’
The designer of the project added:
”You people have seen the structures on ground and it is left from you
to judge whether the N13 billion the Transportation Minister is talking
about is just for land. How possible is it for anybody to build these
high rising structures on this swampy area without first reclaiming the
land?
He said that the issue of reclamation
came in because the site used to be swamp of about 12 hectares that was
reclaimed with over N6 billion, adding that the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) did a similar job in a smaller expanse of land at the
cost of N9 billion in Gbaramatu Kingdom.
‘’Again, the reclamation is about 1.5
high on the surface, meaning that we went really deep in excavation
works,’’ the designer of the project further stated.
Beside the reclamation work, Azaiye
disclosed that the cost of transporting building materials to the area
is three times of the actual cost.
He added: ”If for instance, 100 bags
of cement cost N150,000, you will need an additional N270,000 to
transport that quantity, it means you are spending N370,000 on 100 bags
of cement.
‘’So for those who know what it costs
to build a house, while a three-bedroom bungalow costs N15 million to
build in Warri metropolis, a similar one here costs N45 million.’’
Also speaking on the fate of the
university, the Managing Director of Mieka Dives Limited, Mr. Keston
Pondicherry, said that the company had a partnership with the Nigerian
Navy to set up an international diving outfit.
Pondicherry said NIMASA later
approached them for the use of the place and in the process, NIMASA, the
Ministry of Transportation and Mieka Dives did their valuations
separately, saying the federal government later sent the company a
letter that it would pay the sum of N13 billion.
‘’So why should I be called a
criminal for selling my own property? Not just that all the
documentations are there in the Ministry of Transportation. So, Amaechi
should stop playing hate and inciting politics but look at the records.
Was it a virgin land that was sold to the federal government?
”Some people say the place is too far
for an institution. But it is not far in terms of oil exploitation; this
is disheartening and the earlier the federal government listens to the
voice of reason, the better for all of us in this country. University
has a natural tendency to bring development,’’ he noted.
The buildings in the expansive yard
in the Maritime University include, a storey building housing the VC’s
office and its supporting staff. Others include offices for the
Registrar, Bursar, HoDs, Deans, Account department, boardroom,
conference room, general offices and other ancillary offices, all
furnished.
The structures also include, the 1,200
capacity ceremonial pavilion, a nine-bed medical centre with a digital
laboratory – the laboratory is yet to be furnished all the same; a
workshop block, classroom block, which is a storey building with 12
classrooms; two canteens, an e-learning centre and a 200 capacity
lecture auditorium fully furnished.
Also there are two hostel blocks, a
storey building, each meant to accommodate about 300 students, both
furnished; a Library building with two archives; librarian office and
two reading areas that can accommodate about 60 students at a peak time,
as well as a fully furnished storey building with offices that can
accommodate about 45 lecturers.
There is also the well-furnished
University Guest House; a three-floor building of nine rooms for the
university senior staff, aside two blocks for middle level and junior
staff. And there is a separate three- bed room duplex for the VC.
Apart from an Olympic-size-swimming
pool that is 11m wide and 45m in length, there are two separate diving
tanks – one is an open air diving tank of 8m in depth and the other one
is enclosed in a building 10m depth, and both are ready for use.
In spite of the progress made in term
of structures, there are signs that the university is already contending
with ethnic challenges. Former Delta Waterways Security Chairman and
renowned Niger Delta activist, Chief Ayiri Emami, recently lambasted
those calling for the immediate take-off of Nigeria Maritime University.
“How do you expect parents and
guardians to send their wards to school in an environment that has over
the years been associated with violent attacks, illegal oil bunkering
and pipeline vandalism, traits that are associated with people who are
terrorists,’’ he queried.
”Let me make it very clear, I am not
against the Nigeria Maritime University coming on stream, but I can’t
imagine innocent Nigerian citizens across the country and beyond,
becoming endangered species, surrounded by people who easily take up
arms without provocation.’’
Emami claimed that the day the
militants do not get access to vandalise pipelines they would resort to
kidnapping of staff and students of the NMU, saying afterall, the kidnap
of 14 media practitioners and six Ugborodo indigenes by the militants
several months ago, is still fresh in the minds of the people.
He said the militants had only
succeeded in exposing their terrorists’ tendencies and confirmed the
fear that the land whose acquisition is a subject of criminal
investigation, is not suitable to host such an institution.
He further argued that it was a ploy
by those behind the renewed bombing of pipelines in the Niger Delta to
make the Maritime University bait for terrorists’ demand that informed
their decision to change the original location of the institution from
Koko in Warri North Local Government Area, with existing facilities and
conducive environment, to the present location.
The proposal for the establishment of
the Maritime University suffered a setback recently as the Bill
supporting it brought by Senator James Manager (PDP), Delta Central
Senatorial District, failed on the floor of the Senate.
Manager had explained that the
establishment of Maritime University would produce manpower in the
maritime industry, a situation that past administration couched on in
order to come up with the said proposal.
‘’A Bill for an Act to establish the
Maritime University of Nigeria, Okerenkoko and for other matters
connected therein,” Manager had stated.
But Senator Dino Melaye representing
Kogi West Senatorial District, would not hear of that. He was the first
to shut down the proposal, maintaining that it would have been proper
for the existing Nigeria Maritime Academy, Oron in Akwa Ibom to be
upgraded instead of establishing a new one.
Similarly, Binta Mashi posited that
the terrain of the proposed university was unsuitable, noting that it
was improper to take a boat and travel on waters for 30 minutes before
reaching the place.
Senator Nelson Effiong, Akwa Ibom
South Senatorial District, in his contribution, reminded the Senate that
the Maritime Academy at Oron, which is situated in his senatorial
district, have trained Seafarers in the last 30 years of its existence,
was approved by former President Jonathan; and that it has since been
with the National Universities Commission.
He advised the federal government to
work on the approval in order to upgrade rather than starting fresh one
stating economic reasons.
‘’The National Maritime Academy at
Oron has been operating for 30 years and based on the track record,
former President Jonathan approved its upgrade to a university status
and the approval has been with NUC,” Effiong stated.
On his part, the senator representing
Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, envisaged security
challenges because of the isolation of the environment, stressing that
Oron should be upgraded. ‘’A university need serene and peaceful
environment and this one cannot be situated in Okerenkoko,” Sani argued.
Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and
Minority Leader of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, revealed that his
administration did relocate land owners with compensation following
government’s willingness to upgrade Maritime Academy at Oron. He
reasoned that the Academy, which has trained professionals in maritime
industry, should be allowed a degree awarding status.
When it became obvious that the Bill
had suffered Setback, Manager withdrew the Bill, promising that it would
be represented at the appropriate time.
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