Nigeria Maritime University Will Take Over 5000 Youths from the Labour Market
As the Nigeria Maritime University (NMU) lies idle in the oil gas rich but poor Niger Delta Region, a legal practitioner and human right activist, Ken Asuwete in an encounter with John Iwori in Lagos says that Nigeria, nay Nigerians have a lot to gain fro
His voice was clear as the chirping voice of a bird in the dead of the night. As he sat on a chair facing this r eporter, the anger in his voice was unmistakable. That he has an axe to grind in the face of the unfairness and injustice in the land was not in doubt. Ken Asuwete was like his namesake, Ken Sarowiwa, the late playwright and envir onmental rights campaigner whose life was exterminated by Nigeria’s late former military r uler, General Sani Abacha in the Rivers State capital, Port Har court. Incidentally, Asuwete also lives in the oil city . It is not only in name and place of domicile that he has in common with the late writer and campaigner . He also shares his passion and doggedness. His campaign is to ensure that the underdevelopment and neglect of the oil bearing communities in the country do not continue with the President Mohammadu Buhari’s led Federal Government in the months ahead. As he speaks with this reporter in an encounter in Lagos this faithful Wednesday morning, the pain that the right thing has not been done for the people that bears the brunt of environmental degradation in Nigeria’s oil exploration over the years was palpable. Asuwete has the zeal and zest. His dr eam is to ensure that the people in the Niger Delta r egion get redress. There were many questions as he speaks shortly ahead of a scheduled flight back to the oil city later in the day. The reporter asked what informed the basis of the position he took on the Minister of T ransportation, Right Hon. Rotimi Amaechi’s decision to halt the establishment of the Nigeria Maritime University (NMU) by the Federal Government at the sleepy coastal community, Okerenkoko, Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. He stated that it was as a result of the failure of the Federal Government in addressing on a permanent and sustainable basis the issues that border on what he called the “dehumanisation of the people of the Niger Region, particularly the youths”. Having been privileged to be at NMU temporary and permanent sites at Kurutie and Okerenkoko respectively on more than one occasion and the level of physical structures and infrastructural facilities on ground, Asuwete was asked whether there was deliberate misinformation on the tertiary institution. His words: “This is precisely our position when we got attracted into this matter. We felt that utterances made by public officers should not be merestatements bereft of facts, details and truth. We took it upon ourselves to conduct objective investigations. This involves visiting the site of the Nigeria Maritime University to see things for ourselves. We did this to avoid relying on hearsay and lies from some vested interests. What we found onsite was outstanding and it was something that proved the Minister of Transportation, Right Hon. RotimiAmaechi extremely wrong. It was not just acquisition of land for N13 billion. It is about having sustainable str uctures on ground. It is about having the first maritime university in Nigeria. Massive land r unning into several hectares was reclaimed and made ready for the building of the physical structures already on ground. Money was paid to some of the property owners as compensation. This is a far cry from the N13 billion for only land acquisition being bandied by the Minister of Transportation which Nigerians are made to believe so as to cast aspersion on the initiators of the project. “As far we are concerned, the outcome of our investigation is one that is saddening. The solution to some of the principal problems in Niger Delta region can begin with the Federal Government re-opening the Nigeria Maritime University. Hundreds of youths presently agitating in the Niger Delta r egion can be meaningfully engaged or employed if President Buhari’s administration orders immediate re-opening and commencement of academic activities in the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko. From our findings, the Nigeria Maritime University can take care of the employment of not less than 5000 youths. Our investigations also showed that if this is achieved, it will go a long way inreducing agitation by 60 per cent. This means that the mere re-opening of the university alone will mark the beginning of resolving the numerous challenges facing the people of the Niger Delta region. From there, the Buhari’s administration can begin to expand on this wonder- ful idea. I am one of those who will give kudos to Dr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi who initiated, midwifed and ensured that this idea becomes a reality in Niger Delta region. When you compared the Niger Delta with other parts of the country,you will realise that it is a region that is underdeveloped. This ugly development is happening in spite of the huge income the Federal Government is making daily from the region. Therefore, if President Buhari orders the immediate re-opening of NMU, he will be taking the right step in the right dir ection to address the agitations and problems in the Niger Delta region. This is important due to the fact that the region needs to be at par with other developed parts of the Nigeria”. As a way out of the impasse with the agitators, the human right activist averred that the Federal Government should shun the military option as it will only escalate the crisis and lead to the death of innocent persons, especially the weak and vulnerable. “The Federal Government should stop using the military against the people of the Niger Deltaregion. It should stop deceiving the people, especially the youths of Niger Delta region. It needs to consider engaging the youths in a meaningful way, starting with the re-opening of the Nigeria Maritime University”, he said. He called on the Buhari administration to avoid the pitfalls of the past in addressing the numerous challenges facing the Niger Delta region. The legal practitioner argued that the Federal Government should shun the provisions of palliatives that are not sustainable on the long run. In doing this, he maintained that the Federal Government should show sign of seriousness. According to him, the implementation of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report for Ogoni land that has just been launched should be executed immediately. It is expected that as soon as you launch they are cleaning up immediately. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Let me ask you, since after the formal launching by the Vice President have you heard of any other thing? The execution of the UNEPreport beyond the formal launching will also engage up to 2,000 youths. The human rights activist expressed dismay that the implementation of policies and programmes of the Buhari’s led Federal Government is contradictory. His words: “It is sad that an administration that uses every avenue to make public statements that it wants to create jobs is shutting down a university project that has the capacity of absorbing thousands of people in direct and indirect employment. It is not proper for the development of the region. It is not only contradictory but also sad”. He argued that the people of the Niger Deltaregion should be allowed to come together. According to him, they should be allowed to enjoy the proceeds that come out from the resources located in the region. As far as we are concerned, the Federal Government should provide the necessary things that make life meaningful in the region, and then the issue of agitation and restiveness will be a thing of the past. On the fate of the academic and non-academic staff that have been appointed by the Federal Government for the university including the Pro Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Registrar and Bursar, Asuwete called on President Buhari to direct the Minister of Education to recall them, even as he pointed out that it was wrong to keep these universities appointees on suspension. “As far as we are concerned, the Federal Government should recall them immediately. How can the Federal Government appoint someone as Pro Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Registrar or Bursar and asked them to stop work? It is part of the injustice and unfairness we are talking about. Even if Buhari does not like their faces because they were appointed by his predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, he should appoint some other persons to replace them. A situation where Mr. President asked them to stop work and sit at home is unfair to the appointees and the people of theregion. It is part of the marginalisation and neglect we are talking about. It is unfair!”, he said. He also decried the call for the cancellation of the establishment of the Nigeria Maritime University on the basis that there are existing maritime training institutions such as the Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Kaduna State and the MaritimeAcademy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State. “Anyone saying that President Buhari should not rescind his order on the Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko on the basis that there are already Nigeria Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, Kaduna State and the MaritimeAcademy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State does not mean well for this country. That argument falls flat on the facts on ground. Who says that we cannot even have more maritime universities in future? Statistics from the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National University Commission (NUC) showed that there are far number of students seeking for admission in less and lesser number of vacancies annually. In other words, not every qualified candidate gets admission into the higher institution annually. The pertinent question to ask is the fate of thousands of qualified candidates who pass JAMB yet do not get admission every year. “What does that tell you? The present number of training institutions for human capacity development in the country is grossly inadequate. Therefore, a government that has its thinking cap on should seek for avenues to build more training institutions, especially where it is making the bulk of its money rather cancelling or stopping the establishment of a university started by a previous administration just because you hate the people or the promoters. “Moreover as a country that wants to be taken seriously in the comity of maritime nations, we should not spare efforts to develop the needed manpower for the shipping sector of the economy. This one of the ways we can address the manpower shortage in the maritime industry on the long run. The present method of sending Nigerians to study maritime courses in overseas maritime training institutions is not sustainable due to the downturn in the economy. For instance, in the Philippines, we have not less than 86 maritime universities and colleges. It may interest you to note that some of these universities and colleges are owned by private individuals. This Asian country population is just 102 million. Yet Nigeria, a country of over 170 million is playing politics with the establishment of its first maritime university. This is ridiculous.