By Charles Ebi
In just one year of the former governor of Osun State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, in the saddle as Honourable Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, has set a comprehensive process for the finalisation and validation of the National Policy for the Marine and Blue Economy.
This is due to the antecedents and expertise of Oyetola as the pioneer Minister, there seemed to be uncertainty over the novelty of the newly-created Ministry, a brainchild of the ingenuity of President Bola Tinubu.
In Nigeria, Marine and Blue Economy is one of the sectors ladened with humongous potential which had remained unutilized in the last 31 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.
The President’s judgment of Oyetola as fitting for the Blue Economy Ministerial maiden appointment was witty.
This is basically because the system needed someone with prerequisite experience, capacity and expertise to navigate the novelty of the new ministry, and turn its uncertainty to assurance, surety and productivity.
President Tinubu must have been convinced by the Minister’s ability as immediate-past Governor of Osun State, whose antecedents prevented fiscal accidents that would have run the then hugely indebted (as inherited) state aground and stagnated.
The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy was established under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2023 to steer a thriving maritime and blue economy sector that advances sustainability, innovation and growth through its mandate, via harnessing Nigeria’s rich marine potential and resources for economic development.
Since the President appointed Oyetola as Minister in August last year, the Ministry has recorded some great strides and continues to put in efforts towards actualizing its mandate to foster a dynamic, inclusive, and blue economy that improves national revenue by harnessing the country’s rich marine resources to improve livelihoods.
The potential for the Marine and Blue Economy sector to create more jobs and transform Nigeria into a continental and global leader in sustainable marine practices is now being harnessed more than ever before. The Ministry has achieved a significant revenue increase from quarter one of 2024 compared with 2023.
In the last one year, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, CON, has actually been sailing through the Blue Sea with ease. However, few players in an agency under his Ministry bemoaned the Minister for not making haste with a speed of motion that can result in mistakes, but the Minister continues working at his own pace to avoid socio-economic malaise in the Ministry and the nation, by extension.
The Honourable Minister is a modest and highly-reserved leader, who always walks his talks, but hardly talks about his works or counts his laurels, as he believes in working and not noise-making.
Nonetheless, his ‘walks’ talks, and his steps are giant in terms of his achievements in one year as Minister of Marine and Blue Economy. As evident in his proactive disposition, commitment and clear vision, the Minister knows the nature and demands of the new ministry in terms of innovation-driven management, coherent policy framework and implementation.
To drive home his vision of engendering a responsible management that would see to the maximal utilization of the marine resources, as soon as he was sworn in on August 21, 2023, Oyetola started leading by exemple with work schedules that clearly show a new era of management. “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.
One of the factors that make Oyetola’s new ministry a cynosure 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 require experience, expertise and managerial acumen. Being someone that has these qualities, 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 modus operandi, general affairs, challenges and other related issues.
After meeting with the ministry’s staff, by the following week of his office assumption, he had met with 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 (all now former), among other heads of agencies, with commendations for the Minister’s novel and unique managerial approach.
Those who would not allow the minister work at his pace, but expected him to make haste for their pecuniary interest, would think starting off this way was a waste of time, and thus unnecessary.
Within a year, the ministry has received many accolades. For instance, the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry recently emerged “Best Ministry in the Ease of Doing Business” as adjudge by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC.
With his pace, in the first quarter of this year, 2024, in just about seven months in office, Oyetola has been able to increase the revenue from maritime services by 92% with a whooping sum of N242Bn generated by the Ministry, in comparison with the previous year.
With his pace of work, the Minister, through his Ministry, was able to attract more businesses and generate higher revenues by improving efficiency and capacity in ports, shipyards, and other maritime services.
Also with Oyetola’s pace, the Ministry has been able to increase the volume of both intra-nation (within Nigeria) and international trade and revenues associated with it by facilitating maritime trade via streamlining administrative processes and reducing bottlenecks.
With the same pace, Oyetola had launched “Year 2023 Inland Waterways Transportation Regulation”, a unique operational document that guides boat operations, regulates passengers’ conduct, and provides a framework for investors in water transportation, gazette under the new headship of the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, led by Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Agency.
With the Minister’s pace, about thirteen fibre-reinforced plastic fast-moving newly-built pilot scheme boats innovatively designed to replace wooden canoes with the aim of reducing accidents on waterways, had been inaugurated at NIWA by Oyetola including the procurement of water-built ambulances for search and rescue operations safety purpose on inland waterways.
With his work pace, as evident in his good tracked records of performance as governor in Osun, the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy promises to provide alternative to our over reliance on oil, which has brought us more bane than boon, and more pain than gain.
With his pace of development in Blue Economy and innovative generation of humongous revenues, Oyetola’s Ministry provides a unique diversification of our economy.
This will automatically reduce Nigeria’s reliance on oil exports and increase the contribution of the marine sector to Gross Domestic Products,GDP.
The Ministry has also been able to achieve so much millstone in the area of deployment, blocking leakages, enhancing revenue generation from established sources, and rolling out new revenue sources, while engaging all relevant government agencies to ensure the full rollout of the National Single Window initiative.
With its vast coastline, abundant water resources, and blue economy potential to spur overall economic growth and prosperity, this is good news for Nigeria.
As testament to the strides the Ministry has undertaken since its establishment was its recognition as the overall Best performing Ministry in the country by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council ,PEBEC, during its national awards in July.
Similarly, NIMASA, an agency under the Ministry, was named as the best Agency of Government in exemplary teamwork, quality service delivery and consistency.
Beyond official accolades, a thriving Marine and Blue Economy sector that contribute significantly contributes to the country’s GDP and so increase national revenue, will further help Nigeria to diversity its largely oil-based economy.
While the blue economy comprises activities such as maritime shipping; ship building and repairs, ports infrastructure and services; coastal tourism; fishing and aquaculture; offshore renewable energy generation, among others; the maritime shipping, port services, and fisheries and aquaculture sub-sectors are currently the most developed.
This is the more reason tapping into the country’s abundant fishery resources, improving maritime sector and port services are major areas that the Ministry under Oyetola is paying premium attention to.
For instance, harnessing the country’s coastline stretching over 850 kilometres and its abundant fishery resources from Lagos to the Niger Delta and beyond will not only create more jobs and empower Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ,MSMEs, it will attract foreign investments, and improve revenue generation for sustainable economic growth.
However, the country’s fisheries sector has been plagued by inadequate infrastructure, outdated fishing tools and equipment and poor regulatory framework, which has stunted it growth for decades. With the mandate of the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry in full gear, this is expected to witness a change and positive transformation in the next few years. Under Oyetola’s leadership, the Ministry has continued to prioritized strategic reforms to enhance operational efficiency and attract investments.
Just recently, the Minister led the Federal Government delegation to honour the invitation of Moroccan Government through its Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water Resources, and for a visit.
The purpose of the visit was to observe and gain insights into Morocco’s advanced fisheries management practices, port efficiency and infrastructure, and blue economy initiatives, while fostering bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Morocco.
The Ministry is now finalizing strategies on implementing key insights from that August visit.
Beyond fisheries, the Minister has reiterated, at different fora, the Federal Government’s commitment to enhance the country’s port infrastructure, which is one of its four pillars for transformation and advancing the country Blue Economy over a four-year period.
Under this pillar, the Ministry aims to rehabilitate and modernise existing port infrastructure while facilitating the development of new deep seaports, inland dry ports, and river ports, while also ensuring the connectivity of ports to roads, rail, and inland waterways.
Also some of his achievements in just twelve months in office as a Minister are the modernisation of Apapa and Tin Can Ports, Rehabilitation of Eastern Ports, Dredging of Inland and Coastal Waterways, Development of Inland Dry Ports, Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Continuous Underground Work on Promotion of Coastal and Marine Tourism, Capacity Building for Maritime Security and Surveillance, Upgrade of Maritime Infrastructure and Equipment, and Strengthening of Maritime Regulations and Enforcement, among others.
Obviously, with his unique pace, and not inordinate haste, the minister has recorded more exploits given the miles he has covered in terms of his laudable achievements in the new ministry.
