The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi on Monday lauded the Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron for turning the fortunes of the academy around. This is even as he called on the Academy to recruit more lecturers and bring in more equipment.
The Minister disclosed this when he commissioned projects embarked upon to reposition the Academy by the Commodore Emmanuel Duja Effedua led management.
Commissioned projects included a new auditorium, two air-conditioned classrooms, sports stadium, Information Technology (ICT) centres, simulator centre and Library complex.
Speaking after the commissioning, the Minister said the Interim Management Committee (IMC) set up to reposition the academy in 2017 had complained about the poor application of resources, poor academic environment and numerous abandoned projects, which had stunted the growth of the academy.
He explained that the IMC recommendation’s necessitated the appointment of Commodore Duja Effedua as Rector, and he has turned around the fortune of the academy so far.
However, the minister advised the Rector to employ qualified lecturers even if it entails hiring lecturers from abroad.
According to Amaechi, “We have promised to hire more lecturers especially from outside the country. The government must enable the Academy to do that and key into that. We must also train our people. We must send our people out for training because those from oversee will desire special funds and will not still wait back, so we have to send our people out for training. The Academy should sponsor its workers for Masters and PhD courses.”
When asked if master mariners could not be employed to fill the vacant academic position, the Minister said that would be only if they are qualified.
“If the master mariners are qualified we will hire them because we must look for the best. if the master mariners are the best, we must hire them, and that will help save the foreign exchange. We are looking for the best even if it means spending foreign exchange to get the best quality and then train our own to take over from them,” the Minister of Transportation also stated.
The Minister also urged the Academy to invest more in the acquisition of equipment for the cadets.
“We also promise to buy equipment especially now that they are buying a simulator and other equipment. We have to focus on other equipment to make the academy a first-class maritime academy. “The academy has improved in terms of infrastructure, building but it takes more than building to deal with academic excellence. We need to have more equipment and teachers because if there are no teachers and equipment, the structures could best be described as a hotel. So we need to get more than that, and that is why we need to encourage and fund the Academy,” Rotimi Amaechi added.
In his presentation, Rector, MAN, Commodore Duja Effedua revealed that 80percent of abandoned projects, hitherto left uncompleted, have so far been completed and remodelled.
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In the words of the Rector, “We have implemented the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) hundred per cent. However, we have also discovered other challenges which the IMC didn’t capture in their recommendations, and most of them are being tackled.
“Concerning abandoned projects, 80percent of them have been completed and remodelled. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) have been attracted here, alongside the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. We are going to meet with them in Lagos next month again because they have promised to add more values to us.
“The Academy has also been attracting the International Oil Companies (IOC), and Exxon Mobil was here just last week to discuss with us. Next week, the OPTS will also be here.
“We have also engaged professionals in the maritime industry to come in here and add value to us. Some of the professionals engaged so far are the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) and their engineering counterparts, who should be here next month.
“Last year, we focused on physical infrastructure. This year, we are focusing on equipment and training. This auditorium that we are seated right now and the ICT commissioned earlier today is part of the dividend of last years effort.”
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