Your Excellency, Adegboyega Oyetola CON, Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, I trust that this letter meets you well. First, let me use this opportunity to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The creation of this Ministry was a dream come true for maritime stakeholders who over the years had yearned for specialized Ministry for the maritime sector. Your Excellency, sir, please convey our best wishes and warm appreciation to His Excellency, the President. Tell him we will not take this gesture for granted.
As pioneer Minister of this Ministry, the burden on you to deliver Mr. President’s vision in the Marine and Blue Economy is better imagined. This has been made worse, Mr Minister,due to the fact that you have little or no background in this sector prior to your appointment. And to underscore the enormity of the challenges, the high turn over of professionals in the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy from its parent Ministry of Transportation, seems to have compounded the task ahead.
At the parastatals level, you inherited a crop of CEOs who spent more of their time in the trenches fighting to retain their lucrative seats. And so had little or no time to give you the heads up on the rudiments of the sector. You have been drifting back and forth like a ship whose captain had abandoned his ship.
Perhaps, the most critical issues you faced on assumption of duty was the need to put together a policy and legal framework that would help you navigate you through this stormy waters. I don’t envy you, sir.
My beloved brother and friend, in view of the challenges I enumerated above, I have opted not to join the bandwagon of those who say your first anniversary has been a monumental failure. I completely disagree with them. Your Excellency, sir, as you commence your second year in office, I want to urge you to take a retrospective look at how you fared in the past one year.
LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK.
Your Excellency, stakeholders have argued that you are leading from the rear, as against international best practices which requires you to lead from the front . Stakeholders say you are yet to share with them the vision and mission of your Ministry. You have been accused for not being engaging enough. It is totally unacceptable that you have failed to share with them the policy thrust of the Ministry, and that for now they feel alienated. They argued that the one and only stakeholders’ engagement which you hosted at the Continental Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos last year did not achieve much results as the time available was not enough for all delegates to fully articulate their views in such a manner that would have captured the legal and policy framework for the new ministry.
LOW HANGING FRUITS
Your predecessor, Muazu Sambo, was hungry to achieve success within the time available for him. With due respect, sir , I am yet to see the fire in you. I, like other stakeholders, are yet to see the zeal in you to list the low hanging fruits you wish to harvest. This misconception not withstanding, I wish to duff my hat for the way you and your team at the Ministry worked night and day to get the issue of a Shipping and Ports Economic Regulatory Agency on your front burner. To God be glory that the bill has been passed by the House of Representatives and awaiting the affirmation by the Upper Chamber.
Sir, you must also be worried that the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) a major component of Cabotage Act, is yet to receive the priority it deserves. Sir, you are yet to come up with an acceptable time line on when disbursement will commence.
We had expected that you would take the baton from where your predecessor, Mr. Muazu Sambo, stopped. If I were you, I would prioritize the disbursement of the CVFF and write my name in gold. I urge you, Your Excellency, not to play politics with the CVFF as the disbursement will increase the visibility of the sector in the economic indices of our great country, thus making the sector take her rightful position in GDP. Consequently, I expect you, as you enter your second year in office, to give us a time line as to when disbursement is likely to commence. Another area you have to look into seriously is the port Infrastructure upgrade. There is no doubt that our port Infrastructure are in terrible condition and need your urgent attention. Do the needful so that our ports will take back her position as the West and Central African hub centre.
Your Excellency, I want to seize this opportunity to thank you immensely for appointing a home grown boy as the new helmsman at Nigerian Ports Authority. There is no doubt Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho will not disappoint. He has 100 per cent support from stakeholders due to his pedigree as a tested and trusted professional.
And finally, Your Excellency, Adegboyega Oyetola, do you still have your eyes being the next Governor of Osun State? Best wishes from your brother and friend, Elder Asu Beks