The Phoenix is a special bird which very few persons have seen. Out of its own ashes, in an unusual departure from natural laws, the Phoenix is regenerated, giving birth to a successor/heir, only one of which exist for hundreds of years. Like the Phoenix, the management and staff of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron, after a period of turbulence at sea, un-scarred in the furnace of public backlash, seems to have weathered the storm without fatalities.

Legends say the phoenix has the beak of a cock, the face of a swallow, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish. With such features, the Phoenix survives extreme conditions and lives for hundreds of years.

Just as the phoenix rises from its own ashes, the Academy has been galvanized into action and firmly set on the path of growth by its management team led by the Registrar cum Acting Rector, Mr. Mkpandiok Ante Mkpandiok.

Mkpandiok may not have the physical features of a phoenix. It does appear however, that the inner qualities that enables the phoenix to survive extreme conditions, Mkpandiok may have knowingly/unknowingly acquired or bestowed on him from the cradle.

Addressing newsmen in

The Registrar and Bursar of MAN, Oron, with journalists in Lagos.

Lagos, the Registrar and the Bursar Mr. Folonrunsho Kayode, holding hands and sharing banters, were clearly united in their resolve to reposition the Academy and re-establish it unshakably on the path of sustainable growth.

As principle officers of the Academy, the Registrar and the Bursar in their renewed love for and commitment to the development of the Academy, have put their professional differences aside in the interest of the Academy in particular and the Nigerian maritime industry in general.

With professional candour spiced with patriotic zeal, Mkpandiok and Kayode, spoke passionately without reservations on the need to transform the Academy and make it a world class maritime training institution that Nigeria and the African continent will be proud of.

The issues they jointly addressed were many and far reaching. They include but not limited to what is here captured:

Rebranding

Management after long intensive deliberations have decided to do a review of developments affecting the Academy. We have asked ourselves critical questions and told each other the truth. We have had enough uncomplimentary comments, we have heard different stories from different quarters. We believe in the Nigerian project. Our goal is to reposition the Academy and leave it for those who will come after us in a better shape than we met it and save them from going through same rough path that we have had to walk and work through. Let me at this juncture inform you that I read mathematics. I don’t know how to talk long. I use formulas to solve problems and that is what I have been doing at the Academy and will continue to do. As management team we have decided to back into the drawing board, identify what went wrong, rectify and put right what was not properly done and move forward.

We shall make our submission to the federal government and we shall ask them to assist us. If the National Assembly and FG give us what we need, let Nigeria watch and see what MAN will be in the next two years. It is a national duty. I do not think we should expect anybody to come and do it for us. We know what is on ground, we know what the issues and challenges are and I am sure that the present management has the capacity to right the wrongs identified and make greater progress. I have read a letter of commendation from Singapore commending a Cadet of the Academy for excellent performance and professional conduct. The Cadet was promoted six months after employment. That was some years back. What has gone wrong? Why are our Cadets roaming the streets? Nigeria has the capacity to train and export seafarers much more than they are doing in the Philippines. We are appealing to the Federal government to support us, give us what we need to train and equip our youths for the future. I must state and I solemnly do pledge that any equipment purchased for us or fund released will be used for such purpose. That is our resolve as a management and so it shall be. With that, like I said before, let’s watch and see what the Academy will be like in the next two years.

Nigerians, irrespective of where they find themselves should remain united and stay together. It is strange that when Nigerians travel outside their states or the country, they are so united but when they come home they fight one another. Our goal is to turn the fortunes of the Academy for the better and leave a legacy behind. In the very short period that we have, we have decided to make a mark.

Facilities

Training equipment and facilities are lacking.  We shall make our submission to government, we shall ask them to assist us. If the NASS and FG give us what we need, let Nigeria watch and see where MAN will be in the next two years. It is a national duty. I do not think we should expect anybody to come and do it for us. We know what is on ground, we know what the issues and challenges are and I am sure that the present management has the capacity to right the wrongs identified and make greater progress. Management after long intensive deliberations have decided to do a review of developments affecting the Academy. We have asked ourselves critical questions and told each other the truth.

Contracts, Contractors and Debts

Let me state that the outstanding debts are inherited. We have not awarded new contracts. There are two key factors in making payments to contractor. The first one is performance and the other is availability of funds. If the contractor has performed and there are no funds there is no way payment can be made and if there are funds but the contractor has not performed, anybody making such payment does so at his or her own risk. We have set up a contract review committee and all such issues are being carefully looked. They will be resolved soon because the records are there.

Funding and Support

We have no problem with support in the Academy, we are one and we are intact. Those who are aggrieved can say anything. The present management team is working together, there is no disagreement whatsoever. As I speak to you, we are working at ratifying results which have been pending. If not for cadets who have disciplinary cases, we could have rarified all results. I do not have any problem with any staff of MAN Oron, management of NIMASA nor the honuorable minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi. I work with everybody. A few weeks ago we had a general management meeting; lecturers, heads of unit/departments were in attendance and all of us agreed on what to do on training standards, which we all know has dropped. Everybody contributed to the discussions which were very frank and robust.

We live in a very volatile environment where poverty has driven people to do all sorts of things. People wrote petitions, contractors were saying all sorts of things, that there is corruption at the Academy….what do you expect the minister to do? Especially when the head was no longer there? It was under those circumstance that the minister said we should put a hold on certain transactions until we have a clearer picture. When we went to him and told him of our daily needs and even for the burial of our former Rector late Engr. Anthony Ishiodu, he approved all want we requested. People will say what they do not anything about either to curry favour, out right mischief or ignorance but there are people who know the truth, say the truth and stand by the truth always. We have them all as friends and we must thank them for their efforts.

Training

There is a saying that even in Freetown nothing is free. We had MoUs signed but there was no counterpart funding.  Like the late Okpo said, we needed about N9m to train one cadet, if you multiply that by say two hundred cadets you will see what we are talking about. The MoU with Turkey and others suffered because funds were not available, follow up was difficult to do because there were so many things on the table at the same time.

The emphasis on maritime education and training is not on paper qualification, it is on competence and professionalism. The paper qualification is value added to enable seafarers become lecturers/trainers if, on account of age, disability or for any other reason they cannot continue to go to sea or remain at sea. There are jobs for them ashore, this is where the paper qualification comes in.

We have produced world certified Cadets from the Academy and we are wondering what has gone wrong. Why are Nigerian cadets roaming the streets, why is sea time such a big challenge? Why are we not exporting seafarers to less endowed countries as envisioned years back? What went wrong with our training programmes? These are the issues we are looking at. The good news is that we know the solutions. We are confident that Nigeria as a country has the capacity to get it right and make progress.

Degree Awarding/University Status

We not against for moves. We welcome such development. Our concern is that mistakes of the past must not be repeated. Our view is that lets us have a transition committee that should oversee and drive the process of transition into a university/degree awarding institution. MAN is a technical training institution, if we want convert it to a higher level, nobody can say no but there is so much involved. Presently we are running a polytechnic/mono-technic curricula. To move from that into university requires that we put things in place.

We need to review the curricula, have faculties in place, have at least seven professors on ground, land mass and qualified lecturers. The National Universities Commission, NUC, says you cannot have 2^nd/3^rd class graduates as lecturers. The talented Nigerians that can give lectures are nowhere to be found. The oil and Gas sector is giving them incentives that are very attractive. You can pronounce a university from scratch and start from there. All employees will from day one know their status and duties. MAN has been in existence for close to forty years and it is the trainings we offer and the Administrative efforts of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA that put Nigeria on the White List. When the International Maritime Organization, IMO, comes for Audit they audit NIMSA separately and audit the Academy separately. What happens if you remove MAN, Oron? I repeat that nobody is against transforming the Academy into a degree awarding institution or a university.

For instance, I learnt that Yaba College of Science and technology and Kaduna polytechnic have been told to start awarding degrees over five years ago and they have not started. We want us to get it right. If we do, Nigeria, all of us will benefit, if we don’t, the country, all of us will suffer. We are committed to getting it right.

Sea Time

There is no doubt that we need a training ship. It will provide sea time for Cadets of the Academy and other Nigerian youths that have embrace seafaring as a career. Efforts have been on this for several years but we are not relenting. It is not just an issue for MAN as a training institution. Sea Time is a national challenge. The federal government through its agencies is working at finding a lasting solution.