Without a doubt, one of the nation’s most quiet but fiercely focused ministers is the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola. This very accomplished former governor of Osun state has a peculiar style of operation that only those close to him understand very clearly. For starters, he detests undue publicity. He also has a strong aversion for unnecessary praise singing. Oyetola’s style has always been to let his work speak for him. He says very little, focuses more on his job and leaves the people to appraise him when the results are out in the open for all to see. This is how he has operated over the years and it has always worked for him. Until you understand how the man works, you will be tempted to think he has little passion for his job. But if truth be told, not too many can match Adegboyega Oyetola when it comes to passion and commitment for the job. His incredible brilliance and commitment to responsibilities assigned to him have been undeniable, which is why he has excelled remarkably well over the years.
Ever since Oyetola assumed office as the
Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, very little noise has emanated from his
camp. He has, once again, adopted his usual style – he stays focus on his
assignment and keeps the unnecessary publicity away. For this very trusted
loyalist of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, unnecessary publicity can be a huge
distraction sometimes. He should know because he has been in public service
long before he became Chief of Staff to former governor Rauf Aregbesola and before
subsequently emerging governor of Osun state. This is why he was able to hit
the ground running almost immediately after he assumed office as minister, clearly
defining his set goals and targets and getting every single member of his team
to key into his vision.
One of his goals as minister is to ensure that
Nigeria reclaims its maritime global relevance under President Tinubu. And he
intends to achieve this by first transforming the country into becoming a key
hub for maritime activities in Africa, using its rich coastlines and strategic
location.
Only a short while ago, the hardworking
minister assured Nigerians that a robust process for the finalisation and
validation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy would be concluded
by December 2024.
He also explained that the policy was ongoing
and that his administration has evolved key policy thrusts and goals to drive
the ministry towards actualising developmental goals of the present Bola Ahmed
Tinubu led government.
To this end, Oyetola hinted that a
comprehensive four-year key results framework and implementation plan to guide
the Ministry and its agencies had been developed.
“The Ministry has achieved a ramp up of
revenue to government in the last one year and is poised to do more. A
comparison of Quarter 1, 2023, against Quarter 1, 2024, revenue performance
across the agencies reveals a 92 percent increase.”
The increase in revenue performance, he said,
was largely due to a 10 percent increase in the number of vessels calling the
ports and due to strategic investments in port infrastructure in the last
one-year.
“Mooring boats, patrol vessels and dredging of
the port’s channels, we have also tightened revenue assurance by deploying
technology,” he added.
Furthermore, a very confident Oyetola said the
core objective of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy was the
creation of a dynamic national policy framework aimed at creating the enabling
environment required for the sector to thrive, noting that it was in this
regard that the Ministry engaged all stakeholders, experts, academia, and
research institutions in assessing the current state of the sector.
Highlighting further, he maintained that the
key measure of success for the Ministry was to increase the contribution of the
marine and blue economy to national GDP, while generating revenue for the
government for the important task of national economic development.
To achieve this, he explained that, currently,
“we are implementing a 3-pronged strategy that is focused on blocking revenue
leakages, enhancing revenue generation from established sources and identifying
and rolling out new blue economy revenue sources.”
He opined that revenue generation was critical
to the ministry and in that regard, “we have commenced the rollout of the
following initiatives among others: Commissioning of revenue enhancement
studies focused on the Ministry, its departments, and agencies. The objective
is to further identify and block leakages while identifying recommendations to
expand current revenue sources.
“Automation of revenue collection processes to
eliminate bottlenecks and enhance transparency and accountability. Deploying
revenue assurance technologies to ensure accurate and complete billings in line
with established contracts and services rendered.
“Ensuring the efficient utilisation of
existing assets through concessions to the private sector and public private
partnerships as required. Investment promotion campaigns targeting both
domestic and international investors for investments in the marine and blue
economy sub-sectors.”
On capacity building, he said: “We have
trained 100 seagoing officers, fishing vessels captains, and engineers in handling
of fishing acoustics equipment, multi-beam echo-sounders and deep-sea fishing.
“We have recorded 23 percent increase in the
placement of Nigerian Seafarers on Board vessels in Q1 of 2024 culminating in
boosting indigenous participation in commercial shipping and enhancing the
reputation and sea-time experience.
“Development of courses on coastal and marine
tourism, biodiversity conservation, ship finance and management, and other
simulation-based courses for seafarers. Expected completion in Q4, 2024
“For the first time in 47 years, foreign
students were admitted and trained at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron,”
Oyetola added.
These, clearly, are signs indicative of a man
who knows exactly what he’s doing and has his sights set firmly on his goals.
With Oyetola at the helm of affairs, you can bet the stakes will be raised
several notches higher because he is a man of pretty high standards himself.
Nigerians should keep their fingers crossed, something phenomenal is about to
happen in our maritime sector!
WALE LAWAL (08037209290)
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