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…Says agency remains main focus
Bola Oyebamiji, is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). He has, within one year of his appointment, turned around the fortunes of the agency, as he follows religiously the details of the Performance Bond he signed with the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.
Before his latest appointment, he was Managing Director of Osun State Investment Company Limited (OSICOL) in 2012, where he turned around the fortunes of the company, growing it up from about N300million to about N3billion within five years. The singular performance threw him up for the position of Commissioner for Finance in Osun State in 2017; and when the immediate past governor was shopping for a good hand to man the finance ministry, he did not look farther before settling for Oyebamiji, a man widely regarded as a public sector expert in human resources, finance and policy formation.
In this interview with Ismail Omipidan, the NIWA boss spoke about what he is doing at NIWA and Osun politics.
It has been over a year since you assumed office as the MD of NIWA. How has it been so far?
Well, so far so good. The increasing human population across the globe including Nigeria requires leaders with vision to evolve strategies to create avenues for revenue generation to cope with demands for basic necessities of life. For me, I believe the above reason informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to create the ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. Mr President realised early enough that the oceans and their resources contribute greatly to global economy and societal development.
Based on the statistic released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the ocean economy contributed 1.5 trillion dollars to the global economy in the past one and a half decades and it is projected to double in another five years. And to pilot the affairs of this new ministry, Mr. President decided to appoint a vibrant and seasoned administrator, in person of my boss and leader, the former Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola to take charge.
Would you say the minister has discharged the responsibility well, so far?
I am not sure I am qualified to score my boss. But if the push, directives and counsels he gives to us as heads of agencies under the ministry are concerned, I am confident to say that he has done well. For instance, the first stakeholders’ meeting NIWA had with commissioners of Transportation from the 36 states of the country was the minister’s idea of helping to stem the tide of boat mishaps in the country. In fact, as he was handing my letter of appointment to me last year, the first charge was that ‘go and find solutions to boat mishaps.’ I can report to you that we are doing everything within our limit to achieve that goal.
If by your claim, the minister has done so well, how come there’s this perception of him not doing much?
For me, I think it is all politics. For instance, I am aware that the Honourable minister since assuming office has completed most of the projects he inherited from the previous administration and has initiated new ones. The projects that the minister completed are: the Funtua Dry Port, Port Access Roads in Onne and the rehabilitation of some access roads in Tin Can and Apapa ports. In collaboration with the Lagos State Government, an end was put to the multi-billion-naira yearly loss to Lagos ports traffic gridlock on the Tin Can port corridor.
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He was in Lokoja to launch the Water Transportation Code after several years of not being able to pull it together. So far, I can confidently say that the minister has improved on what he met on ground. In terms of revenue, he has upped it by over 90 percent. As we speak, there is a reduction in both the vessel and truck turn-around times. The vessel TAT went down from an average of 6.5 days to an average of five days, while truck TAT went from an average of 10 days to a few hours. It was all these efforts that earned the ministry overall best performing based on the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC). The truth is, the agencies under the ministry cannot be adjudge to be performing and someone will now turn around to say he has not seen what the ministry is doing. Does it add up? The ministry plays a supervisory role and it is the minister that leads the charge.
Talking about NIWA and Transportation code, what are the things you are doing in practical terms to eradicate or reduce to the barest minimum, boat mishaps?
Let me start with the transportation code. It is part of measures put in place by the ministry, through NIWA to significantly standardise water transportation, minimise accidents, and provide a structured environment for potential investors. We have 10, 000km of waterways, out of which 3,000 are navigable seasonally. So, we want to maximise the gains of water transportation, hence, the launching of the code.
On the second leg of your question, we have embarked on advocacy on the need for Nigerians to avoid patronising rickety boats, night travels, and ensure they always put on their live jackets before embarking on any journey. Ninety percent of the boat mishaps are caused by human error. I was at a training session with some boat drivers recently and from my interactions with them, I realised that we have a long way to go in this country. Many of them are not only untrained but also get intoxicated in the early hours of the day. This is unacceptable, and we are already working tirelessly to reverse this trend.
One of the ways is to phase out substandard wooden boats, and to do that, we have intensified our collaboration with indigenous boat builders to phase out these boats from the system. The initiative is aim at encouraging the production and use of safer, modern boats that meet global standards. We have visited the various riverine communities to raise awareness about the dangers of using unsafe boats and to promote adherence to safety protocols. However, for us to achieve comprehensive safety and security, let me seize this opportunity to appeal to the National Assembly to help prioritise and pass the Coastal Guards Bill into law. This will equip us with the necessary tools to regulate and secure our waterways effectively. Once that is done, Nigerians will find waterways transportation not only attractive but one which will in turn boost our tourism industry.
We cannot conclude this interview without touching Osun and its politics. As we approach 2025, how prepared is Osun APC for the governorship race?
I can conveniently tell you that the people of Osun have tasted the APC government and they are experiencing that of the PDP at the moment, I believe they already know the difference. Under the Oyetola’s administration, where I served as the Commissioner for Finance, our boss championed a course for the development of Osun and better welfare package for workers. The capacity and capability of our boss to bring financial ingenuity and creativity to governance is quite appreciated and even commended by members of the opposition. His Midas touch in administration is top notch and as everyone can see, Osun under our boss, was on the path of resounding economic recovery despite the myriads of financial challenges that we faced at that time.
Our boss did fantastically well, merging and unifying forces together, strengthening the bond of our party, ensuring equitable distribution of political patronage and developmental projects across the State. Look at the Ede to Ejigbo road and Ede to Ara Junction that we constructed, they were in a state of disrepair for several years before the government intervened. We completed, equipped and made functional 332 PHCs, one per ward. The long abandoned Osogbo/Iwo Road also received attention. Road rehabilitation and construction has today made our boss the long-expected governor of the people. Virtually every part of Osun felt the impact of the Oyetola administration. Most of the roads that were built were the roads that had long been abandoned for decades before our administration brought them back to life.
For instance, the people of Asipa/ Yakooyo will not forget in a hurry the Oyetola’s impacts on their lives with the new lease of life given to their road which was abandoned for over four decades. Ditto the long abandoned Kelebe-Iragbiji, the Osogbo-Ilobu and Ada-Igbajo roads. The people of those communities are today enjoying fresh lease of life as a result of the Oyetola administration’s infrastructure renewal. When fuel subsidy was still subsisting, the Oyetola’s administration fed 30, 000 vulnerable Osun citizens. I can go and on. But because it is not time for politics yet, I won’t say much about that. At the moment, I am primarily concerned with the discharge of my mandate at NIWA. This is my priority. This is my focus for now. When it is time to play politics, we won’t shy away from it.
Finally, will you run for Osun governorship?
Again, I am concerned about my mandate at NIWA. I was appointed as MD of NIWA, on the recommendation of my boss, the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy. I don’t believe in hustling for a position. All those I have worked closely with over the years know me. So, to answer you directly, when we get to the bridge, we shall cross it.
