By Stephen Ubanna
Not many are surprised at what Adegboyega Oyetola, who incidentally was a former governor, of Osun state and now minister of marine and blue economy is doing to save lives in costal states across the country.
Minister Oyetola, who is not ready to make the same mistakes of Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of Rivers state, Senator Gbemisola Saraki and Engr. Muazu Jaji Sambo, and who were all ministers of Transportation, which had supervised the nation’s maritime industry at different times during President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration. The former ministers of Transportation, may have paid lip service to meeting the demands of the water ways users because of the various projects in the ministry demanding for attention.
President Bola Ahemed Tinubu, may have realized that to give the desired attention to the nation’s maritime industry requires splitting the ministry of Transportation into two: one to serve land Transportation and another to serve the maritime sector. He has no option but to bow to pressures from the industry operators and acting on the advice of the Bureaucrat who understands the importance of the maritime sector and how other maritime nations across the world are benefiting from it through focused projects to establish the new ministry of marine and blue economy in August 2023.
Minister Oyetola, may have shown that he is out to change the narrative of the nation’s maritime industry, particular, the happening in the coastal states across the country with the N625million take-off grant as he initiated plans to address the challenges of the industry.
The challenges ranges from development Inland dry ports, modernization of seaports across the country to the provision of life jackets to riverine Communities to enhance safety following the increase in boat mishaps caused by rising traffic on inland water ways.
The former Osun state governor may have settled down for his ministerial assignment in 2024, when he has opportunity to fully utilize the N10 billion out of the over N10.8 billion 2024 Capital appropriation, leaving a balance of N874.7 million.
As a prelude too save lives in the riverine Communities in the coastal states, the minister had confirmed the deployment of 13-fibre -reinforced plastic fast- moving boats and three water ambulance targeted at phasing out the wooden rickety boats on the inland water ways.
The ministry was said to have also purchased and started the distribution of 2000 units of High-Capacity lifejackets to aid passengers’ safety on the inland water ways. Determined to reach out to the 12 selected coastal states that should benefit from the 42,000 life jackets that would be distributed this 2025, fiscal year, may have informed why the minister who could not his feelings had expressed his concern that the proposed capital budget of N11.7 billion allocated the ministry are inadequate to meet the demand of the ministry and its agencies capital projects.
It would be recalled that the minister who is determined to reduce to the barest minimum boat accidents in the riverine Communities across the country through the Nigerian Inland Water Ways Authority, NIWA, had as well inaugurated three PC W23 boats with 150HP each for security and surveillance activities and an additional five PC W23 boats with double 75HP each for enforcement activities.
He had had expressed his worries during the 2025 Budget Defence before the joint Committee of the Senate on Marine Transport and the House Committees on Ports and Harbour, Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Inland Water Ways and Shipping Services.
The former Osun state governor was said to have made a passionate appeal an appeal for increased funding to achieve the ministry’s mandate but that was how he could go.
Given his political experience and a one-time governor of the south western state of Osun, who knows how to work within budget limits to meet his electioneering Campaign promises may have informed why minister Oyetola has not allowed the insufficient of budgetary allocation to the ministry to stifle the execution of projects.
It was not surprising why he has expedited action to provide the life jackets to the 12 selected states across the country. The benefiting coastal states, according to an insider are Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Bayelsa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross river, Delta, Taraba, Ogun and Lagos, the nation’s Commercial nerve center.
There is no gain saying the fact that the ministry had distributed thousands of the lifejackets to waterways passengers in Niger so far, home state of former military President Ibrahim Babangida, an Army General rtd, Bayelsa, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Taraba, Ogun, and Lagos state.
Only recently, minister Oyetola led ministry of marine and blue economy ramped up the distribution of the free lifejackets to Zamfara state Government, amidst cheers from residents of Gusau, the capital.
The minister may not have showed up physically to the 3,500 life jackets allocated to the state but was said to have been represented by Muhammed Zakari, the Director of Information and Public Relations, in the ministry because of his official engagement and some other top officials of the ministry outside the country.
An elated Zakari, may have spoken the mind of the minister when he emphasized the Federal Government’s’’ unwavering commitment to protecting lives and livelihood of citizens who rely on water transportation’’. He was said to have further stated that the distribution of the free lifejackets underscores a proactive approach to enhancing safety on the nation’s water ways’’.
He had alluded to the minister’s remarks that that ‘’the comprehensive initiative to distribute life jackets in riverine Communities in Zamfara state, being the latest beneficiary, aims to save lives and livelihood of the citizenry.
He was said to have stressed the critical importance of wearing life jackets and urged the Boat Operators and Ferry Associations to rigorously enforce the usage among passengers, reiterating the ministerial slogan ‘’No Life jacket, No entry’’.
The minister was said to have appealed to the state local government officials, traditional rulers, Youth Associations and transport operators to become champions of safety of lives in Nigerian waters, by embedding a robust safety culture at the grass root level.
The minister had highlighted had highlighted Zamfara state unique position within Nigeria’s inland water ways ecosystem, acknowledging the critical role which water plays in the livelihoods of countless residents, even as a landlocked state.
The minister may have gladdened the heart of the people when the detailed the government’s three-pronged strategy ‘’to eliminate preventable deaths on the nation’s water ways to include strict enforcement of the Inland Water Ways Transportation Regulation 2023, to regulate the activities of vessels navigating the nation’s water ways.
The ministry was said to have also given attention ‘’to Continuous Public Education and Sensitization Campaigns and provision of safety information to vessels’’ in line with the Safety of Lives at Sea, SOLAS, Convention on an ongoing basis to preserve life and property.
An appreciative Gov. Dauda Lawal, who was said to have been represented at the occasion of taking delivery of the lifejackets from the minister of marine and blue economy Representative by Mani Mummuni, the deputy governor , had assured that the life jackets would be directly distributed to those most in need within the state’s riverine Communities to avoid falling into the waiting hands of the militants operating in different parts of the state including the riverine Communities.
Gov. Lawal has every reason to be happy over the handover of life jackets to to the state government because of the incident of 2024 in which a boot carrying over 50 farmers including children had capsized and sank into the river but only 12 were rescued alive and the remaining 41 were found dead.
The Zamfara state governor, who had been eagerly waiting for the turn of the state receive its own free life jacks from minister Oyetola, to forestal a future occurrence had expressed gratitude to President Tinubu and the minister of marine and blue economy for the free life jackets.
Already, he governor has directed the ministry of Works and Infrastructure, in collaboration with the Humanitarian and Disaster Management Agency and the Zamfara state Emergency Management Agency, ZEMA, to Coordinate the inventory, mapping and structured distribution of the lifejackets to ensure that no riverine Community is left out.
