‘MAN Not In Crisis And Didn’t Lose Lecturers In Droves’– Rector

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

Management of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) says that contrary to reports by one Ishaya Ibrahim of TheNiche Newspaper, the Academy is not in any way having qualified lecturers deficit nor in any form of crisis as erroneously peddled by the newspaper’s report.

Training of cadets on navigational aids

While denying that at no time did master mariners lecturing in the institution resigned in droves under any circumstances as portrayed by the report, management of MAN note that those whose names were peddled in the story served out their tenure as directors of schools and proceeded on deserved retirement, with the exception of one that died while in service.

Some of the new training infrastructures and assets put in place since 2018

The report has accused the Rector of MAN, Commodore Emmanuel Duja (Rtd) of being responsible for the alleged protest resignation of five master mariners, purportedly on the ground of high handedness and poor welfare regime; further alleging that the rector preferred the recruitment of teaching staffs on contract basis, supposedly with alleged higher wage structure over and above those of employed teachers.

Smart classrooms with cadets enjoying the best learning ambience

Reacting to the story however, the Rector remarked that more than merely showcasing open mischief, Ishaya Ibrahim may have shown that he is on a hatchet job running errands for criminal elements within and outside the Academy, some of whom he said the present management had identified and consequently made to face the wrath of the law.

He explained that most of the cabal have been shut out and prevented from further stealing from the system and hence they are bitter and are on a revenge mission to get back at their supposed enemy.

In a detailed rebuttal, Commodore Duja went narrated how as part of an interim management committee established by the federal government in 2017, he resolved to rescue the Academy from the criminal gang that hitherto held it hostage; undertook to clean up the school and embarked on rebuilding.

Cadets of sister Nigeria Maritime University undergoing specialized training at the Academy

He explained that the criminal cabal like every other form of syndicate, ganged up against him and swore to push him out of the Academy, noting that in the efforts, the angry gang and their agents have authored about 700 petitions against him to various anti-graft bodies; making him the number one state enemy to state.

Commodore Effedua Rtd

The MAN Rector faulted the Ishaya Ibrahim report as sponsored falsehood, and urged Nigerians to disregard the report in its entirety as it was written solely to malign and to slander him for making the decision to save the federal government institution from the rogue groups that have stunted the growth of the Academy,  with continued effort to recapture it through false narratives as enabled by TheNiche reporter, he said.

In a press statement made available to our reporter, the rector said, “The attention of the Management of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria has been drawn to the falsehood propagated by person who goes by the name Ishaya Ibrahim of TheNiche Newspaper, an online publication.  It is shocking that this Ishaya Ibrahim would suddenly wake up and publish unverified information for the consumption of the general public despite the general warning by the IGP last week on the consequences of cybercrime and cyber bully.”

During the 2023 Cadets Graduation Ceremony

Setting the record straight on the allegation of contract employment of teaching staffs and unceremonious withdrawal of master mariners from the academy, Effedua  said contrary to the misinformation contained in the report in question, the Academy under his watch have maintained a robust relationship with the body of professional master mariners in the country.

“As at the time I resumed in 2017, the Academy lacked quality staff, and as a man on a mission, I had to go out of my way to other institutions and establishments, poaching experts, instructors, ICT experts, lawyers, engineers even went as far as getting some experienced retired naval officers, NPA officers and those recommend by stakeholders in the maritime industry and they are in the Academy, doing a fantastic job.

Cadets of the Academy

“Altogether, the Academy has employed 109 experts under my watch and this includes Master Mariners, Chief Engineers and even foreign experts on contract bases. It is pertinent to state that the Chairman of the Nigeria Association of Master Mariners has been so supportive of the Academy and the Management has held several meetings with the Association at the Academy and in their office in Lagos on their continuous support and also helping us in recruiting staff.  Master Mariners who are active will never come ashore to work and this is unknown to this journalist because he is intellectually vacant when it comes to matters like this. A master mariner who is retired is not expected to be a young man.”

The Academy new look under Effedua

Further speaking on the issue of contract staff the Rector said, “It is pertinent to state again that the Academy lacked qualified staff as at the time I resumed. Even some of them were later found to have been employed with fake certificates.

“The contract staffs were brought in because there were operational gaps, which have to be plugged by experts. The Management went out poaching from different organizations to get the needed staff and their salaries were negotiated based on the nature of job they were to undertake.

“Secondly, the salaries of permanent staff of the Academy are the responsibility of the IPPIS and not the Academy. Therefore, comparing a contract staff and a permanent staff who is already a professional working somewhere and had to be poached to come work for the Academy does not make any sense.

“The Academy has the mandate of the Ministry to encourage the best hands and to retain them, so that with their services, the Academy can be projected further.  This is why we have been able to recruit 109 experts to support our activities.”

He punctured the allegation of five master mariners leaving the Academy in droves and proceeded to explain the circumstances that occasioned the resignation of the named master mariners and others he argued left at the right time.

“His claim that master mariners exited the system in droves is false because those he mentioned were over 3 years ago and not at the same time as this Ishaya Ibrahim alleged. They even handed over as Directors of the School of Nautical Science to each other over the years. The records are available for all to view. It is to be noted that 5 of them at various times were Directors of the School of Nautical Studies between 2018 and December 2023; how is it possible that they left in droves as he alleged?

“The least age among those that resigned in 75 years. Such persons will certainly not have the energy to continue with the rudiments of the job and they are alive except late Capt Ahia who died at his official residence while he was still in the service of the Academy yet Mr lshaya   lied that he resigned on his own.  In fact, two master mariners who resigned were advised by their family to resign due to old age.

“Master mariners take only 4 subjects out of over 80 subjects taught at the institution and they are domiciled at the school of Nautical Science. While the other subjects are taught by other experts who are not mariners, the master mariners take courses related to some aspect of navigation and some aspects of seamanship. While we also have other lecturers who are eminently qualified to teach those same courses, that not withstanding, it is important that a maritime training institution have at least one.

“There is no law that says that all lecturers must be master mariners, this man is ignorant of the operations of a maritime training institution hence he is feeding the public with lies.  The Academy has Master Mariners and some institutions do not even have at all.  They only have visiting lecturers who are master mariners. While we are not in competition with anyone, l like to say that in Nigeria, the Academy is still the best.  The Academy was awarded the best Maritime Training Institution in Nigeria following a survey conducted by NIMASA in 2019 and in 2023, the Academy was adjudged the best Maritime Training institution in Nigeria by the Association of Marine Engineering and Surveyors (AMES) recognized the Academy as the best MTI.

Effeduua receiving Award of Outstanding Performance from the NUJ Akwa Ibom Council, recently

“We have noticed a surge in subscription by potential students’ requests.  In fact, till December 2024, there is no space to admit additional students as available spaces for subscription in 2024 have all been exhausted.  Therefore, if the Academy is doing poorly as the journalist has alleged, why are we being oversubscribed? Mr Ishaya claimed that Ghana Maritime Academy is more recognized, he should have presented statistics to corroborate his assertions.

“Our Academy is one of the most equipped MTI in Africa today. It is now the major destination for seafarers training. Students from West African countries have started patronising the institution, this is a feat by the present management which never happened in at its 46 years of existence.  No MTI in West Africa has quality of training equipment available at the Academy. Many students have stopped travelling abroad for maritime training as the Academy now has the latest equipment in maritime training.  This was made possible through saving of funds that would have been stolen by the cabal we sent packing.”

The MAN Rector also debunked the allegation of disrespect and “talking anyhow to master mariners.”

“I do not interact with Master Mariners to the extent of quarrelling with them, they are elderly people. The last man who resigned was Captain Okonkwo, he was quite old and could hardly walk. Instead of sending for him, I go to him and he understood.  It is pertinent to state that till date, no Marine Engineer has left the Academy as alleged by this journalist except a retired Navy Commodore who resigned after he lost his wife.”

He also denied that the lecturers quarters was enjoying uninterrupted power supply before he took over, noting that the cost of running electricity supply based on generator is huge and hence supply to lecturers quarters isn’t as regular as for areas that are critical to learning and administration.

“On the issue of light, when I resumed in 2017, the Academy had already been disconnected from the Public Power Supply provided by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company and the Academy premises was in darkness especially at nights. I made enquiries and l was informed that the town has no substation and so hardly have electricity supply.  The only place that has light in the Academy was only the Admin block where the Rector’s office was located, and it is powered by generator.

“Gradually, I introduced high quality Solar to power every street and offices and classrooms. All the classrooms and offices are now powered by solar except where heavy equipment like the simulators that is powered by generators, are. The Academy is an institution that requires power to run efficiently and without power, we cannot meet up with our programmes and the equipment such as simulators, HUET etc depend on electricity to run.

Effedua showing members of the House of Reps Committee on Maritime Education round some of the developments in the Academy

“In view of this development, the Academy had to ensure that all the classrooms are powered by solar.  In the hostels, the Academy ensures that the cadets are provided light for at least 3 hours and they were all issued with rechargeable bulbs whenever they are on ground.  The issue of light at the staff quarters is a very dicey one, institutions that run generator don’t make staff quarters a priority, it is often a privilege but which we cannot afford here.   Where does the journalist expect me to get that kind of funds from.

“His claims that the staff quarters had enjoyed 24 hours light before my assumption of office is false as the first time the staff quarters was introduced to power supply by generator is during my watch. The Academy challenge the journalist to tell us any public school that runs generator for its staff quarters and how cheap it is.”

The Rector MAN also bothered that the sponsored report might have been supported by rival institutions, noting however that the Academy is not in competition with anyone but exists purely to fulfil a gap and its national mandate. He urged whoever nurses the problem of competition to have a rethink and concentrate on how best to contribute to swell the national dream, noting that the Academy will continue to build synergy and collaboration, locally and internationally.

“Certain persons are threatened by the way people are massively trooping to the Academy for training and would do anything to remain in business. The Academy is not even in competition with Ghana or any MTI.  The IMO in recognition of the progress at the Academy during my watch have donated books and publications to the Academy’s library.  We have a relationship with the Nautical Institute of the United Kingdom, IMarEST of the UK and is currently discussing with the city of Glasgow College and University of Stratchclyde for possible collaboration with the Academy.

“These are well known reputable maritime institutions. NIMASA recently concluded its facility audit of the Academy and acknowledged the improvement made so far.  Maritime Stakeholders who have visited the Academy in recent times acknowledged the giant strides made by this administration. It is very clear that this journalist is running errands for people. Ordinarily the management would not have responded to this journalist but for the fact that we have to set the records straight.”

He urged owners and reporters of a section of the media being approached by enemies of the Academy to run their errands to be wary of these dubious elements; and reassured that the federal government will not allow the Academy ever again to become encumbered by sectional and narrow interests.

“For the records, this Ishaya Ibrahim is not a maritime expert neither is he a maritime stakeholder but someone who is running errands for some persons who do not wish the Academy well. It is on records that when I resumed as Rector of the Academy in Sept 2017, the institution was in a collapsed state and at that time, the FGN had to set up an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to help proffer solutions that would revamp the ailing institution.

“I was a member of that committee. We worked day and night for 6 months on ways to tackle the challenges observed so that the institution will not be delisted from the IMO white list. On resumption, l met  challenges which included poor standard of training; over bloated cadets’ enrolment; demoralized manpower;  infrastructural decay; poor maintenance of facilities; unnecessary employments; dearth of teaching aids; inadequate lecturers; deplorable hostels with crowded rooms; and makeshift library facility with inadequate current books of reference.

“The other challenges were poor filing/data management system; decaying state of sporting facilities; abandoned projects; negative publications by a section of the Press (sponsored); misplacement of priorities in the application of resources; certificate racketing by some staff; activities of some dubious contractors; huge debt profile; and picketing of the Academy by some individuals from the Host Community.

“I worked day and night and within 3 years, the Academy bounced back. When I resumed, I met a school full of corrupt practices. Training was relegated to the background and funds deployed by the FGN for development at the school were virtually siphoned and diverted by those at the helm of affairs at the time.  Consequently, I got an audit firm to identify all financial leakages and blocked them and we were able to save monies that would have been stolen by the cabal hounding the institution, which comprised of internal persons with their external collaborators and I became public enemy number one.

“Within this period, I have been petitioned over 700 times and all of them are frivolous petitions because they want me out of their way for them to continue stealing and keeping the institution underdeveloped. The EFCC, ICPC, CCB , BPP, National Assembly have all been inundated with fake petitions just to get me out of the way.

“My mission here is not about awarding contracts and projects except those related to training and I am not here to share money with people.  I am equally not ready and I will never pay anybody underserved sums of money. Like some of these persons  connived with internal staff to forge paper pretending that contract have been awarded and contract have been executed  before my resumption and the contractor deserves some payment but when you investigate, it turns out to be false.

“I got tired and had to report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) one of the incidents and the EFCC investigated and found out that I was right and the contractor and the internal staff were prosecuted and are in prison right now. There are many more petitions from me to the EFCC and ICPC on criminal activities of internal members of staff, yet they categorise that as high handedness.

“It was discovered that some members of staff presented fake certificates,  they were fished out and reported to the ICPC, how is that high handedness?  People do not come to work and they want to get paid at the end of the month.  Some of them are absent without leave for as long as one month, two months and they want to be paid, some even for one year.”

He continued: “When I resumed, they lied that we had 804 members of staff on our pay roll but I did biometrics for every staff and we found out that we have only 604 staff.  This means that we had 200 ghost workers in the system who were consequently weeded out.  People deliberately destroy government properties worth millions and they want to be retained.  Do they want to be rewarded for destroying government property and engaging in other untoward activities?  There is hardly a week they do not steal air conditioners, computers, projectors in the Academy.  The ones that have been caught have been handed over to the police to be investigated.  What have I done wrong there?”, he asked.

Effedua also tore to pieces Ishaya Ibrahim’s claim that the Academy under his leadership has failed to properly manage the ‘huge sums’ of allocation he gets from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); noting that the reporter has a poor assessment of the said funding and how it works.

“On the issue of funding for the Academy, it is from what NIMASA generates that it gives the Academy 5% percentage. This grant is in the Academy’s act, which is based on patronage of NIMASA by its clients that the Academy is funded and if they project 100%, who told the journalist that NIMASA will realize the 100%?

“The 5% Grant to the Academy can be N1.00 and it can be N1,000,000.00; it is from what NIMASA earns.  For instance, in 2023, the budget performance of the Academy was just 33% as against 100% envisaged. The funding was just 33%. The National Assembly is aware as l just defended the Academy’s 2024 Budget. It’s in the public domain. The economic dynamics has affected everybody’s calculation and permutations. Therefore, one cannot blame NIMASA or the Academy for the 33% released for 2023 and neither will anybody expect me to use my personal funds to run the Academy. But we have done well in the sense that we have utilized the money NIMASA releases to us prudently and the evidence abounds.”

He disclosed that NIMASA recently has taken very bold steps to ensuring that the Academy receives accumulated allocations it is due to collect from it, thanking the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh OFR, for the effort.

“Just last week the DG NIMASA went out of his way to write to the Minister of Finance to fast track payment from September 2023 to date to the Academy. We salute him for that. Diesel is super expensive now and a truck costs over #30million. The diesel we purchase is meant for training and not staff leisure The Academy never connected power supply to the staff quarters before my resumption. The allegations that the Academy had 24 hours supply each day before my arrival is laughable. Ishaya forgot to calculate what it would cost the Academy to perform that feat with only one generator that was partially functional upon my arrival.’