Sylvanus Obasi
When Chief Isaac Jolapomo, former NISA Chairman guested on my Radio program last November, precisely on 4th Nov 2014, barely two weeks after the keenly contested NISA election which saw Capt Niyi Labinjo emerge president; the first question I threw at him as opener read: “Having founded Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA) and been its Chairman for over ten years now, how much relieved do you feel that finally, you ‘ve got a successor?”
The question caught him unawares because it wasn’t part of the questionnaires I emailed to him before he came on-air. Expectedly, he first struggled to articulate an answer before he responded thus, “The foundation has been laid for anybody coming in to build on. There is nothing new anybody can do other than to build on the foundation”.
Having said those few words, he quickly reminded me that he didn’t come on-air to discuss NISA but NIMASA DG. Hence, we went straight into the business of the day.
Re-winding my tape recorder to revisit those few words of a shipping magnet convinced me that Jolapomo will definitely not be a happy man wherever he is now going by the circumstances surrounding NISA presently.
And guess what? My fears seems to be true because when I called and sent him sms last two weeks asking him to give me appointment for a meeting with him; he first asked via sms why I wanted the appointment. When I told him, he didn’t come forth again even as we speak, a sign that the man may be going through unhappy times regarding NISA future.
But come to think of it, who would have believed if it were a prophecy predicting that barely six months after he handed the leadership mantle to Labinjo, NISA would split into three parallel associations.
Going by his response on-air, Jolapomo envisaged a NISA where in-coming leaders would build on by improving and consolidating on his achievements. But here we are as maritime stakeholders not knowing which of the purportedly three shipowners associations to recognise and deal with legitimately, especially we in the pen profession.
Is it the Aminu Umar-led faction of NISA which following strong allegations of unholy business deal involving Labinjo and Jolapomo daughter asked Labinjo to step aside until EFCC finish its investigation and the mess cleaned up? Hence, Alhaji Aminu Umar is currently working as the Acting President of that faction of NISA with the backing of most if not all the elected executive of the association.
Or is it the Labinjo-led faction which insists that NISA constitution doesn’t stipulate that a president be suspended on grounds of a soured business deal done outside the association? Seeing the step-aside order by his executive as unconstitutional, Labinjo opened a separate NISA head office and with the support of some NISA members still carries himself as the elected president of the association.
Or is it the Greg Ogbeifun-led faction which out of anger and dissatisfaction having lost to Labinjo as President in the last election, went and formed a parallel association named: Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN)?
So the BIG QUESTION now is: Which of these purportedly shipowners associations should maritime stakeholders recognise as legitimate?
