The President, Centre for Marine Surveyors Nigeria, Prince Adebambo Ademiluyi has hailed the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi for summoning the courage to cancel the Nigerian Maritime University proposed to be sited at the Okerenkoko in Delta State.
Ademiluyi who made his feeling known in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos said he was unaware of the capacity of the cancelled Nigerian Maritime University to do what a proper Maritime University could do adding that that the set up of the university was more in the press than real.
He argued that if a maritime university was to be built, professionals in the National Universities Commission (NUC) as well as professionals in the maritime industry Marine Surveyors inclusive should be involved to think through the process saying that a maritime university without a department of Marine Surveyor cannot be said to be a proper maritime university.
He said,” In the first place, I don’t know about that Maritime University’s capacity to do what a maritime university could do. In my opinion, it was just on paper. I don’t think that there was any real solid thinking behind setting up of that university. I really don’t know the people who are supposed to be the brains that will articulate what the set up could be. From all indications that we saw, the set up was more in the press than for real. So, I can’t say the Minister was wrong.
“I think, if we have to have a maritime university, we have to invite the proper practitioners to set it up and involve all the stakeholders in the maritime industry. A maritime university that doesn’t have a department of marine surveying, I don’t see how you can really call that a maritime university because marine surveying practice is actually the bane of proper maritime practice. Marine surveyors are present in all aspects of maritime practice and as such we expect that if there were to be a maritime university, marine surveyors will be involved in the set up of that university which was not the case.
“So, we will want to see a proper set up, a proper committee of professionals who will think through that process and work with the National Universities Commission to get a proposal on it before we start talking of where it should be. You have to have a strategic plan to know what you want to do before saying where should it be”.
Ademiluyi who is also the Chairman Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Centre, contended that instead of building a new structure for a maritime university, the infrastructure at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron could be upgraded to serve that purpose.
“For all I care, Oron that already have such infrastructure could be upgraded because by the time you have a strategic plan, you want to see how quickly you want to achieve it and that may speak in favour of some locations. You see, you don’t just say, I want to have a maritime University then you put it in Ile-Ife because I come from there. Is it an appropriate place to put it? What do you have there that will support it? The presence of water in a location does not necessarily make that location the best place for a maritime university. If you have ocean and you don’t have calm water in proper lagoons flowing into the ocean, you can’t really locate the University properly.
“There are so many things you may want to look at not just that the location is by the ocean or by the river, then it is good for a maritime university. You may not be able to achieve some things that you want to achieve. So, you start planning first before you start doing location”, he said.
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