The Chairman, Association of Igbo Maritime Practitioners in Nigeria (AIMPN), Mr. Uchechukwu Aniezechukwu has identified lack of servants rather than service as what is lacking in the Nigerian maritime industry.
Aniezechukwu who made this observation during the award presentation to the Managing Director of Gold-Link Investment Limited, Sir Tony Anakebe by the Management of Primetime Reporters in Lagos on Thursday stated that if the industry was blessed with people who will render service long before now, the story would have been a different one for the maritime sector in Nigeria.
According to him,” Well, I like to start by thanking the Primetime Reporters for this award to my good friend, Mr. Tony Anakebe. I congratulate the media organization and I congratulate him too. I have always been of the opinion that what is lacking in the maritime industry or the transport sector as a whole is not service but servants and if you can take your time and find out people like this for award, it is commendable and I urge you to continue in that strive and God will bless you.
Speaking shortly after receiving the award, Sir Tony Anakebe expressed surprise at the award saying that he was not expecting any award from Primetime Reporters rather he was expecting it from another media organization altogether.
While thanking the Management of the media organization for finding him worthy of the award, he however described himself as a servant to humanity which according to him he had never reneged from.
“I don’t know who I am that Primetime Reporters found me worthy to give such an award. Infact, I was even expecting the award from the BussinessDay but it came from Primetime.
“I thank you for the award, thank you for taking out time to give me this award. I will continue to say it wherever I am, if there is no servant I have seen, I myself, am a servant to humanity and I believed that I have never in one way or the other declined in serving humanity. So, I thank you for this award”, he said.
Anakebe who later dedicated the award to the Chairman of AIMPN, Mr. Aniezechukwu for being there for him and for other practitioners in the industry, however promised to do more for humanity.
Earlier in his opening speech, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Primetime Reporters Newspapers, Mr. Saint Augustine Nwadinamuo explained that Sir Anakebe was chosen for the award in recognition of his numerous contributions to the growth and development of the maritime sector in Nigeria.
Nwadinamuo listed some of the achievements of Sir Anakebe to include his advocacy through the media on ways to better the lot of the industry, some of which the Federal government had keyed into in most of its policy formulation, mentoring the younger maritime practitioners as well as providing employment for over 10 Nigerian youths thereby reducing the scourge of unemployment in Nigeria amongst others.
He said,” Sir Anakebe did not beg us for this award neither did he pay us to present this award to him. Infact, he was not aware that he was being studied until when the letter notifying him of his nomination was brought to him. Even at that, he had to call severally to get a clearer picture of what the award was for so as to ensure that we were not just playing prank on him.
“In a nutshell, the award being presented to Sir Anakebe is a well deserved award and he is getting it on merit unlike others out there who will do anything to presented with an award so as to show off”.
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