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By Citizen Innocent Orok
As expected, the long awaited Ministerial Portfolios has finally arrived, after few weeks of expectations. The portfolios have come with mixed feelings as well as the Ministerial Nominees.

While some sectors are having grounded professional Ministers, some as usual are having political appointees , coming to learn the job of the ministry from either Civil Servants, Professional stakeholders or political portfolio government officials.

For the Nigerian maritime sub- sector , we already know where we were heading to after seeing the names of the Ministerial Nominees from the ” Renewed Hope” mantra king, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ( Jagaban) , President Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigerian maritime industry no doubt have been a testing ground for political appointees cum administrators and so here we go again.

In the assigned Portfolios released on Thursday night, this time around, the South West politicians have taken over the Maritime industry. Thanks to president Bola Ahmed Tinubu who yielded to Stakeholders yearnings to split the bogus Transportation Ministry. As announced , we now have Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

Though, we are yet to know the scheduled functions and agencies that will make up the both Ministries , but currently we have 8 agencies , namely NPA, NIMASA, NRC, NSC, NIWA, NITT, CRFFN and Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron that makes up the Ministry of Transportation. How they will be splited to feed the two Ministries in yet unknown.

But is believed that the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy will focus on developing the Nigerian maritime industry through agencies like NIMASA, NPA, NSC, NIWA, MAN, Oron and any other .

The big question then is can the newly assigned Ministers , the 69 years old Adegboyega Oyetola ( believed to be a Cousin to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu), an Insurance guru , a politician and former Governor of Osun State who is assigned the Ministry of Transportation. And the 41 years old Olunbumi Tunji-Ojo,
the Ondo State born Engineer and politician, who is assigned the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy administer and bring the needed benefits that Nigeria deserves from the maritime industry?

Or are we expecting another round of a learning session, talk shop, gallary games, political promises and political profiteering from the industry in the next four years?

With rapt attention and focus on the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to become the top revenue earner to government, what will be the game changer and policy direction of young and vibrant Tunji- Ojo in a known mafia industry where schemers and “Political Jacobians” are always hanging on to strike with unassuming dimensions for resource control of the sector.?

Rightly so, both Ministers are from the South West and from neighbouring states of Osun and Ondo. This duo ministers are like an Uncle to the other or if you like called them father and Son. Will this “tribal connection” relationship help transform the maritime industry ?

With the choice of both men from South West as Ministers, and with the power residing with the President who is also from the South West. And with the hub of Maritime activities residing in the South West, one will be convince to believe that the Tinubu administration will turn the maritime industry into a goldmind as expected.
Well as they say, only time will tell.

BRIEF PROFILE OF THE TWO MARITIME INDUSTRY MINISTERS:
ADEGBOYEGA OYETOLA was born on September 29, 1954, in Iragbji, Boripe Local Government Area, Osun State, to the family of Hammed Oyetola, the present Imam of Egbeda, Iragbiji.

He is a Nigerian politician, technocrat, and manager. He was former Osun State Governor.He began his Secondary school in 1972 at Ifeoluwa Grammar School in Osogbo, in the Old Oyo State.

He then enrolled at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he earned a BSc in Insurance in 1978. He completed his one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Potiskum, where he lectured at the Staff Training Centre from 1978 to 1979.He also earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the same University in 1990.

OLUNBUMI TUNJI-OJO, popularly called BTO was born in Oyin Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. He attended Ansarudeen Primary School, Oyin Akoko from 1987 to 1990 and Hakda International school in Kaduna from 1990 to 1992 before completing his Primary education at Universal Primary School, Akure in 1993. He then proceeded to FUTA staff secondary school, Akure for his Secondary education where he was elected the Senior prefect in 1998.

In 1999, he gained admission into Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife) to study Electrical and Electronics Engineering. In 2002, while in his third year at the Obafemi Awolowo University, he proceeded to the University of North London (now London Metropolitan University) where he studied Electronics and Communication Engineering and graduated in 2005. He obtained a Master’s degree in Digital Communication and Networking from the same institution in 2006. He holds certifications in eighteen professional qualifications in ICT including the prestigious title of being one of the first set of certified ethical hackers from Royal Britannia IT Training Academy in the United Kingdom before he turned 24 years.[
Dear Maritime Stakeholders, here are your two Maritime industry Ministers in the “Renewed Hope” regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

*Citizen Innocent Orok is a Journalist based in Lagos State. For your views and comments text or whatapp to 08034489892.