RMU: Lessons for Nigeria’s Maritime Academy

By: Dele Aderibigbe, Lagos - updated: Wednesday 11-06-2008

Okechukwu Emeka,
Minister of State for Water TransportThink of a nice maritime institution, founded on a sprawling but serene sea shore; where everything works, and you probably begin to immediately get the picture of the Regional Maritime University in Nungua, Ghana.

It started as the Regional Maritime Academy. The mission was a shared vision of five countries, which came together, pulled little resources together, in a bid to develop their citizens and build capacity and competence needed to participate in the lucrative international seafaring trade.

The tempo was sustained. The vision and its goals blossomed until their fledgling idea transformed into what is now accepted as the Regional Maritime University (RMU), an acclaimed best maritime institution in the sub-region, accredited to impact specialized skills, including those so much needed in the oil and gas sectors.

How I wish my country, Nigeria has something like this! On Saturday, the RMU held a convocation ceremony, graduating 101 students the Bachelors of Science, and emerging as the first degree awarding institution within the West African sub-region. Part of its strength was in the fact that five countries, Cameroon, Liberia, Egypt and the host country, Ghana were jointly running; and that obviously emphasizes merit, competence and commitment rather than politics, politicking or intrigues. The school has a capacity to handle about a thousand regular or full time students at a go. It also administers short term courses, enabling it to handle not fewer than 400 students on installments basis. Nigeria has not fewer than 40 regulars there; 35 of which are being financed by a private joint venture firm, the Lagos Channel Management. Half way into the guided tour, my spirit fell, for the first time in my life, I failed to walk with heads un-bowed; again the question kept coming up: “For God’s sake, why cant we have something just like this in my country?!”

Our own Maritime Academy, Oron, has only a capacity for training officers and ratings. But they do not train or impact the kind of specialized skills needed in the oil and gas sector. So, beginning from the Computer Laboratory, where they had about 15 CPUs for serious teachings on all computer appreciations and programmes,; we advanced to the Global Maritime Distressed Safety System Department where the most modern, digital modes of sending of distress signals were taught. The little Library was well stocked. The choice books were ‘caged’; they could be only used as reference materials, nobody was allowed to take them out. For the rest, every one was free to borrow, use or take away.

The Electrical Laboratory taught the student the various electrical parts of the ships, from the old to the modern as well as the art of copper wire re-winding in case of emergencies. The E-Library had about 50 units of computer units, and the sole aim was to provide students the tools to enter into every international library (electronically), so as to read or research into relevant areas. Next to this, was of course the institution’s common cyber café where students were allowed to go and chat or do other recreational browsing? They were however banned from visiting any pornography sites. Two students, one of them from Kenya who flouted the directive, were subsequently banned from using the cyber café!

But the main attractions were the Engineering Workshop, the Electrical Workshop and the International Transport Federation of Seafarers ITF-funded Seafarers’ Training Centre. The first teaches the students the rudiments of both the electrical and gas wielding, old and modern equipment on vessels. It also has an engine room simulator equipped with two simulator units; one procured by the ITF at the cost of $230, 000 while the second was acquired by the school, at the cost of $150,000. it also contained a giant but achaic generator, burning on diesel, except for a recent experimentation by a Liberian student who ran it on palm kernel, for his Bachelor of Science thesis.