Peterside, the man NIMASA wakes up to

Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the director-general of the nation’s maritime agency, doesn’t have an easy job, clearly. But we knew he will not lose his head, when others are losing theirs. We have seen many do in this government. The rare breed politician, who turns 47 on Sunday, December 31, is actually what Rivers State prayed for in 2015, before they were shortchanged by interlopers—the unhinged men sent by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to supervise the 2015 gubernatorial election in Rivers State.

Historical comparisons will be kind to Peterside. I know it is a struggle for the usurper to understand why Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is making bold achievements under Peterside. Here’s why. Peterside is a model of class and dignity. He went to work at NIMASA with creative verve, grit, gut, and geniality as a fine public spirited man. We’ve not heard that Peterside deride any of his colleagues at NIMASA, despite his enormous power. Peterside has treated workers under him with respect and dignity. He brings cooperation to work, where competition kills collective success. With a sense of purpose, high grade of character and basic humanity, he is proving the pundits right that he’s truly a model politician.

The NIMASA superintended by Dr. Peterside, in just one year, contributed a total of N21.805 billion to the federal government coffers for a greater Nigeria.

In September, when the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris, cheered Peterside over his agency’s remittance to the federation account, it was not just because he made their job easy, he actually saved the country from shortfall.

I know Riverians miss Peterside dearly. He is a man any state, nation, family and community want at the helms of affair. It is not surprising to see his name come up one more time on the debate about governorship candidate for the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, as Nigeria prepares for the 2019 general elections.

He is genuine with soundness in his decision–making process. Think of his most recent decision to offer automatic employment to 20 seafarer cadets who graduated with distinction from various foreign universities automatic. The 20 fortunate seafarers, including three females, were among 239 cadets that graduated in Nautical Science, Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Transportation in Philippines and Egypt. That is forward-thinking.

There is one more thing, Peterside is a symbol of hope for the government Nigeria desperately desires, because his own life explains it. When a reporter from Punch Newspaper recently asked him an off-guard question that borders on integrity, he didn’t have to think twice before he fired back with a response that many office holders will not readily have. “It is possible to be in public service and not be corrupt. I can challenge anybody because I am one person who can say that in public service, I have never taken bribe before and I have never asked anybody for bribe. I am saying it in public now. I have had public service appointments for more than 16 years.”

Finally, Peterside is who develops passion to serve the public and get things done from a small age of 10 is a grateful man. To him, each day is a gift and God is the giver of the rare gift. He happily sings and prays to God for His benevolence. I’ve had many of such moments with him before to know he does.

He is not one of those who pretend to arrive on the scene by themselves. Peterside often talks about how fate brought the former governor of Rivers State and current Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi—a man who is stubborn at helping others—into his life.

At a recent meeting with journalists in Lagos, with a grateful heart, Peterside, a Moses at NIMASA gave due recognition to Amaechi.

“He has been up and doing about growing the maritime sector in Nigeria,” he said. “He can count on NIMASA as number one agency that will go ahead and support him to turn around the fortunes of the nation’s maritime sector.”

Peterside’s excellent stewardship of NIMASA is a brilliant reminder of his impressive leadership roots. Born to a middle-class family in Biriye Polo, Opobo, he grew up in Abia, Kaduna and Rivers states. In the 1980s, he attended Okrika Grammar School, one of the pre-eminent public schools in Rivers State, where he served as a school prefect, a role acquired through his impeccable conduct, leadership qualities and academic standing.

Yes, Nigeria’s Maritime Industry now has a vigorous international presence due to Peterside’s strides. He stays very late and wakes up in the middle of his sleep to read, work on files requiring his attention and organize his schedules for the day by himself.

Always in his work, days ago, he said his agency will release the Nigerian maritime industry forecast in the first quarter of 2018. Under his predecessors, it was unheard of. But what can a man who comes prepared for his job will not do? For Peterside, this initiative is to reposition the maritime sector for greater efficiency in line with international best practices.

There’s no argument, Peterside is the man NIMASA wakes up to as workers at the revamped agency often discuss the energy he brings to work.

Peterside is the man NIMASA wakes up to as workers at the revamped agency often discuss the energy he brings to work.

What is remarkable, Peterside has a resilience sense of optimism and he doesn’t pretend to be an “all is well” minister. He tells me about Nigeria that, “the time we are is challenging, but we are almost at the end of the tunnel.”

He speaks with the same courage when he talks about Rivers State. “I know that God will intervene in Rivers and sustainable change will come, so you do not have to be discouraged,” he says to a group of Muslim leaders he met in Port Harcourt on a recent week.

No, the Peterside that we see is not a perfect man, he often weeps at his own shortcomings, but he carries on with good manners and elegance that makes him the desire of all people. It is a hearty cheers and hat-off to one of President Buhari’s superstars.

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