Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has commended the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), saying it is a creative example for organizations and individuals in the country.

Akeredolu said this yesterday in Akure during the delivery of items donated by NIMASA in aid of the indigent in the state.

Akeredolu, represented by his Deputy, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, praised the relationship between the state and NIMASA and said Ondo State and the maritime regulatory agency shared a common vision of sustainable development of the marine environment for the good of all and sundry.

“We have been engaging with each other and it has been yielding results,” Aiyedatiwa stated.

He noted that Ondo State, with the longest coastline in Nigeria, had a lot to gain from a close working relationship with NIMASA, saying this would help in harnessing the rich maritime potential of the state.

The governor also emphasized that the maritime security assets being deployed by NIMASA would go a long way in attracting investors to the country’s maritime environment.

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Akeredolu appealed to NIMASA, as a maritime safety agency, to help in efforts to put off an oilfield fire in the southern part of the state, which he said had raged for about one and a half years, with consequent disruption to lives and livelihoods in the area.

Speaking, Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, weighed in on the need for organizations and privileged individuals to show concern and empathy towards the less-privileged.

Jamoh, who was represented by the Director, Maritime Safety and Seafarers Standard in the Agency, Mr. Olu Aladenusi, said the current CSR activity was part of a nationwide exercise that had taken the Agency to the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said: “We are trying to make our own fair contribution to addressing societal challenges. We are also trying to raise awareness about the dire conditions of less privileged citizens, and draw society’s attention – at the governmental, organizational, and individual levels – to the need to constantly lend the needy a helping hand.

“As a federal government agency, NIMASA has the whole country as its prime constituency, and we are committed to a better life for all Nigerians.

“We have brought items to help the poor and support the weak. There are also economic empowerment materials meant to enhance the capacity of citizens to earn income, support their families, and contribute to society.”

The DG said the value of assistance to the less privileged was not so much the amount of goods provided as the spirit behind the effort.

“The goal is to identify with citizens’ challenges and offer inspiration,” stated.

Jamoh described Ondo State as critical in the work of the Agency.

“That is why we have come to identify with you. And that is why the agency has created some key engagement platforms, including the NIMASA Maritime Stakeholders Experience Contact Centre (MSECC) and NIMASA-Littoral States Support Project, which are initiatives to enhance stakeholders’ communication,” he stated.

The DG added, “The ultimate aim is the sustainable growth of the country’s maritime industry. “NIMASA recognizes that connection with the people is crucial in all aspects of development. Thus, the Agency works with communities and government at different levels to execute interventions that help to empower people, build capacity, and improve the lives of poor and vulnerable groups. We are happy and proud to be a contributor to the social welfare provisions of citizens.”

He also emphasized the need for collaboration with the state government in the development of the country’s Blue Economy potential.

He said: “Blue economy is at the heart of the federal government’s economic diversification drive. And Ondo State is blessed with abundant aquatic resources, which we can be harnessed to make life more meaningful for the citizens. Let us continue to work together to create the conducive environment for profitable utilization of our maritime domain.”

The items donated by the Agency included foodstuff, sewing machines, and grinding machines.

Serving overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare has stated that anybody that wants to lead Nigeria must negotiate with the northern region of the country.

Bakare while speaking in an interview with ThisDay said he doubts if the north would willingly give up power.

He said no section of the country “can win an election by itself” and as such, collaboration is pertinent to electoral victory.

“The way our country is constituted right now, no matter who wants to lead this country. Anyone that wants to lead this country right now will have to negotiate with the north and the north has a way of giving you the crown and holding the sceptre and if that’s going to change, our glorified death certificate called the Nigerian constitution must have to go through a rejig,” he said.

“I honestly will say, almost all the things that were going for the north in the days of Ahmadu Bello are no longer there. The textile industries where they dominated are not there anymore. The groundnut pyramids, etc. And what they have is what they hold. They have power.

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“Nigeria is structured in such a way that no section can win an election by itself. The southerner cannot win an election without reaching out to the north and the northerner cannot win the election without reaching out to the south.”

On his assessment of how the current administration has fared in the last six years, Bakare said a lot of things have gone worse even though the government is “trying their hardest”.

“Our expectations were very high. Sometimes, I have sat down to think that, ah, as president, has Buhari not demystified himself, because the expectations of Nigerians were very high when he was coming to power,” Bakare was quoted as saying.

“To start with, the kind of ill health he had, he had never had such a thing and that affected grossly the first term. That ill health was a major thing. That he is still alive today is a miracle. If you put all the six years he has spent, other than infrastructure development, the promise he made to the public concerning Boko Haram or security, we know it has gone worse, as far as I am concerned.

“They say it’s not as bad as we think. But I need to be convinced. The rail track, a few days ago to Kaduna, they bombed it. When my brother, Nasir el-Rufai said I should take the train to Kaduna, I said I will wait. They are trying their hardest, but no matter from which angle you’re looking at it, whether it is economic, whether it is politics, whether it is security, you will have something negative to say. But it is easier to be critical than correct. I will not beat my chest until I sit on that seat and do better.”

Bakare added that he would “never sacrifice truth on the altar of friendship”.