Prof. Emmanuel Adigio, Vice Chancellor of Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, was a happy man on the night of 10 May 2025. He had not expected that the second convocation ceremony of the university would be so grand and colourful.
He very nearly postponed the event. If he had, he would have missed out on a truly spectacular valedictory experience. Five years ago, he had been appointed as Vice Chancellor of Nigeria’s premier maritime university by the Muhammadu Buhari presidency. He had resumed work without hesitation, rowing out to the wide waters of the Atlantic, full of high hopes. In the end, it had been worthwhile, in spite of all odds.
Dressed in the immaculate uniform of an admiral, his golden epaulettes visible upon his shoulders, he had taken the formal salute from agile cadets of the university, inspected the procession of graduands, and taken the lead into the waiting pavilion in his professorial hood and gown.
The event was not just the second convocation ceremony of the university for the award of honourary degrees, first degrees and prizes for academic excellence across various faculties and disciplines; it also marked the tenth anniversary of the university.
In the last five years since he took office, Adigio had presided over three matriculation ceremonies, and here he was to give his second convocation address to launch the third and fourth sets of graduates into the world, equipped in various maritime disciplines. This would also be the last convocation ceremony over which he would be presiding in the course of his tenure of stewardship as Vice Chancellor of the university, and his excitement was boundless.
At that moment, as he stood on the podium to read his report card, Adigio cast his mind back to the many trips he had embarked upon, traversing the length and breadth of Nigeria, by land, air and sea, acting always in the interest of the Nigeria Maritime University.
‘I am grateful to God for sparing our lives to witness this landmark achievement in our march towards excellence and greatness in the maritime sector’, he said. He was virtually speaking on behalf of the Chancellor, the Governing Council, Senate, Management as well as all staff and students of the Nigeria Maritime University.
Seated before him was Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori; and his guest, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, and other high caliber government officials. An array of dignitaries occupied the front row, including His Royal Majesty Oboro-Gbararun II, Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, sundry kings, and a representative of the kingpin of the waterways himself, Government Thomas Ekpemupolo, famously known as Tompolo.
Adigio felt humbled, to say the least, about the caliber of distinguished Nigerians who showed up to grace the event. He said: ‘Your presence here will remain permanent in our memory as a people and as a university. The Nigeria Maritime University came of age with the recent signing into Law of the Bill establishing the University by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. By all known parameters, the university is now set for great achievements’.
Adigio was sure that in the next few years, the institution would record phenomenal expansion in its programme design, directed at maximising the potentials of the marine and blue economy. The Nigeria Maritime University was established by the Federal Government and endorsed by the Goodluck Jonathan presidency in May 2015 as the premier maritime university in Nigeria.
The long-range establishment process and initial funding for the university was undertaken by the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA, in the execution of its statutory mandate, in response to the visible shortage of professional human capital and globally competitive technical know-how in the maritime industry, with specific regard to the Nigerian economy.
From inception, the vision of the university was defined to be the maritime institution of first choice for all those who seek to make a career in the maritime industry, and to contribute towards the creation of employment and wealth in the global maritime economy. This vision sets the university as unique amongst other tertiary institutions in the country.
As far as Adigio is concerned, youth unrest in the creeks has been on the decline since the inception of the university, and pipeline vandalism has reduced appreciably in the Niger Delta region, the hub of oil and gas exploration. ‘There is no doubt that the establishment of the Nigeria Maritime University in this region has contributed significantly to the peace we now enjoy along our waterways as well as the security and safety of the nation’s oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta’, he said.
Academic activities at the university began in earnest in 2018 with 13 courses on offer spread across three faculties, namely the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Management, and Faculty of Transportation. A Basic Studies unit was soon established to lay the relevant science foundation for the various programmes. This unit is already in the process of becoming a full-fledged Faculty of Science.
At present, the university has a two-campus structure. Although the main campus is at Okerenkoko, academic activities began at the Kurutie campus which currently accommodates the Faculty of Engineering, the School of Basic Studies, as well as the Central Administrative Bureau.
Before long, the take-off campus could not cope with the growing number of staff and students. Accordingly, the university management prevailed on stakeholders to complete construction work at the permanent site so that the main campus at Okerenkoko could flourish. To encourage that process, the main campus currently accommodates the Faculties of Transportation and Environmental Management.
In the last five years since becoming Vice Chancellor, Adigio has realised that the location of the university affords several opportunities, while also posing a number of challenges that can be addressed through the deployment of adequate resources. For example, engineers and builders know too well that it costs much more to undertake any construction work in the swampy terrain than it is elsewhere on land. This applies to all physical development projects, including the water and electricity facilities, roads, communication infrastructure, and building construction.
The first challenge Adigio was faced with when he took office was that of providing water for staff and students of the university, as well as all of Kurutie, since the university is an integral part of the community. To address this challenge, the VC activated an existing but dormant water facility in Kurutie. Today, there is a great improvement on the quality and quantity of water supplied from this facility. In addition, a mega water project sponsored by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is currently being undertaken for the main campus at Okerenkoko.
Under Adigio’s tenure, the office space of the Faculty of Engineering and a lecture hall constructed by SPDC for the university under its community and corporate social responsibility programme, was commissioned to great applause. A well furnished mechanical engineering workshop built by TETFund was also constructed to hold all machines and tools lying idle and unused over a long period of time.
In all this, the government of Delta State took a hand. Oborevwori recently donated a faculty complex to the university which is already occupied by the Faculty of Environmental Management at Okerenkoko. A road from the community to the permanent site is also being constructed by the state government.
The university also has a relatively well-equipped Information and Communication Technology centre which provides services to students and personnel of the university. Developed by a foremost Swedish ICT company, the university currently has one of the most efficient and user-friendly portals in the country. As may be expected, both the security and academic sectors of the university’s activities are being automated.
Soon, online learning will be the norm in the university. Libraries and laboratories are being upgraded in like manner for staff and student use. The VC said: ‘Our ICT policy is geared towards instituting e-learning and governance in administration. We have also been able to deploy an effective digital frame for the compilation of examination results, as well as for course registration by students, with a simpler coding system’.
All 13 programmes offered at the university have been accredited by the National Universities Commission. This good news brought a lot of cheer at the second convocation ceremony of the university. It had been a long and elaborate assessment process with the Commission dating back to the days of the first Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ongoebi Maureen Etebu, Nigeria’s first female don of Mechanical Engineering. Adigio waited for the applause to subside before giving the next piece of good news. The five programmes in Engineering had been accredited by their professional body, the Council for the Registration of Engineers in Nigeria.
The VC said: ‘We have also been able to set up proper and appropriate auditing and procurement systems in the university in order to to ensure that the processes of fund use and the procurement of goods and services are carried out in line with current best practices in financial management in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria. We have also sustained an efficient development programme for academic staff, including capacity building for non-teaching staff, scholarships and financial support for staff attending conferences and workshops at both national and international levels’.
What’s more, the VC’s efforts at providing accommodation for students and staff of the university had yielded substantial results. Hostel accommodation, one of the major challenges of the university over the years, had been surmounted. Following the formal commissioning of the 96-bed space hostel at Kurutie campus, there are sufficient rooms to accommodate students. At the main campus in Okerenkoko, a 180-bed space hostel is due for commissioning soon. More than that, a 250-bed space hostel at the take-off campus in Kurutie is likely to be a parting gesture from the Vice Chancellor before the end of his tenure in June.
Adigio, however, admitted that the university was under-performing with respect to the provision of accommodation for staff. ‘The university does not have the financial resources to develop and build residential structures. We are obliged to call on the Federal Government and other development partners to come to the aid in that regard. The provision of residential accommodation would be a key factor in the university’s ability to retain high quality staff in the near future’, he said.
The university’s credentials in sports development are no less impressive. Sports is obviously recognized as an important part of life on campus with dividends that accrue beyond the school years. It is well known that physical exercise helps the mental and emotional development of the body. For this reason, the university stands in need of sporting facilities. At the moment, the available sports facilities include the swimming pool, the basketball pitch and table tennis boards. Football matches are played in the open grounds within and outside campus, on the outskirts of the university. The good news is that the University Gym Building is almost completed, and may jolly well be commissioned in June.
After participating as an observer at the NUGA Games in the last two years, the Nigeria Maritime University was fully active in the 2025 Federation International Sport Universities trials. Athletes from the university hauled in the highest number of medals. With 10 gold, nine silver, and six bronze medals in swimming and taekwondo, the university qualified to represent Nigeria in Germany. The ovation that came with this assertion brought everyone to their feet again, and the students cheered each other with smiles upon their faces and so much laughter.
The university recently organised its First International Conference on the Blue Economy in February this year under the auspices of the new Directorate of Partnerships, Linkages and Collaborations. The occasion brought together academics, researchers, and policy makers from Nigeria and the international community to rub minds. A ground-breaking moment during the international conference was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on research partnership between the university and the Earth Law Centre, Africa, with headquarters in the United States of America.
To say the least, the university is becoming synonymous with excellence even as it remains determined to maintain the quality of academic programmes for the making of highly skilled and well trained graduates that will be self-reliant, and ultimately become job creators, especially within the context of the maritime sector. ‘In order to nurture a culture of high quality assurance in all programmes, the university has developed a framework for continuous quality management and control’, Adigio said.
The university has also continued to keep to one of its cardinal objectives of providing quality social services to people within its immediate physical and social environments. To this end, management had been able to nurture healthy recreation programmes that have fostered enduring relations between the university and its host communities as well as government agencies, parents and sundry stakeholders. This synergy has continued to sustain peace, order and stability in the university environment.
Seated under the authority of the Senate that day were students who had been found worthy in character and learning for the award of the various degrees offered by the university. Deserving students were awarded Bachelor’s degrees, having performed well in their various disciplines, while exceptional students were awarded prizes in a ceremony that obviously represented a great milestone, and a significant rite of passage in their lives.
The total number of students to graduate in the combined convocation ceremony for the two academic sessions was 870, representing about 273 percent increase over and above the 233 students that we graduated during the combined convocation ceremony for the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 academic sessions which took place in November 2023, a clear indication that the university is growing fast.
For the 2022/2023 academic session, 412 students graduated from the Faculties of Engineering, Environmental Management, and Transport. The distribution of new graduates per faculty was as follows: Engineering 186, Environmental Management 60, and Transport 166. Sixteen students graduated with First Class Honours, 109 with Second Class Honours, Upper Division, 244 with Second Class Honours, Lower Division, and 43 with Third Class Honours.
During the 2023/2024 academic session, the university graduated 458 students from the Faculties of Engineering, Environmental Management, and Transport with the distribution of new graduates per faculty as follows: Engineering 239, Environmental Management 75, and Transport 144. With respect to the class of degree in the entire university, the distribution was as follows: First Class Honours 18, Second Class Honours, Upper Division 131, Second Class Honours, Lower Division 235, and Third Class Honours 74.
Adigio had good reason to congratulate the graduating students in entirety, and extend his goodwill to all parents and guardians who showed up to share in the joy of the occasion. He said: ‘We assure you that your investment in the education of your children was beneficial. Our products have been adequately prepared to go into the world with confidence and new skills to eke a better quality of life, and contribute to the development of their immediate communities, and Nigeria at large’.
He did not leave out major challenges confronting the Nigeria Maritime University. Prominent among these is the high cost of providing electricity on the two island campuses of Okerenkoko and Kurutie, using generator plants, particularly with the increase in the cost of diesel. From the start, he made a case for solar power, and underscored his efforts to increase the use of renewable energy during the day and early evenings on both campuses.
Adigio reiterated the university’s commitment to ensure the judicious use of resources, while promising to immortalize those who donate infrastructure or facilities on campus by naming whatever they have donated after them. A major highlight of the ceremony was the conferment of honorary degrees on a number of eminent personalities who are known to have contributed immensely to the development of the university. At the first convocation ceremony, in fact, a great whoop of joy resounded in the pavilion when the name of Government Thomas Ekpemupolo was mentioned.
The entire assembly of graduands and dignitaries rose as one to cheer the man everyone knows as Tompolo, the capone of Gbaramatu Kingdom, when he was adorned with the honorary doctoral hood and gown by Adigio, in the full view of the Chancellor, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, Seriyai II, Amanyanabo of Twon-Brass and first Military Governor of the old Rivers State.
At the second convocation ceremony, Tompolo was represented by one of his key lieutenants, Hon. MacDonald Igbadiwei, a one-time legislator. Tompolo holds the unassailable reputation of being one of the masterminds behind the establishment of the university. In May 2015, when the Federal Government accepted to establish a maritime university in Delta State as part of an on-going amnesty programme, Tompolo offered his property and all the structures he had built on it towards a diving school in Kurutie, just to enable the university take off in earnest.
