By Ovie Edomi 

Some men are born great others have greatness thrust on them. For Dr Kevin Okonna, current Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State,he appears to show up on both.And Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, appears to have taken his time to chose a square peg for the square hole. 

Before becoming the Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Iron, Nigeria’s premier maritime training institution, Dr Kevin Okonna is reputed for his academic pedigree and nobility that is built on professionalism and character. That uncommon characteristic has made Okonna to clime to the pinnacle of scholarship and administration. A man who crowned his educational prowess with a Doctor of Philosophy, his employment in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria for decades, is a reflection of his love for his country and the teaching Profession. 

 After his employment at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron many years later, he got another employment opportunity at NLNG with a salary five times what he was earning at the academy, but his love for his country and his cadets/ students made him to reject the offer.

Decades after joining Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Dr Okonna, gentle, soft and a bundle of knowledge was picked by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adeboyega Oyetola as Acting Rector.

Indeed, Oyetola’s choice of Okonna has proven to be the best for the country . Dr Okonna’s passion for the job at MAN, Oron is incredibly revealing. His managerial expertise is such that in ten months he has something to show as part of showcasing the growth indices of the country’s maritime education and training.  Indeed, only few quintessential administrators and a leader with stoic sacrifice could have provided Nigerian citizens and industry stakeholders with such an  amazing record that Dr Kevin Okonna led management has showcased at the stakeholders engagement. 

First,the Academy as a specialized Maritime Education and Training Institution has continued to provide leadership in Management Education Training,MET in Nigeria and in West and Central Africa. The Academy continues to remain focus on delivering its core statutory mandates as the premier maritime training institution in Nigeria and in line with the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW Convention), as amended. Under the supervision of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, the current Management and Governing Council in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have taken the Academy  whose campus sits on a 100 hectres plot of land in Oron, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria with a water front and a opening to the Calabar channel and the Atlantic ocean to another level. 

The Maritime Academy of Nigeria, is famous for grooming Nigeria’s first captain to man NLNG ship, a batch 11 cadet of the academy among others. 

There are feelings that the Academy has all it takes to match the training standards of the  over 500 maritime Academies globally. For instance, the academy’s standard Jetty with the full complement of facilities required for STCW Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats (PSCRB) and other training facilities give fillip to the academy’s delivery of training at global standards.

Also, the courses conducted with drills at the MAN, Oron’s Jetty for seafarers and offshore workers are some of the most popular within West and Central Africa. Only recently, the Academy acquired state-of-the-art simulators that are being perfectly maintained and utilized for STCW mandatory training of“cadets and short courses participants from the industry. The simulators include; a 30 -trainee-station Multifunctional Classroom (MFC) Simulator, Full Mission Bridge Simulator, Full Mission Engine Room Simulator, and Virtual Reality (Ocular Vision) Simulator. 

campus accommodation for more than 340 staff among others. ““Most importantly, the Okonna led Management has within ten months obtained the Governing Council’s approval for employment of scarce skill marine and other  professional lecturers to close existing faculty gaps. Interestingly, the Academy in collaboration with maritime professional“associations and the Alumni of the Academy (AMANO) employed  more maritime professionals.

For instance, the Academy has since January this year employed a total of seven (7) marine professional lecturers, including: two (2) Master Mariners with Unlimited (Foreign Going) Certificates of“Competency. This includes an Indian Master Mariner  Simulator Training Expert who left the Academy earlier but rejoined the Academy  from India in September,2025. Others employed include One Master Coastal Navigation (with other Foreign Going CoCs), One Chief Engineer (Unlimited), One Chief Mate (Unlimited), and two Deck officers (with Unlimited (Foreign Going) Certificates of“Competency).

Similarly, the academy trained a total of 75 staff up to varying levels of qualifications“and certifications up to lead auditors in line with ISO 9001:2015“(Quality Management System) and Educational Organization Management System (EOMS) towards the international quality standards certification of the institution.  The academy continues to provide leadership to all the other maritime training  institutions, especially in the Training of the Instructors in line with  the IMO Model Course 6.09 as required by the STCW Convention and training of students from other MTIs in the specialized courses available in the Academy; “

“Coming at a time many maritime counties are looking at Nigeria’s role in West and Central Africa, it will create opportunity for expansion in the Academy’s courses and quality of training as well as its’ global rating. ““In the last ten months, capacity building of the Academy’s staff and staff welfare in line with the Ministerial Performance Deliverables for the achievement of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been a top priority.“

“For the first time also since its establishment, the Academy completed the development of Conditions and Scheme of Service for staff of the Academy and obtained the recommendations of the“Governing Council of the Academy and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Of unique importance equally is the“development of a 5-Year Strategic Development Plan for the institution which has been recommended to the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy for consideration. “

“The icing on the cake was when on 16th September 2025, after the engagement meeting with stakeholders which focused on the “Implementation of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy for Onboard Training of Nigerian Merchant Navy Cadets and the Critical Needs of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria”, the Academy obtained the commitment of shipowners and shipowner associations for the provision of onboard training opportunities for the cadets of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, in line with the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy.

“Earlier, the Maritime Academy through the current acting Rector obtained support of frontline “professional bodies for collaboration/partnership for course accreditation and registration of all cadets in the Academy with different professional bodies including; The Nautical Institute (NI), UK, Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), UK, and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). Already all current cadets of the academy have registered with at least one professional association. This is also happening for the first time since the establishment of the academy. “

“In response to the request from the Abuja MoU on Port State Control for West and Central Africa, the Academy has completed the development and approval of Port State Control (PSC) Officers course by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); the MOU for the partnership between the Academy and Abuja MoU on PSC, as approved by the Honourable Minister of “Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola was signed recently during the “Stakeholders’ Engagement. “

“Also, as part of ensuring that the academy is at peace with the host community, it purchased 3 new transformers and collaborated with the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED) company to intervene on the Eket-Oron power supply line to reconnect public power to the Academy after about eight (8) years of lack of power supply from the national gride. Now there is improved power supply in“the institution and in the entire Oron host community. To say that the current Management has, under the policy direction and committed support of the Governing Council, led by Engr. Kehinde Akinola, has taken strategic decisions to ensure continual improvement in training standards and facilities, “infrastructural development is stating the obvious. “

“This accounts for why the Academy  trained a total of 4595 participants in short courses in 2024 and by August of 2025 a total of 3217 participants have already been trained in the 48 mandatory short courses and Certificate of Competency preparatory classes in addition to 12 simulator-based courses on offer in the Academy. Interestingly too, the Academy has on offer Seven (7) Regular Cadetship training “programmes with accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and Forty-eight (48) Professional and Mandatory Short Courses in line with the STCW Convention and other International Conventions with accreditation from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

No wonder, the Academy will by November graduate over 200 well groomed cadets who also would have been members of different professionals bodies with access to vast resources and networking with the best in their professions. The academy has been able to prove to Nigeria’s cadets that Nigeria has the talents. The Academy has equally proven that the future is Nigeria and the future starts with Nigeria’s cadets and seafarers.Certainly, these are  giant strides for the Okonna led management especially hitting the ground running and coming up with measurable achievements  and how to market Nigeria’s seafaring potentials within a short period of time.