Akpobolokemi bags PhD

THE Director General, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Patrick Akpobolokemi has been conferred with doctorate degree by the University of Portharcourt (Uniport) Akpobolokemi, who bagged his Doctor of Philosophy alongside 38 others, earned his degree in Strategic Marketing Initiatives and Business Performance of Nigeria Maritime Sub Sector from the Management Sciences Faculty.

The NIMASA boss thanked the University for providing a conducive environment for him to continue his academic quest, adding that the Ph.D would further strengthen his capacity to provide enhanced services to the maritime sector.

Akpobolokemi said: “I feel exceptionally happy, because this is a dream come true. A Ph.D programme is a very rugged project, and you must approach it with the necessary determination to scale through. I got admission, sometimes in 2008. I deferred the admission to 2009, for some reasons. Then, I came back, started the programme, and got almost all the entire course work completed. It was in that process that I was appointed as the DG NIMASA.

“But luckily, by then, I had passed through the most strenuous aspects of the course work. The examinations were already written. I came for the comprehensive examinations and I scaled through, thereafter, I started the thesis work.

“But, because of the expanding schedules, I couldn’t complete it as early as I had wanted it. If I were not in NIMASA, maybe a year or two after the completion of the course work would have been enough for me to complete the thesis. This means, I ought to have graduated long ago. But, it is better that I do it gradually than abandon it entirely. But one way or the other, I know I would still come back to it, if I had abandoned it, because of work pressure. However, I managed to cope and eventually, this is the outcome of the efforts”.

On what is next, the NIMASA boss said: “For me, I have just started learning. I would go for several more. I take learning as a life-long hobby. To learn and learn, and impact.

“You must realize that I came from the academia. It is in the blood; it is in the spirit and except God directs otherwise, I may still return unto the field, from where I came into the maritime sector”, said Akpobolokemi.

Akpobolokemi said during his study, he gave all priority to NIMASA: “I gave all the priority to NIMASA work”.