Since assuming duty as the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal Polytechnic of Oil and Gas (FPOG), Bonny in Rivers State, Nigeria, Otunba Adedayo Adebayo has taken on, in his stride, all the teething challenges confronting the institution and stunting its progress and militating against the realization of the objectives of its establishment. He has brought ongoing solutions to the problems facing the polytechnic and a complete turn around from an almost moribund school to a now thriving tertiary educational institution.

He was at FPOG with other members of the Governing Council for an on-the-spot assessment of happenings there and spoke with the Publisher of Kristina Reports, Godswill Jumbo, on his vision for the institution and how he has been addressing teething issues there, especially, restoring the excitement of working at the polytechnic among its staff members. Enjoy the read!

Kristina Reports: As Chairman of the Governing Council of this Polytechnic, what would you say are the challenges facing the institution?

Otunba Adedayo Adebayo: There are a lot of challenges. When we came in, 276 staff members had their confirmation pending; they were not confirmed for seven good years. The meaning of that is that if anything happens to them, there will be no entitlement. Promotion was hanging for over seven years, nobody was promoted. So, we said your greatest assets are your people. It is not the machine. It’s not the building. It’s the people who are working there; that is the greatest asset and no matter how good your policy is, it is going to be implemented by the people you employed. If they are not happy, nothing will go on. Meanwhile, the whole system has been fractionalized. In fact, at a point, Mr. Oye and I were talking to some group of staff, somebody came and said the Registrar wants to see me all because they wanted to break that conversation. We can’t have such a system. Things will not work where everybody is watching after the other person; who is he talking? Where is he going to? Nothing will work in such a system.

In view of these issues you have just highlighted, what was your intervention like?

So, we decided that the first thing, let’s take care of the personnel. Whoever has issues should come forward with their issues and if we could solve up to 80% of the personnel problems, then things will move. So, the first thing is to assure them of their job. Let them be reassured that they have security of their tenure because when a man is not confirmed you can wake up and say get out. How do expect such a man who has no security of tenure to put in his best? So, first thing is to confirm the appointment for those that are due for confirmation and we did that. Then, on the issue of promotion, everybody who is coming – a man who came in seven years ago with level 8, he has since then gotten married, had children; he can’t be living on this amount of money. So, we said look promote whoever is due for promotion. Then we can now hold people responsible if they don’t perform.

How about complaints that many of the staff don’t stay in Bonny, they come in from Port Harcourt whenever they like?

There have been complaints that they never stay here actually; that they are always in Port Harcourt doing something else. Obviously, they are always doing something else when what they are earning is not enough to sustain them. The first thing is to reassure them and guarantee their employment which I am sure that this present Council has been able to do. We have been able to confirm appointments. We have been able to do promotions and today we will complete any aspect of promotion that is left.

How about the students?

Now, on the issue of students, it’s a shame that an institution that was established to have a particular purpose which is to serve the oil and gas industry that is here in Bonny; but shamefully, I am saying it shamefully that there is no single student that has been graduated from this place. Since the session began on the 23rd of this month, it’s going to be four years that that Professor took over the job here. We don’t have a single course that is accredited. We don’t have a single student graduated. So, how do we now meet the needs. All we are hearing is all about money, a selfish person forgetting that if you have all the money of this world and your neighbor doesn’t have, you cannot be at peace and that is why you have all this restlessness.  

What hopes are you giving the staff, the Management and Bonny Community, as a whole?

I don’t want to hear Bonny Community. I would rather have Nigeria. I am not a Bonny man but my junior brother married to a Bonny woman. So, by extension, am I not Bonny? I mean anything he has here I will benefit from it. Listen, let’s stop thinking of Bonny, Bonny; this is a federal institution. Bonny is just privileged that it is located here and what I expect – just like I told the owners of the land when they came – I said look at me, I’m Omo Ile, a prince. If you understand Yoruba, from my name, Ade, which means crown, you get my point. I am Omo Ile. I am used to the issue of selling land and getting things but this is a community. If you the chiefs collect money, you will only use it to give stipends to people and use it to take care of your immediate family but not the long-term interest of the community. So, instead of asking for money why not come to the school and tell us to admit your students for us to set up programmes to enhance your younger ones to gain admission here and by the grace of God they agreed to it. They said he’ll admit our student and that is what I call being progressive because if anybody collects money, money, over time, loses value. What you can spend your N10 on ten years ago cannot do one tenth of it today. So, collecting money is a wrong approach rather let us see how we can add value to the people, to the youth. They said teach them how to fish and not giving them fish. So, we can conclude that the Governing Council wants to now teach the students, the undergraduates of this Polytechnic how to fish going forward. Of course, by giving them the right training.

Concerns have been raised about the quality of staff here, what can you say about that?

Well, if you look at the staff profile, we can’t really say they have the quality of staff needed. You have a situation where over 70 or 80% are Lecturer 3, Lecturer 2 and that is one of the reasons why you can’t get accreditation because you don’t have that level in this institution. You have only one Chief Lecturer. How can things move? Who is to give the leadership? And somebody is feeling comfortable and saying Yoruba man has come, Yoruba man has come. Hausa man and Yoruba man who have come to show you the way, you are resisting. Let’s forget all this tribal nonsense and look at the future of our children. Look at how we will take them off the waterways where they go to rob and all that. And they do that because they have no hope. Give them adequate training and they will get the right jobs. Hope you understand what I am saying. That is what we are expect the Ijaw Youth Council, the Ijaw Community to be clamouring for. How do you enable us to send our children to get job at NLNG, to get job at Shell? And not to go there as cleaners.