Oceanographer, Environmental Scientist And Educationist

 Professor Ben Akpati is a notable Ogbaruan and a native of Ochuche Umuodu, in Ogbaru LGA.  He is the Managing Director and CEO of Akpati and Associates, Ltd. Educated in Nigeria and the United States; he is an erstwhile professor of oceanography at the University of California in Los Angeles, (UCLA) USA. He also taught at the University of Ghana, Legon. He served for many years as Deputy Director of the Nigeria Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research. After retiring from the Institute, he went into private consultancy for the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). He is presently a consultant for Dredging International Services (Nig) Ltd. The Ogbaruan/Ogbaru Home Page (OHP) team spoke to him on an array of National and Ogbaru issues.

  The Ogbaruan: There is a saying that a prophet is never accepted in his own country. In an article that appeared in The Guardian of Monday, April 24, 2000, you warned that the Bar Beach, reclaimed barely one year earlier would be washed away within the next two years. That expert analysis or prophecy has come through. Do you feel vindicated and what went wrong?

Ben Akpati: The Lagos Bar Beach erosion/flooding is a man-made problem.  Unfortunately, the Nigerian government has failed to embark on a permanent solution to the problem and instead has continued to employ the temporary solution of sand filling.  The later strategy is not cost-effective and is a total waste of taxpayers' money. Meanwhile, erosion has destroyed the dual carriage Ahmadu Bello Way and government liaison offices and banks are now threatened. Yes, I have been vindicated by the present deplorable state of the Bar Beach. It is an embarrassment to the country. How can anyone explain this to a potential international investor who visits the area? He or she would not take us serious.

 The Ogbaruan: We are aware that the Federal Government spent well over about N1.5 billion, in the 1991 sand filing exercise.  Was this a waste or the wrong remedy considering that the annual erosion rate was about 35 and 40 meters?  What is the long-term solution to the Bar Beach problem?

Ben Akpati: The Federal Government spent N1.5 billion in 1999 to sand fill the Bar Beach and at the end of the exercise, about 20% of the material was washed away. One of the problems in the sand filling of Lagos Bar Beach is that the material (sand) used is not in equilibrium with the local environment. Simply put, the wrong size of sand is always pumped onto the beach and is quickly washed away by waves. It seems that nobody in the present or past governments cared. The permanent solution requires the construction of offshore breakwaters (boulders piled up some distance from the shoreline) to dissipate wave energy and groynes (boulders piled up perpendicular to the shore to trap sand). These structures will stabilize the beach and protect it from erosion.

 The Ogbaruan: You are now a dredging consultant, what are your main areas of focus and what as become on the national plan to dredge the River Niger up to Kanji dam in order to improve the inland water navigation and traffic?

Ben Akpati: The Federal Government's plan to dredge the River Niger from Warri to Baro in Niger State has been tangled in politics. Dredging of this part of the River Niger is not a new project. In the mid 1960s and 1970s, the Lower Niger River was dredged and boats and barges were able to sail from Warri to Baro most of the year and companies like UAC, John Holt and others had flourishing trade along the Niger including towns in Ogbaru. As at now, the project is on hold.

 The Ogbaruan:  In July 2002 you served on the Executive Program Committee of the 6th International Symposium on Environmental Geotechnology and Global Sustainable Development organized by Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea. South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia are often considered Nigeria’s political contemporaries, but not development contemporaries. What happened to Nigeria?

Ben Akpati: As we all know, Nigeria is not a serious country. For example, Malaysian scientists (agricultural) came to Nigeria and studied our palm fruit and took some back to their country and developed palm plantations. Today, the country is a leader in palm oil production and Nigeria now imports refined palm oil from Malaysia. Scientific research is the steam engine that drives the economy and development of a country. The last 15 years have seen the decline of the educational standard in Nigeria as our scientists, doctors, engineers, etc. left for greener pastures abroad. With the exodus of the country's scientists, no meaningful research is going on in the country. Far Eastern countries that were at the same level of development as Nigeria twenty years ago are now much more developed than us. Unfortunately, we are still far from putting our acts together.

 The Ogbaruan:  Let’s turn to National politics. The 2003 political landscape is fast evolving, and portends many worrisome developments. Last September along with the likes of Professor Omafume Onoge, Professors Frank Okisor and Ambassador Segun Olusola, you participated in the first International Colloquium of the Civil Society Forum organised by the Civil Society Forum (CSF) in collaboration with the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN).  The colloquium urged broad-based governance to strengthen democracy in Nigeria. Do you see that the advice is being heeded?

Ben Akpati: Yes, the colloquium proposed broad - based governance to strengthen democracy in Nigeria. We must have wider participation in the way government is run. As at now, a political class has hijacked the government. Unfortunately, a lot of these politicians are poorly prepared to run the affairs of the nation and most of all are there for what they can get and have no interest of the masses they pretend to represent. From what we have seen so far in the 2003 political landscape, no one is heeding the advice of the colloquium as the same political prostitutes that have stunted the growth of the nation are at it again. Lots of these pseudo politicians have no profession and so are perpetually running around the corridor of power.

 The Ogbaruan: Ogbaru Development Union (ODA) report to the Ogbaru Convention held on 28 December 2002 was a catalogue of woes and deprivation. Put in a nutshell, Ogbaru is developmentally and economically challenged. What is the way out of this rot?

Ben Akpati: The biggest challenge to the Ogbaru people is how to move out agricultural products to the market outside the area. The reconstruction of Onitsha - Ossomala Road is critical to the development of the area. Out man in the House of Representative and some prominent Ogbaru sons and daughters must take this project to the Federal Government for implementation. Although the Ogbaru Local Government Area is in the upper Niger Delta area, and is in the proximity of the River Niger and subsidiary creeks, it has no potable water and as such its people are afflicted by water borne diseases. During the dry season, the people walk miles to fetch water for their daily usage. Encouraging and assisting the communities to drill shallow boreholes will not only provide them with potable and reliable water supply but will also solve this problem.

 The Ogbaruan: Besides economic deprivation Ogbaru faces some natural environmental problems. Ogbaru being mostly riverine, is wracked by erosion (Iboh), along the River Niger, how do we deal with this? 

Ben Akpati: Riverbank erosion at Iyiowa, along the Onitsha - Ossomala Road, and at Ossomala town is a threat to the lives and property of the people in the local government area. I submitted a proposal to the Anambra State government about the solution of the Iyiowa erosion about eight years ago and nothing was heard of it. The erosion problem at Ossomala and other areas of Ogbaru can be solved by dredging, reclamation, and shore stabilization works.

 The Ogbaruan: Ogbaru have well-educated and eminent persons like yourself. However, the trend now seems to be a shift away from education and towards trading and Motor Park touting. This, certainly, is troubling. What is your take on the issue?

Ben Akpati: This is a sad development and unfortunately, it represents a trend east of the Niger River. The problem is that those who complete their university education cannot find jobs and are now engaged in street trading. The youths therefore, want to get a head start by starting trading early and forgetting everything about education. This situation is unacceptable and must be reversed. The government must revamp the economy and create employment for the teaming graduates. This will consequently make education meaningful and of course encourage more youths to go to school.

 The Ogbaruan: One can discuss Ogbaru without touching the vexatious issue of the Ogbaru Road. The Federal State and Local Governments have failed Ogbaru in this regard. From where will salvation come?

Ben Akpati: The reconstruction of Ogbaru Road is beyond the capacity of the local and state governments. We must turn to the Federal Government of Nigeria for the solution of the problem.

 The Ogbaruan: Thank you so much for your time and insight on critical national and Ogbaru issues.

Ben Akpati: It is my pleasure to chat with you on these vital issues that affect our people. [OHP]