The Founder of one of the oldest and biggest Nigeria’s political parties in the country, the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, has called on students studying maritime related courses including investors, entrepreneurs to embrace entrepreneurial spirit and buy their visions into the much-talked-about Student’s Entrepreneurial, Empowerment and Development Seminar (SEEDS) being packaged by the management of Richwood Communications and Media Services, the publishers of News Emperor Magazine to enhance their future careers and potentials in the sector.
Aniebonam, who is also the Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) made this disclosure at the just concluded SEEDS 2024.
At the Season 2 of the programme held at the Certified Institute of Shipping Nigeria (CISN) Complex, popularly known as Princess Vicky Haasthrup Hall,
Magbon, Badagry, Lagos on Thursday December 12, 2024.
Recall that the maiden edition of the SEEDS was held at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos in June 27, 2024 and was well attended.
The SEEDS which attracted a lot of the students and other businessmen and women within and outside the maritime industry as well as other young Nigerian youths, had Aniebonam advising the youths to embrace education in order to enhance their knowledge, capacities and potential towards harnessing the numerous opportunities in the maritime sector of the economy.
Aniebonam, who was represented at the event by an erudite broadcaster and editor who is also the Assistant Public Relations Officer of NAGAFF, Mrs. Ruth Sunday, also urged the students to tap and learn lessons from the dream of the Season 2 of the SEEDS 2024 which had a theme: ‘Entrepreneurship, Career Building and Skill Acquisition in A Conducive and Well Regulated Maritime Environment’ to build and enhance their own potentials.
He also emphasised on the need of the students to be focused in their academic endeavours.
“There is need for you as maritime students to remain focused and not to be distracted in pursuit of your career in the maritime related areas of your concerns,” he advised.
Continuing, the NAGAFF Founder who is a one time winner of News Emperor Magazine’s Personality and Role Model Award as Human Capacity Builder of the Maritime Industry further pleaded with the students to take their studies seriously for now and make wise decision in their academic pursuits.
Aniebonam has been known as an advocate of educational empowerment in the Maritime Sector for several years.
The representative of the NAGAFF Founder further said : “I want let you know that my Founder (Dr. Aniebonam) is passionate about education. In fact, he talks about education! education! education! Because he knows the importance of education.
“Education does not have age limits. Education is something you continue to do until you get into the grave. And it leads us to develop ourselves. We are talking about entrepreneurship. It is all about education.
“Because you have education, you have to thrive despite your discipline. That is the situation in our world of today.
“Everybody is talking about entrepreneurship and skill acquisition. Even as this seminar is going on, I have expected you to begin to think of those areas of interest you can develop on.
“That is what we are talking about diversification. I expect the Rector of the Institute and the management to sometimes take the students out for excursions because what you are doing here is theory. I once did similar programme of such, it was all theory.
“But what you are going to see out there is practical and different thing entirely.
So dear students, you have to be ready to face the situation, to take the challenge to face the society, to face your future.
The erudite broadcaster further advised the students thus: “And your future lies in your hands. You can determine to improve, you can determine to be a different person, you can determine to change the society.
“For you to achieve that, you need to improve. And if not, you will remain where you are. So that you can be students who can effect changes in our society.” she advised.
“On behalf of my Founder, and in my conclusion, you have to be focused, be determined in order to make it.”
