Bolaji Akinola is a Nigerian maritime and corporate communication expert. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Media and Communication from the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos[1] and a Masters in Business Administration he obtained from Lagos Business School.
He is an advocate for the rights of seafarers and dockworkers whom he described as the under-recognized, under-publicized and unsung economic heroes of Nigeria.[2]
On February 8, 2021, Akinola called on the Nigerian government to give priority access to coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to seafarers and dockworkers in order to minimise disruption to the country’s supply and logistics chain.[3]
He is the author of three books namely Career and Investment Opportunities in the Maritime Sector; Arrested Development and Authority Stealing.
Akinola has been a strong advocate of Public-Private Partnership for the development of the maritime sector.
In addition to his advocacy role, Akinola serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Ships and Ports Communication Company[4][5] and Spokesman of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN).[6]
He has published more than 100 articles including “Nigeria @ 64: A Lament for Lost Opportunities, Collapse of Indigenous Shipping”[1]; “Drowning in Negligence: The Perilous State of Nigeria's Waterways and the Urgent Call for Accountability”[2] and “Cronyism, Nepotism as the Bane of Nigeria’s Maritime Development”[3].
In March 2023, he called on the incoming government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack all the Chief Executive Officers of maritime agencies[7] in Nigeria for underperformance.
In May 2023, he published an article pointing out 99 errors in a book titled “STEPPING ON TOES: My Odyssey at the Nigerian Ports Authority” written by former Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman.
In the article titled “Hadiza Bala Usman’s book of 99 errors”,[4] Dr Akinola argued that the book was replete with errors including faulty sentence structures, sentence fragment, wrong nomenclatures, improper use of punctuation marks, poorly integrated quotations, unnecessary capitalization, wrong use of apostrophe, tautology as well as repetition of sentences and paragraphs.
Education
editSchool of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos (PhD)
Lagos Business School (MBA)
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State (Masters in Transport Management)
University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State
Occupation Maritime/Corporate Communication Expert
YEARS ACTIVE
2000 – present
PHD THESIS
Bolaji Akinola bagged his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Media and Communication from the Pan-Atlantic University, Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos in December 2020.
Akinola’s PhD thesis was titled Millennials, Digital Natives and the Future of Print Newspapers. The study found that Nigeria’s millennials and digital natives prefer reading news on digital platforms at the expense of printed newspapers. The extensive study argues that the cost of newspapers, location of the respondents and the inconvenience associated with acquiring newspaper copies in Nigeria contribute to the avoidance of printed copies by the millennials and digital natives.1
References
edit- ^ "SMC Awards Four PhD Degrees at the 17th Convocation Ceremony of the Pan-Atlantic University". lbs. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "COVID-19: Why FG Should Prioritize Seafarers, Dockworkers Vaccination - Maritime Expert". Leadership Newspaper. 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ Cyril (2021-02-07). "Government should prioritise vaccination of seafarers, dockworkers". The Sun Nigeria. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "Cash crunch threatens $6.5bn port concession agreements". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "FG advised to reverse National Automotive Policy". Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "FG advised to reverse National Automotive Policy". Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "Cronyism, nepotism as bane of Nigeria's maritime development - Ships & Ports". 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
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