Professor Chris Bellamy, an emeritus Professor of Maritime Security at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom has described the book, Strategic Turnaround , written by Dr Dakuku Peterside, the immediate past D-G of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), ” as an essential insight into the maritime sector of an emerging maritime power”
The book which focuses on the writer’s journey through NIMASA as its DG and CEO, according to Professor Bellamy “is a definitive case of successful high-level change management.”
He posits “Dr Dakuku Adol Peterside’s book, Strategic Turnaround, showcases the radical reform of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and the entire maritime sector in Nigeria by its leaders and key stakeholders”.
The frontline academic on Maritime Security, Bellamy states that the story of how strategic change was initiated, instigated, and successfully managed in the maritime sector in Nigeria has far-ranging relevance within the horn of Africa and beyond.
To Bellamy, the narrative in the book is brief, eloquent and these help to make the work a compelling read.
A press release issued by Safari Books Ltd’s Olayemi Onakunle who is the organization’s describes Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world with 206 million people in late 2019.
Quoting the eminent academic, Bellamy, Safari Books wrote further; “Its maritime sector is highly significant: Nigeria has Africa’s largest economy and the 24th in the world, with a GDP estimated by the IMF at about $500 billion. Sometimes called the ‘Giant of Africa’ because of its large population and economy, it is one of the MINT countries named in 2011 – Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey – having great potential and offering potential great returns on investment in the next decade.”
“Nigeria hopes to compete with the Philippines in provision of seafarers. However, it also faces challenges. It lies on the Gulf of Guinea, which in 2013 surpassed Somali-based piracy in the western Indian Ocean as the world hot-spot for piracy and armed robbery at sea”, Bellamy postulates.
Professor Bellamy, in his preview of the forthcoming book, has accolades for the writer, Peterside, describing his sense and style of story telling, serious leadership style, and management, as well as use of maritime concepts as exceptional.
He commended the book for its straightforward narrative that makes it easy for readers to understand how Dakuku’s leadership team applied leadership and management principles to bring about change in the maritime industry in Nigeria.
Bellamy who is Professor Emeritus of Maritime Security at the University of Greenwich, UK is a former Professor of Military Science and doctrine at Cranfield University, and the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Maritime Crime and Security.
