PROPRIETOR, CALVARY POLYTECHNIC OWA-OYIBU, IKA NORTH EAST LGA DELTA STATE- CHIEF NKEMCHOR OKWUOKENYE

BORN TO SERVE: MY PASSION IN EDUCATION INSPIRED ME TO INVEST IN SCHOOLS

He cuts an area of a man who knows his onions. Chief Nkemchor Okwuokenye is a man with fear of God and counselor of the people, who believes that it is always a choice to embrace goodness, humble and truth. His life can be summed up says, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

He has indeed been lifted up by God almighty from grass to grace, while some grow weary with age. His vibrancy and union remained undimmed. It all started when he was a child and the fear of God was instilled in him and has been guiding his steps which make him to have bold steps to outclass his counterparts in every vocation.He serves and worships God with all his heart, soul, body and substance believes that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. So all he does, he has God first before actualizing anything. He impacted a lot towards the developments of Nigeria Education. In an era where most people are disenchanted and disillusioned, Chief Nkemchor Okwuokenye , The Chairman/ Proprietor Calvary Polytechnic Owa-Oyibu, Ika North East LGA Delta State chose to be different. He took the bull by the horn, made excellence his watchword to become an achiever and prominent individual to reckon with in the present Education sector. Today, this amiable fellow represents a shining example to present generation of Nigerian men of excellence across all sector/board of the country.

This excellence, creative, versatile and consummate Educationist stands as a God sent to the people of Owa-Oyibu in Ika North East LGA Delta State and Nigeria in general to deliver the education from the shackles of maladministration. Since his creation of Calvary Polytechnic Owa-Oyibu, Ika North East LGA Delta State as the Chairman/Founder, he has been working tirelessly towards taking the institution to a greater height. Let people accept it or not, Delta State and Nigeria has benefited tremendously from his past and present achievements towards educational development from the assistance of our Ex governor, in the person of His Excellency Senator, Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa.

Chief Nkemchor is a man with high respect for humanity, committed to service, he operates an open-door policy in an atmosphere of peace and harmony.

His contributions and achievements so far have recently earned him ‘The Forward News Excellence Award. Professional excellence they say gives joy to the heart. When one attains excellence, he becomes the focal point of others in the same board/sector and he is seen as a hero worthy of emulation.Chief Nkemchor Okwuokenye is a man who has gradually worked his way up the ladder to his present status through hard work and dedication to duties.

In about 45 minutes encounter with Chief Nkemchor Okwuokenye by The Forward News Media, he speaks extensively on the successful story of Calvary Polytechnic Owa-Oyibu, Ika North East LGA Delta State and the passion he has to his people.

Excerpts:

Can you tell us more about your profile and who you are?

I was born in November 1959 to the family of late Pa Festus Okwuokenye in Warri, I started my Primary education in Benin City in 1965 and ended at Agbor in 1971 after the civil war. I attended the famous Edo College in Benin city from 1972 to 1976, then it was five years. I was awarded scholarship to study abroad at Novi Sad University, so I was there from 1977 to 1983 studying Civil Engineering. I was the best graduating student from faculty of Engineering, I came back to Nigeria for my NYSC which I served in Abuja in 1984 and I started working with NNPC in 1985. In NNPC, I supervised the construction/erection of the famous NNPC Petrochemical’s Carbon Blank Plant in Ekpan, Warri Delta State. After that I was transferred to Kaduna where I supervised the construction of NNPC’s Petrochemical’s Linear Alkyl Benzene Plant at Kaduna between December 1986 and March 1988. I also worked briefly between 1988 to 1989 for Otis Consult and Houston Engineering at Mobil’s Eket Crude Oil Export Terminal, where I supervised various engineering projects.

In 1989, I secured employment with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SDPC), first as a contract engineer before I was converted to a permanent staff in October 1992. At SPDC I was exposed to the best international training and development where I developed my engineering career, growing as Field Engineer, Front-end/Design Engineer, Process Engineer, Project Engineer and then a Project Manager. I worked for Shell in Warri, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Houston (USA), New Orleans (USA), Rijswijk (The Nederland), The Hague (The Nederland) and various other locations. In 1998, I organized and supervised along with colleagues, the First All Nigerian Oil/Gas Industry exhibition at OTC (Offshore Technology Conference), in Houston (USA) to showcase Nigerian Oil Industry. In doing this, I prepared sections of the brochure on Nigerian Oil industry, registered and secured booth space, supervised logistics and booth location, received/attended to visitors at booth location and prepared financial close-out report. During the period I met with many Oil/Gas industry Experts, Captains of Industries and CEOs from all over the world as well as many diplomats and Government functionaries. I was a member of Industry-wide Management, Planning/Steering Committee representing SPDC, Mobil, Chevron, Texaco, Agip and Elf. Between 1998 and 2001 I transferred my services from Shell Nigeria to Shell International Exploration & Production (SIEP) BV, Rijswijk, The Netherlands. I worked and participated in various projects including SPDC Condensate Development Feasibility Study and NLNG Trans 4 & 5 Gas Supply Project.

To enhance my performance at work, I attended more than 40 professional and management courses and workshops across the world. I have also published over 40 papers and reports. I am one of the best globally in Oil and Gas facility design and construction. After my retirement when I saw the condition of our youths and the unemployment and their future, I decided to venture into manufacturing business thereby, I built a plastic bag, etc manufacturing company as well as Optical plastic lens manufacturing business. I also ventured into beverage distribution and became a major distributor. I was retired but not tired as people say. Eventually I applied to the Federal and state governments for approval to establish Calvary polytechnic, which was approved in 2016. I have since been managing the Primary, Secondary schools as well as the polytechnic. I have also been deeply involved in the daily affairs of community leadership and been fully involved in the prospecting and flowing of crude oil from Ika nation at OML 147 operated by Pan Ocean oil company.

What are some of the core principles of values that guide your decision making process both personally and professionally? 

There are quite a number of core values that guide me in my decision making some of which are EXCELENCE that endears me to doing things to perfection level. PERSONAL INTEGRITY which is a quality that brings me closer to people. Others are RESPECT, CLEANLINESS, CARING, RESPONSIBILITY and DILIGENCE.

Can you provide a brief overview of Calvary Polytechnic and its mission?

Calvary Polytechnic is a Private and God ordained endeavour assisting in the development of human capital for the immediate Community, State and the Country.It was established in 2015 and approved by the Federal Government in July 2016 and has since continued to admit students from all over Delta State and the Country. We have a Philosophy of passion to train the Nigerian youth for proficiency and civic responsibilities and to meet the needs of the Nigerian economy.Our motto is “Knowledge for Practice”. At Calvary Polytechnic, we ensure that our students acquire the appropriate skills, abilities and competences both mental and physical as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the development of the society.

Our Vision is to train students to become responsible and change-enhancing members of the society in various fields of human endeavour. Preparing the students to be articulate, critical and creative thinkers.

Our Mission is commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. Be a centre for study and excellence in the fields of Engineering, related Applied Arts and Sciences, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and in Business and Enterprise.We have an organogram that consists of the Visitor, Chairman of Council, Rector, the administration, Bursary and the academic and non-academic staffs.We have fully functional upstream facilities which include Classroom blocks, Administration, Library, Laboratory, Workshop, Multipurpose Hall, Auditorium, Restaurant, Electric power & Water distribution, Sport complex, Security post, Hostels, Lecture theatre, Computer centre, Health Clinic, Bookshop & Printing press, etc.Calvary Polytechnic is sited in Owa-Oyibu, the headquarters of Ika North-East Local Government Area (LGA) in Delta State, South-South Nigeria. The School is about 3 km away from the town with minimal distracting noise.We have the School of Engineering, Environmental Studies, Management Studies and Applied Science and some of the departments include Computer engineering technology, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, Accountancy etc.

Calvary Polytechnic is almost a Decade now. What inspired you to establish Calvary Polytechnic and what are your long-term goals for the institution? 

Well, what inspired me to established Calvary Polytechnic is first for continuity of educational institutions in the family. We have Calvary Primary and secondary schools which is about thirty years now. My parents established Calvary primary and secondary schools, when I retired I came back home and I thought of how to ensure continuity. Secondly, my contribution to the community ie what I can do for my people, who have trained me, am alive today, so I thought of what i should do to my people, I worked in companies, industries and they got involved. After my retirement also, I was involved in marketing and distribution of beverages and have a sub distributor and many families were involved, it was wonderful and eventually I established a polytechnic to give a boost to Primary and secondary school and to encourage education in the community and the nation at large. Looking at these, you understand that education is something that is very important and dear to my heart. Remember that federal government approval decree that allowed private individuals to establish schools in 1984 and that is how I joined the race.

What are some of the achievements of the school?

The Calvary Polytechnic has been able to achieve licensing which was very tough and expensive. Licensing institution within a very short time and we start admitting students, employ staff, we also have a strong entrepreneurship department and championed entrepreneurship where students involved in industrialization just like what you can see here now and we were able to link our students in practical aspects.

What are some of the challenges the school have had here in Ika-North East and how have you been able to tackle them?

The major challenge is funding that is money. It is very expensive to run higher institution which is not like primary and secondary school. For instance, we have 12 approved laboratories which cost about 60 million Naira then to purchase the equipment only and with dollar rate going higher you can imagine the cost involved in expansion now. You cannot charge school fees according to your investment as it will be to expensive for the students. tetfund for now supports only the state and federal government institution with fund and nothing for the private institutions. Funding is one major challenge we have.

How would you describe the unique qualities and strengths of Calvary Polytechnic compared to other educational institutions?         

As you are aware, we are being regulated by federal government that is National Board for Technical Education, they tell us which direction to go. The standard of technical education is similar; however, we are opportune to have technical industry nearby, we relate regularly and we share experience among us. Polytechnic is more about Technical institution where practice is very important if you have laptop and you take it to practice after being taught how you can dismantle and assemble and then you can even, while doing it you can improve on what was done so without practical experience you may know. I’m happy that we have a very big factory here.

Can you share some examples of the innovative teaching methods or programs implemented at Calvary Polytechnic to enhance the learning experience and holistic development?

What makes us innovative is that we bring in lecturers from other institutions, from Uniben, Delsu, some of are on sabbatical. We bring in staff from industries and they teach our students some practical aspects, for instance if somebody has been working with us here as an accountant for a quite a time our accountancy students will learn a lot of practical and theory from him. Also electrical. We have affiliation to other higher institutions, we have been communicating so that we can exchange programme, some people outside the country that read about us want us to take our students to them and exchange ideas and that make us different from others.

How does Calvary Polytechnic prioritize industry relevance and ensure that students are well-prepared for the job market?

Our students are trained in core courses and also trained in entrepreneurship. Our students are trained in their main course and in entrepreneurship where you are trained how to cook, trained to make clothes and you are different from what you are here for, you will not only be civil engineer but you are also trained in how to make clothes and other things before you leave the institution, this additional skills will help you established your own because you have learned something.

Can you speak about any partnerships or collaborations with industry leaders or organizations that benefit the students of Calvary Polytechnic?

As I said earlier, we are affiliated to other higher institutions and there are institution we are also planning to extend our affiliation with outside the country and you know in this digital age you can also share knowledge and experience as well as practice which is very important for us, we also affiliated to United Nations Organization, you can see their flags about seven of them, they came here and did the necessary work and gave us the flags and certificate of affiliation. So we are affiliated with United Nations Organizations, our students have regular visits to recyclan company where plastic recycling is done.

From your wealth of experience in the oil and energy sector, what can you say about the petroleum industry of Nigeria with its current state?

The federal government is doing a lot, however there are so many things that we can do in the upstream, downstream sectors of the petroleum industry that will improve the economy, create jobs and better the living standard of Nigerians. Nigeria is blessed, we have a lot of crude oil, they are natural resource, just unfortunate that its not well managed. Some of our refineries have been shut down for many years, meanwhile, we buy these products from outside the country and sell them here. We have these things and we have experts, but unfortunately it is not so but there is hope. We have country like Saudi Arabia and other countries they are all doing very well, then it is very unfortunate for what is happening here, but there is hope.

How do you handle stress and pressure in your personal or professional life?

In my background we were taught on how to work under stress, in many oil companies, Shell for instance we work under stress, if you cannot work under stress you can’t work in Shell. I remembered before I went to Houston for the exhibition, I work till 12 am some times by 1am, one day, when I was coming back from work in Warri I met my wife crying because I always come back at late hour. I was working to make sure they get our project approved, I know their time is different here, before they wake up there, its about 2:00 PM, here I did so much work but I still tried to manage myself to reduce stress by ensuring that I have control over my daily activities but if I feel that coming here is going to add to my stress, I will not come, even though I have appointment. So what I mean is that I tried to make sure that I handled this and have control over my daily activities and ensure that it will not be violated. If I want to control stress then I make sure I have enough time to rest. I have been very busy, I managed primary, secondary and tertiary schools also in the kingdom, I do a lot of job in the palace, get assistance from people asking questions but then I tried to rest and relax. In my younger days I played tennis but now I play golf.

What would you want the younger generation to emulate from your journey in life?

What I want the younger ones to emulate is that they should be focus, many of them are saying education is scam, I want to let them know that education is not a scam, let them be patient, former governor of delta state, Sen. Dr Ifeanyi Okowa is a medical Doctor, he worked before joining politics. He started as Secretary to local government, Commissioner before he became governor, he passed these processes. Well, I did mentorship for younger ones some time ago, mentoring them on Engineering, I do consultancy in oil and gas companies, I also get them involved and also share experiences of things to them.