Dr. Dakuku Peterside Returns to the Nigerian Maritime Stage at WISTA Africa.
By Ovie Edomi
One of Africa’s most commanding voices in maritime policy and management reform is coming home — and the industry is watching and waiting keenly.
Dr. Dakuku Peterside, former Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency,NIMASA, management turnaround expert, public policy authority, and one of the continent’s foremost maritime thought leaders, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at the 8th WISTA Africa Regional Conference, holding June 25 and 26, 2026, at the prestigious Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Dr. Peterside, also a former President of the Association of African Maritime Administrations, and a columnist in major Nigerian newspapers as well as a familiar, respected personality at banking and oil and gas forums, brings rare cross-sector gravitas to the maritime platform. He is a
man widely credited with driving unprecedented reforms at NIMASA during his tenure as Director-General and CEO. At the 8th WISTA Africa Regional Conference, he will speak on the theme “From Policy to Implementation” — a subject on which few carry more earned authority.
For a man who, maritime stakeholders say has commanded board rooms at high-level maritime conferences in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kenya and China, this marks his first keynote appearance at a maritime event on Nigerian soil in five years.
The conference, organised by WISTA Nigeria — the first national WISTA association on the African continent, founded in 1994 and now marking 32 years of leadership — promises an extraordinary gathering of delegates from Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and America. Under the presidency of Dr. Odunayo Ani, WISTA Nigeria has built this edition into a landmark event spanning themes from the Blue Economy and Energy Transition to Digital Transformation and Diversity and Inclusion.
It is believed that when Dr. Peterside takes the podium on June 25, it will be more than a keynote — it will be a statement, a homecoming — and a moment the industry has been waiting for.