About the Author

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Ben Igiebor comes from Edo State, Nigeria, attended Mater Dei Grammar School, Ashaka, Delta State, then went on to King's College, Lagos for his higher school and thereafter, worked for 5 years in banking. He then got sponsorship to train in shipping management in the head-office of the Danish East Asiatic Company, Copenhagen and after that, with Escombe McGrath, Liverpool and London, before going on to study shipping and international trade at the London School of Foreign Trade. Thereafter, he went on sea-training as part of a programme to understudy port operations in European and West African ports, travelling for 6 months on 3 roundtrip voyages to Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg, Rouen, Tilbury [Europe] and Abidjan, Tema, Freetown, Lagos and Port Harcourt [West Africa], on 3 EAC/NNSL vessels. He then worked as Container Operations Manager for Alraine Nigeria Ltd, Apapa in the Apapa and Tin-can Island ports in Lagos [1981-85] after which he returned to the UK for an MSc degree course at the University of Wales in Cardiff. He also sat for and obtained professional qualifications of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He taught shipping on the professional course at the then London Guildhall University [now part of London Metropolitan University] between 1990 and 1994.