Rising Insecurity In Gulf of Guinea Worrisome - Buhari

… Credits Navy for Nigeria’s delisting from IMB piracy list

Harboursandport.com: Port Harcourt - President Muhammadu Buhari has described the rising level of insecurity within the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) as worrisome.

 

Buhari who spoke at the International Maritime Conference in Onne, Rivers State, as part of the 66th anniversary of the Nigerian Navy, with the theme, 'Optimising collaboration for Maritime Security and Socio-Economic Development in Africa,' said that the development requires collaborative efforts among stakeholders to tackle.

 

The President was represented at the event by the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi, said the theme of the conference was timely, as it would fashion out the best way forward for collaboration among security architectures to curb maritime crime.

 

President Buhari lauded the efforts of the Nigerian Navy, stating that the efforts have brought about decline in sea piracy and ultimately delisting of Nigeria from the International Maritime Bureau of piracy list since March 2022.

 

He said: "The Nigerian Navy is the pertinent agency in the marine sector that has the responsibility in the constitution to check threats in the maritime threats. These threats have become transnational and beyond the scope and capability of one nation to deal with.

 

"The situation therefore calls for international collaboration and this conference therefore symbolizes strategic collaborative initiative between the Nigerian Navy and other international maritime stakeholders, to mitigate the increasing vulnerabilities in African water especially in the Gulf of Guinea.

 

"This region, we all know is very rich and endowed with living and non living resources and therefore the economic opportunities therein as well as the strategic problems cannot be overemphasised.

 

"These prospects are however threatened by the rising insecurity and maritime crimes that impaired the development of the Gulf of Guinea States. 

 

 

"It's therefore apt to posit that any collaborative initiative by the Nigerian Navy to build partnership across the Gulf of Guinea is in the right direction, to optimise credible capacity that will guarantee our collective maritime defense.

 

"To this end, we owe a strong reason to support the Nigerian Navy and I make bold to commend the Nigerian Navy for their giant strides in maritime security operations, which resulted in several arrests of economic saboteurs, perpetrators of illegal bunkering, smugglers, pipeline vandals, and other miscreants in the fight against illegality in the Gulf of Guinea maritime domain."

 

However, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, emphasized that the collaboration was important as maritime crimes within the Gulf of Guinea have become transnational and are beyond the scope and combat capability of one nation. 

Gambo said: "Most disturbing is that most of the criminal activities are directed at economic life of both littoral and landlocked states.  

 

"The present situation calls for increasing international collaboration and intelligence cooperation within states.

 

"Let me at this juncture acknowledge several past missions at continental levels of operation across regions and collaboration towards integration of organic national probability aimed at achieving holistic and sustainable maritime security architecture for the country."