By HUGO ODIOGOR, Foreign Affairs Editor

What could have made the British government send a war ship,HMS Argyle, to the Gulf of Guinea and its Ministry of Defence backed the mission by sponsoring a conference on West African Maritime Security and Development?

Put differently, why would the British taxpayers be more concerned about bearing the burden of defending us from pirates and armed robbers on the  high seas and militants in the the Niger Delta?  It all has to do with the geo-economic interest of Britain on the West Coast of Africa, known to harbour abundant natural resources but endemically afflicted by poverty, bad government and conflicts.

It is estimated that West Africa, one of the world’s richest fishery grounds, loses billions of US dollars due to unreported and unregulated fishing. The region holds significant share of the global energy mix. Statistics reveal that the West African maritime space is poised to acquire more relevance in global energy calculus on account of its huge hydrocarbon deposit.

This is further reinforced by the persistent insecurity in the Middle East and the geographic proximity of the sub-region to Europe and America, and the availability of abundant but yet untapped proven reserves of crude oil and natural gas in the maritime domain. But, inspite of the amnesty programme, the growing incidence of piracy, armed robbery and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea remains a critical source of concern in a region where bandits traverse with impunity.

From the Sahel belt stretching from Mauritania to the horn of Africa and from the coast line running from Senegal to Angola, African states and governments are at the mercy of criminals who are either inspired by religious tenets to levy war against the state or those demanding social justice for the resources taken from their domains.

According to the Chief of Naval Staff, CNS, Vice Admiral Ezeoba, “the strategic elements of Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria’s maritime environment are demonstrated by the fact that there are over 5,700 oil wells, 112 flow stations, 16 gas plants, 126 production platforms, 6 Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) platforms and 13 erode oil terminals in the region. One of such FPSOs, the BONGA, a deep-offshore production platform with a production capacity of about 200,000 barrels per day, is currently valued at over US$4 billion.”

The economic importance of this maritime domain is further buttressed by the fact “that 80% of the world trade is conducted by  sea and over 46,000 large vessels touch about 4,000 sea ports world will annually. According to the CNS,  “We depend, to a large extent, on the sea for transportation, food, trade, and energy, all of which are essential ingredients of our national security and therefore imperatives of our economic growth and national development.  In fact, Nigeria relies on the sea for 99% of its import and export transport with oil being a major part of the trade.  This is where insecurity at sea becomes a major some of concern”.

Militancy

The Niger Delta is one of the maritime hotspots in the world given the fierceness and ferocity of attacks on vessels on high seas. The financial and material resources that the world has committed into fighting piracy from Somalia to South East Asia, the Middle East, Gulf of Guinea is unquantifiable.

At the height of the militancy in the Niger Delta, it was difficult to insulate the element of criminality as majority of the criminal activities of the militants were seen as part of the Niger Delta struggle, but, with the amnesty programme, this has changed.  The amnesty regime has led to a reduction of such attacks. This has helped the country to regain its foothold in the oil production quota of over 200,000 bpd.

Too many cooks

An attempt was made to create what was known as Presidency Security and Safety (PICOMSS) in 2003. This was in compliance with International Ships and Ports Code. This body was located in the Office of the National Security Adviser and continues to exist even though maritime watchers regard this as a duplication of the operations of Nigerian Maritime Safety and Security Administration (NIMASA).

On assumption of office in 2007, former President Umar Yar’ Adua tried to create the Maritime Security Agency (MASECA). The bill to give legal backing to MASECA is stalled in the National Assembly. The emergence of PICOMSS was as a result of the Niger Delta militancy. The coming of the agency resulted in the underfunding of the navy as funds that should have been used to strengthen it was diverted to it.

NN and post amnesty

Asked what Nigeria is doing to secure the maritime environment, Ezeoba said, “When I was appointed as the CNS, the president gave me a specific mandate to combat maritime crimes, the rising incidence of crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and other acts of illegalities within the nation’s maritime space.

“It is in compliance with the presidential directive that I promulgated a Strategic Guidance 0 [SG-01] in October 2012, which provides a holistic operational framework that clearly defines the end state with properly articulated ways and means for the actualization of my mandate, taking cognizance of the dynamics of the operating environment.

The main pillar of the operational dictum of the NN as enunciated in the SG-Q 1 itself is anchored on a ‘Trinity of Actions.’ This encapsulates surveillance, response initiative and enforcement considered variables for effective maritime security”.

Accordingly, Ezeoba said “the NN is striving to increase existing Regional Maritime Domain Awareness Capability through surveillance systems located along Nigeria’s coastline in order to improve total awareness of the environment”.

Based on the trinity of actions and sustained presence at sea, the CNS initiative has started yielding  results. This is shown in the arrest of over 40 vessels engaged in illegal activities in the nation’s maritime environment in the last months.

Ezeoba said, “Similarly, efforts are in progress to increase the deterrence value of the criminals through acquisition of additional ships, including Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for enhanced operational capability. Furthermore, the NN has adopted a collaborative approach of engaging other maritime stakeholders in its campaign against maritime crimes.

For instance, the high incidence of poaching denies governments in the sub region accruable revenue needed for national development in addition to depleting fishery stock and distorting the marine ecosystem. Additionally, piracy and sea robbery impose huge insurance cost on shipping, which translates to higher cost of imported goods and services, thereby further impoverishing the citizens”.

According to him, “as discomforting as these threats would appear, they are not insurmountable.  There is the need for a constructive, proactive, sustainable and holistic maritime security to ensure a secure and safe maritime environment for optimal exploration and exploitation of the abundant maritime resources.

Apart from the national level, the Nigerian Navy has pursued a deliberate policy of collective maritime security mechanism within the ECOWAS sub region. This provided the basis for the bilateral partnership between the Nigeria Navy and its Beninoise counterpart in what is codenamed OPERATION PROSPERITY. This involves joint naval patrols aimed at curbing the activities of pirates that had tried to operate in the area with impunity”.

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, said whatever action that is necessary to check piracy and armed robbery at sea should be explored.  According to the envoy,” we don’t need new institutions to solve the problem but to strengthen the existing ones and make them function efficiently”.

Rear Admiral GSA Ombo was of the view that insecurity at sea is a product of lack of knowledge of the country’s maritime assets and the security needs of the sector. There is also what he called lack of maritime culture that makes it difficult for the political leadership to appreciate its maritime assets and what is required to protect them in terms of funding the navy, the major national maritime security power.