By Kumuyi Oluwafemi
Activities in the seas and oceans have continued to become a source of concern for the global community, as it serves as a veritable source of economic development and wealth creation, owing to the numerous resources embedded therein, thereby necessitating the need to ensure the sustainable use of these resources for nature and humanity.
Undoubtedly, the seas and oceans cater for over 80 percent of trade universally, as proven by researchers in the field of maritime studies; hence, the need for conscious efforts by humankind to preserve them for posterity.
Stakeholders across the globe are making deliberate efforts to ensure the sustainable use and harnessing of opportunities in the seas and the oceans for the use and benefits of nature and humanity.
Furthermore, research has it that resources in oceans, with an increasing interest in economic capabilities with their contribution to the global economy will double from US$1,5 trillion in 2010 to US$3 trillion by the year 2030. Upon this premise, various governments and corporate entities worldwide are making intentional efforts to utilise the investments derivable from the oceans including fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, bioprospecting, seabed mining, oil and gas, renewable energy and shipping, all culminating into the Blue Economy concept.
The Blue Economy concept has reached the height of global acceptability, as it has continued to take the centre stage in global discourse, which also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), aimed at tackling poverty, hunger, amongst others as listed in the 17 Goals.
Ultimately, the maritime sector has huge roles to play in the actualisation of the UNSDGs, as the Blue Economy mantra remains a beacon of hope to the world at large, as the oceans have remained a driver for economic development, job creation and wealth creation.
It aims to utilise sustainable use of ocean resources for development opportunities in the Exclusive Economic Zones of coastal nations globally. Researchers have described the blue economy concept as the approach of actualising long-term prosperity by a region or a country towards the citizens’ overall well-being and humanity in general.
Meanwhile, these ecosystems face several challenges ranging from over exploitation of its resources, human activities, among other issues threatening the sustainable use of the resources embedded in the seas and the oceans.
This does not exclude discussions on climate change issues, which is also a growing concern for many organisation; including the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and its member states to grapple with to harness the full potentials of the Blue Economy.
All these have led to the drafting of integrated strategies and frameworks that will help fulfil a continental, regional and national prosperity, and wealth creation regime through the sustainable uses of the seas and the oceans. Aware of the massive opportunities in the Nigeria seas and oceans and the need to ensure a diversified economy, the Nigerian Federal Government adopted a multipronged approach to utilising the resources in the region, known as the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure Project, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
The aim of this Deep Blue Project is to secure the Nigeria’s territorial waters from all forms of illegalities ranging from piracy, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, overfishing, among others, with the overall goal of promoting increased shipping activities, while also encouraging investors’ participation, thereby bringing in Foreign Direct Investments (FDis) to the country. Interestingly, Nigeria has a vast coastline of about 853 kilometres, in addition to about 3,000 kilometres of navigable inland waterways, which shows the enormous resources the country has; hence the need to preserve the oceans for economic development.
Therefore, the concept of the Deep Blue Project is to ensure that a holistic approach is taken into consideration t o prevent all forms of illegalities on the Nigerian territorial waters. Enforcement, regional cooperation, the building of a swift response capability and robust maritime domain awareness, among other issues form part of the initiatives of the Deep Blue Project, which has continued to yield results, as Nigeria has exited global piracy list, with ongoing discussions to exclude Nigeria from War Risk Insurance countries.
The initiative comprises a Command, Control, Communication, Computers, and Intelligence (C41) Operation Centre operated by trained military and civilian personnel.
The training includes physical techniques, in addition to technology, to tackle maritime crimes in the nation’s territorial waters. The centre domiciled with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA in Lagos, consists of a maritime intelligence system that will ensure data authenticity while creating a reliable global maritime picture to understand the ‘Patterns of Life’ of vessels and reveal risk indicators.
The system, programmed to detect criminal activities, also gives early warnings on emerging threats on activities on the Nigerian waters, thereby enabling prompt action to prepare and dispatch undercover and military vessels to take decisive action.
The project involves personnel from the Nigerian Armed Forces, Air Force, Army, Navy, Police, Department of State Services and officers of NMASA.
Aside from the C4i operational centre, the Deep Blue project also involves purchasing special mission vessels and armoured vehicles, operated by trained personnel to allow for effective manning of the Nigerian maritime domain.
The land assets include 16 armoured vehicles for coastal patrol and 600 specially trained troops for interdiction, known as Maritime Security Unit (MSU). The sea assets include 2 Special Mission Vessels and 17 Fast Interceptor Boats.
The air assets comprise two Special Mission Aircraft for surveillance of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); three Special Mission Helicopters for search and rescue operations; and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
To give credence to the Deep Blue Project, the Federal Government of Nigeria, in 2019 signed into law the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offenses (SPOMO) Act, aimed at enhancing the regime of prosecution of offenders. Since this Act came into law, it has enhanced prosecution of about 30 persons, punished for various offences.
The signing into law of this Act gives force to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the Convention on Suppression of Unlawful Acts against navigation safety (SUA), 1988.
Being the first of its kind in the West and Central African Sub-Region, the lawsuit addresses the international requirement for separate legislation for tackling piracy and other related maritime offences in the Nigerian waters and by extension, the Gulf of Guinea.
As part of efforts to bolster the opportunities in the Nigerian maritime sector, in August 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR accorded a “special status” to the maritime sector by creating a Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy; a move that stakeholders have described as a step in the right direction.
The Ministry has continued to provide direction for the sector in order to harness the resources in the oceans.
Suffice to state that Nigeria’s exit from piracy list has received several commendation from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and stakeholders in the global maritime community; this can be alluded to the synergetic approach NIMASA has put in place in order to reap the benefits of the Deep Blue Project.
To underscore the importance of the maritime sector to economic development, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, during a meeting with top Management staff of the Agency emphasised the need to align the Agency’s objectives to presidential priorities without losing sight of the Agency’s core functions.
These areas include to develop and implement National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy, Enhance Maritime Safety, Security and Compliance to global acceptable standards, Promote Indigenous Participation in the maritime sector in line with Cabotage Act, and Sustain Zero Incident Report for Nigeria in the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy.
All these require collaboration, which will lead to information gathering and sharing, with the Deep Blue initiative playing a pivotal role in the actualisation of the aforementioned priorities.
During the Operation Maritime Capability Demonstration, held in Lagos, Mobereola, while addressing the media, gave the assurance that the Agency is committed to the sustainability of the project.
He said, “This project has earned Nigeria International recognition by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and we have been taken off the piracy list. The aim is to continue to sustain it, and we will continue to encourage the personnel of the Deep Blue Project to keep it up, while we on our own side would continue to support you as much as possible.
“Please, do not reduce your efforts, as we count on you to make the maritime space more secure. The President of Nigeria is counting on you, the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy; Adegboyega Oyetola is also in support of this project.”
It is therefore apt to state that the Deep Blue Project has put Nigeria on the global pedestal, and has helped to reduce piracy activities on the nation’s waterways and by extension, the Gulf of Guinea, as NIMASA Management has consistently reiterated zero tolerance to illegalities on our waters.
The author of this piece wishes to emphasize the need for the Federal Government to invest in Research and Development in order to optimise the benefits in the sector. It is no gainsaying that the maritime sector if well utilised can contribute massively to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of Nigeria. Stakeholders, on their part, have a part to play, as the government should continue to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Conclusively, the cliché “potential” commonly used to describe the opportunities in the sector should be made a reality, so that the Blue Economy rationale will not become mere theoretical or rhetoric; rather, the government should adopt a practical approach, by engaging the professionals in the industry, whilst also walking the talk.
There is still a lot to do in achieving a robust maritime sector in Nigeria. With all these in place, Dr. Mobereola stands the chance to write his name in Gold, and posterity will be kind to him, as he makes efforts to calibrate the Nigerian maritime sector towards economic growth and development.