By Augustine Ehikioya
Piracy, which has been a major challenge in the Nigerian waters for many years, has finally been eliminated in the Nigerian Navy Western Command areas.
For fifteen months, there have been no record of piracy in the Command, which is having about 320 nautical miles and land areas including Lagos, Ogun and Ondo States in the South and stretched upwards up to Sokoto State in the North.
The reason for this giant stride in the Western Naval Command areas has been ascribed to the purposeful and focused leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.
He was said to have properly addressed the critical issues of training, administration, welfare, and equipment.
In the area of new modern equipment provided by the leadership, a Falcon Eye maritime domain awareness capabilities apparatus was said to have played a great role in the successes being recorded in the Command’s area of responsibility.
During Security Watch Africa (SWA) team’s investigative tour to the Command, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) the Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Yakubu Bala Wambai, disclosed that the apparatus has been supplying the Command with accurate intelligence and information on happenings in the Nigeria’s waters under the Command.
As a result of this, wasteful and random patrols on the waters are now a thing of the past in the Command.
The apparatus has now reinvigorated patrol system in the Command, with patrols being done directly to troubled spots on the waters.
Other notables achievements were also said to have been recorded in the Command as a result of the CNS’s leadership.
Declaring that things are now looking up for maritime businesses in the Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Wambai, said “Major achievements of the Command within the AOR, has been the total absence of piracy within the last 15 months, that has been a major hindrance to economic activities because shipping reduced the volume coming to Nigeria.
“But with the reinvigorated patrol system under the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral, Awwal Zubairu Gambo, we have been able to curb some of those excesses to the extend that today, piracy is zero, iuu (illegal, unreported and unregulated) in the aspect of fishing, is almost under check.
“When you come to anti-smuggling, that is one of our roles in supporting the Custom, for crude oil, we have made a lot of arrest. If you have to quantify it, it is in range of over 280 million.
“Don’t forget that the peculiarity of security or crime within our coastal areas are different. The illegalities you have in the Western area mostly has to do with smuggling of rice and may be narcotics. Crude oil theft is not a major problem around here because the facilities are in the East and Central Naval Command areas.
“So, what we have here is a bit different. In terms of petrol, AGO, we have been able to make arrest to the tune of almost N700 million. Narcotics, we have done a lot of arrest within the past one year, that if you quantify, it’s almost N1 billion.
“Each of these, upon making arrest, we handover to the respective government security agencies.
By and large, we have been able to achieve so much in these areas of keeping the series of communication very open to enhance shipping,” he stated.
Speaking further on the intelligence gathering apparatus, the FOC said “The Falcon Eye is part of the maritime domain awareness capabilities, what do they do, they are our eyes. So, you don’t have to be at sea every time because they are seeing everywhere.
“Wherever they see and they think there is some little issues or discrepancy, they tell the Command, look there is something we are sighting here. So a ship is sailed directly to that place, instead of sailing up and down in the water.
“So the Falcon Eye system is the first multiplier, it is an enabler. It keeps us very very informed of the awareness within our waters. That’s why it is an intelligence and information gathering apparatus.”
Commending the CNS’s leadership style, he said “The Navy has been blessed with good leadership, exceptionally. I’m talking on my boss now, he has been able to bring a lot of focus to what he is doing that has guided us in doing what we are supposed to do.
“Because if you look at critical areas, training, administration, welfare, equipment. We have had equipment recapitalization that he has been driving and Mr. President, in his magnanimity, has been able to give us a lot.
“You are aware we just received NNS KADA, we have NNS LANA, we have also had NNS OJI, that was just built in Nigeria. Today, a team is here to look at how we can start the number four and number five locally produced warships for us. They have already started.
“This is what he is saying, we have been doing one, one, one, but he said no, let’s do two at the same time. So, that is focused and deliberate leadership.
“In administration, he has tried to make sure that processes, cases of people that have been unjustly treated, have been reviewed.
“And today, a lot of people are happier because what they felt the system ill-treated them, he has reviewed it and that has brought a more vigor in the personnel to work.
“Welfare wise, of course, we have a lot of buildings. These are things that he’s doing that is making personnel to feel that yes, to whom much is given, he should be able to give back plenty also to make Nigerian Navy remain number one in Africa. And some day, we will take over the entire Maritime space,” he added.
Also commending the Federal Government, he said “The Federal government has been wonderful, they listen to the cries of the Chief of the Naval Staff. The Chief of the Naval Staff has drawn out a very big programme, logistically, that has been able to give us fuel products as at when due.
“And we too try to deploy this systematically using the maritime domain awareness capabilities. So it means we just don’t go to sea at random, but it is mostly deliberate because once a domain awareness system picks up anything of interest, then a ship is detailed to go in and carry out further investigation.
“That way, time on task is reduced. And then it is more purposeful. So we have a deliberate system of conducting our operations, thereby conserving and reserving what we are getting from the government.”
On rescues achievement in the Command areas, he said “The latest been on the 5th of this month, a rescue operation, a ship, MT Halima, raised distress call, and the men from NNS BEECROFT were able to respond appropriately and they were recovered. Before that, we’ve also had two vessels that had an accident at Atlas Cove area, they were also promptly able to recover.
“So, by and large, we have been doing that. This is part of our safety rules to be able to provide succour to distressed shipping,” he said.
Despite the achievements recorded in the Command, the FOC noted that security in the area is still not predictable.
Adding that checkmating strategies have been put in place, he said, that the Command always nip every security threat in the bud.
“Security in the area has remained fluid. That means not really predictable. Today it is okay and tomorrow you could have skirmishes here and there. But it is not something that has gone out of our control. We’ve tried to put in place processes and strategies to checkmate them. We cannot say nothing will happen, but we always try to nip it in the bud,” he stated.
Speaking on the communities in the Command areas, he said that they have been very supportive, with most of them giving Navy lands to establish Bases in the communities, which has gone a long way to check security threats.
According to him, the Navy too has been reciprocating the gestures.
He said “From time to time, we try to reach out to communities by giving them, by carrying out medical rhapsody, that is one area that is of critical need.
“We also provide some communities with means to power their generators and pump water so that they can have drinkable water in addition to our presence that has stop the incursions of the Beninois Gendermes to harass the people of those islands. We also try to organize sporting activities for communities too.” He stated.
The Operational arm of the Command, that is NNS BEECROFT has done tremendously well under the leadership of its Commander, Rear Admiral Malami Haruna. Making lots of arrests, seizing many bags of rice and other contraband products being smuggled into the Country and carrying out rescue operations.
It is hoped that the achievements recorded in the Western Naval Command, under the CNS’s leadership, especially elimination of piracy, will be sustained.
Not only should it be sustained in the Western Naval Command, but studied and applied to end piracy in other areas in Nigeria still facing the challenge.
Desperate efforts should also be taken now to ensure Nigeria maximises her benefits from the maritime sector.