Nowhere is Safe

From land to sea, Nigeria battles security challenges. Piracy in the nation’s waterways and the rest of the Gulf of Guinea has steadily increased. There have been series of kidnaps on waterways by pirates in recent times.  Two days ago, 10 Turkish sailors on a cargo ship were kidnapped for ransom off the coast of Nigeria. There have not been reports of their release so far.

A report by International Chamber of Commerce shows that, although piracy has reduced in the first quarter of 2019 when compared to 2018, insecurity is still strife in Nigerian waterways. According to International Maritime Bureau (IMB), attacks in the Gulf of Guinea doubled in 2018. Meanwhile, The Economist affirm that the Gulf of Guinea is the world’s worst piracy hotspot.

Local economies are the worst hit in this challenge. Oil revenue which most countries rely on, especially Nigeria, has been greatly affected. According to the United Nations, Nigeria lost about $2.8 billion to piracy in 2018.  What this means is that, as other conflicts issues affect local economy, piracy on another hand, puncture the nation’s major source of revenue. Although there are concerns that piracy rates in Nigeria’s waterways are under-reported, what is also important to seek for ways to curb its menace.

In Somalia, sea piracy is a booming business. Originally set off to protect Somalian waters due to the weakness of government in setting up coast guards, Somalian pirates gained notoriety for indiscriminate hijacking of ships around the Horn of Africa. In response to the spate of piracy by Somalians, in 2012, international forces started patrolling the Gulf of Aden where most attacks were launched. This tremendously made it difficult for Somalian pirates to attack ships. In Indonesia, sea piracy was drastically reduced due to increased cooperation and information sharing between Indonesian Marine Police and IMB Piracy Reporting Centre on patrols in high-risk areas.

Like the case of Indonesia, collaboration between Nigeria and IMB Piracy Reporting Centre contributed to the reported reduction in sea piracy in the first quarter of 2019 when compared to 2018. However, this collaboration should be strengthened to further curb the menace of sea piracy that continue to contribute to Nigeria’s many security and socio-economic woes. As suggested by the International Chambers of Commerce, vessel owners have a vital role to play by reporting incidents to IMB Piracy Reporting Centre and coastal authorities for quicker responses to be organized. It also emphasizes the importance of transparency, communication and coordination between vessels and coastal authorities, citing the success recorded in the first quarter of 2019 as an outcome of such collaboration.

Invariably, investment in satellite surveillance and modern security hardware will help in quick detection of attacks. However, committed set of coastal guards are required in utilizing this equipment to ensure that Nigerian waterways are safe from wanton piracy attacks.