Even as Nigerian government is yet undecided about how best to tackle the menace of sea robberies which is becoming very rampant on its waters, the Rector, Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron, Mr Nseyen Ebong, has declared that the proposed coast guard is the best solution to the menace.
Government is presently tinkering with the idea of establishing a coast guard that is fashioned along what obtains in the United States of America to stem the tide of sea robbery which has led to the death of many seafarers.
He told Shipping Position Weekly recently in Calabar that “when this coastguard arrangement comes on board, the coastguard collaborating with Nigeria Navy to my thinking could solve that problem of piracy on the waterways”.
The coast guard is also been proposed under the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa States (MOWCA) that includes countries in the West and central part of Africa.
Ebong agreed that the arrangements is being delayed because of the need to fine tune details of what are involved to set up an efficient and effective coast guard in the region.
“You know it is not only Nigeria that is involved, other countries in the sub-region under the auspices of MOWCA are involved so they have to take their time in coming out with the fine details of the arrangements and involvement of each member states”.
According to him, with the current efforts by the Federal Government by investing more funds to ensure safety of navigation on Nigeria waters, sea robbery will soon become a thing of the past in Nigeria.
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