Senator Cosmas Niagwan (Liquidator, NNSL)
As we all know that most business in the country is being done on the water ways, therefore a lot of the indigenous people of the Niger Delta should be employed. As a Captain at sea for 25years, I can tell you that the best sailors in Nigeria are the Ijaws, so I think we have got a ready made crew for the for the job, they should be a part of the deal and not to be kept aside, I believe that once they are working together with the government, there will be peace.
As for security on the waterways, the major key is training, just like loading and discharging cargoes where you cannot just bring in anybody to do it, cargoes are expensive and if there is a damage there is definitely going to be claims, therefore you train people to be able to handle cargoes, so also is the aspect of security on the waterways, government must ensure training and retraining for the boys to fit in.
Capt. Thomas Kemewerigha (President, Merchant Navy)
If the JTF could come and address the issue of militancy to some degree, then it is very clear that the issue of coast guard should not be toyed with, and it’s even easier for the government to establish a formidable coast guard. A militant camp could harbour about 50 to 100 Niger Delta youths; that itself tells you that the unemployment rate in the Niger Delta region is very high, if these youths today on their own can handle any arm and also know the Niger Delta terrain and the creeks very well, then the establishment of the coast guard should not be a problem. All that the government needs to do is to clean-up these youths; I mean those that are useful and relevant in the establishment of coast guard, give them little orientation and the coast guard is here. So the issue of the government establishing another security agency is not necessary, attention should be focused on creating the coast guard. Coast Guard will be more acceptable to Nigerians than what the government is talking about.
Sampson Chima (Registrar, NIS)
Since the federal government is planning to set up another agency for maritime security, it should make use of the ex-militants since they know the creeks, lived there and are used to the coast and the general terrain of the area, they should be used to secure the Niger Delta. They should however be formally trained concerning security issues and be provided with the necessary instruments needed as a security agent.
We are aware of plans to establish a Coast Guard; my suggestion is that the federal government should use these boys to kick -off the agency. Government should also use merchant marine officers who are already trained and who already understand most of the international practices.
Setting up another agency outside the Coast Guard is not necessary, because doing that means denying NIMASA its roles; maritime security is part of the provisions in NIMASA Act. Setting up another agency is a duplication of duties and a waste of resources.
Galtima Biliman (IMO consultant)
We applaud his Excellency president Yar Adua and we also applaud the Niger Delta community over their action because peace should reign, that’s the only way that you can have security ones you bring in empowerment and genuine community based local content development.
There is need to have an interface between the presidency, the military and the maritime agencies because security is at the topmost level of the government agenda. It may not be like a fully military option, PICOMMS is like a bridge and it does not in anyway foreclose the operations of the existing agencies.
Major H.A Ajetunmobi (Rtd.) (GM, Facilities Sifax Group)
Post- amnesty safety on our water ways is of a great challenge to all stakeholders in the maritime sector. A lot still needs to be done to improve security on our territorial waters. There are still some loopholes in our security system which needs to be addressed. One of the loopholes is the absence of a single line of command among the security agencies at the ports. We have a lot of agencies in our ports and in charge of security on the water ways, we have the marine police, the Navy, the Nigeria Customs, NIWA, and so on. But whom do they report to in terms of emergencies?
We do not need the amnesty to galvanize us into talking action on these issues that everybody has been able to recognize as the major problems facing our territorial waters, why must we wait until the Atlas Cove was attacked before we recognize that security must be boosted?
Anonymous (Merchant Navy)
The problem can be curtailed if the federal government has the political will to do it even without the use of force. These pirates are not ghosts because whenever a vessel is hijacked, ransom is demanded and it is paid into an account which will be picked up by somebody, these people can be traced.
Secondly, these people gain access to the waters through the creeks which the Navy, if properly equipped can block. Also, government should collaborate with village heads to monitor the activities of their indigenes. Also, there should be creation of more job opportunities; there should be aggressive and consistent campaign against violence in all languages over the media in other to put an end to this menace.
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