Mr. Tunji Obagbo (POTEMAN)
Mr. Tunji Obagbo (POTEMAN)
The issue of security is not something to toy with, it is to be held firmly, therefore it should not be in the hand of any individual, if you do this, then you will be creating a vacuum which may have adverse effect on the government, security is the function of government and so they should be serious about it, for example we have the navy, army and the air force, and I know that in the annual budget they are always given a preference, so if we now decide to empower a private company for security, then what are the armed forces necessary for? It is the work of the president to supervise the security of the country, the navy should be empowered to carry out their functions, they are trained in this area, and it is the purpose for which they were established, so the government should make use of them.
Capt Isele Agorye (Merchant Navy)
I will subscribe to the federal government empowering the Nigerian merchant navy because they are more or less exposed and they know more about what is happening in our territorial water, they are directly involved in most of the activities on our waters, so they should be given the authority to act in collaboration with the Nigerian navy. If we really want things to work out, then the merchant navy should be empowered in terms of securing our waters, and in terms of reporting issues, they are the ones on ground and directly involved. Also, if government wishes to set up a body, it should be part of the merchant navy, maybe in form of coast guard.
Mr. Nnadi Ugochukwu (Chair, NAGAFF, PTML)
It is the primary responsibility of every government to provide security in its maritime domain, and not just on the waters but also for every of its citizenry, if you now concession this duty to an individual whose primary goal is to create wealth for himself without minding the extent to which he can go to get it, then you are giving him liberty to do what he likes in our maritime domain, but when you put the navy in charge whose primary responsibility is to defend where they have been employed to be, there is a limit to the amount of irregularity they can do knowing that they are accountable to somebody and eyes are watching them. But when a private hand is in charge it’s like selling out the country, so my submission is that the navy and the marine police should be empowered, let the money they want to give to a private firm be given to the navy to acquire surveillance equipment and vessels.
Mr. Cyril Okoro (Maritime instructor)
Maritime security is a very sensitive issue and has to do with the national defence, when you decide to empower a private outfit to carry out the job; the question that is to be asked is that do they have the wherewithal to do what the armed forces can do? Also, in farming out the services of our security apparatus to a private outfit, it involves a lot of money, so these money should be given to the navy, the job of policing the waters is not meant for a private organization, you cannot just entrust the army to a private organization, these should be a government function, it cannot be compared to the concessioning of the ports or the telecoms industry, it is the security of everybody, the defence organizations should be equipped to do their job because if you look at the navy today they do not have a combat ready fleet.
Mr.Orioye Olufemi [Maritime Journalist]
To me, it is the statutory duty of the Nigeria Navy to watch over the maritime domain especially the waterways, but now that it has been given to private firm to run what do you expect? With private firm the rate of piracy and sea robbers will definitely increase. Government should empower the navy and the marine police even the money given to private firm should have been used to equip the navy. As far as I am concerned, I condemn it totally, it is wrong for a private firm to secure our waters because it is not the best.
Mr. Kelvin Agbedo [Freight Forwarder]
There is no two- way about security on a country’s coast because it is the sole duty of any navy in the whole world to secure its country maritime domain. Giving the waters of a nation to a private firm will lead to nepotism which in turn will bring about corruption, sea robbery and others, but for the navy it is their duty and they have been trained to address issues that surround the waters of any nation; not Nigeria alone. To me the attacks that we are experiencing right now is a sign of good things to happen to our own maritime domain because if there is no challenges in that regards, we will say that the Nigerian Navy are not performing its duty, but with what is on ground the navy should be given all the necessary support needed to tackle the situation.
Tijjani Abdul [ICA Logistics]
The truth is that what is on ground requires special treatment and attention by the Nigerian Navy. My own take is that the government should come out with a special unit of naval personnel to attend to the present situation on our waters because there is no security on our waters. The Incessant attack might be extended to the port if it is not properly tackled. The Nigeria Navy are the ones that can arrest the situation, therefore government should be able to empower them properly instead of giving the maritime domain to private individuals who will not guarantee safety. With the right equipment and good remuneration, those guys will deliver because it requires special duty apart from the normal surveillance and defensive role they are known for.
Barrister Osuala Nwagbara [Maritime Lawyer]
My take on the issue is that I do not think that Nigeria is ripe enough to allow our maritime domain to be secured by a private firm. We have NIMASA under the present dispensation; implicit in that name and the meaning is that they should ensure that our waters are safe because safety in the water itself is security on the other hand there is the Nigeria Navy with its traditional role of securing the waters. The Nigeria Navy has not been very active in this direction. I will describe the attitude of the Navy at the moment as nonchalant because it is a case that the navy is not well equipped to secure the Nigeria waters, but I think that it is the ability or the readiness of the officers to mobilize their men and their vessels to secure the Nigeria waters. So far, with my experience we are not getting it to the level we are suppose to get it .I want to believe that it is not a case of lack of equipment on the part of the navy, but the readiness to use what we have to get what we want on the part of the Nigeria Navy.
Dennis Agada [Dockworker]
It is the navy and other agencies assigned to protect the coast that can handle the situation that is going on in our maritime domain. I strongly believe that the naval personnel can do it but maybe they are waiting for the right signal from above. Just like the Islamic sect Boko Haram that is terrorizing the land; if the army declares war on them today, they will all perish, but the time has not come because of the nature of our president, so if the navy defend our water against foreign attack why not a group of sea robbers or pirate as the case may be that they cannot attend. But the government should rethink because the service of a coastguard is essential also to assist the navy and to me personally the navy is big to handle this issue of attack on our water. I think that coastguard is the right people to do it.
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