X-raying Coastal Communities’ Role In Combating Maritime Security Threats
By Kemi Dauda, Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie, Evelyn Usman, Faithwin Nwaogu, & Kenneth Jukpor
As part of efforts to boost community policing and security intelligence in the maritime sector, security experts have stressed the need to incorporate coastal communities in security architecture.
Globally, coastal states have invested massively in securing the maritime domain which caters for over 90 percent of world trade, but coastal communities are characterized by high population with child labour/trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal fishing, among other ills heralding maritime security threats.
With a coastline of around 853 km along the Atlantic Ocean, Nigeria’s coast consists of four unique geomorphological units: The Barrier – Lagoon Complex, the Mud Coast ; the Accurate Niger Delta and the Strand Coast. Across these regions, according to The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, over 20 million Nigerians – representing 22.6% of the nation’s population – live along the coastal zone.
Like most coastal communities globally, marine environment is responsible for the major source livelihood via fishing, marine transportation, boat repairs, among others in Nigeria. Nonetheless, these communities are exposed to huge maritime security threats and can play a role in abating or intensying the menace.
In a bid to address this challenge, the President, Maritime Security Providers Association of Nigeria (MASPAN), Mr. Emmanuel Maiguwa, has advised governments to sensitize coastal communities to understand and play a strategic role in maritime security.
The question, however, is what roles are expected of coastal communities and how do they resist the appeal and pressure from the perpetrators of organized crime who seek to exploit their economic weakness with cheap inducements to compromise or foster maritime security threats?
Maiguwa, who is also the President of the Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (AMANO), described coastal communities as “gateway to the marine environment, protectors and custodians of the maritime domain.”
His words: “there is need for a strategic interface between security agencies and these communities because these coastal areas across Africa are some of the poorest regions. It is very important that governments across Africa consider coastal communities as strategic partners for the purpose of sharing information on maritime security.”
“For every security breach or illegal activity in the maritime space, there is either the direct support of the coastal community or the community residents developing a nonchalant attitude about the issue. Sometimes, the nonchalance of the coastal communities towards maritime security issues mayn’t be deliberate. It could simply be as a result of ignorance that the activities of certain persons in the area constitutes national security threats.”
Maiguwa, however, opined that as governments prioritize maritime security education, there must be a plan to ensure that the resources in the local communities are explored in a sustainable industrial manner.
“Instead of fishing as a means of livelihood, government should empower and finance such communities to enable them fish for industrial purposes and grow into having robust businesses. This will ensure that the community understands the role of maritime security and partners with government towards achieving this,” he added.
Meanwhile, a senior Naval officer at the Nigerian Navy who preferred anonymity, stressed there is already an existing mutually beneficial relationship between coastal communities and security agencies in Nigeria, even as she posited that there is still room for improvement.
“Information sharing and intelligence gathering is an area where coastal communities can be strategic partners in maritime security. If the residents and business persons in coastal communities don’t release information, as a security agency, Nigerian Navy won’t know about certain developments,” the Naval source said.
The source, however, observed that one of the concerns some coastal residents have is the fear of victimization with regards to coming forward with information about ills being carried out by dreaded pirates and armed robbers at sea.
“Nigerian Navy always gets information from coastal communities. There are designated platforms and units for retrieving security intel. In the Western Navy area, there is always at least one security patrol vessel along the waterways and this gives confidence to the coastal community residents,” the source said.
Highlighting the role of coastal communities in tackling maritime crimes, the Executive Director, Operations at Tantita Security Service Limited, Capt. Warredi Enisuoh, noted that despite having over 8000 members of staff, the security company employs youths in every community where it found the problem of oil theft.
Tantita is one of the private security contractors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and has been responsible for checkmating crude oil theft in the creeks, coastal communities as well as other locations with oil and gas assets.
According to Warredi, who is also a former Director of Shipping Development at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), about 21981 Nigerian youths have been recruited by the private security company mostly for surveillance and intelligence agents in the troubled coastal regions where oil theft is prevalent in Nigeria.
In his presentation at the 2023 Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN) Annual Lecture themed, “Maritime Security: Emerging Threats and Actionable Steps” Capt. Warredi showed a documentary revealing the illegal activities on crude oil theft in Nigerian coastal communities, as well as the processing and transportation, showing that perpetrators of crude oil theft have armed personnel and also planted CCTV cameras in creeks to monitor their illicit activities.
“In the course of our work in checkmating crude oil theft and other related crimes, we have found partnerships with youths and the elderly in the affected communities very helpful. These chiefs easily know when a new person or group of persons settle in a village and they can tell when new operations commence in certain areas. The youths, however, are useful informants and can be helpful in preliminary investigations around oil theft. These youths have been mostly recruited into our surveillance,” Warredi said.
He, however, advised the federal government ti consider training and empowering individuals in such regions to venture into modular refineries as a long-term solution to provide comprehensive and sustainable solutions to maritime crimes in the region.
According to him, there are several coastal communities in Nigeria where fishing and farming will no longer be possible for decades as a result of illegal crude oil refining and consequent pollution of the coastal communities.
Mrs. Afua Lamprey, Senior Lecturer/ Resource Person at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), equally stressed the need for security agencies partnering with coastal communities while training Nigerian journalists on Maritime Security Reporting, in Lagos.
According to Afua, the role of coastal communities in enhancing maritime security will be heightened with concerted efforts by government to address the illiteracy rate due to poverty and lack of knowledge.
She asserted that acting as “area watchdogs”, coastal communities can provide vital tip-off to combat huge maritime security threats; even as she encouraged security agencies to build connections with community chiefs, fishermen, among other leaders in the region.
The war against maritime crimes and efforts to curb security threats must utilize a multifaceted approach with the role of coastal communities effectively captured. As an economic policy expert and former Nigerian minister for Education, Oby Ezekwesili puts it, “Anyone who wants to tackle corruption must be willing to go all the way. There are no shortcuts.”
Planning for maritime security without a role for coastal communities will be tantamount to taking shortcuts. Perhaps, African governments and all stakeholders involved in maritime security should heed to wisdom in Beverly Sills apt quote “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.”