The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, the Nigerian Navy and the Interregional Coordination Centre, ICC, today highlighted the need for continuous collaboration with regional and international stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of security in the Gulf of Guinea.

This was the thrust of presentations at the 5thplenary of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum/Shared Awareness and De-confliction meeting which has ‘Enduring and Sustainable Security’ as its theme.

The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who noted that collaboration and co-operation was central in attaining enhanced security in the Gulf of Guinea in recent times, said that NIMASA is committed to providing all logistics required for members of the SHADE/FORUM to thrive and maintain the momentum.

Jamoh said: “Two years ago, we connected virtually with our unhappy stakeholders, with challenges of piracy attaining its peak in the Gulf of Guinea between 2019 and 2020. But today, even the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, has affirmed that piracy is at a 28-year all-time low in the region.”

In his words, “The SHADE must be nurtured to remain a force for good. As members we owe a collective duty to this forum to keep its dialogue robust and guard it from slipping into complacency as to become a toothless bulldog. Our SHADE must be strengthened through cooperation, coordination, collaboration and communication. Security success can never be by solitary achievements.”

“There must be cooperation between regional navies like we saw recently between Nigeria and Benin. We are all contributors to the success we are currently experiencing in the area of maritime security,” he added.

The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Kitack Lim, who addressed the Forum virtually, congratulated Nigeria on the efforts it has embarked on to improve security in its territorial waters and the Gulf of Guinea domain at large. He challenged members of the SHADE FORUM to maintain the momentum in order to sustain the gains of the past one year.

According to him, “Maintaining the momentum of gains made so far is the main challenge for the regional navies. To do so, you must address the root causes of piracy including the plight of coastal communities, in order to reach sustainable solutions to the issue of piracy.”

Also speaking at the forum, the Chief of Naval staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, notedthat the successes recorded in the Gulf of Guinea was due to the collaboration, information and data sharingamongst countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

The CNS who was represented by the Chief of Planning, Nigerian Navy Headquarters, Real Admiral Saidu Garba emphasized the need to sustain the momentum through institutional capacity building for maritime governance.

There is still room for greater collaboration in the areas of Information sharing, increased presence of naval assets and strengthened legal frameworks among the GoG nations as well as international partners, which are keys to ensuring success of the Yaounde Architecture. The safety and security of shipping in the GoG is a vital enabler in the recovery process of global economy and trade downturn suffered due to COVID 19 pandemic,” he said.

Other stakeholders present at the 5th plenary are Director, Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC-Yaounde), Admiral Narciso Fastudo, Co-chair, SHADE – GoG/Maritime Collaboration Forum, RearAdmiral Solomon Agada, Special Advisor to the chairs of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum, Simon Church.

The goal of the forum is to implement effective operational counter-piracy cooperation amongst regional and international Navies, as well as the shipping industry and reporting centres of the Yaounde Code of Conduct (ICC) for the Regional Strategy for Maritime Safety and Security in Central and West Africa region; with this year's edition of the event being hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in partnership with the Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC) Yaounde, and the Nigerian Navy.

•PHOTO:From left: Captain Bell Bell, Inter-regional Coordination Centre (ICC); Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Rear Admiral Saidu Garba, Chief of Policy and Plans, Naval Headquarters, representing the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Auwal ZubairuGambo; Dr. Paul Adalikwu, Secretary General of Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) and Mr John Stawpert, Senior Manager (Environment and Trade), International Chamber of Shipping at the press conference during the 5th Plenary Session of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum/Shared Awareness and Deconflictionin Abuja.