The Violent Gulf

It is not news anymore that Nigeria is bedevilled with numerous security challenges. Unsurprisingly, meaningful economic growth and development cannot be achieved in an atmosphere devoid of peace and stability. The United Nations says that Nigeria lost about $2.8 billion to piracy in 2018. The Gulf of Guinea is gradually becoming a hotbed of insecurity. With criminality in the region surging tremendously, 7 per cent of Nigeria’s oil wealth is lost to its nuisance.

Alongside oil theft in the region, kidnapping is also a budding business with foreign nationals being the regular victims. According to the International Chambers of Commerce, in the first quarter of 2019, 22 incidents of piracy and armed robbery were reported. In July 2018, 10 Turkish sailors on a cargo ship were kidnapped for ransom off the coast of Nigeria. In today\’s report, suspected Niger Delta pirates attacked two European flagged ships, abducting 13 sailors in the process. Two days ago, nine Norwegian crew members were abducted from a shipping vessel off the coast of Benin Republic. These incidents affirm the report by International Maritime Bureau (IMB), regarding the Gulf of Guinea as the world’s worst piracy hotspot.

According to the United Nations, insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea is a clear threat to security and economic development of the region. Premised upon the Security Council’s resolution 2018 (2011) to counter the growing menace of piracy in the region, the UN is proposing coordination and logistical support to regional security initiatives. It is advocating a comprehensive strategy that involves the collective input of countries in the Gulf of Guinea. Similarly, in Indonesia, sea piracy was drastically reduced due to increased cooperation and information sharing between the Indonesian Marine Police and IMB Reporting Centre on patrols in high-risk areas.

Achieving stability through human security. In 2013, the International Peace Institute reckons that many communities in the Gulf of Guinea are ridden with numerous insecurities. Lack of developed and diversified local economies have increased the desire for survival rather than growth. As such, with deepening humanitarian challenges, people are constantly seeking other measures, often extreme, to improve their living conditions. It becomes imperative for countries in the Gulf of Guinea determined to tackle insecurity to factor into their strategy, programmes that will enhance the survival rate of communities in the area. Tackling insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea also means addressing the level of poverty and dearth of infrastructure in the region.