Building the Nigerian Navy as a strategic enterprise

Several attempts have been made by scholars of naval strategy to classify and analyze Third World navies. An attempt at classifying these navies was done by Eric Grove who developed a hierarchy based on the capabilities of power projection and defence of maritime territory. Conversely, Michael Morris used quantitative and qualitative criteria in classifying Third World navies. His initial classification based on quantitative criteria relating to weapons was subsequently refined by the use of qualitative criteria such as land-based and sea-based support to the fleet, naval power and national power. Further, Morris states that for a navy to merit high rank, it must possess an impressive quantity and quality of weapons as well as naval power and national power, which are required to sustain an effective fleet. The author further submits six rank categories in which South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Ethiopia qualify as Inshore Territorial Defence Navies while other African navies such as Gabon, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Algeria, Somalia, Tanzania, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia are classified as Token navies. Malawi and Mali are classified as landlocked navies. By implication, however, the Nigerian Navy and, indeed, most sub-Saharan African navies are yet to attain the potentials required to adequately safeguard their maritime environment.

The commissioning of four ships by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria on 19 February, 2014 at the Nigerian Naval Dockyard Ltd, Lagos, is to further strengthen existing fleet of the Nigerian Navy (NN). The ships – namely, NNS CENTENARY, NNS PROSPERITY, NNS OKPABANA and NNS SAGBAMA – are ‘part of a total of eight ships that are expected to be commissioned into the Nigerian Navy Fleet in 2015’. This is part of a fleet regeneration drive approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure that the Navy can effectively perform its statutory responsibilities.

Naval capability

In naval strategy, capability is subjective. This is because weak economy and a low level of technological development inhibit the use by African navies of ships to protect their coastal waters. Thus, the assertion that ‘a navy is a unique indicator of the development and economic might of a country’ is true considering that only developed navies enjoy strategic presence at sea and indirectly through economic strength. The platform of most navies in Africa may not seem impressive because maintenance of a navy by its very nature is capital-intensive and demands availability of skilled manpower. In line with its statutory responsibilities, the Nigerian Navy acquired vessels to deal with surface, air and underwater threats, and to be particularly effective in conducting coastal patrols of Nigerian waters with a view to protecting the nation’s vast maritime economic activities. In other words, the Nigerian Navy is configured for maritime combat, sea lift, inshore and offshore patrols, hydrographic surveys, and aerial surveillance to protect the nation’s maritime interests.

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Maritime environment and interests

Within Nigeria’s sea area of 84,000 square nautical miles are enormous resources such as fish, shrimps, oil and gas including oil/gas installations. ‘Petroleum accounts for over 90 percent of Nigeria’s earnings.’ Nigeria’s maritime area of interest, however, extends beyond its maritime environment. It covers the entire stretch of the Gulf of Guinea, extending from Dakar in Senegal to Luanda in Angola, with a coastline of about 2,874 nautical miles.  This area constitutes Nigeria’s strategic maritime interest by virtue of geographical contiguity. In other words, it is an area of common heritage such that any threat in this area will constitute a common problem to all nations of the sub-region. Countries of this region, therefore, have a shared responsibility for the security of this common maritime area.

Furthermore, Nigeria’s foreign and defence policies expect the Navy to project force up to the limits of the West Africa sub-region and beyond if defence budget permits. The safe passage of ships and their goods is among the nation’s vital maritime interests. Thus, any blockade to Nigeria’s sea lanes constitutes a serious threat to the country. The NN, therefore, has the burden and responsibility to develop the capacity to assert its influence over this stretch of waters.

Maritime threats

Threats to Nigeria’s maritime interests manifest in various forms such as hostile propaganda, territorial contention, threat of force by unfriendly states, sabotage as well as the denial of access to sea for transit or exploitation. Threats to Nigeria’s maritime interests are likely to manifest in the maritime boundaries between countries of the Gulf of Guinea, weak and vulnerable neighbours. Gladly, though, Nigeria’s foreign policy with its maritime neighbours has been consistently characterised with peaceful resolution of conflict situations.

Other threats to Nigeria’s maritime interests include political and communal conflicts, smuggling, piracy and sea robbery, poaching and marine pollution. Others are oil theft, pipeline vandalism, sabotage and maritime terrorism. In light of experiences in the Niger Delta, political and communal conflicts have manifested themselves in ways that disrupt economic activities and destroy lives and property. Similarly, the grave consequences of smuggling include loss of revenue to government as well as trafficking in illegal drugs, arms, ammunition and even humans. All of these weaken the nation’s economy and disable home-based industries. Although incidents of piracy are not significant around Nigeria’s maritime environment, sea robbery and attacks on fishing vessels have unfortunately been on the increase. Currently, waters around Nigeria’s EEZ is ranked as the next most dangerous globally after Somalia’s waters. These maritime crimes, if unchecked, give Nigeria a very negative global image that could impact adversely on the inflow of foreign investment. Illegal bunkering remains a major criminal activity that has severe implications for our economy. What is more worrisome is the vandalism of crude oil and products pipelines by militants and criminals who engage in exportation of these hydrocarbons. It is, however, gladdening to note that the amnesty programme for the ex-militants has significantly reduced incidents of vandalism and maritime terrorism. Nevertheless, the NN is unrelenting in its efforts to reduce illegal bunkering and theft of crude oil to its barest minimum.

Strategic enterprise

Drawing inspiration from Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations of  the US Navy, ‘strategic enterprise’ is  a ‘collective term used for all the entities that develop, assess, adjust and engage maritime strategy as well as maritime strategic thought inside the Navy (among other services) and within the greater national security community’. The objective of the enterprise will enable the Nigerian Navy align and harmonize its ship acquisition and capacity-building efforts to better cope with declining national and defence budgets as well as evolve maritime strategy to counter security challenges. In contemporary times, the strategic enterprise will enable Nigerian Navy’s leadership build capacity of officers to think strategically about the Navy’s role in national security and defence strategies; develop and maintain a dedicated and loyal corps of educated and experienced naval strategists for service, combined, joint and inter-agency responsibilities;  inform think-tanks, academia, civilian researchers and institutions of governance about the roles of the Navy in national security; and emphasize the linkage between maritime strategy and national budget, while advancing the relevance of a strategy-driven budget and processes in austere times.

As new naval ships join the fleet to combat security challenges in the nation’s maritime domain, I join numerous Nigerians to wish officers, ratings and civilian staff of the Nigerian Navy ‘fair wind and following seas’. Onward together.

MA Johnson