Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration (NIMASA) has commenced operation of a security architecture known as C4i for the protection of economic activities on waterways in Nigeria.
The Director-General of the agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside made this known over the weekend at the official opening of the Command, Control Computer Communication and information System (C4i) Centre at the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre in Lagos.
The DG said the architecture was built in order to build investors’ confidence in the country, thereby dousing the security incidents.
“The Gulf of Guinea has been a source of concern to the international community due to the high levels of insecurity plaguing the region, with the Nigerian maritime domain having the highest number of security incidents in the region.
“It is given that insecurity is a major deterrent to existing and prospective businesses.
“Therefore, combative steps must be taken in order to eradicate this cancerous elements that can stop business confidence in the country with Nigeria’s economic live-wire depending strongly on its exclusive economic zone and the Gulf Of Guinea due to the volume of economic activities that take place in the region.
“It is the conveyor belt of the security mechanism that has been designed and built to further improve the security in our waters,” the NIMASA DG stated.
Dakuku explained that Nigeria was one of the eight countries whose coastal waters form the Gulf of Guinea, which is home to two main regional blocks: Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS).
He stated further that Nigeria accounts for 70 per cent of the maritime economic activities that occur in the region, having the highest number of port calls in the region and over 5,000 ship calls comprising of product tankers, crude oil tankers, LNG carriers and general cargo vessels and tankers operating in her Exclusive Economic Zone annually.
The NIMASA DG noted that the present threat posed by the insecurity in the country’s maritime domain accompanied by the need to support the economic renaissance of the nation led to the bi-ministerial collaboration of the Federal Ministry of Defence and the Federal Ministry Of Transportation undervote supervision of the Office Of The National Security Adviser.