A maritime safety expert has cautioned against the proposed Nigeria Coast Guard Bill currently before the 10th National Assembly, warning of potential conflicts and overlap of functions with existing agencies.
An expert in maritime safety, who did not want his name in print, has warned of the dire consequences should the National Assembly pass the Nigeria Coast Guard Bill into law.
Recall that the Bill, which is currently before the National Assembly, seeks to establish a military service, which is a branch of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, to ensure maritime safety that will domicile under the ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
However, the expert argues that creating a Coast Guard could lead to unhealthy competition and clashes with the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency( NIMASA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
He noted that modeling the Coast Guard after the U.S. Coast Guard might render NIMASA redundant, as the U.S. Coast Guard performs all maritime safety roles. He further highlighted unresolved overlaps between NIMASA and other agencies, stressing that adding a Coast Guard would worsen the situation.
The expert, who is a Marine Engineer and a retired civil servant from one of the agencies of government, claimed that the Bill, if passed into law, will compound the muted unhealthy rivalry and competition among the agencies of governments such as the Nigerian Navy, NPA, NIMASA, NIWA and the Nigerian Shippers Council.
According to him, the proposed body will rival the Nigerian Navy and may also lead to the deadly clash of these two armed groups on the Nigerian waters. If you model the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard after the US Coast Guard, then you have to abolish NIMASA, or that the body will take over the NIMASA job completely.
This is because in the US, the Coast Guard does all the safety administration. What the US Coast Guard is doing is what NIMASA does in Nigeria. If that is your model, you have failed from the beginning. You are scrapping NIMASA, because you are going to duplicate the jobs of NIMASA.
In America, the USCG is the apex body that is responsible to the IMO which NIMASA is. So the moment you bring the American model of Coast Guard to Nigeria, NIMASA is gone. That means another body will be doing the safety administration job of NIMASA.
The proponents of this Bill have not sat down to look at technicalities and technical implications of the introduction of the new body. They are only trying to bring in the box of the Coast Guard without the contents, the technicalities involved”, he stressed.
The maritime expert also warned of potential funding disputes, alleging that proponents of the Bill are eyeing NIMASAs resources.
He expressed his belief that if the Nigerian Navy is well-funded and equipped with the necessary tools and infrastructure, it will be able to adequately protect Nigerian waters. The Marine Engineer however alleged that they deliberately underfunded the Navy, they deliberately ill-equipped the Navy and they are now bringing in another body to split the Navy functions because they are all eyeing NIMASA money.
He claimed that the proposed body is likely to be funded by NIMASA. This is the money the proponents of this proposed body is eyeing he further claimed. He then wondered what will happen to NIMASA and Navy if this bill is pushed through.
NIMASA is still facing challenges of overlapping functions from NIWA, Nigerian Shippers Council and NPA, which are yet to be resolved and you are now bringing in another body which will complicate these problems on the sea. All these will cause NIMASA unnecessary distractions from its core functions. Is this how we want to get a Category-C seat in the IMO?, the retired civil servant queried.
He urged stakeholders to carefully evaluate the technical and functional implications of the proposal to avoid further fragmentation in the maritime sector.
