The Group of seven industrialised countries known as the G7 is set to partner with the West and Central Africa region to find a lasting solution to the problem of piracy and other maritime crime along the Gulf of Guinea.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama, also pledged the support of the federal government to enable peace returns to the Gulf of Guinea.
The minister said that Nigeria’s commitment to the ideas of the Gulf of Guinea was confirmed by its acceptance to host the just concluded 4th Special Summit of the Heads of State and Governments of the members of the Gulf of Guinea Commission. This follows a consultative meeting held between the G7 and members countries in the Gulf of Guinea, where they agreed to work together for peace in the region. The Lagos meeting is a follow-up of an earlier meeting in Rome where the Roma declaration was made.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal bloc of industrialised democracies comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, that meets annually to discuss issues such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, said that the involvement of the G7 is welcome but stressed that Nigeria will continue to play a leading role in the fight against piracy and other maritime crimes.
The NIMASA boss said that it is rather unfortunate that the international community misrepresent kidnapping, theft, breaking of pipelines etc as piracy, noting that efforts are being made to enlightening the International Maritime Bureau, IMB of these developments. He further stated that the federal government is working at tackling the issue of piracy on three fronts which are the law framework, acquisition of military hardware and regional integration. On the issue of law, the NIMASA boss said that the frame work is completed and is before the National Assembly. He noted that when the law is finally past, Nigeria will be the first country in Africa to have such law in the fight against piracy in place.
He explained that the $195 million contract with the Israeli firm is to help to procure security equipment and assist in training Nigerian security personnel in tackling crime along the nation’s waterways. The NIMASA helmsman also said the response time to such incidents are not fast enough and that would be one of the things that would be worked on. The final level he continued is regional integration which will include acting across jurisdictions in the West and Central Africa region. He also noted that this will include synergies between the navies and maritime administration of these countries.
