The Provisionary Committee of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard (PC-NCG) has expressed concern over the prolonged delay in passing the Nigerian Coast Guard Bill before the 10th National Assembly.
PC-NCG reiterated that there can be no sustainable Blue Economy without Blue Security, insisting that the passage of the Nigerian Coast Guard Bill is an urgent national imperative as the agency is needed to protect our waters, resources, and coastal communities.
It argued that: “Establishing a Nigerian Coast Guard is not merely an administrative proposal. It is a national necessity. It closes a long-standing institutional gap that continues to impose economic, security, safety, environmental, employment, and governance costs on the nation.”
In a statement issued in Abuja, Monday, Dr. Piriye Kiyaramo, Director of Communications & Public Affairs, quoted the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of PC-NCG, Captain Noah Ichaba as stating that any maritime security approach that ignores the absence of a Coast Guard, only manages symptoms while leaving the root problem intact.
“A nation cannot secure its waters by endlessly responding to the effects of a structural deficiency, while refusing to fix the deficiency itself,” Captain Ichaba stated. “Attempting to solve maritime insecurity without a Coast Guard is like bailing water from a leaking vessel while refusing to seal the breach.
“The activity looks busy, but the problem remains. Such an approach does not eliminate risk; it institutionalizes it. Every year of delay prolongs avoidable losses and denies Nigeria the benefits enjoyed by maritime nations with dedicated Coast Guard services,” Capt. Ichaba maintained.
Upholding the principles of truth, diligence, public enlightenment, and patriotic duty, PC-NCG Boss offered additional perspective to policymakers, stakeholders, and Nigerians.
“The suggestion that scarce national resources should go only to strengthening existing agencies, instead of establishing a dedicated Coast Guard, may appear prudent, but Nigerians must recognize that the Coast Guard question goes beyond policy preference.
“It is a question of accountability: who answers for the consequences of decades without a Coast Guard? That question confronts the conscience of leadership and will be answered before God and history.
“Beyond strengthening maritime governance, a Nigerian Coast Guard would create thousands of direct and indirect jobs for seafarers, engineers, technicians, rescue personnel, intelligence officers, legal practitioners, environmental specialists, communications experts, and support-service providers.
“It would open specialized career pathways, strengthen institutional coordination, enhance international representation, improve compliance with global obligations, and reinforce Nigeria’s credibility as a responsible maritime nation.
“The issue before Nigeria is not whether maritime responsibilities exist, they do. The issue is whether the nation will keep assigning Coast Guard functions to institutions not designed for them, or finally establish the dedicated institution that leading maritime nations use to perform those functions effectively, efficiently, and accountably.
“The argument that Nigeria can simply fund existing agencies more, overlooks a fundamental reality: nations are represented internationally by permanent institutions, not temporary projects. A combat-oriented Navy, however capable, cannot fully substitute for a specialized maritime law enforcement agency in the global Coast Guard community. International cooperation is institution-driven, not project-driven.
“Across the world, Coast Guards lead maritime law enforcement summits, regional Coast Guard forums, search-and-rescue conventions, anti-trafficking initiatives, fisheries enforcement partnerships, environmental protection frameworks, border-security collaborations, and maritime domain awareness platforms.
“These engagements happen through bodies like the European Coast Guard Functions Forum, Arctic Coast Guard Forum, North Pacific Coast Guard Forum, and Coast Guard Global Summit — all built around legally established Coast Guard institutions.
“Even the International Maritime Organization works extensively with Coast Guards on search and rescue, maritime safety standards, security cooperation, information sharing, anti-piracy coordination, and environmental protection.
“The implication is unavoidable: without a dedicated Nigerian Coast Guard, who consistently and institutionally represents Nigeria in the global Coast Guard architecture?
“Projects like Deep Blue Sea are valuable, but they cannot perform enduring sovereign functions. Projects are temporary; institutions are permanent. Likewise, a naval arrangement cannot fully substitute for a Coast Guard, whose primary mandate is civilian maritime governance: law enforcement, safety, rescue, environmental protection, and international cooperation.
“Modern maritime governance is institutional, networked, and cooperative. Nations engage through equivalent specialized institutions — Coast Guard to Coast Guard, Customs to Customs, Police to Police. Without a Nigerian Coast Guard, the nation risks underrepresentation, fragmented engagement, weakened maritime diplomacy, and reduced influence in the evolving global maritime governance system.
“The strategic question is simple: Can Nigeria fully occupy its rightful place in global maritime governance without a dedicated Coast Guard? The answer is self-evident.
“History will not judge Nigeria by the maritime challenges it inherited, but by whether it established the institution needed to confront them when the need became undeniable”. History will not ask if Nigeria needed a Coast Guard. It will ask why Nigeria waited so long to establish one. A maritime security strategy that ignores the Coast Guard solves nothing. It only postpones the crisis.” Captain Ichaba concluded.
