Gen. Michael Langley, Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), is a thorough professional whose words must be taken with all seriousness. President Bola Tinubu’s duty should be to prepare the Nigerian Navy for action against terrorists on the coast.

Langley warned about plans by terrorists to flood the West African coastline in the bid to heighten piracy, smuggling and ship arms into the sub region.

Countries like Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, currently troubled by incessant attacks, face perilous times if these were allowed to happen. A few Nigerians have accused the American general of trying to beat the drums of war in order to cover his country’s attempt to regain a foothold down the coast after losing relevance in Niger Republic.

The Federal Government must ignore these nascent voices of blind patriotism. There is everything to gain in planning ahead for eventual attacks from our territorial waters, a possibility which cannot be ruled out.

Boko Haram and ISWAP have tasted battle on Lake Chad and by affiliation may expand to do what other terrorists are doing around the Horn of Africa.

The Nigerian Navy has a huge task at hand. All branches of the Armed Forces are trained for war, in defence of our territorial borders. Lately, the Army and Air Force have been diverted to internal security operations, leaving the seamen with fringe jobs. It is widely believed, though erroneously, that the Navy in Nigeria does not go to war.

This is because the seamen are always in the news, destroying illegal refineries in the Niger Delta. Presently, a former Chief of Naval Staff is drawing negative attention in Rivers State for his role as Sole Administrator.

In 2005, two very senior naval officers, Rear Admirals Samuel Kolawole and Francis Agbiti were dismissed for their roles in the disappearance of a ship, MT African Pride. Kolawole was the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command while Agbiti had spent 34 years in service.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, as published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the Sahel accounts for 19 per cent of all terrorist attacks globally…

The Navy is not all about corruption. Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, has been offered an opportunity to change the image of the force to that of a clean fighting arm, as pure as their snow white uniform.

Nigerians need to be reminded that the Navy was a force of pride. Sub Lieutenant Onuora Zonyeuno (OZ) Chiazor was convinced to join the Nigerian Navy from the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1957 after a meeting in Manitoba, with Dr. Dennis Osadebe and Mathew Mbu.

By 1960 when the Nigeria Army officers were still being groomed to take over command of formations, Nelson Bossman Soroh ended the year commanding a warship, HMNS Kaduna.

He took over from Lieutenant Commander Watting. Soroh would later become the second Chief of Naval Staff and the first combatant CNS. During the Civil War, Federal troops owed their successes to the Navy. Biafra only collapsed after the Third Marine Commandos landed on the coasts. Credit should go to warship and frigate commanders like Soroh, Michael Adelanwa and Akin Aduwo.

And one battle recorded for posterity was between two friends, Aduwo and Paschal Jacob Odu. As their battleships fought, Aduwo gained the upper hand. In a show of magnanimity, he ordered Odu to disembark from the Biafran BNS Ogoja before it would be blown up. The friend refused and simply disappeared into the sea.

Both had trained at Dartmouth and were together in the Nigerian Navy before war broke out. That act by Odu showed bravery. He survived the war and both officers met in Lagos recalling the experience. The Biafran Chief of Naval Staff, Captain Fred Anuku was in the Nigerian Navy until circumstances forced him out.

The training he received as a Nigerian was not in vain. He was at Dartmouth, at the same time as Adelanwa. It is on record that after the Biafran Navy was neutralised, Anuku commanded the Biafra Army 52 Brigade in 1968, replacing Joe Achuzia. The Nigerian Navy should be proud of its past officers.

This is an opportunity for Ogala to reposition the force and show that seamen are onward together with soldiers. They should be encouraged that in faraway United States, Kelechi Ndukwe, a Nigerian, commands the warship, USS Halsey.

According to the Global Terrorism Index, as published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the Sahel accounts for 19 percent of all terrorist attacks globally and 51 percent of terrorism related deaths in 2024. Many of the insurgents in Nigeria have links across the Sahel. Langley’s warning is a wakeup call.

The Navy should be proactive. We commend Ogalla for unveiling two new commands, Special Operations and Marine, respectively. And it is our prayer that the politics of the North-East will not trickle down to the coast.

telegraph