Nigeria's Security Interest in the Gulf of Guinea in the Twenty First Century

Abstract

Gulf of Guinea is an important maritime area of strategic concern in Nigeria due to its abundance of oil and gas and global trade routes. However, this region is bedeviled with numerous challenges. This paper entitled "Nigeria's Security Interest in the Gulf of Guinea in the Twenty First Century" focuses on the strategic significance of the gulf of Guinea to Nigeria with special consideration on the benefits enjoyed by the region and the security challenges facing Nigeria. Political realism was adopted as theoretical framework. The paper utilised a qualitative research approach and a historical research design. The primary sources of data were secondary sources such as archives, newspapers, scholarly journals, books and published reports. The findings reveals that the security interests in the Gulf of Guinea by Nigeria is seriously threatened by political instability due to poor governance, oil theft and illegal artisanal refining in the Niger Delta, the vast maritime space combined with the lack of effective surveillance devices, lack of co-ordinated security patrols, the increased cases of piracy and insufficient legal provisions to prosecute the sea criminals on arrest. The paper concludes that the challenges will need a multifaceted and multi-subject solution. The paper recommends the revitalization of the industries and creation of jobs to prevent the youth engagement in the criminal activities, enhanced intelligence exchange between the agencies, proper training and budgeting of the security organs, and enhanced inter-regional coordination of maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.