Royal Defence College visits Lagos on study tour
To understand how the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) nations are combating maritime threats, including transactional organised crimes in the region, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Royal College of Defence Studies yesterday toured the Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa.
The 16-man delegation led by Senior Directing Staff, Rear Admiral Steve Dainton, of the Royal Navy, had 11 participants from various countries.
Received by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Michael Oamen, the delegation said it slated three African countries- Senegal, Nigeria and South Africa- for the tourl.
According to Admiral Dainton, the tour was a requirement of a year course to understudy threats to global security stability and prosperity.
He said: “The course is an educational course and not particularly specific about maritime security. We are here looking at various threats to global security, stability and prosperity ranging from all kinds of subjects, including climate change, population growth and the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
“We are also looking at how nations deal with criminality. So, this is what has brought us to Western Naval Command to hear from their experience of dealing with some of these issues.
“The course has given us the opportunity to visit Western Naval Command and it is a great privilege to be here. The relationship between the UK and Nigeria is strong, particularly the Royal Navy and the Nigerian Navy which is one that goes back many decades.”
Admiral Oamen said the visit would further strengthen the relationship between both countries as well as boost trade and growth in the GoG region.
He noted that many Nigerian Navy officers had attended courses at the college, which he said was rewarding for the institution and the country.
“We are happy to have a delegation of directing staff and students from the Royal College of Defence Studies on a mission to find out what we are doing in the Gulf of Guinea.
“We’ve had so many of our officers attend the college and it was very rewarding for them. So, this year, we are happy to have this delegation and they are here to find out what we are doing in the Gulf of Guinea.
“We have so much going on in the Gulf of Guinea and we’ll be able to feed them in on what we’re doing to help all forms of criminality, organised crime within that region.
“This visit also helps to facilitate trade and ensure that the economic well-being of Nigeria is guaranteed. So we are going to interact with the students and exchange ideas. That way, we maintain the standards in naval operations and general international collaborations in terms of security,” said the FOC.
Admiral Oamen said measures such as collaborating with the navies of countries within the GoG, organising developmental capacity programmes, improved maritime awareness capabilities, joint exercises, training had helped yield the desired result.
He said they had to look into the issue of the legal framework for criminals caught at sea to ensure that such cases were handled effectively and reduced to the barest minimum.
The delegation was taken through NN’s operations and collaboration with regional navies in the GoG by the command’s Operations Officer, Commodore Abdulraman Mohammed, while Commanding Officer, NNS KADA, Captain Andrew Zidon, responded to questions asked by the visitors.
