Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has expressed worry over the incidences of sea piracy, drugs and human trafficking, and other criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea.
Governor Diri stated this on Tuesday at a United Nations-backed three-day workshop on combating piracy and maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea that held at the Chief Harold Dappa Biriye Conference Centre in Yenagoa.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted the governor as decrying the level of insecurity in the gulf, noting that the maritime industry is the backbone of the global economy, adding that no effort should be spared in tackling the menace.
He appreciated the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) initiative to curb the menace, saying his administration would help the body actualise the project’s goals.
The governor also expressed the readiness to host the Gulf of Guinea Security Conference in collaboration with major stakeholders to unravel the root causes and design a regional approach to combat the scourge.
He said: “The malady might be preponderant in the Gulf of Guinea but it is equally a crisis of global dimension. Sadly, sea piracy is not the only security threat undermining us at sea and along our waterways. It has also focused spotlights on wider complications of maritime insecurity such as trafficking and smuggling of humans, weapons, narcotics and unregulated and illegal fishing.
“Bayelsa State is prepared to provide leadership and embrace international best practices to fight and prevent crime. I have no doubt that this project would be fundamentally beneficial to our people and state. We have traditional ties, through trade, religion, culture and ethnicity across the subregion, and this creates a platform for our modern security collaboration.”
He equally called on the United Nations, its agencies and partners to support his administration in empowering the youths and making crime and drug abuse less attractive.
In his opening remarks, the United Nations Country Director on Drugs and Crime, Dr Oliver Stolpe, revealed that the Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous maritime area in the world, with 25 sea piracy attacks in 2020.
Describing the rate of drug use in Nigeria as three times higher than the global average, Dr Stolpe noted that an effective fight against insecurity can only be attainable if drug use is effectively controlled.
While appreciating the Diri administration for the initiative, he said it would enable local communities to put strategies and interventions in place to prevent crime and stakeholders to leverage the community-based approach to address drug use and prevention.
According to Stolpes, the programme is a pilot initiative to test approaches he hopes would be effective enough for other states to emulate and attract support from the federal government and international bodies.
The programme was attended by traditional rulers, top government functionaries and civil society groups from Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states..
