Beefing the Navy, Army’s Operational Capacity in Tackling Insecurity 

The Government of the People’s Republic of China recently donated military equipment and a 46-meter Patrol Vessel to the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Navy respectively. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the gesture did not only cement the robust relationship between both nations, but also boosted the capacity in fighting insecurity and other forms of maritime crimes 

The Government of the People’s Republic of China recently donated military equipment and a 46-meter Patrol Vessel to the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Navy respectively. 

For many, this was a welcome gesture because any force is only as good as its military hardware and in the case of the NN, its platforms. This is because in improving the domestic and even external maritime environment, aggressive  fleet recapitalisation strategy must be enabled.
Moreover, this recent boost was in line with the fleet recapitalisation drive of the Nigerian Navy under the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.

Defence 

In his address at the joint handover ceremony in Lagos, the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (Rtd), who was represented by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Defence Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, said it further consolidates the Defence bilateral agreement between the People’s Republic of China and Federal Republic of Nigeria especially with the donation of these high-grade military equipment and a maritime platform.  

He said; “I am also pleased to note that current efforts of the Federal Government towards supporting the military to combat insecurity has been impactful and yielding tremendous successes.  

“With the support and donation of equipment and platforms from strategic partners like the People’s Republic of China, capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would be further improved.  These will no doubt boost socio-economic development for enhanced national security as well as regional stability.

” This means that the impact of these donated equipment will not only be felt in Nigeria but in the West Africa Sub region as well as the whole continent of Africa. The platform will be deployed to enhance operations effectiveness of the Armed Forces for improved security.” 

Nigerian Navy’s Recapitalisation Drive 

Stressing that the vessel would be deployed to fight crime in the nation’s water and the Gulf of Guinea, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (CFR), he said the relationship with the People’s Republic of China which started years ago towards enhancing capability of the Nigerian Navy to bolster presence within the maritime domain has been tremendous.  

He said: “It will be recalled that as part of the fleet recapitalisation efforts through the uncommon support of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal of Nigeria, the Nigerian Navy acquired 2 x 95.6m Offshore Patrol Vessels from China. 

“These are NNS CENTENARY and UNITY, which joined the Nigerian Navy Fleet in 2015 and 2016 respectively.  Sequel to these acquisitions, a 46m Patrol Vessel, NNS SAGBAMA was donated by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to support Nigerian Navy operations. 

” I am happy to state that these vessels and others in the fleet have enhanced Nigerian Navy’s Maritime Security operations efforts, which significantly reduced piracy within Nigeria’s maritime domain as well as the Gulf of Guinea and eventually culminated in delisting Nigeria from the list of Piracy Prone countries this year by the International Maritime Bureau. 

“The donation of this 46M Patrol Vessel to the Nigerian Navy marks another milestone in the bilateral collaboration between       our two countries and also attests to the People’s Republic of China’s willingness and resilience to ensure a safe and secure maritime environment for socio-economic activities to thrive. 

“I am optimistic that this vessel will further enhance Nigerian Navy presence at sea towards curbing insecurity within the nation’s maritime domain and beyond.”

Partnership that Works

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Godfrey Onyema, who was represented by the Nigerian Ambassador to China, Mr. Babatunde Mustapha, noted that the donation of the 46 metre patrol boat and other military equipment attest to the cordial relationship between both nations.

He explained that out of the other arms of the military, the navy and the foreign service have special relationship in the fact that when naval ships enter foreign port, it is the ambassador and the officers at the embassies in the foreign port that usually receive them.

He stated that  over the years, those in the foreign mission has developed very cordial working relationship with the Nigerian Navy. 

He revealed that the relationship between Nigeria and China has been very cordial since it was established in 1971.

“Nigeria and China celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations which is very cordial and it resulted in the signing of 16 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) between Nigeria and China and one of them is Defence cooperation, the result of which we are witnessing today. 

” Nigeria is committed to China’s policy and China is currently undertaking ten major progress in Nigeria under the Focal programme. This include the AKK gas pipeline, Nigeria railway modernisation project, airport modernisation project and many others.”

Chinese Government’s Take on Collaboration 

Also speaking, the Chinese Ambassador  to Nigeria, Cui Jian Chun, harped on the collaboration between both nations. According to him, the relationship between China and Nigeria has lasted for 50 years, adding that  there has not been any fundamental problems between the two great nations. 

 He said the government of both countries are currently working on how to work together and fight together to achieve a common goal, adding that “the second is about economic cooperation. This is very, very important for the material conditions for Nigeria people and  for the Nigeria society,

 China with about 1.4 billion people under the leadership of a Communist Party. We have accomplished the first centenary, eradication of absolute poverty.

“We would like to share our experience with Nigeria and how you can achieve this great goal by the year 2030. So you have to understand that the economic sector is really important. I believe that both countries can work together in the following five aspects. The first is technology, because technology is to drive dreams not only for Chinese military, but also for Nigerian armed forces. 

“Second is body equipment. We need a state of the art equipment to equip our military men and women to fight in the battle. And also we need the human resources. Lastly is about foreign aid. Today is a very good example China donated patrol vessel to Nigeria. So we would like to expand our cooperation”.

Commencement of Military Hardware Manufacturing in Nigeria 

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ambassador said they will commence manufacturing of military hardwares in Nigeria in collaboration with Nigeria.

He said the in-county production of military would greatly enhance the performance of the Nigerian Armed forces in it’s quest to end terrorism in Nigeria 

Boost for Nigeria- China Trade Volume 

Expectedly, the partnership will ensure that the trade volume between both nations soar. 

According to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Godfrey Onyema, already, the trade volume between Nigeria and the Peoples’ Republic of China now stands at 25 Billion Dollars, about N10.91 trillion.

The minister also stated that with the robust relationship between both countries, the tendency that the trade volume between the two countries would expand beyond it’s present state.With the induction of the new platforms, the Nigerian Navy continues to beef up its operational capacity as well as the scope and depth of its activities both in Nigeria’s waters and the GoG.