By Olusegun Olanrewaju
The Nigerian Navy is seeking closer ties with France in the area of marine safety, sea piracy, and sundry trafficking to further secure the nation’s maritime domain.
Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa, appealed for co-operation yesterday when he received the Chief of Foreign Affairs of the French Navy, Vice Admiral Christophe Lucas, at the command’s headquarters in Apapa.
Speaking at the command’s conference room when the French naval patrol ship, Ensene De Vaisseau Jacqubet, visited, Gbassa called for sustained and diverse security arrangements, particularly in training, automation, oceanography, and other related assistance, through joint operations, between the two navies to strengthen protection in the West African hub.
He also stressed the need for sustained operations to improve on the efforts at achieving ‘goals of leadership, in concert with international, foreign powers in the region for the benefit of both countries, “through exercises between us.”
The FOC said the NATO class patrol ship commissioned in 1982, which was on an interdiction mission in the Gulf of Guinea, was out to improve the capability for a safer environment for the maritime region, in active collaboration with merchant navies.
On piracy, Gbassa noted, “When you are together, you get more efficient. The presence of action has to be maintained; we have to work together to know how to get military knowledge”.
He said for nations to realise prosperity, it is beneficial to retain relationships, particularly in the ability to contain crimes and create better space for security issues.
He commended the French military delegation, recalling the gains made since the last tour by the ship on the coast, adding that Nigeria was looking forward to curbing piracy at sea and sustaining collaboration with the French Navy and others for support.
Earlier, the French naval foreign affairs chief said they were glad to be back in Lagos.
He said the team would collaborate with Nigeria to boost security in the Gulf of Guinea.
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It was learned that the French ship has participated in several interdictions and patrol duties in Africa, including ‘Operation Seval’ in Mali in 2013, when it escorted a Ro-Ro vessel chartered to transport military equipment to Senegal.
The 90-man strong ship also participated in an operation off the coast of Africa in 2014, and a search operation for rescue work on Flight 804 in 2016 in Egypt when a plane disappeared on May 19, 2010, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Also on February 15, 2019, ‘Enseigne De Vaisseau Jacoubet’ joined the European Union (EU) for navigation in the Mediterranean to fight traffic. However, ‘Operation Jachhammer’, as it was then labelled, left the operation on May 14, after 28 days.
