Navy Undergoes Reorganisation to Tackle Militants
From Ernest Chinwo in Calabar, 11.22.2007
Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ganiyu Adekeye has said that the Nigerian Navy is currently undergoing a major reorganisation.This is to enable it meet the challenges posed by the militant groups in the Niger Delta.
Adekeye made the disclosure Wednesday, in Calabar , while addressing officers and ratings of the Eastern Naval command. The Naval chief who was inspecting facilities under the Command said the situation in the region was becoming more complex , hence the need for the Navy to reorganize to meet the new challenges.
Adekeye said Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers States were the main theatre of operations of militants in the region. He expressed concern that the militants were shifting their operations to other states in the region.
According to him, “we are reorganizing our operational system to be able to cater for this particular area. You know the main fulcrum of militant activities was always in Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa States but we have started having them here.”
As part of the reorganization, he said the Navy had embarked on, and had achieved 80 percent, repairs and refurbishment of its fleet. The Naval , he also disclosed had also made requisitions to the Federal Government for needed assets and platforms to boost operations in the region.
According to him, some of the materials expected include operational vehicles, patrol boats and helicopters. He said the Navy would take delivery of some of the equipment in about two weeks.
He noted that weapons, arms and ammunitions were part of the problems faced by the navy in the region and said arrangements had been concluded for acquisition of the needed materials.
“I can assure you they (new weapons) will start trickling in very soon and will start flooding in before the end of the first quarter of next year,” he said.
He advised the officers and ratings of the Navy to maintain and make maximum use of the weapons they have, as failure to do so might be to their own detriment.
“Get hold of them and utilize them to maximum effect and of course observe that the first law of nature is self preservation. If you don’t use your weapon, somebody will use his own against you and you will not have the time to change your mind,” he said.
He expressed regret that the Navy had lost some men in operations in the region but said the Navy, with the assistance of Federal and state Governments and oil companies operating in the region, had been paying welfare packages to families of the affected servicemen.
Reacting to fears of possible reprisal attacks from Cameroon following the alleged attacks by militants against the gendarmes, Adekeye said there were no cause for alarm as the Navy was poised to protect the territorial waters of the nation.
