Former Chief of Naval Staff urges stronger regional coordination to tackle maritime insecurity

Former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu, has called for stronger regional cooperation and coordinated action to combat maritime insecurity.

He cautioned that piracy, smuggling and other transnational crimes continue to threaten the Gulf of Guinea and the wider West African region.

He said maritime security is inseparable from national sovereignty and stressed that no country can effectively protect its economy and territorial integrity without securing its waters.

Vice Admiral Yakubu made the remarks while delivering a lecture at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College's 50th Anniversary Republic Day Lecture, organised in collaboration with the One Ghana Movement on Wednesday, July 1.

"Maritime security is not a luxury, it is an essential component of our national security and of stability in West Africa," he said.

The former Naval Chief noted that although piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea have declined in recent years, illegal fishing, arms trafficking, human smuggling and other maritime crimes continue to pose serious threats to regional security and economic growth.

He observed that the region recorded hundreds of piracy incidents over the past decade, resulting in increased insurance costs, security spending and disruptions to trade, with the financial burden ultimately passed on to consumers.

Vice Admiral Yakubu further argued that the growing threat of violent extremism in the Sahel and criminal activities at sea should not be treated as separate security challenges.

According to him, governments that divert resources solely to land-based threats risk creating security gaps in the maritime domain, which organised criminal networks can exploit.

"The security challenges of West Africa, the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea are two sides of the same coin. They both threaten the stability, prosperity and sovereignty of nations like Ghana," he stated.

He urged Ghana and other West African countries to strengthen maritime governance, improve intelligence sharing, invest in surveillance technology, enact stronger anti-piracy laws and deepen regional cooperation to safeguard trade, protect coastal communities and secure the Gulf of Guinea.