Chief Of Naval Staff Delivers Lecture To Participants Of Naval Warfare Course At Naval War College Nigeria

Chief Of Naval Staff Delivers Lecture To Participants Of Naval Warfare Course At Naval War College Nigeria

On Friday 11 April 2025, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla delivered a lecture to the participants of Naval Warfare Course 9 (NWC 9) at the Naval War College Nigeria (NWCN) Central Lecture Hall. The lecture titled, “My Command Philosophy and Vision for the Nigerian Navy” was delivered by the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral SA Akinwande on behalf of the CNS.The aim of the lecture was to acquaint participants of NWC 9 with the CNS’ command philosophy for the attainment of Nigerian Navy’s constitutional mandate.

The lecture highlighted Nigeria’s strategic maritime environment as defined by a combination of international and national regimes. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Nigeria has sovereign right over 12 nautical miles of territorial sea and jurisdictional claims to 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone. With a coastline of 420 nautical miles, this translates to about 5,040 square nautical miles of sovereign territory and 84,000 square nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone. According to the CNS, this maritime area over which the country can exercise exclusive rights to minerals and marine resources is comparable to more than one-third of Nigeria’s total landmass. Additionally, Nigeria’s maritime environment includes inland waterways spanning approximately 10,000 km of creeks/rivers, of which about 3,800 km are navigable all year-round. These waterways provide vital access to 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states and connect to 6 neighbouring countries: Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad, Sao Tome and Principe and Niger Republic.

The lecture also highlighted the CNS’ command philosophy for the Nigerian Navy (NN) and the CNS’ strategic imperatives for the NN. The CNS concluded his lecture by stating that the NN will continue to emplace appropriate strategies and demonstrate undoubting commitment towards ensuring the nation’s maritime area is safe and open for legitimate activities. This resolve is anchored on the fact that protection of the maritime domain is NN’s statutory responsibility coupled with Nigeria’s commitment to leverage the Blue Economy for economic prosperity.