Nigerian Navy @ 62: Togetherness rekindled

For a sailor, life at sea most times can be a struggle and on other occasions, it’s beautiful. Life at sea is beautiful when a sailor has the nerve to weather the elements. The sea has its opportunities and risks. The opportunities offered are displayed in the immeasurable quantity of mineral and natural resources. The risks are reflected in tsunamis, hurricane, storm surges, and rogue waves amongst others. Besides, naval personnel are put in harms way through wars and various peacetime maritime security issues namely, fishery and environmental protection; anti-piracy/sea robbery; human, drug and arms trafficking; terrorism; as well as protection of oil and gas assets.
No single navy can face all these maritime security challenges alone because the sea is interconnected. The good news is that modern technology, inter-agency collaboration, including regional and international maritime cooperation make it possible to predict and interdict various threats from the sea. This writer remembers the hard work, commitment, years of sacrifice and dedication put in by officers and ratings to make sure that the Nigerian Navy (NN) thrives.
On 01, June 2018, the NN was sixty-two years old. And it’s gratifying to state that the Navy has evolved beyond what the colonialists and the founding fathers envisioned. At the moment, the NN is a sub-regional naval force with global influence. This is the NN of today. A navy that Nigerians should be proud of, and one which can defend the nation’s interest from the sea. Certainly, this writer is proud of the NN despite its challenges. And it is with deep sense of responsibility that all officers and ratings of the NN, are heartily congratulated in recognition of their hard work to maintain a quality profile at sea for decades.
Although, firepower is very key, the quality of personnel in a naval force is equally important. The quality of a navy is largely determined by the calibre of its human capital. In the face of changing value system in the society, the NN must still bear in mind that it has a responsibility to defend the nation’s territorial integrity from the sea. The technical nature of the navy poses a tremendous challenge, that to be an officer or a rating, one has to be of good character and also, of more than average intelligence. Therefore, in order to get a steady supply of officers and ratings with vital quality of leadership, it is incumbent on the top brass of the NN to adopt a policy that makes provision for a talent hunt in the society.
When the NN was established in 1956, fire control systems, jet engines, high calibre weapons and sophisticated machinery almost exclusively belonged to navies of developed nations. Today, modern warships guarantee the survival of the NN. The NN cannot stop planning for future acquisitions either to replace aging ships in the fleet or filling the gaps in the inventory.
Today’s navy cannot settle for mediocrity. It must aspire to excellence because “the nation that will insist on drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking done by cowards,” according to William Francis Butler. So as an active partner in providing sub-regional and regional maritime security, men and women who serve today and who will lead tomorrow must be prepared to accept responsibility and accountability in protecting and defending Nigeria’s regional commitment and global interests.
If efforts are not made to produce strategic thinkers, the future role of the NN may be mortgaged despite the fact that there is a large percentage of Nigerians who do not know much about the institution beyond what is available on its official website. Traditionally, the Navy is a silent force all over the world. Even in civilized countries, it is as obscure as its establishment is misunderstood. In fact, some people, including policy makers, may think that the Navy consists of men and women who just aimlessly wonder upon the high seas, and therefore, fail to realize its role in maritime defence of the nation’s territorial waters.
As the NN celebrates its sixty-second anniversary, it must aspire to excellence. The celebration provides a unique opportunity for the leadership to think togetherness. Togetherness-an important component of family life-must be rekindled. If the NN as a critical component of the nation’s security architecture wants to go far, officers and ratings must go together. This is imperative because of the nature of the naval profession which demands that people of different backgrounds live together in a confined space, dine together, and fight the enemy together.
Onward Together is the motto of the NN. It’s expected that those in service will keep working together in order to achieve greater success in their contributions to national development. So they must remember the words of Henry Ford: “coming together is a beginning; keeping together is a progress; and working together is success.” The NN must not rest on its oars as she steams ahead. It must draw from the past, be responsible for the present and aggressively shape the future irrespective of challenges.
There is no doubt that the maritime security challenges of the nation are daunting, it is expected that those serving will go forth in faith and do their best to shape the future of a nation that needs NN’s support in the Twenty-first Century. As the NN rides the waves in peace and war, its personnel should not forget the lines from the hymnist, James Edmeston: “Lead us Heavenly Father lead us. O’er the world’s tempestuous sea, guard us, guide us, keep us, feed us, for we have no help but thee; yet possessing every blessing, if our God our father be.” May the Navy’s anchor hold in the storms of life. Fair wind and following seas. Happy anniversary to y’all!

MA Johnson