Penultimate week, in Banjul, capital city of The Gambia, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambu, Chief of the Maval Staff of Nigeria, was bestowed the befitting award of Most Outstanding Naval Chief in Africa by the respected Security Watch Africa Initiative. 

It is worthy of note that laurels are not new to this diligent patriot who has been making the needed difference since his apoointment as the 21st Naval Chief of Nigeria by President Buhari. 

Analysts have observed that from the moment he assumed office as the 21st Naval Chief almost two years ago, Admiral Gambo has set for himself the difficult task of deepening trade and commerce in the African continent, of course with more emphasis to Nigeria, by making shipping in the Gulf of Guinea safer for all.

The Gulf of Guinea is a vast and diverse region stretching from Senegal to Angola, covering approximately 6,000 kilometres of coastline. It is an important shipping zone transporting oil and gas, as well as goods to and from central and southern Africa.

The Gulf of Guinea’s tremendous potential is creating investment opportunities for the region. Some of its resources, such as oil, minerals, and forests, continue to attract significant investments whereas others, like natural gas, could be exploited to their full potential, as some necessary investments are being undertaken by the Buhari Administration in that crucial sector.

Admiral Gambo must have realised that for Africa, not just Nigeria to reap huge dividends from the Blue Economy that is fast redefining global economy,, he must come.up with innovations and thing straight out of the box.

The Admoral beleoves security is too serious a business thst must be tackled from ots foundation. By making the Gulf of Guinea safer for trade and commerce, African nations can deepen security by enhancing the wellbeing of its citizens.  

To understand just why the appointment of Admiral Gambo, a round peg in a round hole impacts global trade and world security, one must understand thst the oceans make up 97 percent of the world’s water resources. This magnitude makes our earth appear as a blue planet from space. Oceans and seas provide half of the oxygen we need for life on this planet. Our seas contain 80 percent of all life forms, provide food for almost half of the world’s population and are important resources for human mental and physical health. Oceans are involved in a complex web of economic interactions – the Blue Economy, sometimes also called Ocean Economy.

Fortunately, Nigeria, the giant of Africa, has in the past two years been scoring lots of goals in terms of widening opportunities in trade and commerce by its massive crackdown on sea robberies and ship piracy.

Vice Admiral Auwal Zubairu Gambo, Nigeria’s Chief of the Naval Staff, pointed out some of these unprecedented achievements in his brilliant presentation at the Africa Security Watch Conference in Banjul, to include the fact that 11 cases of ship piracy were recorded after he assumed office in 2021, compared to 44 cases that were recorded in 2020. 

In a similar vein, only 11 sea robberies and piracy cases were recorded in the corresponding year, compared to 22 cases of piracy and 16 sea robberies in 2020. The successes achieved by the Nigerian Navy, for the continent of Africa, resulted in a situation where the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Report released on July 14 last year indicating this is the highest achievement by any African country in the past 27 years. The feat has also led to the delisting of Nigeria from the list of piracy-prone countries as conveyed by the International Maritime Piracy Report of March this year.

Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo is not just the 21st indigenous Chief of Naval Staff of Nigeria. He is also an intellectual, a brilliant one at that. The 36 Regular Course member of the Nigerian Defence Academy has a Bachelors’ Degree in Economics from the NDA, a Post Graduate Diploma in Transport Management and a Master’s Degree in Transport Management-Logistics Option, from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. Recently, he co-authored a gold mine of information on “Developing a Security Conscious Mindset”, which was launched at the 2021 Chief of Naval Staff Conference in Kano. The book, among other things, delved into security strategies in relation to the human mind.

“If there is any lesson that has been ingrained in me as a career military officer, it is the fact that being security conscious is a mindset required for survival in any clime.” The above statement was written by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, as the foreword of the book co-authored by Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo and Mr. Abiodun Adebanjo.

The foreword was again read by the CDS at the 2021 Chief of the Naval Staff Conference (CONSAC) held in Kano. Titled “Developing a Security Conscious Mindset”, the book was launched by retired and serving service chiefs.

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On what influenced the book, the authors said “the rising wave of insecurity today has brought to the fore, the reality that security is everyone’s concern. The need for a secure and safer society is therefore ever more important as globalisation continues to break barriers of distances and foster integration of people.

“This book presents a lucid and simple introduction to the subject of personal security and its relationship with the mindset of the individual. At its core, the mindset of an individual is a powerful tool that could create a false sense of security or indifference if one’s situation is not objectively evaluated.

“Developing a Security Conscious Mindset”, takes readers through this delicate journey in their most basic forms. It will help readers see the pitfalls in their lack of security awareness and the implications of their otherwise overlooked actions.”

Vice Admiral Gambo has attended several military courses at home and abroad. These include the Sub-Technical Course at Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) QUORRA, Apapa, Lagos from 1991 to 1992, Young Officers Course Intelligence in 1995 and Officers Long Course at NNS QUORRA with specialization in Under Water Warfare in 2000. 

The senior officer also did his Junior Staff and Senior Staff courses at the prestigious Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, Nigeria in 1999 and 2003/2004 respectively. Later, the Admiral attended the National Defence College, South Africa as a member of Course 26   of 2012. 

After successful completion of the course, he earned the right to use the post-nominal title Executive National Security Programme (ensp), Republic of South Africa (RSA) as an alumnus of the institution. He was also at the National Security Seminar by Galilee International Management Institute Israel at Defence Intelligence College Kuru, Abuja in March 2013.

The 21st indigenous Chief of the Naval Staff has held many appointments in the Nigerian Navy. As a Midshipman, he served onboard NNS AMBE from 1988 – 1989 and NNS ENYIMIRI in 1990 as a Watch Keeping Officer. He was also onboard NNS AYAM in 1993 and NNS DAMISA in 2000 for Watch Keeping duties. As a young officer, he was the Officer in Charge of Tug APAYI JOE in 2001, Staff Officer Grade II Intelligence Maritime Component Operation HARMONY in 2002 and Base Intelligence Officer NNS DELTA from 2004 – 2005 and Base Operations Officer NNS DELTA in 2005. Vice Admiral Gambo later became the Staff Officer Grade I Plans, Naval Training Command from 2005 – 2006, Executive Officer NNS AYAM from 2006 – 2007 and Deputy Director Order of Battle (ORBAT), Headquarters Defence Intelligence Agency from 2007 – 2008. He also diligently served as Naval Assistant to a former Chief of the Naval Staff from 2008 – 2010.

Since Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo became the Chief of Naval Staff, the Nigerian Navy has continued to set and attain very high standards.

The organisation has recorded several feats towards propelling the Nigerian Navy to the next level of operational efficiency. Notable amongst these is the significant reduction in piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea, as stated earlier, from 44 in 2020 to only 10 between Jan – Oct of 2021, most of which were thwarted and unsuccessful. Accordingly, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Global Piracy Report of 14 Jul 21, indicates the lowest total of piracy and sea robbery against ships in 27 years. This report was corroborated by the Defence Web maritime security report of 15 Oct 21 which noted further decline in reported cases of piracy and armed attacks against shipping. 

Similarly, available records show a marked reduction in crude oil theft and illegal bunkering activities occasioned by the increased presence of Naval assets at sea. the Nigerian Navy has also taken delivery of several capital ships, such as NNS LANA as well as the Commissioning/Induction of the indigenously built SDB III – NNS OJI and subsequent keel laying for the construction of SDB IV and SDB V respectively. the NN recently got approval for the establishment of a new Naval Doctrine Command and 6 other units. 

It is also worth mentioning that the CNS has garnered the support of other maritime stakeholders, which led to the donation of maritime assets by AITEO and the NEXIM Bank. These feats no doubt foretell greater achievements for the Nigerian Navy. 

The Nigerian Navy has continued to live up to its expectation, as the tip of the spear, the navy has spared no resource to see to the optimal performance of the service members. 

With Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo at the helm of affairs in the Nigerian Navy, better days are ahead for the maritime and security sectors, as he continues to leave no stone unturned in his onerous desire to use the instrumentality of his office to enthrone an egalitarian society, in which crime and criminality will get less attraction especially among our teeming youths.