The Effects of Piracy, Smuggling, and Robbery on the Economy in Nigeria Waterways - Coursework Example

The Effects of Piracy, Smuggling and Robbery on the Economy/ Control Measures in Nigeria Waterways Introduction 2 Trends of Piracy, Smuggling and Robbery in Nigerian Waterways 3 Effects of Robbery, Piracy, and Smuggling in Nigerian Economy 5 Measures Taken Against Piracy, Robbery and Smuggling 7 Conclusions 9 References 10 Introduction In the contemporary era, the rising frequency of criminal activities has led to negative impacts on the economic conditions of various nations. At a broader scale, theorists have also been of the view that the presence of criminal activities in any economy can affect the stability and welfare of the global economy as well owing to the connection built by globalisation and international trends amid the nations. Contextually, globalization is also referred as a vital reason helping the harmful impacts of smuggling to get channelized amid countries. Illustratively, Nigerian economy is regarded as one of the most popular examples to comprehend the impacts of illegal or criminal activities on the economic stance of the country. Illegal activities often witnessed amid the country include piracy, smuggling and robbery in common, which has not only been claimed to inhibit social progress but also seclude the country from the opportunity of global expansion (Waziri, 2011). The current trends of the society depict that piracy, smuggling and robbery has spread over the Nigerian society at a large magnitude in the recent era. It is worth mentioning in this context that smuggling, robbery and piracy in waterways have the most vulnerable impacts upon the Nigerian Economy. As Nigeria and the whole African continent is highly dependent upon seaborne trade, the criminal activities in the waterways are main reasons of poor economic conditions in the country (Kame-Domguia, 2014). It is in this context that the study intends to describe the criminal activities, which are affecting the Nigerian economy as well as harming the seaborne trading system to a substantial extent. The study also discusses the numerous measures, which taken to mitigate the risks of smuggling, robbery and piracy from the economy along with suitable recommendations to make the situation better. Trends of Piracy, Smuggling and Robbery in Nigerian Waterways Piracy, smuggling and robbery commonly refer to a few serious illegal issues that have imposed worse impacts upon Nigerian economy. It has also been observed that the West African region of the country is most affected due to piracy. It has also been stated that the West African region is one of the most popular regions in the global oil industry, often considered as a main reason of being highly affected due to piracy. The report of maritime piracy in the gulf of Guinea revealed that big vessels containing petroleum products are the main targets for piracy. It has been expected that the emerging black market for fuel is the main reasons of piracy attack on the petroleum vessels. The piracy attack upon the oil vessels further indicates the risks of international oil smuggling. It has also been observed that piracy, smuggling and robbery of oil have become one of the most common criminal conducts taking place in Nigeria (UNODC, 2014). It is also stated that the increasing rates of piracy in Nigeria has ranked it amongst the most unsafe countries after Somalia. To be mentioned in this context, the impact of the maritime piracy is comparatively higher in the western African countries. Observably, trends in Nigerian piracy are quite different from the piracy trends observed in other economies. For instance, the neighbouring country of Nigeria, Somalia is mainly identified to pirate various types of goods and commodities, which are essential for the domestic trade of the economy, while in Nigeria, the prime target of smugglers are noted to be the oil barrels that act as the pillar to its overall sustainability (Unofficial Networks, 2014). However, similarities between the trends observed in these two countries reveal that the governments are too much affected by piracy in waterways rather than on lands (Neethling, 2010). The bunkering, extortion, smuggling and kidnapping are the common terms related to oil industry. Theoretically explaining, bunkering refers to the situation, where stolen oil barrels are pirated directly from pipelines, following which it is artificially refined and sold in the local market as well as exported to the international market. In addition, there are several other illegal activities, which are taking place in respect to the smuggling of oil in Nigeria. For instance, the oil company employees are often reported to be kidnapped for ransoms. It is also noted that oil companies are providing some extortion money as a security purpose for protecting oil pipelines. There are also other reasons of smuggling of oil in Nigeria, which is accounted as the lack of sufficient refinery. In this regards, recent reports have revealed that Nigeria imports refined oils from outside the country. This import system is also a reason of smuggling of oil as it attracts huge amounts of foreign currency inflow in the nation. In addition, maritime robbery is also considered as one of the most common activities, which often occurs in West African region (UNODC, 2014). Observably, since 2012, the gulf of Guinea has also emerged as a destination of pirates, after the Gulf of Aden. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has presented a statistical report in this regard dictating the increasing frequency of piracy being conducted within West African region also comprising the Nigerian waterways. It has also been observed from the report of IMB that the 58 piracy attacks, including the 10 hijacks, are held in the gulf of Guinea since 2012. Undoubtedly, in the recent era, Nigeria accounts among the most affected countries due to piracy. For instance, in 2012, Nigeria was affected due to 27 attacks while in 2013, 11 attacks were recorded. It has also been identified that most of the time, oil vessels are targeted in Nigeria for piracy. Hijacking of the fully loaded oil tankers in gulf of Guinea has also become one of the prominent causes of massive unrest in Nigeria (Barrios, 2013). Effects of Robbery, Piracy, and Smuggling in Nigerian Economy Frequencies in criminal offences have been proved to lead towards greater deterioration in the growth rate of the economy. A similar effect is also identifiable in case of the Nigerian economy. Arguably, piracy, robbery and smuggling have made the Nigerian economy poorer than other economies. European Union Institute for Security Studies has correspondingly observed that oil and oil products have been the main source of income in Nigeria, generating almost 95% of its annual earnings. In this regards, Nigeria needs to be more developed in terms of its economic growth potentials. However, the illegal activities of piracy, smuggling and robbery have destroyed the wealth of the economy. It is in this context that the oil industry of Nigeria is referred to the main and the only prominent industry of country. Observably, 80% of the budgetary revenue is contributed by the income generated from Nigerian oil industry. However, perhaps owing to its competencies, the Nigerian oil industry has been threatened since the past two decades by several criminal activities from both national fields and international plethora. Even though Nigeria earned oil revenues amounting to more than US$52 billion in the year of 2011, it in counted among the poorer countries particularly owing to the improper distribution of wealth, wherein maximum rates of piracy, robbery or hijacking is referred to be vital reasons of the poor economic conditions of Nigeria. Anticipations also reveal that the revenue obtained from oil industry would have been much higher if the illicit functions could be eliminated, indicating towards another severe effect of such illegal conducts on the Nigerian economy (UNODC, 2014). Currently Nigeria is facing 58% of piracy rate in the country. One of the major causes for the piracy rate can be identified as related to the weaker law enforcement policies enacted in the country, which is also attributable as the major reasons of increasing rate of hijacking and piracy (Nigerian Copy Rights Commission, 2008). The main impact of piracy in the Nigerian economy is that the company lacks sufficient resources to deal with social, political and economic crises. For instance, hijacking of the full loaded tanks of petroleum products in Nigeria has left a massive impact upon the political conditions as well as economic conditions of the country. Besides, Nigeria also faces several internal conflicts, which are the major results of its poor economic conditions. The increasing rate of piracy has also raised the rate of corruption in the economy. In addition, the frequent occurrences of piracy, smuggling, robbery has been creating a big advantage in creation of lawlessness within the country. It has also been observed that majority of the piracy activities in Nigeria refers to organised crimes wherein poverty has been a major stimulant to the rising scope of criminal activities of various kind, not only in the waterways of the nation but also within the society (Tepp, 2012). In order to describe the measurable situation of Nigeria due to piracy, Tompolo is often considered as the main player of the segment. Tompolo was a militant of Nigeria who currently is recognised as a billionaire of the country. Earlier he was the most powerful militant who had captured the Nigerian Delta region. Currently, he is also identified as one of the most powerful and favourite identities of the federal government in Nigeria that provoked arguments exclaiming piracy as unofficially legal in the country, and subsequently accelerated the frequency of such activities (PM News Nigeria, 2014). Measures Taken Against Piracy, Robbery and Smuggling Piracy, robbery, smuggling are referred to impose strong negative effects on the living quality of the Nigerian people. To eliminate several risks associated with piracy in Nigeria, the government has taken several measures to protect the waterways. It has also been found that in Nigeria, the Niger delta is one of the major places of piracy. With this understanding, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has been taking measures to control the armed forced robbery by adopting the resolution of A683 (17). This resolution has been proved to be one of the most effective preventive measures for barricading armed piracy globally and is also supposed to be effective for Nigerian waterways. With effect of these policy measures, approximately 25% maritime piracy has been observed to come under control in the present years. In addition, the Nigerian government has been implementing Joint Task Force (JTF) strategies to monitor and control sea piracy and armed robbery in the country’s waterways (Dogarawa, 2013). Notably, establishment of the JTF has become more successful in order to eliminate sea piracy from Nigeria. Notably, several encounters between JTF and pirates as well as robbers have resulted in arrests of some pirates and killing of a few robbers. It has been also observed that Nigeria should be more cautious regarding the implementation of strict regulation over the controlling of piracy. Suggestively, the Nigerian government should also be more cautious regarding the establishment of the maritime securities in the coastal area and delta area of Nigeria. Theorists also have suggested that the Nigerian government should focus on continued development in law enforcement and training of the armed forces, in charge of security in the sea areas. The Nigerian government should further be more focused on taking adequate measures for the allocation of the resources to the maritime security department and to facilitate the JTF to work independently for preventing sea piracy (Ikelegbe, 2005). Undoubtedly, measures taken by the Nigerian government have been lagging in the recent era and have been thus criticised within the global field. The government therefore needs to ensure the continuous investigation of the piracy rate that would help enrich its preventive measures. This might also help eliminate the degree of ignorance currently prevailing amid the sea security guards towards their job responsibilities. The establishment of piracy control volunteers will also be quite helpful for building strict barriers for the robbers and smugglers. Piracy control volunteers can also conduct better training practices for the sea security guards, emphasising the promotion of greater concentrated efforts for reducing the tendency of armed robbery and sea piracy from Nigeria and its coastal regions (Montclos, 2012). With better vigilance in the security system, it is quite likely that recognising any kind of danger and forecasting chances of smuggling shall become easier and more effective. Piracy control volunteers should also be recruited through the selection of the special task forces and be well trained for combating the armed forced robbers. The government should also impose new regulations for identifying the approved oil vessels, which has been operated in the Nigerian waterways. The government should also take measures to verify transportation of oil goods through strict registration process, which may also be conducted through the application of the on-line verification of registration. The Nigerian government may also be advised to create sea check posts at frequent distances throughout the Nigerian waterways and establish continuous patrolling norms for preventing sea piracy in liaison with the neighbouring borders (Dogarawa, 2013). For instance, the Global West Vessels Specialists Limited (GWVSL) is a company, which has been operated by Tompolo. The company is mainly initiated to defend against piracy and provide anti-piracy platform to Nigeria. The staff members of GWVSL also reflect their direct involvement in creating the anti-piracy activities, although the trustworthiness of such measures has been under deep scrutiny and debate (Monitor9ja, 2014). Conclusions By reviewing the above study, it has been observed that Nigeria is currently in a vulnerable position owing to poverty further affected by the increasing rate of criminal activities. Currently, Nigeria is referred as second dangerous country after Somalia, being mostly affected by criminal offences in its waterways, ranging from piracy and sea robbery to waterways smuggling. While measures have been taken to prevent such occurrences, those measures have been limited in terms of resources and availability of proper rules and regulations. To be stated specifically, the Nigerian government have been lacking proper law enforcement policies, which is the main reason of increasing rates of piracy. The study therefore advices Nigerian government to adopt stricter measures and impose more rigorous regulations to control waterway piracy. Based on the data and information obtained through the discussion above, it can thus be concluded that Nigeria has imposed few measures for preventing sea piracy, which has proved quite successful in controlling armed robbery but certainly demands greater emphasis and wider application. References Barrios, C., 2013. Fighting Piracy in the Gulf Of Guinea. European Union Institute for Security Studies, pp. 1-4. Dogarawa, L. B., 2013. Sustainable Strategy for Piracy Management in Nigeria. Journal of Management and Sustainability, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 119-128. Ikelegbe, A., 2005. The Economy of Conflict in the Oil Rich Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Nordic Journal of African Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 208–234. Kame-Domguia, S., 2014. Africa's Security Challenges in the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic Basin Working Paper, pp. 1-14. Montclos, M-A. P. D., 2012. Maritime Piracy in Nigeria: Old Wine in New Bottles? Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Vol. 35, pp.531–541. Monitor9ja, 2014. Tompolo Bought Boats for Navy, Not Warships – NIMASA’s DG. News. [Online] Available at: http://monitor9ja.com/2014/12/tompolo-bought-boats-navy-not-warships-nimasas-dg/ [Accessed December 10, 2014]. Neethling, T., 2010. Piracy around Africa’s West and East Coasts: A Comparative Political Perspective. Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol. 38, pp. 89-108. Nigerian Copy Rights Commission, 2008. Survey of Copyright Piracy in Nigeria. The Ford Foundation, pp. 1-70. PM News Nigeria, 2014. Tompolo: The Billionaire Militant. News. [Online] Available at: http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2012/08/14/tompolo-the-billionaire-militant/ [Accessed December 10, 2014]. Tepp, M. E., 2012. The Gulf of Guinea: Military and Non-Military Ways of Combatting Piracy. Baltic Security and Defense, Vol. 14, Iss. 1, pp. 181-214. UNODC, 2014. Maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa, 45-52. Waziri, K. M., 2011. Intellectual Property Piracy and Counterfeiting in Nigeria: The Impending Economic and Social Conundrum. Journal of Politics and Law, Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 196-202. Unofficial Networks, 2014. Nigerian Versus Somali Piracy: Eight Differences You Need to Know. News. [Online] Available at: http://gcaptain.com/nigerian-versus-somali-piracy-eight-differences-you-need-to-know/ [Accessed December 10, 2014]. Read More