Coast guards will unlock 5m blue‑economy jobs, tighten maritime security

The Provisionary Committee for the Proposed Establishment of the Nigerian Coast Guard (PC‑NCG) has submitted a roadmap to unlock five million blue‑economy jobs, enhance maritime security, and ensure sustainable marine resources.

The roadmap aligns with the commitment made by President Bola Tinubu at the just‑concluded Our Ocean Conference (OOC11) in Mombasa, Kenya.

Noah Ichaba, Captain and Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of PC‑NCG, in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, described Nigeria’s 2035 pledge to create five million ocean‑based jobs, strengthen ocean governance, advance the blue economy, protect marine resources, enhance maritime security, and safeguard coastal communities as “a bold and timely step in the right direction.

“The President’s declaration at the conference inspired hope across the maritime sector. It affirmed what we have long known: that Nigeria’s future prosperity lies not only beneath our soil, but in the vast wealth of our oceans, waterways, fisheries, ports, and coastal ecosystems.

“Mr. President, Nigeria has made commendable progress on maritime security through the Navy, regulators, and partner agencies,” he added. “Yet a critical institutional gap remains: the absence of a Nigerian Coast Guard,” he said.

Ichaba explained that the roadmap was designed to translate the President’s vision into measurable outcomes.

“The PC‑NCG is presenting a globally credible roadmap to unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s maritime domain, create millions of jobs, strengthen national security, attract investment, and build a competitive blue economy.

“Millions of sustainable ocean‑based jobs cannot be created where the institution designed to regulate, protect, facilitate, and power maritime economic activity does not exist.

“Your administration’s target of five million ocean‑based jobs by 2035 is achievable, but only with the right enabling framework,” he said.

Experts said a Nigerian Coast Guard would directly create thousands of skilled and semi‑skilled jobs in recruitment, training, logistics, engineering, administration, IT, marine operations, intelligence, environmental monitoring, and search and rescue.

Ichaba pointed out: “Beyond direct employment, it will stimulate indirect jobs across fisheries, aquaculture, coastal tourism, maritime transport, port services, shipbuilding and repairs, offshore energy support, marine environmental management, blue‑economy enterprises, maritime education, hospitality, and professional training.

“The coast guard will not merely create jobs. It will create the conditions for millions of ocean‑based jobs to emerge within three to four years of operations. The multiplier effect will be profound: new businesses, expanded industries, increased investment, deeper local content, and renewed growth in coastal economies.”

Ichaba outlined the operational value of a coast guard as a specialised, non‑military service for maritime law enforcement, safety, environmental protection, and humanitarian response.

“Its mandate would include coastal and inland waterways security; search and rescue; maritime law enforcement and fisheries protection; anti‑smuggling, anti‑human trafficking, and anti‑piracy operations; environmental protection, emergency management, and port safety; trade facilitation; coastal community protection; and job creation”, he said.

Ichaba added, “A Coast Guard will complement, not duplicate, existing agencies by bringing clarity of mandate, operational efficiency, and accountable coordination. In every successful maritime nation, the Coast Guard is the operational backbone of ocean governance and prosperity.”

He noted that while the Navy focuses on national defence, the Coast Guard delivers continuous attention to law enforcement, coastal security, environmental protection, search and rescue, fisheries protection, maritime safety, and humanitarian response.

“The establishment of a Coast Guard is therefore not merely desirable. It is indispensable. It is the missing institutional pillar in Nigeria’s maritime architecture, the bridge between aspiration and achievement, and the vehicle through which vision becomes measurable national progress.

“History shows that great national ambitions are realised through strong institutions. Can Nigeria fully unlock the blue economy, sustainably create five million ocean‑based jobs, protect marine resources, and guarantee maritime security without first establishing a Coast Guard?

“Nigeria need not wait until 2035. Within a few years of establishing a Coast Guard and implementing a coherent maritime development strategy, the nation can generate hundreds of thousands of sustainable jobs and lay the foundation to exceed the five‑million‑job target,” Ichaba said.

He cited the economic and security threats of illegal fishing, smuggling, marine pollution, resource theft, human trafficking, and weak enforcement.

“Virtually every major maritime nation operates a Coast Guard alongside its Navy. Nigeria has one of Africa’s largest maritime domains and is strategically positioned to lead Africa’s blue economy. Yet we remain among the few major maritime nations without a Coast Guard. This gap requires urgent correction,” he said.