President Bola Tinubu has said that secured sea lanes and predictable regulation were necessary conditions for attracting private capital into Africa’s blue economy, saying that maritime sovereignty has become economic imperative for the continent’s future.
He noted the Africa must move from “sea blindness” to “ocean sovereignty,” positioning maritime governance and security as the foundation for unlocking the continent’s blue economy potential.
The Special Adviser to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Bolaji Akinola explained that the president gave the advice at the High-Level Roundtable on Maritime Sovereignty and Ocean Governance during the Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya. President Tinubu said that Nigeria had transformed its maritime strategy from one focused largely on threats to one centred on economic opportunity, regional security and investment.
According to the president, “for too long, ‘sea blindness’ has meant that we have looked upon the vast waters under our jurisdiction as voids, or simply as sources of threat.
“Nigeria is here to tell a different story: our maritime domain is a sovereign territory, and its governance must be asserted, resourced, and institutionalised.”
Also, the president noted that piracy incidents had been eliminated within Nigerian waters, following sustained investments in maritime security infrastructure under the country’s Deep Blue Project.
Tinubu stressed that the initiative deployed an integrated network of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, including command-and-control centres, special mission vessels, fast intervention boats and aerial platforms.
The president said that the global maritime community had acknowledged the elimination of piracy incidents within Nigerian waters and the substantial reduction of attacks across the Gulf of Guinea.
He also highlighted Nigeria’s recent institutional reforms, including the creation of a dedicated Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, describing it as proof that ocean governance had become a central pillar of state policy.
Tinubu called for deeper regional coordination across the Gulf of Guinea, warning that maritime crime cannot be effectively tackled by countries acting in isolation.
He said: “As we endorse the Nairobi Declaration, Nigeria affirms that maritime sovereignty and ocean governance are the non-negotiable foundations of Africa’s Blue Economy transformation.”
Tinubu concluded by urging African states to treat ocean governance as a generational responsibility, declaring that “the oceans have no duplicate as a common heritage of mankind.”
