Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Maritime and economic experts have renewed calls for Nigeria to urgently pivot from oil dependence to the blue economy, warning that continued over-reliance on crude is harming both the environment and citizens’ health.
President of the Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria, Angus Chukwuka, issued the warning at the National Blue Economy Summit held in Port Harcourt, stressing that Nigeria’s fixation on oil is no longer sustainable.
Chukwuka, who linked oil overdependence to Nigeria’s declining life expectancy, said the country’s average lifespan of 57 years pales in comparison to nations like Japan and China, where citizens live over 80 years.
He said, “Over dependence of oil is bringing us diseases and shorten lifespan but investment in maritime, many times the sea is a renewable energy resource so investment in maritime is more eco-friendly and more life span boosting than over dependence.”
Describing the maritime sector as Nigeria’s most underutilized economic frontier, Chukwuka urged policymakers to rethink national priorities.
“Over exploration of oil as we have today so we must draw attention to the wealth in the sea and by the way the wealth in the sea compare to the earth is eight is to two, so are we now killing ourselves for two percent.”
He noted that the summit, themed “Blue Prints For Buoyant Blue Economy,” was aimed at unlocking maritime opportunities, revamping eastern ports, boosting security, and promoting sustainable development across coastal states.
Chukwuka also commended President Bola Tinubu for establishing the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, describing it as a strategic step toward diversifying revenue streams.
He further stressed the need to strengthen maritime security to encourage trade and investment, noting that while Nigeria has made progress in the Gulf of Guinea through the Deep Blue Project, “more still needs to be done.”
Delivering the lead paper, a retired naval officer Captain George Alily, highlighted the heavy constraints limiting the full utilization of the eastern ports, a core component of Nigeria’s blue economy value chain.
Alily explained that the increasing size of modern vessels has rendered many eastern ports structurally inadequate.
He said shallow waters, narrow channels, and limited draughts make navigation “hazardous and costly,” adding that time-consuming port entry and exit discourage ship owners.
As solutions, Alily recommended increased investment in smaller vessels with smaller draughts, trans-shipment options, and fast-tracking the much-delayed Ibom Deep Seaport.
He also warned that port expansion must be balanced with environmental sustainability, stressing that dredging could harm aquatic ecosystems critical to the blue economy.
The summit featured extensive discussions on port rehabilitation, maritime security, and the role of security agencies in safeguarding Nigeria’s waters, with experts agreeing that the shift from oil to the blue economy is imperative for long-term national growth.
