E. K Clark condemns plan by Nigerian Navy to set up base in Kano

Abuja—Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has criticized the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu, over the plan by the Federal Government to establish a naval base in Kano State, Punch newspaper reports.

In an open letter addressed to Zubairu on Monday, Clark lamented that the approval of a naval base in Kano is indicative of nepotism by the Buhari regime.

Mangrovepen.ng gathered that the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, had allocated 100 hectares of land for the project, upon the approval of his request to the Nigerian navy to establish their presence in the state.

However, in a letter titled, ‘A Naval Base In Kano In The Heart Of The Sahel?’, the foremost Ijaw leader said the project is typical of putting a square peg in a round hole.

According to him, the project is an Ill-conceived one only necessitated by outright parochialism.

He stated that projects of such kind should be rather set up in coastal areas of the Niger Delta where much of Nigeria’s shoreline exists.

He noted that it is ridiculous to build a naval base in Kano when Bayelsa, Delta and other coastal areas have no functional naval base.

His words, “If more Naval Bases are to be set up in the country, what has happened to the coastal states of Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta area where much of Nigeria’s shoreline exists and needs to be protected?

“I believe you know that at present there is no serious Naval Base in such serious places such as Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Edo States.

“In Delta State, in particular, major coastal towns such as Sapele, where there is need for a naval base, it is sad that there is no functional one.

“There used to be a naval base there, but for reasons best known to the Federal Government, it was downgraded to a training school, and in fact, almost abandoned.

“The so-called Warri Naval Base is nothing to write home about like today, the base is not functioning as it ought to be.

“Large navy warships which used to patrol the waters, providing protection, can no longer do so due to the fact that the place has stilted and the Federal Government has refused to dredge it.

“Bayelsa State is entirely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the River Niger, yet there are no naval bases there to protect the shores of Nigeria and the oil companies.

“For instance, the Bonga Oil Field which is the largest oil field in Nigeria is in Bayelsa State. Two riverine communities, Agge and Amatu communities, are at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, where oil companies are located yet there is no naval base to protect them.

“The people are left to their fate. The same can be said of Akwa Ibom and Ondo States.

“The question thence is, for instance, how possible will it be to navigate a navy warship through the waters of Lagos to the desert naval base in Kano which you want to build? Or is there a waterway to take one from Lagos to Kano?

“Or you want to commit huge scarce resources to create artificial ocean and rivers in a country that is so indebted? You think because you control the government other Nigerians can be treated with impunity as second-class citizens?”

He continued, “The citing of a naval base world over, is mainly for the provision of security along the waterways of the coasts in order to provide security of a nation’s internal waters and its territorial integrity. And this is done where there is water and not in the heart of dry land.

“It is even difficult to decipher and more curious why you intend to crowd the north which is already saturated with heavy military infrastructure, especially in places like Kaduna and Kano States. (There must be a limit to nepotism and parochialism).”

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