Stakeholders have called on the federal government to widen the community of policy makers to include non-state actors in its drive to effectively respond to the drivers of organized crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
The call was made at a Conference on ‘Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.’ The conference which was organized by the Youth and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria) was held on April 28, 2023 at the Landmark Hotel, Port Harcourt.
In his welcome address, the Executive Director, YEAC-Nigeria, Mr Fyneface Dumnamene Fyneface, commended the guests for their various roles towards a national re-armament and moral re-orientation. He stated that participants and members of the panel of discussants were carefully selected in view of their rich background on issues of conflict, security, and policy and community development.
Explaining the objectives of the conference, Mr Fyneface informed that the conference was intended to amongst other things build a collaborative response to threats posed by domestic and transnational organized crime. He said there was a need to “expand the policy community that does not depend on static actors alone to drive change.”
Speaking further, Mr Fyneface observed that many countries facing challenges of insecurity within the Gulf of Guinea are all struggling with challenges of violent conflicts, corruption and poverty on the domestic front. He therefore called on guests to proffer actionable solutions “towards improving the response to threats posed by organized crime in the region.”
The keynote speaker, Professor Fidelis Allen, Head, Department of Political Science, and former Coordinator Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt, stated that the sub-culture of crime is an industry that draws strength from both local and international dynamics. He argued that until a proper diagnosis is made on the actual cost of crime and its reward system, organized crime within the region will continue to be sophisticated.
Tracing the origin of conflict in the Gulf of Guinea to the movement of international capital, Prof. Fidelis stated that the “goals of international capitals are not to develop or empower but to take as much resources as it can.” He said, “The political economy was disruptive and exploitative. The post-colonial political economy was to maintain the relationship between the exploiter and the exploited.”
Prof Fidelis further called for the adoption of a collaborative effort which he said should include both structural and relational approaches in responding to the myriad of conflicts in the region.
In their separate presentations, members of the panel of discussants called for the adoption of multi-dimensional approaches to crime in the gulf of guinea. They also called for multilateral interventions that integrate home grown solutions. Commenting on the need to unbundle the political economy around organized crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, Managing Editor of the National Point Newspaper and Gender Expert, Chief Constance Meju who was represented by Mr Sunny Dada, called for the review of national and regional security strategies.
Key highlight of the conference include the official launch of a ‘Network on Organized Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea’ (NOCINAG). The network which is made up of organizational membership, is drawn from civil society and policy communities.
