Country Presentation on Nigeria Bismillahir rahmanir rahim, course officer and my fellow course mates, assalamualaikum and good morning/afternoon. We all know that 5 Nigerian Naval officers are going to join us within a very short time. As this is the first time for us to work in peer with Nigerian people, so I have been privileged to apprise you about the country nigeria. The aim of my presentation is to apprise you about Nigeria in brief. The sequence by which I shall go through is flashed on the screen. For the nature of introduction to our guest officers, I have pointed out some issues having focus on mutual communications. Overall I shall speak for a duration about 20 minutes. Let us start with the history of Nigeria. Nigeria has got a very very old history dating back to 4000 BC. This country is rich in culture and heritages. It is an African nation and the touch of modern civilization has taken quite a bit of time to reach there. Nigerian ppl because of their complexion has long been undermined by the whit people and engaged in henious task. By the course of time, they have also come up in many ways. If we look into the history of Nigeria, the total period can be divided into some major fragment. Namely….. Nigeria is a parliamentary democracy with an executive branch headed at the Federal level by a President and Vice-President, an independent Judiciary appointed by the President, the Senate and the House of Representatives, who both constitute the National Assembly and are elected by a popular vote. The State governments are headed by a Governor at the Executive level, a State Assembly and Local Governments led by Chairmen, All three state branches of government are elected by a popular vote. There are four distinct systems of law in Nigeria: English law which is derived from its colonial past with Britain; Common law, a development of its post colonial independence; Customary law which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practice, including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yorubaland secret societies and theÈkpè and Okónkò of Igboland and Ibibioland; Sharia law, used only in the predominantly Muslim north of the country. It is an Islamic legal system which had been used long before the colonial administration in Nigeria but recently politicised and spearheaded in Zamfara in late 1999 and eleven other states followed suit. These states are Kano, Katsina, Niger, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Gombe,Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe, and Kebbi.[45] The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria Nigeria is an active participant and a member of several international, regional, and sub-regional organizations. These include: the United Nations (UN), the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), African Union (AU), ECOWAS, The Commonwealth of Nations and other organizations. Since joining the United Nations in 1960, Nigeria has consistently committed itself to the cause of peacekeeping. Today, Nigeria is a leading troop contributing country to international peacekeeping. Nigeria has more than 6,020 men keeping the peace outside its borders in Bosnia Herzegovina, Iraq, Kuwait, Western Sahara, Liberia, Sudan, Angola and Rwanda. Nigerian troops have also served in Somalia, Mozambique, Cambodia, The Congo, Chad, Lebanon, India and Pakistan (Kashmir). The Nigerian Military are charged with protecting The Federal Republic of Nigeria, promoting Nigeria's global security interests, and supporting peacekeeping efforts especially in West Africa. The Nigerian Military consist of an army, a navy and an air force.[2] The military in Nigeria have played a major role in the country's history since independence. Various juntas have seized control of the country and ruled it through most of its history. Its last period of rule ended in 1999 following the sudden death of former dictator Sani Abacha in 1998, with his successor, Abdulsalam Abubakar, handing over power to the democratically elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. On 1st May 1958, a colonial ordinance formally brought the Nigerian Naval Force under the Naval Disciplinary Act. This act essentially brought the officers and men of the Nigerian Naval Force under the disciplinary procedures and legal regimes applicable to the Royal Navy. In July 1959, the Nigerian Naval Force was transformed into a full fledged Navy when Queen Elizabeth granted permission for the Force to use the title ‘Royal Nigerian Navy’. The title was changed to the ‘Nigerian Navy’ in 1963 after Nigeria became a republic. The constitutional task of the Navy was expanded in 1964 after the repeal of the 1958 Ordinance. The new law known as the Navy Act of 1964 for the first time tasked the Navy with the military responsibility of “naval defence of Nigeria.” Other tasks assigned the Navy by the 1964 Act were essentially coast guard duties namely: assisting in enforcement of Customs laws, making of hydrographic surveys and training of officers and men in naval duties. These tasks were essentially routine functions of any Navy. Consequently, the naval leadership began to mount pressure on the political leadership to re-define the constitutional role of the Navy. In 1993, this pressure yielded the desired result and under a new law; the Armed Forces Decree 105 now known as the Armed Forces Act, was incorporated as part of the 1999 Constitution. The Navy was given expanded military and constabulary roles especially in the oil and gas sectors of the Nigerian maritime economy The Western Naval Command The Western Naval Command HQ is located at Apapa in Lagos. It covers the sea and coastal areas from the Nigeria/Benin border at Long 002o 49’ E to Long 006o E in Delta State from the Nigerian coastline to the limit of the nation’s EEZ. The Command has the following units under its jurisdiction: Western Fleet at Apapa. NNS BEECROFT, an operations base at Apapa. NNS DELTA, an operations base at Warri. NNS LUGARD, an operations base at Lokoja. Naval Air Station, Ojo, Lagos. Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital,Ojo, Lagos. Fleet Support Group (West) at Apapa. NNS WEY, a maintenance unit at Navy Town, Ojo. Forward Operating Bases (FOB) IGBOKODA and ESCRAVOS in Ondo and Delta States respectively. Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Abeokuta. Nigerian Navy Hospital Warri. Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ojo. [edit]The Eastern Naval Command The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is the second operations command of the NN and it covers the sea area from Long 006o E in Delta State to the Nigeria/Cameroon border at Long 008o 30’ E, and from the Nigerian coastline to the limit of the nation’s EEZ. The headquarters is at Calabar. The Command has the following units under its jurisdiction: NNS VICTORY, an operations base at Calabar. NNS PATHFINDER, an operations base at Port Harcourt. NNS JUBILEE, an operations base at Ikot Abasi. Eastern Fleet at Calabar. FOBs BONNY,EGUWEMA and IBAKA in Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom States respectively. Fleet Support Group(East) at Calabar. Navy Hospitals at Calabar and Port Harcourt. Nigerian Navy Secondary Schools at Calabar and Port Harcourt. [edit]Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) The main functions of the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) are the coordination and harmonization of training doctrines and standards for all local training in the NN as evolved by the NHQ. The Command is headed by the FOC NAVTRAC, who is assisted by 9 PSOs namely: the CSO, the Command Technical Training Officer (CTTO), Command Logistic Training Officer (CLTO) and Command Medical Training Officer (CMTO). Others are the Command Academic Training Officer (CATO), CABO, CAO, CINTO and CPM. The units under NAVTRAC are: Sea Training Unit at Victoria Island, Lagos. It is responsible for Basic Operations Sea Training, Safety Operations Sea Training, and Consolidated Operations Sea Training of all NN ships when assigned. It also conducts harbour and ship acceptance trials of vessels after major refits. NNS QUORRA at Apapa, which caters for various forms of seamen professional courses for officers and ratings. Nigerian Navy Engineering College (NNEC) Sapele, which caters for the technical training of all NN technical personnel. The Nigerian Navy Finance and Logistic School (NNFLS) at Owerrinta. Nigerian Naval College ONURA and the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School (NNBTS), which are co- located at Onne, Port Harcourt. The 2 establishments conduct basic training for officers and ratings respectively. There are other professional schools, which include; the Medical Staff Training School, Offa in Kwara State, the NN School of Music at Otta and the Hydrographic School at Port Harcourt. Others are the Naval Provost and Regulating School, the Nigerian Navy Intelligence School and the Physical Training School all at Apapa, Lagos. [edit]The Logistics Command The Logistics Command is equally commanded by a FOC of Rear Admiral rank. The permanent HQ of the Command is at Oghara, Delta State though it’s presently operating from Sapele. However, the Nigerian Navy Order establishing the Logistics Command which is expected to stipulate the organization and responsibilities of the Command is still been awaited [edit]The autonomous units The autonomous units are those units, which require prudent management and high-level control that need not be duplicated or represented at the lower hierarchy. Though small in outfit, they report directly to the CNS. Prominent among the autonomous units is the Nigerian Naval Dockyard, located in Victoria Island, Lagos. Hitherto, third line maintenance was carried out either in a foreign dockyard or private ones in Nigeria, at very high cost. The Naval Dockyard in Lagos, which was commissioned on 27 August 1990, now takes care of this high level maintenance such as major overhaul of ships engines, additions and alterations, and modification of designs. The Naval Shipyard in Port Harcourt was also acquired in 1990 from Messrs Witt and Bush.