The politics of the sea in Nigeria

Part 1
The importance of access to the sea
Access to the sea in this modern era has so many advantages when it comes to facilitation of trade. It’s no coincidence that most modern cities have access to the sea. But, does access to the sea mean development Of course there is a correlation to access to the sea and development of cities and nations but some developed countries like Switzerland in Europe are landlocked. Botswana in Africa is also landlocked yet boasts of GDP per capita that is the envy of nations like Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and even Somalia which ironically has the longest coast in Africa yet the least developed. These examples do not negate the importance of access to the sea but it proves that true development ultimately lies in the hands of the people while geography is neutral and can be used as people see fit.

Part 2
The Sea vs Oil
If you pay attention to the Nigerian southern dominated media, you will easily fall into the trap of believing that the North cares a lot about oil. Is this true? Well I might be a minority in this when I say that, the north definitely cares about oil but not anywhere close to how much they care about sea access. This is why I believe that the North will remain in Nigeria even after oil runs out. So for those wishing that the oil runs out so that everybody can move on, this might be a bad news for you. If anything, Northerners will hold on to the idea of One Nigeria more than any other group. This is not a prophecy rather its basic human survival instincts kicking in.

Part 3
The landlocked South-East
A simple google map will tell you that the current geography of the south east has access to the sea. I have argued before, that even with the punitive map produced by the military after the war, the south east still has access to the sea through three routes
A) The River Niger which empties into the niger delta through multiple channels
B) The Imo river which empties through ogbaku, Abia state (border of abia and Akwa ibom)
C) The Ikwo river in ebony state which empties via the political border of Akwa Ibom and Cross river state
Even with all these routes, you still have port-Harcourt but it’s a sensitive addition so I will ignore that for now. So why is south east considered land locked? One possible answer is intimidation. It’s a lie that has worked well so far but doesn’t hold weight anymore.


Part 4
Case study of the city of Chongqing, China
China is a country that has all its major cities on the sea like Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. All these major cities are cities by the sea but guess what? They are not the biggest. The largest city/region in china is Chongqing. It reminds me so much of Onitsha. It is an inland city west of china and has the fastest growing gdp inside china. It is a river city just like onitsha with no direct access to the open sea yet is is the center of Chinese manufacturing and industrial strength. Nigeria as a whole has more cities by the river than by the sea but yet we have made ourselves thinks that inland cities cant develop without sea access. Onitsha will be the Chongqing of Nigeria when development of infrastructure matches the growing volume of trade and industry.

Part 5
What if Nigeria breaks up? Who gets landlocked and who doesn't?
The simple answer to the above question is NOBODY will be landlocked in Nigeria, including the north. The reason is because, the major inland rivers which are the Niger and the Benue will be treated as international waters. No nation under the laws of the UN can blockade an international route. It can be considered an act of war and sanctions can follow. River Niger or Benue doesn't start from Nigeria. Surrounding nations around Nigeria don't have the right to block the Niger river. Same rules will apply to the new nations. Trade and commerce will flow through the rivers and land just as much as the sea. But I doubt Nigeria will get there. Forget all the noise...


Please, Respectfully disagree with facts. No unnecessary insults needed.

PART 2. the northers can tab oil form any nearby Muslim country and with the high level of agricultural production in the north. northerners are little or not concerned about oil

what can I say but Weldone

holatin:
what can I say but Weldone

thx

nice write-up....but no south eastern state is on nigeria coaster borders...from my geography knowledge akwa ibom,cross river and rivers state are not south east,they are south south,so south-east states are actually land-locked...

River Niger will never be granted that status, becos it ran across our territory. Remember Asaba is across the Niger and Biafrans will never cede their territorial waters to any entity or allow any unauthorized vessel to sail thereon. Northern vessels will sail through it at a reasonable fare.
Nigerian unity is their's to preserve.

tobtap:
nice write-up....but no south eastern state is on nigeria coaster borders...from my geography knowledge akwa ibom,cross river and rivers state are not south east,they are south south,so south-east states are actually land-locked...

You are right, excluding PH, south East has 3 great rivers that emptied directly into Athlantic. So if u are thinking Biafran maritime industry will suffer, u are wrong.

ferderick:

You are right, excluding PH, south East has 3 great rivers that emptied directly into Athlantic. So if u are thinking Biafran maritime industry will suffer, u are wrong.

well having three great rivers empty into the atlantic thru lands or cultures that are not igbos(cross river,akwa-ibom,rivers state) still emphasize my initial opinion that south east/biafra or whatever u call it is still LANDLOCKED.i never mentioned anytin bout biafra maritime industry.
peace

Yes, It is fact that all the rivers in the south east pass through other territories to empty to the sea BUT If south-east or Igbos decided to become its own nation,those rivers become international trade route. It automatically becomes a body of water shared by different nations and will be an act of war to block the trade route. If you hate the rules, lobby the UN to change it and I wish you luck with that mission.

tobtap:
nice write-up....but no south eastern state is on nigeria coaster borders...from my geography knowledge akwa ibom,cross river and rivers state are not south east,they are south south,so south-east states are actually land-locked...

Which geography? You geography teacher needs to be arrested.
Politically they are not in the south east, but geographically, Akwa Ibom and Cross river are even more South eastern than Imo.

it is only a foolish person that will say that south East is landlocked.This fallacy is mostly perpetrated by ndi ofenmanu to intimidate my people.Thank God that will are not lazy like them .only river Niger is enough to drive our economy when it is time to go our different ways.May God bless South East and her people.

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International rivers? Dream on. Only the portion of the river in your territory is yours.