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Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Why is Africa missing from map of maritime power?
At a recent high-level debate at the United Nations Security Council, global leaders gathered to confront what has become an undeniable truth. The maritime domain is no longer just a space of commerce. It is a theatre of geopolitical competition, digital infrastructure, and hybrid threats. The tone was urgent. The consensus was clear. Freedom of navigation, global supply chain stability, and maritime domain awareness were all underscored as priorities for international peace and economic resilience. Yet as statement after statement filled the chamber, some bold, some tactical, many assertive, one reality became unmistakably clear. Africa was once again peripheral in the very conversation that should have placed it at the centre. This is not a new pattern. It is a familiar and increasingly dangerous blind spot. The oceans surrounding Africa cover approximately 214 million square kilometers, and with 90 percent of our trade flowing through maritime routes, the question is no longer whether the seas matter, but whether we control some of the most strategic maritime corridors in the global order — such as the Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Guinea, Mozambique Channel, and Red Sea. These are not peripheral routes. They are critical arteries of global trade, leverage points for security, and gateways to the continent's economic future. The African Union already has a legally binding framework—the Lomé Charter, officially known as the African Charter on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa—designed to safeguard this maritime space. Yet the gap between this framework and actual enforcement remains dangerously wide. Unless Africa moves from ratification to real operational command, the Charter will remain an unfulfilled promise, while foreign actors consolidate control along our coastal zones. In global maritime debates, Africa is still framed not as a sovereign actor, but as a vulnerability to be managed. While other states unveil national maritime strategies, negotiate port access, and expand blue-water naval capacities, Africa is often discussed in terms of donor support, capacity building, and technical cooperation. This framing is no longer acceptable. It is not just inaccurate, it is strategically reckless. The most recent UNSC debate reflected a growing recognition among powerful states that the maritime space is becoming the next frontier of rivalry and realignment. From illegal fishing and shadow fleets to undersea cables and dual-use ports, the threats and opportunities at sea are multiplying. Notably, there was broad consensus around the principle that maritime security is foundational to global stability. But what went largely unspoken is that much of that stability hinges on African waters, and yet African states are neither setting the agenda nor controlling the frameworks through which their maritime zones are governed. This is not merely a diplomatic oversight. It is a structural vulnerability. Africa's maritime space is becoming a contested zone of influence, infrastructure, surveillance, and sovereignty. Foreign naval exercises are proliferating along our coasts. Deep-water ports are being constructed or retrofitted with limited transparency. Seabed exploration contracts are being signed without robust continental oversight. Intelligence and surveillance capabilities are expanding in ways that often bypass our own regulatory institutions. This is not partnership. It is strategic encroachment, masked in the language of cooperation. If Africa does not establish its own maritime doctrine, if we do not assert control over our sea lanes, ports, and maritime infrastructure, we will find ourselves locked into a future in which our sovereignty is incrementally diluted. That erosion will not come by way of invasion. It will come through quiet contracts, fragmented deals, and the absence of a unified continental response. What is required now is not rhetoric, but a recalibration of posture. The African Union must move beyond symbolic declarations and operationalize the 2050 Africa's Integrated Maritime Strategy. Regional institutions must lead in coordinating legal and security frameworks into a unified continental position on port access, naval cooperation, and maritime law. A permanent continental body, independent, technocratic, and politically anchored, must be established to audit all foreign maritime infrastructure and security arrangements. We need a binding Continental Maritime Sovereignty Protocol, adopted and upheld by member states, that sets clear standards for transparency, strategic alignment, and reciprocity in all maritime engagements with non-African actors. Member states must assert their collective right to shape the rules of maritime governance, not merely comply with frameworks set elsewhere. In this context, the recent article 'From Pirates to Profits: East Africa Must Rule the Indian Ocean' published in The EastAfrican offers a timely and strategic intervention. It rightly reframes the Indian Ocean not merely as a security concern but as a zone of economic command, and calls for East African nations to lead rather than observe. The emphasis on regional naval cooperation, robust port governance, and sovereign control of the Blue Economy resonates strongly with the broader continental imperatives discussed here. These are the types of contributions that must move from editorial pages to policy rooms. Moreover, Africa must invest urgently in coastal surveillance, maritime intelligence fusion centres, and naval command capacity. Maritime security is not simply about defending waters. It is about controlling the flow of goods, data, energy, and influence. In this domain, control is strategy. Africa has every right to be a decisive maritime power. But rights unclaimed become rights unrealised. The tide is shifting in global maritime affairs. Africa can no longer afford to be cast as a passive route of extraction or a problem to be solved. We are a strategic continent. Our waters are not corridors. They are commands. It is time we start governing them as such. Abdisaid M. Ali is the chairperson of Lomé Peace and Security Forum, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Former National Security Advisor, Somalia. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How Ghana is losing its coastline and parts of its slave trade history to climate change
The salty wind blows across the ruins of Ghana's Fort Prinzenstein, where thick walls once held thousands of enslaved Africans before their journey across the Atlantic. Now only a shell remains – a crumbling monument teetering at the edge of the sea. Advertisement For centuries, Ghana's coastline has borne the brunt of history. Today it is being consumed by nature and neglect as climate change, rising sea levels and unchecked human activity eat away at the 550-kilometre (340-mile) shore. Villages are vanishing, and with them, centuries-old heritage. The modern economy is also at risk. A few metres away from the fort, Ernestina Gavor cleans a glass behind a bar. 'I'm hoping it survives a few more years,' she says, noting that the restaurant relies on tourists to keep afloat. Fort Prinzenstein, once a Danish slave fort and now a Unesco World Heritage site, is among the most threatened sites on Ghana's coast. The coastline used to be about 7km away from Ghana's Fort Prinzenstein. Photo: AFP James Ocloo Akorli, its caretaker for 24 years, has watched the Gulf of Guinea claw away at the structure – and his memories.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Bloomberg
Equatorial Guinea Wins Rights to Islands in Dispute With Gabon
A top United Nations court ruled in favor of Equatorial Guinea in a long-running territorial dispute with Gabon, awarding it sovereignty over three small islands located in potentially oil-rich waters in the Gulf of Guinea. The case, brought before the International Court of Justice in 2021, centers on the Mbanie, Cocotiers and Conga islands, largely uninhabited isles just off Gabon's Atlantic Ocean coast. The Hague-based court found that sovereignty over Mbanié and the two other islands lie with Equatorial Guinea.
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
World Court backs Equatorial Guinea in islands dispute with Gabon
AMSTERDAM, May 19 (Reuters) - Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Monday that Equatorial Guinea has a legal claim to several small islands in the potentially oil-rich waters in the Gulf of Guinea, settling a decades-long dispute with neighbouring Gabon. In its final and binding ruling the ICJ, also known as the World Court, sided with Equatorial Guinea and said its claim on the islands based on a 1900 convention dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets in West Africa should be honoured.
Zawya
06-05-2025
- Science
- Zawya
Safeguarding Africa's Blue Economy: A scientist's vision for sustainable fish farming
Due to rising threats of food insecurity and economic instability in African countries, aquaculture, if handled appropriately, is emerging as one of the promising solutions to these issues. With rising demand for seafood and growing pressure on wild fish stocks, fish farming is becoming an essential pillar of food production and livelihood support. However, its prospects face challenges such as poor water quality, habitat degradation, and other environmental stressors. Abiola Obafemi, an Environmental and Fisheries Scientist, is working to use scientific research to develop further understanding facing fisheries resources. Using innovative studies, Abiola investigates how environmental stressors affect both finfish and shell fisheries and proposes ways to improve the resilience of fisheries resources in Africa and beyond. Having conducted research in the Gulf of Guinea, Lagos, and the Gulf of Mexico, North America, Abiola brings an extensive approach to addressing aquaculture and fisheries issues. 'Water quality plays a vital role in the success or failure of fish farming and fisheries operations,' Abiola says. Poor water quality poses a substantial risk to the health of aquatic species, which in turn threatens food security and jobs of the communities that rely on them. Aquatic habitats, which cover more than two-thirds of the Earth's surface, are the most biologically diverse ecosystems. Yet they are also among the most threatened due to pollution, overfishing, and extreme environmental stressors caused by the changing climate. Abiola combines laboratory experiments and field monitoring to study how water quality factors like temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen impact aquaculture productivity. His work provides insight into how water quality impacts fisheries resources and contributes to their sustainability. In Nigeria, aquaculture has the potential to boost national food production. His work is critical. His insights support efforts addressing Africa's ecological challenges and food insecurity issues. By collaborating with researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders, Abiola has proven to be an integral part of the scientists who seek to conserve natural resources in Africa and globally. Abiola continues to advocate for innovative, environmentally sound aquaculture practices, ensuring that Africa's aquatic ecosystems ensuring that Africa's remain productive and resilient for generations to come.
