Change of Baton in Western Naval Command and Need to Amplify Successes 

After holding sway for 14 months as the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that Rear Admiral Yakubu Wambia recently handed over the baton and moved to Defence Headquarters as Director of Transformation. While recounting the successes recorded under his watch, including the use of helicopter to effect arrest of a vessel of interest 88 nautical miles from shore, he charged his successor to amplify on all achieved

As with most military traditions, the handing and taking over ceremonies of commands provide ample opportunity to showcase their longstanding tradition in colourful parades. 

That tradition was not in any way different last Wednesday during the change in baton at the Western Naval Command (WNC), the Nigerian Navy’s premiere command, as the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Rear Admiral Yakubu Wambia handed over to his successor, Rear Admiral Joseph Akpan. 

Wambai was transferred to the Defence Headquarters as Director of Transformation (D-Trans).

To herald this was the farewell parade at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT parade ground in Apapa, Lagos. The parade began with form up of divisions and the guards before the throw in markers and march on of the divisions and guards. 

After the arrival of the senior officers, the parade was officially kick-started with a march past that was inspected by Wambai. 

He afterward went on to read his farewell speech leading to the FOC’s exchange of Distinguishing Flags. After the marching in review order and three hearty cheers, the parade commander then marched off the personnel.  

In his valedictory speech after he held sway as FOC from February 2022 until last Wednesday, he said the command under his watch witnessed landmark successes in the annals of the navy including the use of helicopter to effect arrest of a vessel of interest 88 nautical miles from shore.

Although he recorded many milestone achievements, he said the helicopter insertion topped the chart.

According to him, the helicopter was deployed because the suspect vessel was already leaving the country’s waters and it would have taken about seven to eight hours for any warship to get to the location where the ship sighted.

He said: “It is the first time a helicopter was deployed from land to effect an arrest at 88 nautical miles in the high seas. The helicopter flew the arrest party, they were then inserted to effect the arrest. After they arrested the ship, a warship was then deployed to evacuate them and the arrested vessel.

“This has opened a new vista of operation for us because subsequently, we can use helicopter to effect arrest and then the ships go in to move the vessels.”

Wambai also dealt a huge blow on drug traffickers and their ilk. According to him, “during my time, we were also able to recover about 650kilograms of cannabis with street value of about a billion naira. We have been able to also maintain the flow of petroleum products from System 2B product.”

More importantly, the waters remained relatively piracy free. Sharing his thoughts on that he said, “Our waters have remained piracy free which is very critical and important to us. Since I was here in the last 14 months there had been no piracy attack in our waters.”

However, the era was not without its fair share of challenges and in his own case, it was adequate logistics. 

Urging his successor, Rear Admiral Joseph Akpan, to be methodical and ensure that maximum results were gotten from small inputs, he said: “Funding is becoming less and the expectations keep going higher. You cannot say I do not have this to achieve a task you have been given. You must definitely look back on what you have to ensure that you achieve desired results”.

After the handing and taking over ceremony, the FOC, Rear Admiral Joseph Akpan, said it was time for officers and men to roll their sleeves and work.

Reminding them that theirs was a field command and that tangible results were needed to show they were working, he  reiterated that the command would leverage existing collaborations with other security agencies in the zone to ensure adequate security of backwaters in order to prevent incursions by kidnappers.

But top on his list is the Presidential fleet review slated for May in honour of the Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari, whose support to the navy has been unparalleled.  Thus, he said work would kick off immediately with the planning for the review.

He said: “Talking about the presidential fleet review, it is done to globally in honour of the President and Commander-in-Chief. The last time we had one was under President Goodluck Jonathan.

“So, we felt it was only right to do so for the President because he has been very supportive of the Nigerian Navy. I dare say that in the history of the navy, the acquisitions we have had in terms of equipment, ships have never been this good. 

“It has really helped us to do our work with more ease. You heard the outgone FOC mention how we have been able to tackle the perennial problem of piracy to the extent that Nigerian waters had been delisted from the piracy watch list. 

“This has been attributed to the efforts of the President despite the scarce resources, he recognised that the Navy has big role to play in sustaining the economic base of this country. 

“This is one of the reasons this fleet review is being organised in honour of the President. So, people will be coming from outside the country, our friends from West Africa, extra-African Navies that have been here patrolling the waters. It is a very huge ceremony.

“It is a tradition round the world and we felt that President Buhari should not leave office without the navy giving him this honour,” said Akpan.