HISTORICING THE MARITIME DOMAIN AND SECURITY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA (1435-2025)

Abstract

The maritime domain of the Niger Delta area is a part of the larger Gulf of Guinea which houses the Atlantic Ocean, played significant roles in the navigation and development of the area and its legacies abound, till today. This research found out that the Portuguese were the first set of Europeans that explored and navigated the Gulf of Guinea, in 1435 when were they encouraged other explorers to embark on the voyage in the area. The Portuguese established permanent settlements and also set up large plantations for the cultivation of cash crops, such as melon, banana, cassava, coconuts and other fruit which abound in the area. The paper also found out that the Portuguese dominion of the gulf of guinea was later challenged by other European countries including France, Britain, Germany and others, and this heightened the obnoxious Trans Atlantic slave trade, catering away millions of Africans for over 350 years from the Gulf of Guinea into the new world. The British parliament set up a maritime security outfit, the squadron that patrol the Atlantic Ocean and impounded any ship loaded with slaves and return to Freetown in the Sierra Leone. Today, the security situation in the Gulf of Guinea remained worrisome due to the menace of illegal transactions by pirates and several cartels operating in the water. This paper is the historicity of the maritime domain of the Gulf of Guinea pioneered by the Portuguese five hundred and seventy nine years ago. The paper proffered that the Portuguese plantation economy can be resuscitated and sustained with the aim of diversification of the economic base of Nigeria. Similarly, countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea can come together under a commission to counter the menace of pirates in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea