1.1 Introduction
Piracy without a doubt is one of the most challenging factors that have bedeviled sea transportation along water ways especially in the Niger Delta region.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Generally in the world, security has been a global concern especially in the maritime sector as it affects the functionality of the world economy. Piracy which is considered anti social activities has over the year truncated not only the peaceful coexistence of the region but also have slow the pace of prosperity within the region .The terror of this plaque has been some of the major factor that have ignited most social violence in the region. Piracy which like every other social challenges, have taken various form and shape in its operations. Both kidnapping, robbing and molesting of local boat passengers to hijacking of ships and oil vessel at high seas. These activities are mostly being carried out by middle aged youth both from economically neglected region and politically marginalized area in the Niger delta. Oceans and seas have been one of the platform through which goods and other materials have been transported to and from in the world. Thus contributing to the transportation of 80% of goods that sustains the world economy and support the livelihood of the people in the Niger Delta region .Therefore, order and security at sea, is considered as indirect wealth generator and enabler and one of the core pillars for oceans sustainable wealth generation. Unfortunately, order and security at sea have been threatened by piracy activities carried out by criminals for selfish reasons for centuries. Niger delta maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships and local boat have continually truncated the economic activities within this region making it impossible for economic activities to thrive for centuries now. In fact, maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships and other boats along water ways can be viewed as a epidemic that has affected the maritime domain right from the inception of seaborne trade in the history of mankind especially within this region.
Hassan & Hassan (2016) stated that Piracy constitute a major threats to maritime security. As noted by Murphy (2010), piracy is a greasy concept which can rarely be understood without some form of caveat or exemption that changes its meaning. However, it cannot be seen as a political crime, but has often been attributed to politics and state weakness. Piracy is as old as the hill which has assumed several forms and has been carried out for different reasons. The constant attacks by this criminals along the Niger delta water ways such as in Bonny, Nembe, Oron, Degema, Okrika Delta state etc call for effective and urgent response by the law enforcement to combat this plaque that have eaten into the fabric of the region.
The success of law enforcement will be contingent on sound and comprehensive knowledge of the international law requirements concerning piracy and armed robbery at sea, knowledge of the operational environment, awareness of the actors and understanding of the nature of piracy in Nigeria as asserted by (Ali, 2015).
Modern piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, is a Nigeria- centric problem. contrasting the Somali piracy, which happens frequently in the high seas, a lot of the piracy in the Gulf of Guinea occurs in Nigerian territorial waters (Ashiru, 2016). According to Ali (2015), Nigeria accounts for 80 percent of reported piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea and it stands out as the epicenter of Gulf of Guinea piracy.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Over the year there has been economic downfall in the region of Niger delta which majorly constitute six (6) state in Nigeria (Akwa ibom, Niger Delta region, Bayelsa state, Edo state, Cross river and Delta state) and who are the major oil producing state in Nigeria. These could be attributed to the security challenges by pirates in the water ways faced by this states. While both life, properties and goods worth billions of dollars have been lost in the hands of this pirates, their activities along the creeks have also scared away potential investors who would have invested in the economy but currently are in constant fear of being kidnapped, and losing their money and resources to the criminals. Hence, the reason for conducting the research to investigate the Effects of Piracy on Maritime Operations in Niger Delta region.
Technically piracy has often been portray as a business model and viewed as an activity that is primarily economically motivated. While piracy assures revenues to the people involved in it, a direct causal association between poverty or lack of employment opportunities and piracy cannot be constructed.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Effects of Piracy on Maritime Operations in Niger Delta region, Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following objectives were set out as follows:
- To determine the effect of piracy activities on economic development.
- To examine the effect of water ways transportation performance.
- To examine the effect of piracy in job creation.
1.5 Research Questions
The following are the questions of the research work;
- What are the effects of piracy on maritime operation?
- To what extent does piracy affect waterways transportation performance?
- Does piracy have any effect on piracy in job creation?
1.6 Research Hypotheses
The following are the stated hypotheses of the research work;
Hypothesis One
H0: There is no significant relationship between piracy activities and economic development in Niger Delta region
H1: There is a significant relationship between piracy activities and economic development in Niger Delta region
Hypothesis Two
H0: There is no significant effect between piracy activities and water ways transportation performance Niger Delta region.
H1: There is a significant effect between piracy activities and water ways transportation performance Niger Delta region.
Hypothesis Three
H0: Piracy has no significant relationship with job creation in Niger delta.
H1: Piracy has a significant relationship with job creation in Niger delta.
1.7 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the evaluation of the Effects of Piracy on Maritime Operations in River State, Nigeria.
1.8 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.9 Significance of Study
The study, when completed, will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.
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