A maritime expert and writer, Ms Chika Chukwudi, has stated that sustainable fisheries, offshore wind energy, eco-tourism, and marine biotechnology offer growth without exhausting natural capital.
In a press statement obtained by The PUNCH recently, Chukwudi stressed that with proper regulation and environmental safeguards, Nigeria can build a blue economy that generates prosperity today without compromising future generations. She added that when managed responsibly, marine and aquatic resources are renewable.
“When managed responsibly, marine and aquatic resources are renewable. Sustainable fisheries, offshore wind energy, ecotourism, and marine biotechnology offer growth without exhausting natural capital. With proper regulation and environmental safeguards, Nigeria can build a blue economy that generates prosperity today without compromising future generations,” she said.
According to her, heavy investment in the maritime sector triggers multiplier effects across the economy. Chukwudi, who authored the book Blue Economy: Gateway to a Sustainable Future, maintained that shipyards require steel, engineering services, and technical expertise.
She pointed out that ports demand road and rail connectivity and that fisheries require cold storage, packaging, and logistics systems: “Every naira invested in maritime infrastructure stimulates broader economic activity. Unlike sectors that operate in isolation, the blue economy integrates transportation, manufacturing, trade, energy, tourism, and environmental management into one interconnected growth engine.”
She emphasised that Nigeria is geographically positioned as a maritime powerhouse, adding that with over 850 kilometres of Atlantic coastline and access to the Gulf of Guinea, the country sits on one of the busiest maritime routes in Africa.
Chukwudi, who also works with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, noted that Nigeria is additionally blessed with extensive inland waterways, including the River Niger and River Benue systems, as well as numerous lakes and dams.
“Yet, despite these natural advantages, the maritime sector contributes far below its potential to national GDP. Ports remain under-optimised, inland waterways underutilised, fisheries underdeveloped, and coastal tourism largely unexplored. A nation surrounded by water should not be surrounded by economic stagnation’, she noted.
She reiterated that at a time when Nigeria is urgently seeking sustainable pathways to economic stability, poverty reduction, and mass job creation, ‘it has become increasingly clear that the nation must rethink its development priorities. While agriculture, oil and gas, technology, and manufacturing all hold value, none offers the scale of untapped opportunity that lies within Nigeria’s blue economy and maritime sector.”
Chukwudi urged the Federal Government to invest more aggressively in the blue economy than in any other sector, not as an experiment, but as a strategic national imperative. She argued that no other sector has the capacity to generate employment across such a wide spectrum of skill levels as the blue economy.
“From artisanal fisheries to industrial aquaculture, from shipbuilding and repairs to maritime logistics, from port management to marine biotechnology, the opportunities span both formal and informal sectors. Unlike capital-intensive industries that absorb limited skilled labour, the maritime sector can employ millions – fishermen, boat builders, marine engineers, dockworkers, environmental scientists, processors, exporters, and entrepreneurs,” she stressed.
She mentioned that investing in fisheries and aquaculture alone could significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on fish importation while creating rural jobs. “Developing shipbuilding and maintenance hubs would stimulate industrial growth. Expanding coastal tourism would empower local communities. If properly harnessed, the blue economy can become Nigeria’s largest employer of labour,” she concluded.
Also speaking, a seasoned maritime professional, Mr Johnpaaul Ikenna, added that the country could benefit greatly if the fishing sector were properly harnessed.
“There is a lot to benefit from the fishing sector if properly harnessed,” Ikenna said.
