Ogalla: Naval chief in the eye of the storm

To some extent, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) play strategic roles in ensuring that the public is adequately informed about the efforts and accomplishments of the security services, especially ongoing military operations.

Behind the scenes, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, facilitates inter-agency collaboration and harmonious relationships among the different security organisations to achieve peace and stability in the country. He recently directed the reactivation of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA), established during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, before being jettisoned during the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Similarly, as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa has also demonstrated leadership qualities in ensuring that the service chiefs speak with one voice towards the highest attainment of national security and operational competence of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Meanwhile, no matter how transparent and responsible an organisation is, public criticism or negative media coverage could sometimes be inevitable – even despite the best intentions – due to inadequate public access to information about it or mischief makers’ willful manipulation of information concerning it. Likewise, avoidable controversies could occur due to the management’s nonchalant attitude, inactions and/or needless decision-making.

With remarkable accomplishments in its areas of operation, the Nigerian Navy, under the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, is grossly misunderstood by the public, going by a series of attacks that it has been subjected to recently in the Nigerian media.

Ogalla is an outstanding military officer who emerged as the best graduating science student (boy) at the Nigerian Military School, Zaria 1987. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Mathematics and was awarded the Sword of Honour as the best Naval cadet in his course. He later obtained a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Strategic Studies from the University of Ibadan (UI). Following his commission as a second lieutenant in 1992, he rose rapidly to the rank of Rear Admiral in September 2021 before the elevation to his current position.

When he was appointed as the Chief of Naval Staff by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, there was a controversy over an allegation that his predecessor, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, refused to hand over to him. Ogalla had to instruct the Naval spokesperson, Rear Admiral AO Ayo-Vaughan, to debunk the reports by explaining to the public the traditional procedure for handing over the mantle of military leadership.

Besides taking part in several military operations, including the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia, Ogalla successfully coordinated several anti-illegal oil bunkering operations, leading to a remarkable reduction in illicit activities on our national and international waterways, particularly in the Niger Delta. That experience probably influenced his reluctance as the naval chief to engage private security firms for military operations against oil thieves in the region.

It was therefore not surprising that Tantita Security Services Limited, owned by ex-Niger Delta militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, a.k.a.Tompolo, had to engage the Nigerian Navy in a tug-of-war while seeking to preserve its lucrative security contract for the protection of Nigeria’s resource-bearing waterways.

The no-love-lost relationship compelled Tantita to accuse the Navy of harbouring bad eggs within it that were sabotaging the fight against the menace of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta. The Navy accused Tantita Security of being involved in illegalities concerning a crude oil vessel seized in the coastal waters.

However, a few months later, another controversy broke out when an online news platform, alleged that the Naval Chief had facilitated an unorganised bunkering of Nigerian crude and was involved in a multimillion-naira contract-splitting fraud. The news site also accused Ogalla of releasing several oil tankers that had been impounded for transporting stolen crude oil off Nigerian shores after receiving kickbacks in millions of dollars.

Could the allegations be true going within the purview of Vice Admiral Ogalla’s past sterling records as the Commandant at the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic School (NNHS) and Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office (NNHO), where he enabled cost-effective procurements of several kits and tools from reputable Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), leading to improvements in practical training of the institutions, while also being instrumental in the localisation of many of the Naval tools of operations?

It was, therefore, surprising that less than 24 hours after the media report, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, responded that the allegations against Ogalla would be investigated immediately, stressing that President Tinubu had zero tolerance for corruption in the public service. Rather than get distracted, the Nigerian Navy under Ogalla has kept on sustaining, with renewed efforts, its Operation Delta Sanity, which aims at combating crude oil theft, illegal oil bunkering, and other sundry crimes within the nation’s maritime environment.

Apart from intercepting more vessels with stolen crude oil and materials meant for the construction of illegal refineries, the Navy has also arrested scores of suspects involved in bunkering and handed them over to the appropriate authorities. While the controversies remain unabated, the success stories of naval operations are equally being reported accordingly.

Meanwhile, there is a feeler that the Chief of Naval Staff may be in the eyes of the storm over his alleged plan to appoint a new naval spokesperson in contravention of Nigerian law. The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), a statutory body, has reiterated its stance against appointing unlicensed and unregistered professionals as spokespersons, especially for the country’s security services.

Almost all the security and intelligence services have complied with the law by appointing certified PR professionals as their spokespersons, including the Defence Headquarters, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Airforce, the Police, the Department of State Services, the Customs, the Immigration, the NDLEA, EFCC, ICPC, FRSC and even NEMA. Why should the Nigerian Navy be different?

For fear that some chief executive officers may not be aware of the law, the NIPR President, Dr Ike Neliaku and Chairman of its Enforcement and Compliance Committee retired Major General Chris Olukolade, jointly signed a memo addressed to the service chiefs “cautioning against contravention of the Law on Appointment of Public Relations Practitioners and Allied Positions in Government Establishments.”

In the memo, top government officials, especially in the security services, were reminded of the provisions of the NIPR Practitioners Act of 1990, now Cap N114 Laws of the Federation 2004, which states that “any person who is not a member of the Institute practices or holds himself out to practice as a public relations practitioner for or in expectation of reward, or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description implying that he is in practice as a public relations practitioner, he shall be guilty of an offence…”

Section 19 (4) of the Act states: “A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable to a fine, imprisonment or both.” Section 19 (5): “Where an offence under this section which a body corporate has committed is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any director (CEO), manager, secretary or other similar officers of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished.”

Concerned about the statutory provision that criminalizes the appointment of uncertified PR officers as spokespersons, Information Minister, Mr Mohammed Idris Malagi, recently charged the NIPR Council to give effect to the Federal Government’s resolve to enforce the law regulating the practice of Public Relations in Nigeria.

Being a member of the Nigerian Hydrographic Society, the Nigerian Institute of Management, the International Earth Rotation Services and a fellow of the Occupational Safety and Health Association, Vice Admiral Ogalla should realise that beyond networking, professional bodies provide ethical standards and guidance that deserve to be complied with for occupational integrity.

We hope that critical institutions will comply with the laws of the federation, particularly regarding the appointment of spokespersons. It will be deplorable if they operate in contravention of the law by daring the NIPR to act by summoning those in violation before the special tribunal established by the Act for prosecution for misconduct. It is essential for individuals and organisations to always strive to protect their reputation as responsible, law-abiding citizens without engaging in needless controversies.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of “Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies”
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