Former Tunisian prime minister Mehdi Jomaa used a high-profile visit to Nigeria’s Niger Delta Blue Economy Investment Summit to underline the vast, untapped potential of maritime resources on both sides of the Sahara and to urge deeper cooperation between African coastal states. The summit, held in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, brought together policymakers, business leaders and security officials to consider how countries like Tunisia and Nigeria might learn from each other in developing their blue economies — the economic use of oceans, seas and coastal resources for sustainable growth.
Speaking on the margins of the event, Jomaa drew on Tunisia’s own Mediterranean experience to argue that coastal nations must combine vision with organisation and implementation capacity if they are to overcome persistent challenges in maritime governance, infrastructure and investment. “It’s easy and difficult at the same time,” he said, describing the twin challenge of setting a long-term maritime strategy while addressing everyday economic burdens. Without clear direction and coordinated leadership, he warned, even the best-equipped states risk missing their goals.
Jomaa’s remarks came against the backdrop of broader efforts to position the Niger Delta’s blue economy as a driver of jobs, environmental resilience and regional prosperity. Africa’s emerging blue economy is seen by some analysts as a transformative opportunity — potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the decade — but years of weak regulation, under-investment and environmental degradation have slowed progress in many coastal regions.
In Akwa Ibom, Governor Umo Eno also took the podium to address one such challenge: the protracted delays to the Ibom Deep Seaport project. Represented at the event by the state’s attorney general, Mr Uko Udom, Eno lamented that the absence of committed investors has hindered progress on what he described as a strategically important infrastructure project. While regulatory approvals are in place and access roads are under construction, Eno acknowledged that foreign investment remains critical to realising the port’s full potential.
Naval leadership also lent weight to the summit’s message. Vice-Admiral Idi Abbas, speaking through a senior representative of the Nigerian Navy, framed the event as timely and strategically significant. He articulated the connection between maritime security, governance and sustainable development, noting that in June 2024 the Navy established the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria to strengthen the sector’s human capital and research base.
Taken together, the interventions reflected a growing recognition among African policymakers that the continent’s seas and coasts offer more than challenges. With the right mix of strategic planning, international cooperation and investment, advocates say, Nigeria and its neighbours can unlock new avenues of inclusive and sustainable growth at sea.
