What It’s Really Like to Serve in the Nigerian Navy: Lieutenant Alabi Olawale Tells Us

Unlike Soldiers and Police officers, members of the Nigerian Navy and Air Force are often less visible in the everyday lives of Nigerians. This is largely because soldiers and police officers operate on land, where most people live and work. But what does it actually mean to be a naval officer in Nigeria? How does one become a naval officer, and what does the job entail?

Lieutenant Alabi Olawale, who has served in the Nigerian Navy for more than eight years, gives us a glimpse into life in the Navy. In this feature, I ask Alabi Olawale what it means to serve as a naval officer, how and why he joined the Nigerian Navy, and what a typical day on the job looks like.

When did you join the Nigerian Navy and why?

I’m Lieutenant Olawale Alabi. I’m a naval officer, and I’ve served eight years now in the Nigerian Navy. I joined the Navy in February 2018, and I was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant. Before the Navy, I studied Electrical Electronics Engineering and graduated from Landmark University. When I graduated, I worked with Terragon Group, a tech company, where I tried to carve my way in tech, but my dad convinced me to go to the military.

So when the opportunity came, I applied and joined. There are three modes of entry, but all involve training. When I finished the basic training, I was appointed to a ship. Most of my appointments have been to ships.

How many ships have you served on?

So far, I have served onboard four ships. There are different classes of ships in the Nigerian Navy. There are frigates, fast patrol boats, fast attack craft, patrol boats, and seaward defence boats. After I was appointed to my first ship, NNS UNITY, I went for a mandatory technical training at NIT Sapele for engineers. I came back and was posted to another ship, NNS OKPABANA. When I was on board NNS OKPABANA, I served for a year or so before going for another training abroad. When I came back, I served on another Navy ship, NNS KADA, a landing ship transport vessel, where I served on board for two years.

After that, I took another course, and when I came back, I served for a year at the shore establishment, a naval base in Apapa, Lagos. I was then posted to the ship I currently serve on, NNS OLOIBIRI.

So one would wonder if there is any correlation between what you studied and the Navy?

I mostly do electrical work. On the ship I’m on, I’m the weapons electrical officer. I ensure that the ship is always functional because there are so many electronic components in the ship; I make sure that everything is okay and fix what needs repair.

Oh, that’s what you do on the ship for the Navy?

I’m also a diver. I’m an engineer and a diver. I did my training in India as a ship diver and as a clearance diver. As a diver in the Nigerian Navy, what we do is underwater inspections and clandestine operations, like if we need to do something in one place or a remote area and we need to go covertly, things like that. Diving, salvage, and search and rescue. Stuff like that.

So that is your individual role. But what is the collective role of the Navy?

Much I can tell you is that our major role in the Navy is to go on patrols, and the reason is to secure the waters and ensure they are safe. If there’s any maritime crime, we have communication channels for other ships to radio and inform us. I just came back from a seven-day patrol with my ship. We were patrolling the Lekki area and Lagos waters in general.

So, a Navy ship is supposed to be at sea every day. As we were returning, another ship was already going out. At every point in time, there’s a Navy ship within the Lagos area, just in case of any maritime crime or anything that requires a quick response.

We also check for maritime infractions and ensure proper documentation of vessels at sea. If you are a fishing trawler or tanker, you must have certain licences and all those kinds of things. So we can go on board to inspect. We can check your tank, we can do sounding, and we can check your papers, the nationality of the ship, the nationality of the captain, and some other things.

We inform higher authorities of everything we do at sea, from interceptions to crude oil bunkering and sabotage that we have uncovered. There have also been instances where we intercepted tankers illegally taking crude oil out of the country.

You said you just got back from a patrol on the sea. How is life at sea like?

Life at sea is kind of boring and tiring because we run a watch system. Let me put it this way: The day is split into seven watches. We have the morning watch, the first dog watch, the last dog watch, the afternoon watch, the forenoon watch and the night watch. At every point in time within that system, a set of people will be on watch. So you are always busy. If you are not on watch, you better be sleeping or doing something tangible because very soon, you’ll be on watch again.

Are there challenges that you encounter on water individually, as a person? 

During the rainy season, the water is really rough. Really rough. For instance, the first day I went to sea, I vomited. Why? I didn’t eat before cast off. It was in the afternoon, and I said, “Let me just try and eat.” That “try and eat”? I vomited everything I ate. So the idea is you acclimatise to the water and to the way the water behaves. Then, as the days keep going, your body system gets used to it.

But yes, the sea is not so friendly. Anything can happen in the water. So we are always on guard, especially when we are going out to the exposed decks. We just have to be safety-conscious.

You can have a mishap at sea; the boats can take in water or capsize. The engine can stop working while you’re in the middle of nowhere; things can happen spontaneously. And it’s not because you are not prepared. Circumstances just happen on their own. I have witnessed boats capsize.

Although we see dolphins, sharks and other sea creatures, they have become normal to us. We’re not out there for sightseeing. People meet you and be like, have you sailed to the UK, Paris? I laugh because our major role is to protect territorial waters and not visit other countries; we ensure the waters are safe. There are risks, but that’s what we’re trained for.

How do you think your family has accepted the nature of your job?

When I was dating my wife, I brought her on board my ship, and some of my senior colleagues sat her down and explained what she was getting into. They told her about the pros and cons, the demands and the realities of the job. She was always around and had opportunities to ask questions, so she understood what to expect.

Kudos to the family members who support military personnel because it is not easy. The Navy also takes its wives very seriously. We have the Navy Wives Association, Armed Forces Wives Association, Army Wives Association and Air Force Wives Association. These organisations are very strong because we recognise and respect the sacrifices military wives make.

Sometimes, a person’s family may be based in Lagos, but they could be posted to Port Harcourt, Abuja or another location for three or four years. You can’t uproot your family every time you get posted somewhere. So, the Navy tries to consider married personnel and, where possible, post them closer to their families. The Armed Forces also plan to ensure personnel can spend more time with their families and that their absence doesn’t affect the home front.

So, it’s a tough call for the wives and children. They have to understand the demands of the job, at least while their partner is serving.

Is there something else you’d like to share with me that I don’t know?

There are many opportunities available in the Navy. You can go on United Nations missions, African Union missions or ECOWAS missions. You can also work outside the country and gain different experiences. So, there are different expressions of a military career. It’s still regimental, but everyone’s experience can be different.

Everyone’s story in the Navy is different, just as it is in life. Even when we work in the same company, our experiences can be completely different. I’ve seen people’s careers in the Navy and thought, “Wow, this person’s career has been amazing.” You see someone who has trained in Pakistan, India and the US, attended a military college in South Africa, and taken several other courses. But this doesn’t apply to all.

Of course, hard work matters, and to some extent, you also have to understand how to navigate the politics within the system. Every career has its murky waters.

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