‘…On average 300 die yearly from boat accidents’
…We’ve not seen real action from NIWA – Boat users
…Water marshals’ll start working day and night to enforce regulations – Oyebamiji
In the wake of incessant boat mishaps across the country, BENJAMIN SAMSON in this report speaks to experts and stakeholders on what should be done to stop the ugly trend.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the national body responsible for enforcing safety standards on inland waters, and their counterparts at the state level have been receiving backlash for their seeming negligence and failure to protect the lives of Nigerians commuting on waters following many boat mishaps across the country in the last few years.
Lagos
At least 21 passengers were feared drowned in a boat accident that occurred on Monday at Imore town in the Amuwo-Odofin local government area of Lagos state.
Tragedy struck when two boats, each ferrying 16 passengers, collided and capsized in the middle of the Lagoon.
Confirming the incident, Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos police spokesperson, said it was reported to the Ilashe police division at about 7:00pm on Monday.
He said during rescue operations, 11 passengers were rescued while “21 persons drowned.”
Niger
Similarly, the people of Mokwa, a riverine area in Niger state, and Nigerians as a whole, were thrown into mourning on Wednesday, last week, when a boat reportedly filled with over 300 passengers capsized.
The disaster, which took place at about 8:30pm, happened after traders returning from a market in Mundi went down en route to Gbajibo in Mokwa local government area. Initial reports had it that local boat skippers and divers combined forces with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, (NSEMA), and the National Inland Waterways Agency (NIWA), to rescue over 100 victims.
At least 70 bodies were recovered in the grim night operation, while over 100 were yet to be accounted for. Most of the victims were women and children.
This came 18 months after another boat accident in the same general vicinity claimed over 200 people, mainly returnees from a wedding. Only 50 were rescued.
Poor regulations
Industry analysts and experts who spoke with this reporter, blamed the mishaps on regulatory lapses, poor implementation of safety standards, and human errors such as overloading, non-usage of life jackets, over-speeding among others.
A maritime expert and member of the Nigeria Association of Masters Mariners (NAMM), Tonye Simi, attributed the incidents to neglect.
He said, “For several years, the problems associated with boat accidents have been under-emphasised. Water transportation in Nigeria has suffered severe infrastructural and human capacity neglect; a situation that propelled boat mishaps and increased fatality rate all over the country.
“Agencies such as NIWA saddled with the responsibility of managing the water ways have been underfunded and mismanaged.
“Equipment deployed to monitor such water ways are obsolete and staff are unequipped with the requisite skills to man the facilities.
“As a result of the inefficiency in management and personnel, many people in their productive years have been lost to boat mishaps and many goods lost in recent times. At the last count, reports indicated that deaths from boat accidents since September 2023 are over 420.”
On his part, a waterway transporter, Kelvin Atano, the managing director of JK Science Tech Innovative Company Limited, blamed lawlessness and disregard for safety rules for boat mishaps in the country.
He blamed negligence and non-enforcement of safety measures by drivers or boat owners, and even the enforcers for accidents.
He called on the authorities to be more serious in their job, earn respect by protecting lives and helping to deter passengers from being lawless.
He said, “While the precarious nature of water transportation in Nigeria is not restricted to managerial inefficiency and manpower ineptitude, the ignorance of boat riders and passengers in safety measures has proven to be worse.
“Boat riders rely on their over-rated knowledge of the water channels to convey passengers and goods to different destinations without adequate training and certification in safety measures and navigational techniques.
“Boats are overloaded with goods and passengers, a situation that compounds incidents of boat mishap. The passengers on the other hand fail to heed to safety measures and mostly prefer not to use live jackets during journeys.”
Likewise, Salisu Jimoh, a maritime security expert, blamed poor enforcement regime, incompetence on the part of authorities, and the lack of the right people in the right places for the underdeveloped state of Nigeria’s water transport system.
According to him, Nigeria has over 3,400km of inland waterways network and less than half of them are charted, which poses a serious threat to safety navigation.
He said, “Navigation in the River Niger was restricted to 6:00am to 6:00pm due to security reasons. There is a need for a Radar System at a strategic location which will not only improve security but enhance the revenue base of regulator authorities to ensure accountability on the commercial use of the waterways.
“Nigeria’s about 4,000 kilometres of navigable waterways have become death traps with more than 1,000 deaths recorded in less than three years as a result of the failure of the regulatory agencies overseeing water transportation.
“While governments at all levels have focused on air and land transportations, effective regulation and enforcement of existing guidelines are lacking in water transportation.
“Many believe that the government neglected water transportation because only the lives of the poor who utilise this mode of transportation are being wasted in boat accidents.
“Unlike the water transportation, which is being run by non-professionals, the aviation sector remains the most regulated by professionals given the fact that it is the means of transportation for the rich.
“Estimates put the number of deaths to boat accidents in 2021, 2022 and 2023 at an average of 300 yearly, with most of the deaths recorded in Sokoto, Anambra, Bayelsa, Lagos, Kano, Niger, Taraba, Ondo, Cross River and Kebbi states.”
Also, a retired naval officer, Captain Esima Effiong, said, “Boat capsizing and mass drowning of passengers is a regular tragic fixture in Nigeria’s riverine areas, especially during the rainy season when the rivers are swollen and churlish. Unfortunately, people who live in these geographical zones never seem to learn from their frequent calamities.
“The usual main cause of boat capsizing is overloading. People travelling in large groups tend to insist on travelling together, often without regard to weather conditions. The boat operators never seem to stick to official capacity and safety requirements. The high cost of fuel also tempts operators to overload their vessels.
“Most importantly, there is general disregard for the need to wear life jackets. River or waterways transportation is the most underdeveloped, ungoverned aspect of the transport sector. NIWA as a federal agency in charge of waterways safety has failed to pull its weight. Operators are left largely free to do as they like, and the poor and vulnerable often have to pay with their lives and property.
“In developed countries, the air, road, rail and water modes of transportation are equally regulated and developed, which is why fatal accidents are rare and damage minimal. But in Nigeria and most parts of Africa, waterways transportation is still very primitive and neglected. Governments tend to focus more attention on air and road safety. This is unacceptable.
“It is the duty of the federal and state governments, with the partnership of the local authorities, community leadership and waterway transport operators, to ensure that the rules are strictly applied, putting safety above all considerations.”
Untapped resources
Effiong also decried the country’s failure to utilise its vast water channels for economic development.
“According to the NIWA, the country is blessed with a large resource base of waterways spanning 10,000 kilometres, and about 3,800 kilometres is navigable seasonally. While 28 of the nation’s 36 states can be accessed through water, Nigeria can also link five of its neighbouring countries–Benin Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic by water.
“The Rivers Niger and Benue constitute the major channels for inland navigation which include but not limited to the Cross River, Port Novo-Badagry-Lagos waterways, Lekki and Lagos Lagoons, Ogun-Ondo waterways, Benin River, Escravos channel, Nun River, Imo River, Orashi River, Ethiope River, Oguta Lake, Lake Chad and the numerous creeks in the Niger Delta.
“However, while other countries utilise these natural endowments for trade facilitation, regional integration, climate change mitigation and resilience, poverty reduction and innovation, ours have been, at best, left to decay; and, at worst, used to siphon government funds. But now, because we have failed to do the needful with what God has given us, the chickens are coming home to roost. The waterways have become toilets and dustbins for all sorts of waste. Then, intermittently, citizens who risk using the channels for local transportation end up dead in unfortunate and avoidable man-made accidents,” he said.
Boat users
Reacting to the numerous boat accidents on the nation’s waters, a frequent boat user at Idah, Kogi state, who simply identified himself as Odekina, said, “It’s unacceptable that we keep losing lives like this. It’s as if NIWA does not exist.
“Lives are being lost every week, yet we’ve seen no real action from NIWA. How many more people have to die before something is done?”
Another boat user at Nembe waterside in Port Harcourt, Jane Woke, said, “I am not too sure we have an agency called NIWA. Is there a boss there? Those of us who still ply the waterways do that with all hope on God, it is a bit safer here in Port Harcourt, but it’s not the same in other states. We need round pegs in round holes,” she stated.
Way out
Speaking on the way out, Simi said safety should not be left to the federal government alone.
He said, “Every individual should take responsibility and put their safety first. Boat operators should be held liable for their failure to provide life jackets and avoid overloading, especially when large crowds of women and children are involved.
“In my view, the first thing President Bola Tinubu’s administration should do to save the sector is to create an independent Ministry of Maritime Affairs, under which NIWA should function.
“The second is the formation of a National Coast Guard whose standard role is to support access to navigable inland waterways for mariners, facilitate movement of commerce, and support environment protection for all our almost 4, 000 kilometres of navigable inland waterways.
“For instance, when the Patigi accident occurred, it was a coast guard that would have been dispatched and not a police team.”
NIWA’s reaction
Meanwhile, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NIWA, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, has declared that making waterways safer remains non-negotiable and topmost priority of the authority.
The NIWA boss who was on a day visit to Gbajibo community in Niger state frowned upon the way and manner boat operators and passengers do flout safety tips, noting that overloading and non-use of life jackets while traveling on waterways by operators or passengers would attract stiffer penalties.
Oyebami said the water marshals would start working both day and night to enforce the water regulations code in order to further enhance smooth operations across the country’s waterways.
The NIWA boss ordered immediate arrest of the boat owner and driver of the capsized boats. He expressed condolences and distributed life jackets and other safety kits to the people of the state.