ACCIDENTS ON THE WATERWAYS

The authorities could do more by enforcing minimum safety standards

In the latest of what has become a familiar tragedy in the country, no fewer than  27 passengers lost their lives in a boat mishap last week in Kwara State. The passengers were returning from a market trip in Niger State when the incident occurred. This unfortunate accident happened barely a few months after over 100 villagers lost their lives in a boat accident in Gbajibo community, Kaiama Local Government Area of the same state. Although reports of investigations into these accidents are hardly released to the public by the National Inland Waterways (NIWA), overcrowding is the usual suspect.

 It is a notorious fact that there is hardly any ferry, canoe or the so-called ‘flying boat’ that keeps to the exact passenger number specification. In many instances, boats are loaded with the number of passengers that is twice their capacity, especially at peak periods when people are in a hurry to get back to their places of abode. Consequently, when the canoes encounter stormy conditions along the water, the sheer weight of the human cargo and other luggage would make them easily susceptible to capsize.

Aside from overloading, most of these boats are old and suffer from lack of proper maintenance. Perhaps more important is the obvious lack of safety standards. In fact, not much is known about the existence of any mandatory operational guidelines for ownership of ferries and boats and the minimum standards that must be met to be in the business of ferrying people through the waters. In the latest incident, there are reports that the boat operated in the dark. This is where a lack of regulatory oversight comes in.

Established in 1997, NIWA is saddled with the task of managing the nation’s 3000 navigable waterways from the Nigeria/Niger Republic and Nigeria/Cameroon borders to the Atlantic Ocean. These comprise Rivers Niger and Benue as well as the creeks, lagoons, lakes, and intra-coastal waters. NIWA’s mandate also includes providing “regulatory, economical and operational leadership in the nation’s inland waterways system and develop infrastructural facilities for efficient intermodal transportation system that is safe, seamless and affordable”. But the agency has been reduced to counting dead bodies after these tragedies. 

It is unfortunate that almost everything worthwhile and ordinarily should be easily achieved always looks like a mountain in Nigeria. With the existence of waterfronts in various parts of the country and the increasingly devastating state of our roads, innovative leaders would have explored the options of water transportation by heavily investing in our waterways with a view to making them safe. That sadly is not the case even though water transportation is one clear source of de-congesting many of the roads across the country.

Going forward, we reiterate our call that operational standards be enforced nationally for those in the business of ferry and canoe transportation. Provision of emergency services along the waterways is also worth considering. It is even more disturbing that we have marine police in the country who always seem to be nowhere to be found in environs where water tragedies occur. If they are marine police, shouldn’t they be permanently stationed around waterways and swiftly swing to action when tragedies occur on the waters by promptly rescuing victims?   

It is understandable that boat accidents are inevitable in the creeks and coastlines especially given the fact that the people living in those areas have no alternative means of transportation. And perhaps because of that, they tend to pile into whatever watercraft happens to be moving towards the direction they are going. But as we have reiterated several times on this page, authorities in the sector must put in place the necessary safety measures. Travelling by water should not be a suicide mission.