The death of 50 persons in a boat mishap at Kiri village, Munya Local Government area of Niger State, has brought to the fore the issue of safety concerns in the nation’s water transportation sector. The victims of the ill-fated boat, which include men, women and children, were reportedly travelling to Zumba market from Kiri, when the unfortunate incident occurred.
There were 60 people in the boat, which was supposed to carry 30 people, when the accident occurred. According to reports, out of the 60 people on board, 10 people were rescued by the Marine Police. We recall that a similar incident claimed 30 lives, last year, in Niger State. In 2014, 13 people reportedly died in Lagos boat accident. Last year, seven passengers died in Lagos State.
The spokesman of the Niger State Police Command, ASP Babalola Adewole, confirmed the incident and the image-maker of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Malam Hussaini, corroborated the police report on the incident.
While we commiserate with the families of those that lost their loved ones in the tragic incident, we call on the government to address safety issues in the nation’s waterways to forestall such incident in future. It is unfortunate that we have lost many lives due to frequent boat accidents in the country.
Boat mishaps have virtually occurred in most states with water transportation and there is urgent need to improve our waterways infrastructure to ensure high level of safety at all times. We enjoin the authorities of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to put in place adequate safety measures in the sector.
We believe that putting safety measures in place will avert considerably the recurring boat mishaps in the country. The frequent loss of lives through boat mishaps is unacceptable. Those who man the boats should henceforth be trained on safety measures to curtail such accidents. The government and boat operators should meet and discuss measures to ensure safety in our waterways. The nation’s water transportation sector should be well developed. It is faster to travel by water. It is also safe if adequate safety measures are in place.
We suggest that all boats must be equipped with life jackets. Since overloading is traced to be one of the reasons the boat capsized, those in charge must make sure that no boat is allowed to carry loads beyond its stipulated capacity. Over-speeding can also cause boats to capsize. Wrecks, logs and water debris in the waterways can also cause such accidents. Efforts should be made to free the Nigerian waterways of water debris and and wrecks.
All boats used for water transportation must have provable evidence of sea worthiness. Wearing of life jackets should be mandatory for all passengers. Our waterways should not be death traps. Government should provide life jackets to be used in these boats. Where the life jackets are not available, passengers should have their personal life jackets to serve as precautionary measure. Nevertheless, we enjoin the government to provide free life jackets to all boat operators in the country to enhance the safety of our water transportation.
Government should muster the political will to make water transportation attractive to Nigerians. In spite of the boat mishaps in some parts of the country, many Nigerians, especially those in Lagos commute by water. Data from the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) showed that 1.9 million people used waterways as at the end of December 2014.
There is no doubt that the figures may have increased since then. We urge Nigerians to use our waterways and lessen the pressure on roads. Above all, let the government make our waterways safe at all times.