By allowing public transportation in Nigerian waterways, which is nearly as risky as the highly regulated air transport to be run like the common road transport business, the federal and state governments have demonstrated their flagrant disregard for the lives of the poor users of this mode of transportation, Ejiofor Alike writes
Boats used for local water transportation have become major slaughterhouses in Nigeria with mishaps common on Nigerian waterways due to lack of effective regulation and supervision, which encourage frequent overloading and lack of maintenance.
The latest tragedy occurred on Monday at Egbu village, in the Patigi Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State when a boat overloaded with over 250 passengers, mostly guests, returning from a wedding ceremony at Egboti village in Niger State, capsized.
Though the Kwara State Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Ajayi Okesanmi, said the tragedy claimed 103 lives, the traditional ruler of Patigi, Ibrahim Bologi II, reportedly disclosed that the dead victims were 110.
Chairman of the Transition Implementation Committee of Patigi LGA, Mohammed Liman, also confirmed that 110 passengers died in the mishap.
The Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in charge of Niger-Kwara areas, Akapo Adeboye, attributed the boat accident to overloading and turbulent winds.
He claimed that the agency had been educating boat operators to desist from overloading their boats with passengers.
Having failed woefully to protect lives and property, governments at various levels in Nigeria have helplessly resorted to mourning and commiserating with victims of every tragic incident instead of taking deliberate, drastic and decisive actions to avert loss of precious lives.
It was not surprising that the Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, commiserated with the people of Patigi on the tragedy.
Also reacting, the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago, through his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Bologi, sympathised with the bereaved families and urged boat passengers to always wear their life jackets when travelling.
President Bola Tinubu has also expressed sadness over the boat mishap, and directed the relevant authorities to “unravel the immediate and remote causes” of the accident and provide immediate relief and assistance to the survivors and families of victims, according to a condolence message signed by the State House Director of Information, Abiodun Oladunjoye.
Last Monday’s incident that claimed 110 lives was not the worst of its kind as 160 passengers had died in a similar boat mishap that happened in Kebbi State on May 26, 2021.
The boat capsized in Ngaski LGA of the state, while the victims from the state were going to a market in neighbouring Borgu LGA of Niger State.
The Area Manager of the NIWA in Yauri, Yusuf Birma, told reporters that overloading caused the mishap.
According to him, the boat, which was also carrying 30 Bajaj motorcycles, broke into two pieces.
Birma lamented that “the boat involved is a wooden boat, which is old and very weak but these people will not listen when we sensitise them to reduce the number of passengers they are carrying with the boat.”
Boat mishap is also common in other states as the government has refused to pay a serious attention to it apparently due to the fact that it is the lives of the poor that are being wasted since this means of transportation is not patronised by the high and the mighty in the society.
For instance, in April 2021, no fewer than 29 children from Gidan Magana village in Sokoto drowned in Shagari River when their vessel capsized on their way to fetch firewood for their families.
In July 2022, a passenger boat capsized on the waterways in Ikorodu LGA of Lagos, killing two people.
The boat named “R & N 2” was said to have experienced a mechanical fault barely 200 metres away from Ikpado ferry terminal in Ikorodu after setting off to its destination on Lagos Island, according to the General Manager of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Oluwadamilola Emmanuel.
In the same month, only four bodies were recovered from a boat mishap involving 16 passengers in the Ojo area of Lagos.
The four bodies, which were among the passengers in a W19 fibre boat, were recovered at Mile 2 area.
The Area Manager of NIWA, Sarat Braimah, had promised that the agency would produce a transportation code that would spell out the regulations on inland waterways.
Her statements implied that there had been no transportation code for the users of the Nigerian waterways.
Also in the same month, many passengers in a boat travelling to a popular Saturday market also died in a boat mishap at Zumba in Shiroro LGA of Niger State.
In December 2022, a boat mishap at a jetty in a Badagry community in Lagos State claimed the life of a 32-year-old man.
The mishap occurred at the jetty when two boats, one coming from Badagry and another coming from Lagos, collided at a jetty in Akarakumo.
In January 2023, at least 15 passengers died after a boat ferrying more than 100 passengers returning from a farm on the River Niger, broke into half as it approached Samanaji village in Koko-Besse district in Kebbi State.
The political administrator of the district, Yahaya Bello Koko who confirmed the recovery of 10 bodies, noted that the boat was overloaded with passengers “beyond its capacity.”
However, on February 20, 2023, no fewer than 17 persons escaped death after a commercial passenger ferry named Fazma Logistics, loaded with 17 passengers, which left Ikorodu ferry terminal en route Ebute Ero, capsized near Third Mainland Bridge close to the Bariga ferry terminal in Lagos State.
Before last Monday’s incident in Kwara, 15 children had drowned in May 2023, while 25 others were missing when their overloaded boat capsized in Shagari River in Sokoto State.
The local administrator of Shagari District, Aliyu Abubakar said the youths were on their way from Dundeji village in the state to collect firewood in the bush on the other side of Shagari River when their boat sank.
To avert the death of innocent poor Nigerians in avoidable boat accidents, the governments at various levels should stop mourning and commiserating with the victims and give water transportation the same level of attention given to air transportation since both involve almost similar risks.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had while expressing sadness over one of the boat accidents in Tijana village of Munya LGA of Niger State in June 2021, called on the transportation authorities to ensure strict adherence to safety regulations on the nation’s waterways.
He also urged that lessons from this accident should help prevent a future occurrence.
However, boat accidents have continued unabated as the government seems to have learnt any lesson since the high and mighty do not patronise this mode of transportation.
