To curb incessant boat accidents on Nigeria’s waterways, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) says it is working on phasing out wooden boats.
The Managing Director of NIWA, Bola Oyebamiji, stated this in Lagos on Friday. He said most water accidents involved wooden boats, and that these boats apart from being driven by people with little or no educational background, do not have lights which is essential for navigation.
He said the boats will be phased out with short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals to ensure inland waterways operations are not severely hampered.
Already, Oyebamiji revealed that a stakeholders meeting of the commissioners of transportation in 24 states took place in Abuja this week and that the communique of the meeting would be passed to the Federal Government through the Marine and Blue Economy Minister, Adegboyega Oyetola.
He said the experience in Gbajigbo, Niger State, where hundreds of people died in a boat accident, spurred NIWA to engage the Transportation Commissioners across the 24 states with navigable waterways.
He expressed optimism that the Presidency would act on the communique which he said would improve inland waterways operations in the country.
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He explained that human errors are majorly the causes of most boat accidents in Nigeria, adding that mechanical and weather conditions also contribute to accidents. “ Human errors such as overloading, nighttime travel, and inefficient boat driving are more frequent causes of accidents,” Oyebamiji noted.
To prevent accidents, he said the NIWA is focusing on grassroots campaigns and enlightenment. “Accidents are often caused by overloading, boats are often driven by people of the lowest levels of literacy in Nigeria, so character conduct is the major cause of havoc . But there is nothing too much to do to prevent loss of lives. So we will continue to campaign, involve community leaders and intensify efforts necessary to bring down accidents,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NIWA boss said the agency has stepped up its safety measures and put in place a search and rescue team with ambulance attached to them adding that these teams are on ground at all times. Similarly, he said the number of waterways marshals has been increased from 80 to 350 for the enforcement of its transportation code.
He urged state governments with navigable waterways and private sector operators to invest towards ensuring safety and efficient operations.
While reiterating the need for inland waterways operators to always use standard life jackets, he said nighttime movements should be avoided, explaining that night movement is not only dangerous but a criminal offence. ” Travelling in the night is a criminal offence,” he retorted.
Asked when Nigeria will begin to use its waterways for tourism activities, he revealed that he just returned from Spain and that some of the things being done to boost tourism there have been studied and would be recommended to the federal government. He however said he does not have an answer as to when these things would come into fruition in Nigeria.
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