The Federal Government recently constituted a special committee on the prevention of boat mishaps on the nation’s inland waterways, bringing in experts from the academia and the littoral States to set a pathway for safety on the nation’s brown waters. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at what the committee must work on to succeed.
The Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, recently inaugurated a special committee on the prevention of boat mishaps on the nation’s inland waterways.
For the first time in the history of the nation’s inland waterways regulation, government has gone outside the ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to seek advice and inputs from renowned academic experts, operators and littoral State government representative to find a lasting solution to the menace of boat mishaps along the nations inland waterways.
Notable among members of this special committee includes representatives of key littoral states like Benue State, Niger State, Kebbi and Kogi States. The fact that the Federal Government went out of its way to ask for nomination of representatives in the special committee by this key four littoral states speaks volume to the seriousness attached to this new task at ending boat mishaps on the nation’s inland waterways.
Aside the presence of these key littoral states on the special committee, the presence of an academic in the person of Professor Idiba Douglas, a specialist in marine engineering and the former Director of Shell/NNPC Centre of Excellence in Marine and Offshore Engineering speaks volume about the path the committee wants to toe.
Also, on the committee is Navy Capt. Stan Igwe, a marine safety investigator with the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB); and Mr. Ralph Onoshapkor, a Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) expert with Oando Plc.
To add gloss to the committee is the inclusion of dredgers and boat operators with the nomination of the National President of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), Ganiyu Tarzan Balogun; National President of the Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association of Nigeria (WABOTAN), Babatope Fajemirokun; and the General Secretary of the Dredgers Association of Nigeria (DAN), Mr. Richard Ntan.
The presence of the dredgers and the boat operators on the special committee surely indicates the federal government readiness to end boat mishaps since the operators are the ones who wears the shoes and knows where it pinches.
TASKS AHEAD
With the constitution of the special committee, there is the need for it to look into the following if it must bring an end to incessant boat mishaps along the nation’s inland waterways.
ERADICATION OF WOODEN BOATS: The committee is lucky to have representation of major littoral States in its fold because the issue of wooden boats leading to boat mishaps has been prominent in the northern axis of the country.
The need to eradicate wooden boats from the nation’s inland waterways and introduction of state-of-the-art boats locally manufactured will go a long way in wiping out boat mishaps across the nation’s inland waterways.
Many of the boats recently handed out to ferry operators in Lagos by the state government were locally manufactured. With local production of state-of-the-art boats now available in-country, the massive purchase of these boats by littoral state governments for inland waterways purposes will drastically reduce the menace of boat mishaps in the country.
By patronizing local producers for standard boats, the country would have saved billions that would have been lost to capital flight that comes with importation of boats into the country.
WATERWAYS/JETTY PATROL: Another task before the special committee is improving the constant patrol of the nation’s inland waterways. Checks by the Nigerian Tribune have revealed that many boats that had suffered mishaps along the nations inland waterways had either left for their ill-fated journey via unmanned jetties or were overloaded.
With the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) grossly underfunded, there is need for proper funding of the organisation to increase the rate at which the Authority carries out patrols of inland waterways and jetties.
With many wooden boats preferring to carry passengers from unmanned jetties, thus getting overloaded before suffering mishaps, the urgent need for patrol of the inland waterways and jetties by relevant security agencies must be looked into by this new special committee.
DREDGING: Another target for the new committee is increasing the nations navigable waters from the paltry 3,000km (which remains disputable due to sedimentation) that she currently boasts of.
As at today, Nigeria claims to only have 3,000Km of navigable waterways out of her available 10,000km waterways.
On assumption of office, the NIWA Managing Director, Bola Oyebamiji tasked his Area Managers to dredge an additional 2,000km of waterways to meet the target of 5,000km of navigable inland waterways. However, not much has been heard about the directive, meaning Nigeria is still relying on her 3,000kn navigable waterways for inland waterways operation.
The need to dredge Nigeria’s inland waterways is overdue with stories of water crafts and boats running aground or running into wrecks due to accumulated sedimentation along the bottom of the nation’s inland waterways.
Sedimentation is a naturally occurring process where silt, sand and other debris accumulate at the bottom of rivers, lagoon and lakes over time. An excessive buildup of sediment can cause a series of issues. For instance, it can reduce the depth of the waterway and prevent the passage of water crafts like passenger boats or even larger vessels. It can also lead to contamination that poses threat to aquatic plants and wildlife.
Speaking on dredging of the waterways, a frontline maritime expert, Mr. Frank Meke explained that the dredging exercise cannot be a one-day affair. According to Meke, “Dredging is definitely not a one-day affair.
“We cannot just dredge and leave because the sediments gather and accumulate over time again. The dredging has to be repeated periodically to ensure the nations waterways remain navigable.
“The navigable waterways should be increased to 10,000km. The Special committee should look at dredging all the nations inland waterways. We have 10,000km waterways. Who says we cannot dredge everything? It is achievable. It is doable once the political will is there.
“If our waterways are well dredged, boats can leave from Lagos to Asaba or Onitsha or even Calabar. Passenger boats can leave from Kogi or Benue down to Lagos. This will boost the economic activities in littoral communities because there will be tendencies for stop-over at specific towns and villages during long distance boat trips.”
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CONCLUSION
Irrespective of the outcome of the recommendations of the special committee, the Federal Government ought to be commended for setting up the committee comprising of people from diverse sub-sectors of the maritime industry to find a lasting solution to the menace of boat mishaps plaguing the nations inland waterways operations.
While the committee’s recommendations are eagerly being anticipated, it is only hoped that the political will to implement them is given much energy as the formation of the Special Committee.
