The NIWA-led efforts to rid the nations inland waterways of incessant boat accidents has largely been successful in the Southern part of the country. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at why avoidable boat accidents which keeps leading to massive loss of lives have persisted in the Northern part of the country.
Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day celebration left a sour taste in the mouth when a boat accident which claimed over 100 lives occurred on the night of Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in Gbajibo community, Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
Between June and October, about 300 precious lives have been lost in four fatal boat accidents, all happening in the Northern part of the country. The biggest tragedy struck on June 12 in the Pategi precinct of the River Niger, where 144 passengers travelling from Kwara to Niger State were confirmed dead and dozens more were declared missing.
In September 2024, 15 lives were lost when a boat carrying 23 people capsized in Njuwa Lake in Yola South Local Government of Adamawa State. Also, in September, 70 persons, mostly farmers died when a boat capsized at the Mashayar Dantauri river bank in the Gummi town of Zamfara State.
The latest tragedy is the Gbajibo community fatality in Mokwa, Niger State where more than 100 lives have been lost and search and rescue operations are still ongoing as at the time of filing in this report.
While the Southern part of the country has enjoyed relative calm in terms of boat mishaps, recording very few issues with near zero fatalities, the North has seen more mishaps in recent times, leading to incessant loss of lives on a large scale along the nation’s inland waterways.
ISSUES UP NORTH
Checks by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that from Jebba to Malele, Youari in Kebbi State down to Zamfara, Taraba, Yobe and the Chad Basin, waterways laws and regulations are not applied during boat trips within this region.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, a Tourism expert, Mr. Frank Meke explained that for sanity to return to these routes, the State government and the religious and cultural leaders of these communities must collaborate more with government to enforce sanity on the inland waterways.
According to Frank Meke, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustee of Nigeria’s largest group of ferry services operators, the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), “the problem up North is that the people don’t care to obey any regulations once it is not coming from their rulers or governors. It is a socio-cultural issue that needs to be addressed.
“To compound issues, the current crop of leaders doesn’t care. How many of the governors up North have bought boats to support ferry services within their jurisdiction in the last one year? We are talking of an area not far from the Chad Basin. The governors need to support ferry services the same way they support road transportation within their States.
“Niger is one of the states in Nigeria surrounded by water bodies like the River Niger. Many of those people who perished in the last boat accident were traders. They are used to moving along the waterways to conduct their fishing trade.
“The ill-fated boat was a wooden boat. Imagine a wooden boat loaded with more than 200 passengers departing a jetty at about 8:30pm? That won’t happen in the southern part of the country because even the passengers will be scared of their lives.
“This is not so up North. The people up North don’t care about safety, even at the point of losing their own lives. They know and have heard countless times that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is campaigning against night sailing, but they won’t listen to such directive because is not coming from their leaders.
“Do you know that many of the life jackets distributed to these people in time past were either sold or left at home? The people living in those Northern villages surrounded by water don’t listen to regulations. They only listen to their leaders. They don’t see NIWA as their leader.
“During the reign of the late Emir of Borgu in Niger State, His Royal Highness Alhaji Haliru Dantoro, avoidable boat mishaps like this was minimised. The late Emir supported inland waterways efforts by providing boats and Life Jackets to the locals. Many of the locals listened and adhered to NIWA instructions because of the support of the late Emir.
“Because of his influence on inland waterways activities, the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), which I am a Board of Trustee (BoT) member, made the Emir a Life Patron of the association.
“Due to the interest of the late Emir in inland waterways activities, the former governor of the state also took keen interest in waterways activities.
“However, since the demise of the Emir in 2015, every effort aimed at ensuring safety on the inland waterways around that area has gone down the drain. How many times has the sitting governors visited the littoral communities in the North? Many of these governors don’t care.
“Aside Lagos State and a few others, how many of the State Commissioners of Transportation in the North go to saner climes to understudy how waterways transportation is being implemented?
“Even the Transportation Ministries, how empowered are they? Look at the budget of these littoral Northern States, how much has been earmarked for waterways transportation activities. Its near zero?”.
WAY FORWARD
There is need for the various State governments and traditional institutions in the North to collaborate more with NIWA.
While NIWA regulates, many of the State governments don’t know the values of the Brown Water economies. It is imperative that many of the Northern States take a cue from Lagos State that has invested massively in waterways infrastructures through building of jetties and procurement of waterways crafts.
Also, there is need for more funding for the NIWA to embark on routine dredging of the waterways up north while also increasing safety awareness sensitisation and increasing surveillance operations within the volatile region.
Read Also: Niger govt, Toronto varsity sign $3m scholarship deal
