By Stephen Ubanna
Oyetola Adegbola, a former governor of Osun state and now minister of the newly established ministry of marine and blue economy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not a happy man.
Oytola’s source of unhappiness is the continued boat mishap in Nigerian waters resulting in the death of many Lives. The boat, mishap, according to informed sources appear to be more in Niger, Kogi, Kwara and Sokoto,Kebbi, all states in the northern part of the Federation.
The boat mishaps, reoccurring in Nigerian waters, appears to have unsettled the former Osun state governor who had been more concerned on how to see that Nigeria secures enough votes to win the election into the International Maritime Organization, IMO, Executive Council, in 2025. The minister may have taken the election very serious because the country had lost it in three different occasions to other African countries, including Kenya in 2019.
The minister who could not hide his feelings was said to have ordered the NIWA, Leadership to ensure strict Compliance to the country’s Waterways Transportation Code and prosecute erring offenders as a lesson to others who might want to boat their boats on water with passengers when they know that such boats have some technical defaults that needed to be fixed.
Unconfirmed reports said no fewer than 27 people died in the Kogi boat and several others, mostly market women, still missing as at Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, when the accident occurred in the Kogi state village. The capsized boat, according the NIWA, spokesperson was sailing from Ebbe Community in Kogi state to Kacha market in Niger state.
Suleiman Makama, Head of Media Department of the maritime agency had confirmed that the ill-fated boat mishap which was taking the market women, to a neighbouring village food market in Niger, home state of Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General and former Nigerian military President had capsized along Damb-Ebuchi sections of the River Niger in the former military President home state.
NIWA, which had confirmed the Kogi state boat mishap had said that there 50 passengers onboard the boat. There is no gain saying the fact that the craze for money had made the overcrowding of boats to be common in the northern parts of Nigeria where the lack of motorable roads leaves the people with no other alternative routes but to pass through the water to get to their destinations.
An eyewitness account said the wooden boat, which belong to one Musa Dangana, was carrying 200 passengers , including market women from Ebbe Community and Farm labouers , enroute to Kacha ,weekly market in Niger state.
Worried by the recent boat mishap in Kupa Ebbe village in Kupa South Local Government Area of Kogi state may have informed why the aggrieved minister had given a matching order to Bola Oyebamiji, the Managing Director, Nigerian Inland Water Ways Authority, NIWA, to ensure that boat mishaps in the country stop.
Although, NIMWA, officials had said that the locally built boat which had capsized while sailing from Ebbe Community in Kogi state to Kacha , market in Niger state, was sailing with 50 passengers but the agency may have shot itself on the foot when it reportedly said that it is currently investigating the incident ‘’to ascertain the number of people in the boat , meaning that it was not even aware of the actual number of people onboard the boat before it sailed out kogi state.
Kaode Egbetokun, the no nonsense Nigerian Inspector General of Police, IGP, who will not want to be waiting for NIWA, to come out with the report of its Investigation on the boat mishap, was said to have directed the Force Marine Officer, FMO, the Administrative Head of the Section, who operates from the Headquarters to lead a comprehensive investigation into the causes of the mishap and recommend measures to be implemented to avoid a repeat in the future.
Olumuyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and Force spokesperson, had said on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, that the aim of the FMO’s investigations is to identify the contributing factors to the accident and to stop actionable strategies to prevent similar occurrences on the nation’s water ways in the future.
The Force spokesperson is optimistic that the investigation will provide an insight into improving overall safety and emergency response systems for water transport across the country. Given the Police Chief determination to addresses the excesses of the boat operators to contain boat mishaps in the country, may have given him the audacity to call on the waterways Operators and other stakeholders to work closely with the Force Marine Department in adapting and enforcing critical safety measures to protect the passengers and Operators alike’’.
Justin Uwazuruonye, Managing Director, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Operations, may have shocked Nigerians when he stated that rescuers had difficulty in finding the location of the capsized boat hours after the tragedy occurred which had made it impossible or any life to be saved.
Uwazuruonye, the NEMA, helmsman , whose officers had been involved in ensuring that water victims are rescued in different parts of the country had reechoed the news making the rounds that most of the accidents that o had occurred in waters , particular, in the northern part of the country was due to overcrowding and lack of maintenance of the boats , that was said to have been built locally to accommodate as many passengers as possible in defiance of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, under the close watch of Dayo Mobereola, Security and Safety measures.
Many believe that the frequency of boat mishaps will continue in Nigeria if immediate corrective measures that had been initiated by NIMASA and NIWA, the two maritime agencies saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the rules and regulations that govern Inland Water ways transport in Nigeria are strictly followed by Operators.
An aggrieved Uwazuruonye, had alluded to the fact that if the NIWA, which is over-seeing the country’s water transport system had strictly enforced the use of life jackets by passengers on such trips the loss of lives may not be too alarming whenever such accidents occur before the rescuers arrive the scene. His worry was that boat owners never makes available such life jackets for passengers patronizing their services.
Onyebanji, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of NIWA, who had identified human errors, drugs and disobedience to the rules and regulations of the agency Transportation Code as the major causes of boat mishaps that had occurred in different parts of the country over the last three years, was said to have told have told the House of Representatives Committee on NIWA, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, that agency was committed to the safety of Nigerians using water transportation.
The NIWA, boss was emphatic that 99% of the mishaps in the country’s waters were particularly, as a result of ‘’human errors’’ noting that the Operators are committing avoidable mistakes which shouldn’t have caused havoc. He did not stop there. H e was said to have furth told the Lawmakers that some of the boat Operators lived on drugs to influence their activities to make them high and eventually make avoidable mistakes. The question on the lips of most people was: What is the agency doing to stop the Operators from taking drugs before sailing out with their passengers?
NIMASA and NIWA, may have failed in curtailing the excesses of the wooden boat Operators over the years, according an insider because they are more focused on revenue generator from the sector than on the safety of people who rely on water transport as alternative route to their locations, particular, in the northern part of Nigeria, where there are too many rivers connecting Communities in the states in the region.
Recall that there was a similar incident on June 22, 2023, along the Jebba Lake Channel in the Lafiagi- Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara state in which about 103 passengers were believed had died in the boat mishap. The wooden boat was said to have carried more than 200 Passengers, which is a clear case of gross-overloading without providing life Jackets for them and sailing at night, shows the Operators complete disregard for the Laws regulating Inland, Waterways Navigation in the country.
It is not surprising why Ade Olopoenia, a Marine Captain and former Director of NIMASA, would want President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take the bold initiative to declare a state of emergency in the nation’s water transport sector. The Marine Captain had said categorically that ‘’the situation in Nigerian Inland Water Ways had reached a crisis point’’ that requires FG, intervention.
Given an insider report, he had attributed the root causes of boat mishaps in Nigerian Inland Water Ways to the struggle for struggle for supremacy between NIMASA and NIWA, on which agency should control the activities of the boat Operators in Nigerian water ways, thus giving room to the Operators to cash in on the situation to put rickety boats on the Nigerian waters without being properly checked and satisfied worthy to sail without endangering the lives of the passengers onboard the boat with the believe that neither NIMASA nor NIWA, can punish them when then they cannot settle their long standingdifferences.
