In the latest of the tragedies that now define water transportation in Nigeria, no fewer than 100 persons were reported dead in Pategi local government area of Kwara State, last week. The victims were returning from a wedding ceremony in another village called Gboti, in neighbouring Niger State, when the boat carrying about 270 people capsized. We commiserate with the families of the deceased as we call on the authorities to investigate the cause of the accident. We also urge the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to come up with strategies that would help to keep our waterways safe, especially for the most vulnerable of our society in rural communities who are usually the victims of these recurring accidents.

NIWA was established in 1997 to manage the nation’s 3000 navigable waterways from the Nigeria/Niger Republic and Nigeria/Cameroon borders to the Atlantic Ocean. These comprise Rivers Niger and Benue as well as the creeks, lagoons, lakes, and intra-coastal waters. NIWA’s mandate also includes providing “regulatory, economical and operational leadership in the nation’s inland waterways system and develop infrastructural facilities for efficient intermodal transportation system that is safe, seamless and affordable”.

Unfortunately, NIWA’s presence is hardly felt. For instance, it is a notorious fact that there is hardly any ferry, canoe or the so-called “flying boat” that keeps to the exact passenger number specification. In some instances, boats that were constructed to carry not more than 20 persons could be loaded with 50 or more passengers especially at peak periods when people are in a hurry to get back to their destinations. Consequently, when the canoes encounter stormy conditions along the water, the sheer weight of the human cargo and other luggage would make them easily susceptible to accidents. Available reports indicate that the boat that capsized in Kwara State was overcrowded.

Aside from overloading, most of these boats that ply our waterways are old and suffer from lack of proper maintenance. Perhaps more important is the obvious lack of safety standards. In fact, not much is known about the existence of any mandatory operational guidelines for ownership of ferries and boats and the minimum standards that must be met to be in the business.

It is unfortunate that almost everything worthwhile and ordinarily should be easily achieved always looks like a mountain in Nigeria. With the existence of waterfronts in various parts of the country and the increasingly devastating state of our roads, innovative leaders would have ordinarily explored the options of this mode of transportation by heavily investing in our waterways with a view to making them safe. That sadly is not the case even though water transportation is one clear source of de-congesting the roads in places where road travel could result in frustrating hours on the traffic.

We therefore urge NIWA to be alive to its responsibility by enforcing universal safety standards. For instance, the absence of any search and rescue agencies often contributes to the high casualty figures recorded since the operators have little or no knowledge about what to do when faced with emergency situations.

Going forward, we reiterate our call that operational standard be enforced nationally for those in the business of ferry and canoe transportation. Provision of emergency services along the waterways is also important. It is even more disturbing that we have marine police in the country who always seem to be nowhere in environs where water tragedies occur. If they are marine police, shouldn’t they be permanently stationed around waterways for immediate rescue operations in times of tragedy?

To avert a situation in which travelling by water is increasingly becoming a suicide mission in Nigeria, authorities must put in place all the necessary safety measures.

Update news