FG’s Complicity in Frequent Boat Accidents

The recent tragic boat accident where 150 passengers were declared missing in Niger State is another evidence of regulatory failure and the federal government’s utter disregard for the lives of the poor masses who patronise water transportation, Ejiofor Alike reports

Nigerians woke up last Tuesday to another sad reality of 150 people being declared missing after a boat with 300 passengers sailing from Mundi community capsized in river Niger upstream Jebba dam, at Gbajibo community, Mokwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State.

The Niger State Government had earlier disclosed that 182 passengers had died due to boat mishaps across the state in the past three years.

Nigeria’s about 4,000 kilometres of navigable waterways have become death traps with more than 1,000 deaths recorded in less than three years as a result of the failure of the regulatory agencies overseeing water transportation.

While governments at all levels have focused on air and land transportations, effective regulation and enforcement of existing guidelines are lacking in water transportation.

Many believe that the government neglected water transportation because only the lives of the poor who utilise this mode of transportation are being wasted in boat accidents.

Unlike the water transportation, which is being run by non-professionals, the aviation sector remains the most regulated by professionals given the fact that it is the means of transportation for the rich.

Unconfirmed estimates put the number of deaths to boat accidents in 2021, 2022 and 2023 at an average of 300 yearly, with most of the deaths recorded in Sokoto, Anambra, Bayelsa, Lagos, Kano, Niger, Taraba, Ondo, Cross River and Kebbi states. 

In 2021, the most tragic accident occurred on May 26 in Warrah village, Tsihuwan Labata, Ngaski Local Government Area (LGA) of Kebbi State, when a boat carrying passengers to a market in neighbouring Borgu LGA of Niger State, capsized, killing 156 people. 

Earlier in April 2021, no fewer than 29 children from Gidan Magana village in Sokoto drowned in Shagari River when their vessel capsized on their way to fetch firewood.

The deadliest incidents were recorded in 2022 with over 300 lives lost while over 200 people died in 2023.

In 2023, the first incident occurred on January 3, when a boat carrying over 100 rice farmers to Samanaji, a riverine community, capsized in Koko/Nesse LGA of Kebbi State, killing 15 farmers.

On April 23, a boat accident claimed the lives of no fewer than five people at Kanwa Dam in Madobi LGA of Kano State, while 17 people died on May 10 in Dandeji village, Shagari LGA of Sokoto State, when a boat carrying over 40 girls and boys who went to fetch firewood at a nearby bush capsized.

In another incident, five passengers died on June 7 when a boat carrying traders who went to buy seafood at a local market in Ugbo-Nla of Ilaje LGA of Ondo State capsized, while only one person who wore a life jacket was rescued.

The most tragic incident in 2023 occurred on June 13 when about 110 people died when a boat overloaded with about 250 guests returning from a wedding event in Egboti community in Niger State, capsized in Egbu village, in Patigi LGA of Kwara State.

On June 24, five people died while three medical students were missing after a speed boat capsized in Calabar, Cross River State

No fewer than 12 people died on August 24 in a boat accident in Arikiya, Lafia LGA of Nasarawa State, while 15 died on September 8 in another incident in Njuwa Lake in Yola South LGA of Adamawa State.

On September 10, about 24 people died when a boat carrying over 100 passengers to their farms capsized in the Mokwa area of Niger State.

A boat carrying passengers from Kasabo village in Agwara LGA of Niger State to Yauri in Kebbi State also capsized on October 2 with seven people confirmed dead.

In Anambra State, 76 people died on October 7 when a boat, which took off from Onukwu bridge and was heading to Nkwo market, Ogbakuba in Ogbaru LGA of the state capsized.

 Two passengers also died on October 26 when a boat crossing from Olorunsogo to the Isawo area of Lagos capsized, while over 20 people died two days later on October 28, when a boat carrying passengers from Mayo-Renewo market to the Karim Lamido area of Taraba State.

In Nasarawa State, a boat carrying rice farmers from Ubbe district in the Nasarawa Eggon LGA of the state capsized in Awe LGA on November 6, killing four passengers, while eight died in another accident in Ibi LGA of Taraba State on November 12.

On December 11, 2023, two people died in a boat accident that occurred in Gamadio LGA of Adamawa State.

The Nigeria’s entertainment industry was thrown into mourning on April 10, 2024 when a boat carrying 12 actors and crew members crashed in Anam River on their way to a location in Delta State, resulting in the loss of five passengers, including a popular Nollywood actor, Mr. Paul Odonwodo, also known as Junior Pope.

In a preliminary report released in May, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) revealed that the boat driver was not certified.

The Director General, NSIB, Alex Badeh, while presenting the report, further revealed that the fibre boat was not registered with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

Also speaking last month during the ‘2024 Safety Sensitisation Campaign on Nigerian Waterways,’ organised for boat operators, and other stakeholders in Onitsha, Anambra State, the Managing Director of NIWA, Bola Oyebamiji, disclosed that the boat mishap in which the actors lost their lives was caused by ignorance, negligence, and non-adherence to due process.

Oyebamiji, represented by the Area Manager of NIWA, Suleiman A. Nicholas, said the passengers on the ill-fated boat did not pass through the normal process as they just went to the waterfront and jumped into the boat and moved.

To avert these recurring incidents, the Presidency should stop the age-long tradition of issuing press statements to mourn and commiserate with the families and victims of boat mishap and ensure that water transportation is run by professionals who will apply the stringent rules and safety standards similar to those of the air transportation.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari had in his reaction to one of the boat accidents in Tijana village of Munya LGA of Niger State in June 2021, called on the transportation authorities to ensure strict adherence to safety regulations on the nation’s waterways to avert future occurrence.

President Bola Tinubu had also, while reacting to the June 13, 2023 tragic incident that claimed over 100 lives, directed the relevant authorities to “unravel the immediate and remote causes.”

However, presidential reactions to boat accidents have become mere rhetoric as the incidents have continued unabated with the failure of the regulatory agencies and the insensitivity of the government at all levels to the lives of the poor that are being wasted.

Finally, NIWA has to wake up to its responsibility as the waterway regulator and ensure that not only is monitoring important, enforcement and punitive measures are equally imperative.