NIWA Deploys 300 Water Marshals to Stem Fatalities, Collaborate with Agencies for Safety

Ahamefula Ogbu

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, has said that the Authority has speedily trained and deployed 300 water marshals across the nation’s waterways to stem accidents and fatalities.

Oyebamiji stated this yesterday in an interactive session with Guild of Editors at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, where he outlined several measures aimed at keeping the waterways safe while developing tourism in that sector.
He explained that the water marshals were trained and deployed on 24 hours basis separate from the search and rescue team already equipped to respond to emergencies as part of the proactive measures already in place.

He blamed human errors, mechanical issues and weather for most of the accidents and fatalities on the waterways and insisted that night journeys with boats which are often not fitted with lamps as “criminal” which they have taken several measures to address.
According to him, his Authority had distributed life jackets to various operators and has in addition, taken campaigns to the grassroots aimed at sensitizing the people on safety practices.

Certifications and monitoring of standards, the NIWA boss said, were being aided by the navy and marine police who also help in enforcing the water code which encompasses all rules that would ensure safety.
“Poor attitudes and blatant disregard of safety procedures account for incidents on our waterways but we are deploying resources in human and technology to stem them. We are also partnering with other agencies and armed forces to ensure those accidents are minimised and stopped,” Oyebamiji explained.

On efforts to increase frequency of water transportation to ease the pressure on roads, he brought Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, Sarat Braimah who said they had charted the waterways pointing out that the Marina to Ikorodu and Marina to Badagry were charted and ready to use in Lagos just like other points across the country.

On removal of wrecks on the routes, he said they were continuously doing that, pointing at the case in point of Calabar where a wreck was reported of blocking navigation which had been cut to pieces and removed which he further stated was a daily exercise, adding that when they notice some, they either report to Nigerian Ports Authority or other agencies.

He said they collaborate with the Navy, Marine Police, Immigration and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to not only keep the water ways safe but to ensure that criminal activities and smuggling in persons would be checked and the waterways safer.

General Manager of the Authority on Development, Olawale Adetola said they were working to harness tourism potentials of the authority as obtains in other climes but lamented that they were issues of paucity of funds due to low or nil budgeting for the development.

He however explained that they were eyeing private partnerships to bridge the funding gaps but assured they were not deterred by any issue they meet along the way in their quest achieve stated goals.