Lagos Boat Mishaps: NIWA Pays Condolence Visit to Deceased Family

0

Dr George Moghalu

…Monarch Blames Accident On Human Error

…NIWA Arrests Boat with 7 Passengers Traveling without Life Jackets

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) on Wednesday paid a condolence visit to the Sumola Aniajogun family of Ibeshe in the Mile 2 area of Lagos, where 17 members of their family members last Friday perished in a boat accident.

The NIWA management also visited the Ovori of Ibeshe, Oba Gausu Alani Razak, even as the monarch blamed the accident on “human error” from the boat rider.

Oba Gausu Alani Razak, the Ovori of Ibeshe

DAILY TREND reports that on the way back from the condolence visit, NIWA management and it’s eagle eyed police command sighted and arrested a boat carrying seven passengers, all traveling without Life Jackets.
The boat and it’s occupants arrested by NIWA on Wednesday

The boat and the occupants, who were suspected to be on drugs, were immediately arrested by the NIWA Police and taken to the Lagos office in Marina.

Meanwhile, the Ibeshe monarch, Oba Gausu, urged NIWA to uphold safety regulations in the waterways and maintain regular patrol in order to arrest anyone flouting the rules, especially as regards overloading of boats, night navigation, and wearing of life jackets.

NIWA delegation in a group photograph with the monarch

Speaking, he said “There is need for orientation and training, the operators do not have formal education and training, so what do you expect? Even the boat they using is not up to standard

“Our people are ignorant, they don’t understand, we must have that basic training for them, boat operation is more than what they think it is, it deals with life’s”

Speaking on last week’s boat mishap which claimed 17 people from his community, the monarch attested that the boat driver failed to do what he ought to have done before loading passengers on the boat and pushing the boat into water.

“How can a boat driver load passengers on a boat, push the boat into the water before checking if he has the correct mixture of engine oil in the boat engine?

“Due to this error from the boat driver, the tide pushed the fully loaded boat underneath a barge and the entire passengers, including the boat driver, drowned.

“It all boils down to lack of training for boat drivers. Many of them are not educated. Many of them operate under the influence of drugs. It is important that NIWA, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), and other stakeholders provide training for boat skippers.

“If boat skippers are well trained, the scenario where drivers operate outside the 6:30 am to 6:30 pm stipulated time won’t occur.

“The ill-fated boat that sank was carrying passengers beyond its capacity. The boat was overloaded and was operating outside the time for safe navigation.

“We need more training for boat drivers to ensure incidences like this do not repeat itself.”

Oba Gausu called on NIWA to carryout localized sensitization of boat operators, saying that Ibeshe land has one of the highest concentration of boat skippers. He said that boat mishap happens everywhere and not peculiar to the community alone.

The NIWA Lagos Area Manager, Eng Sarat Braimah has assured that the authority would double it’s effort in ensuring night patrol and enforcement of laid down regulations.

According to her, investigations into the accident has revealed that the ill-fated boat loaded it’s passengers at a containerised jetty around Mile 2 which was shut down last year June by NIWA.

According to her, the jetty was supposed to be loading containers but was shut down because it was not certified for container operations.

She said the NIWA and the joint committee on barge operations comprising; NPA and NIMASA, closed down the jetty and stationed police officers there for six months in order to prevent operations from ongoing there.

“We have been monitoring them and they were not operating. When I heard about the incident, I called the owner of the jetty and asked why did a boat load from his jetty and he said he was not aware.
Those people went there to load illegally.

“One of the staff of the owner of the jetty who is am eyewitness say then loading and questioned them and they said they were waiting for a boat coming from their village to take them, and that they were going for the just concluded Sallah festivity.

“He said the boat could not take more than 10 passengers and there were 17 people on the boat including the captain.
The boat went under a barge stationed nearby and the weather also contributed.

“The weather is bad and boat operators and passengers should not travel at night because of the wave. Our jetties open by 6am and close by 7pm,” she explained.

Speaking during a condolence visit to Ibeshe community where the victims of the boat accidents reside, Braimoh, who was represented by the Head of Marine, National Inland Waterways Authority, Elsie Egwuatu, charged boat operators and passengers to be safety conscious as there is climate change and the water level as well as the waves are tok high at nights.

“Boat operators must keep to safety rules and regulations, such as no night traveling, no over loading. On the part of the passengers, they should ensure that the operators keep to safety rules and regulations. When they board boats they should demand for life jackets and that the captain of the boat does not carry beyond it’s capacity and not travel at night.

“The incidents have happened and what we are doing is to ensure that there is no reoccurrence to make water transport a safe mode of transportation,” she said.

Accompanying NIWA on the visit to Ibeshe, one of the stakeholders and Chief Executive Officer of SIMTOP, Comrade Tope Fajemirokun said the operators have observed that there is no enough enforcement on night travel ban on the waterways.

Fajemirokun urged NIWA, Marine Police and Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) to double their enforcement.

Also on the visit were the President of Association of Tourist Boats and Water Transport Owners of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) Alhaji Gani Tarzan Balogun and his Lagos State Chairman, Hon Saheed Lawal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Share