KEY POINTS
- Over 60 confirmed dead in a boat accident on October 3, 2024, in Nigeria’s Niger River, near Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
- The cause of the accident was attributed to overloading and the absence of proper safety measures like life jackets.
- Similar incidents occurred in 2021 (Kebbi State) and 2023 (Niger River), leading to multiple fatalities, highlighting recurring issues in Nigeria’s waterway safety
Nigeria has again been thrown into mourning after over 60 people were lost in a boat mishap on the Niger River in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State. The accident occurred on 3rd of October, 2024, when an FV, overloaded with more than one hundred passengers most of whom were coming from the local market tipped over.
As published by Reuters, this unfortunate incident has once again brought to the fore the alarming state of water way in Nigeria. Nigerians are disappointed that the nation is yet to move forward in ensuring that traveling by water is safe for people. However, it appears that even though many boats have capsized in the recent past, and similar mishaps occurred in Kebbi and Niger States in 2021 and 2023 respectively, not much has been done to ensure that such deaths are prevented. The big question now is: what is causing these disasters to occur and how can the world prevent them?
Recurring problems in Nigeria’s water transportation system
Hitherto, Nigeria’s waterways have been characterized by safety hazards, especially in the rural areas where boats are the major means of transportation. This aforementioned incident is a recent one, and unfortunately, the world has seen many boat accidents occurring due to overloading of boats, lack of maintenance, and no proper safety measures. The boat which participated in this latest catastrophe was overcrowded with passengers, with overloading, and many individuals being much more than the maximum limit of this boat, a usual trend in these parts of the world as rarely is the passenger limit on boats and other means of transport conformed to.
The absence of life jackets and competent boat operators deepens the problem, with many passengers often at the risk of getting drowned in case of an accident. In this particular incident, it is alleged that lack of simple protective gear compounded the loss of lives. The failure to adopt safety measures continues to make water transport in Nigeria a very risky business, this is so especially to the rural populace who rely on the services for their daily activities.
Lessons from past tragedies
It is disappointing that after so many lives have been lost in repeated episodes of this disaster, there is no radical reform of the water transportation system in Nigeria. Even more depressing is the realization that all these catastrophes could be prevented if only safety precautions were implemented. Subsequently, the government would have to focus on the underlying causes of such mishaps as insufficiently developed facilities and inadequate compliance with rules and standards, inadequate safety gear and training for boat drivers.
What needs to be done to prevent future accidents?
First of all, one has to admit the need for increasing the compliance with safety standards. One of the likely causes of boat mishap is overloading and it is imperative that authorities ensure that operators are penalized for loading many passengers than allowed by the boat’s capacity. Also, passengers should be compelled to wear life jackets especially on the passenger carrying boats, the operators of these boats should ensure they have enough life saving gadgets for all the people on board.
Another important area is the training that operators get for boats. The problem of safety is compounded by the fact that many of the boatmen plying the Nigerian rivers have no any form of training in maritime safety. The government should establish certification programs to make it possible to allow only certified personnel to operate the passenger boats. Moreover, boats should be maintained more effectively. Most of the boats used in rural areas are old and often not well maintained and thus likely to cause an accident.
Finallyt; the development of water transport in Nigeria is highly under developed and requires a boost. The government needs to find ways of coming up with better and safer boats that conform to international standards. This could be done through collaborations with private players and other foreign entities in a bid to enhance safety and efficiency of water borne transport.
A call for urgent action
Nigeria as a nation cannot continue to fold its arms and watch such preventable incidents to occur in the country. This is a testimony to the fact that many recurrent and avoidable human casualties on our waterways are due to the lack of attention to many critical issues in safety. A certain number of these accidents can be attributed to nature, for example: adverse weather conditions, but the most common are the cases where the accident was caused by human mistake, inadequate regulation, and the absence of proper safety precautions.
The Nigerian government now needs to start making efforts to tackle these problems, instead of waiting for the next disaster to happen and then send condolences and assure change. The victims in those tragedies never got a chance to be saved by prayers, they need action that can save lives and prevent such mishaps.
