Determined to reduce the rate of mishaps on Lagos waterways, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) on Monday, carried out community-to-community water transportation awareness on safety.
Carried out in collaboration with the Association of Tourists Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), the awareness was necessitated by the reoccurring mishaps, particularly the incident that took place on Friday 8 July, where about 17 members of a family were killed along the Kirikiri-Ibeshe water channel.
Sarat Braimah, Lagos area manager, NIWA, said the exercise was necessary to ensure strict compliance with safety measures on the waterways.
According to her, NIWA will commence safety enforcement by Friday 1 August and will certify every boat driver.
Noting that there are penalties under the new transport code, she urged operators to abide by the rules.
She added that people will be apprehended for overloading and non-usage of life jackets with a risk to face a seven-year jail term.
Braimah said NIWA is willing to donate any of its available 32 passenger boats to assist communities to move along the waterways at night.
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Kareem Issah, one of the community leaders in the Ikare and Irede communities of Oriade LCDA, said passengers are the ones that always go contrary to the usage of life jackets.
He said overloading usually takes place at night when no official is on the ground to checkmate and ensure usage.
“We want the government to be selling the life jacket to curtail faking. We have been cooperating with the authority and ensuring we keep to the safety guidelines,” he said.
The team equally paid a condolence visit to the Ovori of Ibeshe over the death of his subjects in the ill-fated incident that occurred on Friday 8 July.
Rasaki Alani Gausu, the Ovori of Ibeshe said 19 and not 17 persons died in the accident, and urged members of his inner council to step up their enforcement within the community.
NIWA donated some life jackets to the communities to further promote safety on the Lagos waterways in relation to the new transport code of the federal government.
Some of the communities visited include Bishop Koji, Sagbokoji, Flakoji, Ikare, Irede, and Ibeshe, and all island communities within the Oriade Council Development Area (LCDA) of Amuwo-Odofin local government of Lagos State.
