Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has said the death of scores of passengers in a boat mishap at Badau village of Bagwai Local Government Area of Kano State on Tuesday was a tragedy of colossal proportion and called for proactive safety measures for river transportation across the country.
Reacting to the incident through his media office in Abuja, the former Vice President expressed sadness over the tragedy involving some adults and pupils of Madinatu Islamiya School from Badau village who were on their way to take part in Maulud celebration marking the birthday of Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
According to him, a tragedy of this immense proportion is more than unfortunate and that the incident demands urgent review of safety standards in the country’s river transportation.
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He explained that he was deeply worried about the fact that this wasn’t the first incident in the country and that these frequent incidents of large-scale deaths caused by boat mishaps is not only embarrassing, but should also be urgently addressed.
While expressing his sympathy to the family of the victims, Atiku expressed concern about lack adherence to safety standards such as overloading or lack of safety equipment like life jackets to minimise death in the event of accidents.
He extended his heart-felt condolences to the affected families, the management and staff of Madinatu Islamiya School and the government and people of Kano State and Bagwai Local Government Area.
