The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) yesterday paraded two suspects; a boat owner, Balogun Oriyomi and boat operator, Solomon Gbenga for violating the agency’s safety regulations.
The Lagos state Zonal Coordinator NIWA, Engineer Mauzu Sambo, while parading the suspects at the Marina, Lagos office of the agency said that the violation occurred in the early hours of March 28, 2019.
He said that it was disheartening to note that inspire of the agency's efforts in sensitizing both operators on the need to obey safety regulations, the rules were still being flouted.
Giving details, Sambo said the boat was loaded with 12 passengers on board, he added that the passengers who were all school pupils of Government Secondary School, Tarkwa Bay did not have life jackets.
The visibly infuriated NIWA, Lagos zone boss also said that the passengers on board the impounded boat were all minors below the age of 15years.
Sambo recalled that the ugly incident happen just about three months after the agency embarked on a sensitization tour round all the jetties in Lagos state.
He told journalists that: "I am sad because I gathered you to disseminate information that is not palatable. About three months ago, this office spent large amount of money, huge resources to transverse all the nooks and crannies of Lagos state on a sensitization campaign"
"We visited nothing less than 38 private passenger jetties. We sent messages everywhere we went about safety, this became necessary following the incidence that happened along Ikorodu waterways last year"
"It is disheartening to note that in spite of these sensitization campaigns that we embarked upon, in spite of the regular forum that we had with private boat operators, that we can catch a boat on water loaded with passengers and none of them was wearing a life jacket. And what is even more painful is that the passengers were all school children; none of them is up to 16 years old".
Sambo however said that standard approved life jacket is an essential requirement for water transportation.
He maintained that the agency places a very high premium on safety of lives on the waters.
"Conveying them from Takwa Bay to a school even at Osborne, now for crying out loud, if there was a mishap that is how we are going to lose these precious young lives. Because no matter how well you can swim, first of all, don't forget that accidents happen because of several factors”
"Some of them are human control, so you must give room for eventuality; the possibility that it will happen and when it does the first recourse is always the life jacket because the life jacket will ensure that you are floating on water for at least an hour depending on the strength of the life jacket".
Explaining further, he said that the offenders were caught on one of the busiest and most dangerous routes on the nation’s waterways.
"And this happened on one of the busiest routes that we have in Lagos state not only the busiest but also one of the most dangerous routes that we have. Because from Takwa Bay to Marina is a port approach, the ocean water comes in from there so the tides are very high”
‘Human life is very precious, more so the future leaders of this country, who knows where the leader will come from"
"No matter how powerful a swimmer you are, if anything happens it’s only God that can say what will happen not to talk of teenagers", he lamented.
According to him, the two paraded suspects are going to serve as a deterrent to other boat operators and owners.
"Secondly in other to save as a deterrent against future occurrences of this by private operators, we are parading the two suspects here before you"
"Now what we are going to do, we are handing over these two gentlemen to the Area command, Lion Building which is the Police command that is responsible for this jurisdiction for immediate arraignment in a court of law, a court of competent jurisdiction for them to face the full wrath of the law. Hopefully it will serve as a lesson to other operators", he said.
Also speaking, the Tarkwa Bay chapter chairman of the Association of Tourist Boat and Water Transport Association of Nigeria (ATBOWTON) Engineer Omumu Rapheal said that he was not on seat the day the ugly incident happened.
He added that he followed the national president to an official visit outside the state.
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