The Operations Manager of Metro Ferry Services, Mr Zakari Dekina, on Thursday advised the Lagos State Government to channelise lagoons in the state to curtail accidents on waterways.
Dekina said yesterday in Ikorodu, near Lagos that channelisation of waterways could guarantee security and safety.
“There is need for proper channelisation of our waterways and markings of our waterways, just as is the case on our roads.
“We expect that these would help guide our boat captains to identify bad spots and tell them where to navigate.
The Operations Manager of Metro Ferry Services, Mr Zakari Dekina, on Thursday advised the Lagos State Government to channelise lagoons in the state to curtail accidents on waterways.
Dekina said yesterday in Ikorodu, near Lagos that channelisation of waterways could guarantee security and safety.
“There is need for proper channelisation of our waterways and markings of our waterways, just as is the case on our roads.
“We expect that these would help guide our boat captains to identify bad spots and tell them where to navigate.
“They should give us a channel where the commercial boats operators would be operating.
“If the regulatory authorities do this, it would go a long way to ensuring that accidents are reduced.’’
Dekina added that a situation where various categories of users plied the same route was unhealthy for water transportation.
“At the moment, boat operators, fishermen, loggers and even dredgers travel the same route on our waterways. This is not safe.
“For instance, we have had situations where their nets spoil the propeller which can also cause an accident.
“On many occasions, when loggers lose logs on the water, they are left to float aimlessly on the lagoon. These pose serious dangers to our boats,” he noted.
The manager said, however, that apart from being beneficial to boat operators, having dedicated routes could douse tensions between fishermen and loggers.
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