“We want more check points on Lagos waterways”
In the light of the reoccurrence of boat mishaps in Lagos, Oluyinka Onigbinde and Adewale Buraimoh spoke with the Chairman of Association of Tourism Boat Operators and Water Transporters Of Nigeria (ATBOWATON); Mr Lawal Babatunde on the challenges of water transportation in Lagos.
What is your assessment of water transportation in Lagos state?
My assessment of water transportation in Lagos is that both the Federal and State governments are trying their best to mobilize people to use by water transportation, in order to decongest the road. Currently, people do spend hours on the road in their vehicles or buses before they get home or wherever they are going. The government is trying their possible best to decongest the roads by people traveling more on the water where the duration of your journey can be predicted. For instance, within two hours, I can travel from CMS to Badagry and once there is no problem with the engine, the journey will be seamless.
How does one become a boat operator, is it by certification or education or how?
Before you can become a boat operator, most especially to be our member, it is by you having a boat. This is because an adage says that “whoever wears the shoe knows where it pains”. If you don’t have a boat, how will you know how to maintain it. Most times, we cannot really purchase these boats and their parts because it is a capital-intensive business. None of us can afford a brand new engine. The one we usually go for is the tokunboh engine. This implies that these engine has been used before and we don’t know why the owner of the engine sold it. You might buy it and be lucky by not repairing anything from it. You might also buy it and start spending lots of money on it, because you do not know the condition of the engine and why the owner of the engine took it to the marketplace to sell. From there, you will now start checking the components like – piston, cup, crank shaft even the engine itself. That is why in our own association, you can only become a member when you are ready to be the owner of the business.
How does anyone become a boat operator?
Before you can be a pilot of a boat, you have to learn how to operate it. Some people actually inherited this skill from their fathers. Their fathers might be doing the business gradually right from the time when we were using paddles, then modernization came in and they started using engines. We have many graduates in this business; due to the present condition in the country. They decide to take over the business of their fathers instead of roaming the streets looking for jobs. So from there, they will be able to provide food for their families. Before you can start handling an engine, you have to learn about it and at the same time, you need to be certificated. This is because, if you are not certified by the authorities, you will not be authorized to drive. You must have passion for the business you want to involve yourself in; it is not only for the profits. Once you have a passion for it, then you definitely will know how to handle it. You cannot say you want to start a business today and want to start making profit immediately. This is how the boat transportation business is.
What about certification and regulation?
We have about three regulatory bodies as far as Lagos state is concerned. We have National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). So, we have to go to these agencies; when you buy a boat, you have to go to NIWA to certify your boat to be okay before you can start the business. After leaving NIWA, LASWA will also come to you to regulate and certify the boat before you start using it. That is why I said our business is capital intensive.
There has been an increase in boat accidents. Is there really any certification of boat operators?
They do that. That is why NIMASA does the certification of our boat operators, before they start handling their boats. The exercise is ongoing and NIWA also call for the registration of our members, so that they will be certified okay before they start handing the boats. So these agencies certify us before we start operating.
What’s the basic requirement?
They start from your first school leaving certificate and then to the Senior Secondary School certificate. You may have any other paper that can make you to be more qualified, but the lowest starts from the Senior Secondary School certificate. You will present it together with your National Identity Number (NIN) and other valid documents which will be submitted to them, before they can now invite you for an interview and you go for proper training. After all these have been done, you can now be certified. Nobody prays to have an accident. As a boat operator, what matters most is to have passion for what you are doing and concentrate. This is because, the lives of the passengers are in your hands as a Captain. It is until you convey them to their various jetties that you are free. You need utmost concentration when driving a boat.
Boat accidents on Lagos waters
We cannot compare water transportation with road transportation. When driving on the road, you can see clearly what is on the road. But on water, you don’t know what is under the water; either wrecks, logs or timber. We might think it is just water hyacinths, we don’t know what is under. That is why you don’t need to be running at a top speed. You can only speed when you are at a water hyacinth-free area. You also have to limit the speed in order to avoid accidents. If there is anything under the water, you will be able to maneuver and control the steering. It is not advisable to be on top speed on the waters. We have been warning our members not to ply the waters at night. We collaborate with NIWA, LASWA, and other regulatory bodies, so that once it is 6pm to 6:30pm, it is not advisable to travel from any jetty, no matter how the distance might be, because you cannot freely see everywhere; not to talk of the night. By all these, you can curtail the rate of accidents on the waterways. We have been praying for our waterways to be accident-free either nationwide or state-wide. We have been communicating this to our members.
What are you doing about derelicts and wrecks on Lagos waters?
In the areas of logs and wrecks, we do discuss with the regulatory agencies whenever we have stakeholders’ meetings together. It is the government that can do this and not an individual or a group of people. I believe there is a budget for all these things that we are talking about. Definitely, we do discuss it with them. In the areas of wrecks, both NIWA and LASWA have been trying. It is only the government that can do this because it involves high capital. As boat operators, we cannot just go to the waters and start cutting someone’s ship which has turned into a wreck. There are certain processes to be followed, but the government knows the ways of going through it. They will do the needful and consult the owner.
What is the average cost of a new engine and a used one?
If you want to get a 200 horsepower engine now, you will not get it less than N10million and above. Presently, a 200horse power Tokunboh is about N2.5million plus.
There are the many rickety boats that are on Lagos waters
We normally advise our members to repair their boats as at when due, before the regulatory body pounces on them. If the boat is not in order the regulatory body will not certify it to be okay for operation. They should also value the lives of the passengers they are carrying.
There have been complaints about many taxes being collected by different agencies of government (NIMASA, NIWA, LASWA) in Lagos
We are facing series of challenges in terms of double taxation. We have been talking to these people. We have the Federal, State, and Local governments. We have been begging NIWA and LASWA to come together. It is a tug of war to purchase our spare parts. The State Government is a baby to the Federal Government. We want them to harmonize, so that taxes will be well organized.
Your members don’t obey the ban on night sailing, why?
Many people ply the waters. We have private and commercial boats. I only have a say on commercial boats which belong to our members. We cannot stop private boats, except the government stops them. You might be seeing some boats at night, but you cannot be sure if they are commercial boats. There is a joint task force between NIWA and the association to ensure people do not travel at night.
Are you satisfied with the level of security on the waterways?
We are not satisfied. We need to face the reality. We don’t have confidence in the safety of our boats and engines. Thieves steal our engines without any guarantee. The government is trying, but we still want them to come to our aid in terms of the security of lives and properties. They should put more effort into assisting the Police and the Navy to create checkpoints.
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