By Joshua Yousouph
The Managing Director of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr Bola Oyebamiji has announced measures to enhance safety and regulation on Nigeria’s waterways, including the deployment of trained water marshals and strict enforcement of the newly-adopted Water Transportation Code.
Addressing journalists during a media parley in Lagos on Friday, he highlighted NIWA’s commitment to reducing boat mishaps and improving navigability through robust stakeholder collaboration, international partnerships, and increased training for boat handlers across key regions.
Oyebamiji emphasized NIWA’s proactive efforts to foster solid relationships with stakeholders, including international partners. He stated that NIWA has engaged with organizations across three states with active area offices, providing critical updates to partners on the newly adopted regulatory frameworks.
“We followed and approved this law,” he said, underscoring the necessity of creating and enforcing a comprehensive code. He added that water marshals were strategically trained and deployed to enhance enforcement and ensure compliance, noting, “Regulations without enforcement are ineffective.”
In a recent meeting attended by 23 state commissioners of transportation, Oyebamiji said he outlined NIWA’s initiatives to improve the navigability of Nigeria’s waterways, addressing specific challenges like shallow waters in regions. He revealed that NIWA is working on identifying boats suitable for such environments to facilitate smoother transportation routes in under-served areas.
The NIWA MD also detailed measures aimed at reducing boat mishaps, such as establishing a search and rescue team and opening training centers for boat captains. The centers, currently operational in six regions, provide captains with essential training in navigation and safety.
Oyebamiji stressed the importance of rigorous enforcement of transportation codes, stating, “Enforcement, coupled with continuous sensitization, is essential.” He further mentioned that NIWA recently met with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and collaborated with the Spanish government on potential technological solutions for monitoring and enhancing waterway safety.
When addressing the persistent water hyacinth issue affecting Nigeria’s waterways, Oyebamiji discussed the need for more water hyacinth harvesters. However, he proposed an alternative approach, suggesting that contracting specialized services could be more efficient than government purchases. This approach, he noted, would reduce costs and free up resources for other critical areas of development.
Concluding his remarks, Oyebamiji assured the audience of NIWA’s commitment to both short- and long-term improvements in Nigeria’s inland waterways. The agency’s strategy, he said, rests on three pillars: enforcement, technological innovation, and robust stakeholder engagement. He also expressed optimism about the impact of NIWA’s efforts, envisioning a future where Nigeria’s inland waterways will be both a safe and viable mode of transport across the nation.
Meanwhile, the NIWA boss also added that the agency would prevail on the Federal Government to phase-out wooden boats on the inland waterways.
Oyebamiji noted that the phasing-out of wooden boats would help to curb incessant boat crashes on the waterways.
According to him, most of the accidents recorded on the waterways are with the wooden boats.
He described this move as the best approach to address boat crashes across the nation.
Oyebamiji said he would be engaging the Marine and Blue Economy Minister, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, and the Presidency to make the move a national directive.
“This development will be introduced in phases with short-term, medium-term and long-term goals to ensure inland waterways operations are not severely hampered,” he said.
The NIWA boss noted that the authority had increased its sensitisation at riverine communities, especially with traditional and religious leaders to reinforce grassroots awareness campaigns on safety.
“After launching the Inland Waterways Transportation Code, we moved to engage traditional and religious leaders.
“Subsequently, we increased the number of waterways marshals from 80 to 350 for the enforcement of the transportation code.
“Our experience in Gbajigbo, Niger State, spurred us to engage the Transportation Commissioners across the 24 states with navigable waterways.
Oyebamiji encouraged state governments with navigable waterways and private sector operators to invest in assets to enshrine safety and efficient operations.
He reiterated the need for inland waterways operators to utilise standard life-jackets and curb nighttime movements across the nation.
“Wrecks are also one of the triggers for boat accidents but we are partnering with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to address this menace.
“However, human errors such as overloading, nighttime travel and inefficient boat driving are more frequent causes of accidents,” Oyebamiji said.
