Mr Chika Akabogu, a maritime analyst, has attributed the incessant boat mishaps across Nigeria’s waterways to weak enforcement of safety regulations and continued tolerance of rickety wooden boats.
Akabogu said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
According to him, in spite repeated accidents and public outcry, many unsafe vessels remain in operation due to poor enforcement of existing maritime safety standards.
He said that lack of routine inspections, minimal sanctions for defaulters, and weak government commitment to implementing safety laws were major factors responsible for recurring boat accidents nationwide.
NAN reports that the first boat mishap this year was recorded on Jan. 3, in Garbi town, Nguru Local Government Area of Yobe, where a passenger canoe capsized on the Yobe River, resulting in several fatalities and missing persons.
“Most wooden boats currently in use are old, poorly maintained, and structurally weak, making them highly vulnerable to harsh weather conditions, and mechanical failures on inland waterways,” he said.
Akabogu noted that the slow push by the state and Federal Governments toward modern boat manufacturing, coupled with the absence of affordable alternatives, had left operators with little choice but to rely on unsafe crafts.
He said many operators had continued to use aging boats because inspections were irregular, penalties insignificant, and there was little pressure from authorities to replace substandard vessels.
The maritime analyst stressed that government-backed support for local fibre-boat production would help reduce costs, improve safety, and encourage operators to transition away from wooden boats.
He urged authorities to enforce clear timelines for phasing out substandard boats, strengthen inspection regimes, and ensure strict compliance with safety requirements across all waterways.
Akabogu also called on the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to intensify enforcement of water safety policies and expand nationwide recruitment, training, and deployment of water marshals.
He said sustained political will, effective regulation, and investment in safer alternatives were critical to ending avoidable boat mishaps and protecting lives on Nigeria’s inland waterways.
He urged NIWA to not just issue bans against illegal jetties but to put in place active monitoring and enforcement marshals on river banks to apprehend, report and prosecute illegal jetties and boat operators.
He also urged the authority to collaborate with riverine communities in creating awareness on the dangers of illegal jetties, unauthorised loading points and the risks of night traveling.
“NIWA has a lot of work to do as the agency saddled with the responsibility of safeguarding the lives and properties of water travelers.
“Banning illegal jetties is not enough, water marshals must be deployed and actively stationed at rivers banks to apprehend defaulters of the ban.
“Boat owners and operators must be prosecuted for endangering the lives and properties of boat users and this will serve as deterrent to others,” he said.
He urged the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola to mandate the immediate phase out of rickety wooden boats.
According to him, when laws are not actionable, then laws lose their deterrent value and operators continue to act with impunity, placing profit above passenger safety.
Akabogu said that decisive directives from the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, backed by enforcement and prosecution, would compel compliance and signal government’s seriousness in addressing water transport safety.
He added that unless authorities move beyond policy statements to visible action on the waterways, Nigeria will continue to record preventable boat mishaps, fatalities, and loss of livelihoods in riverine communities.
NAN reports that as at the time of filing this report, efforts to speak with the appropriate authorities for official reactions following the recent boar mishap recorded in Yobe state proved abortive.
