Samson Echenim 
It is no longer news that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is always in the news for the tragic reason. It is either scores of people have got drown in the Lagos Lagoon, while commuting between the island and Ikorodu, or over 100 traders have lost their lives on the Gbajibo River in Niger and Kwara states while returning home after the day’s business.
Sometimes, a boat has capsized on the River Niger and 300 lives lost. Much has been in the talks about measures put in place by NIWA to ensure safety of lives on the country’s inland waterways yet, there does not appear to be any positive impact of such efforts in solid form. Such measures, according to reports include deployment of over 400 river marshals on the waterways to identify and report wrecks and to check reckless behaviour of boat operators.
Reports of thousands of life jackets being dished out by the authority to waterways users and awareness meetings are also not uncommon, but less has been seen about their safety impacts. The sad harvest of deaths on the waterways continues.
Too many deaths
In May, the Kwara State Government confirmed the death of 37 passengers onboard an ill-fated boat, which capsized in Gbajibo River.
The boat was conveying traders from Kwara to Niger State when it hit an object in the water and lost balance in Gbajibo River.
About seven months ago, more than 200 people lost their lives in a boat accident in the same river.
Confirming the recent mishap, Kwara governor’s chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye said: “The accident happened on Thursday (May 15, 2025) evening while the traders who came to trade in Gbajigbo Mudi were returning home. It happened in Niger state, and all the victims’ bodies recovered from the river were buried in Niger State.”
Passengers on a boat without safety jackets are a regular sight on Nigerian inland waters
In early October last year, a boat carrying over 200 traders was involved in an accident in the river and over 150 passengers died. Competent sources reported that the boat which had about 100 passengers capacity was overloaded with about 300 people.
With several accidents recorded in Gbajibo River alone in the last few years, many questions have been left unanswered about what NIWA is doing to ensure safety of lives in Nigerian inland waters.
At a recent maritime stakeholders forum, NIWA’s head of Marine Department, Engr Elsie Egwuatu unwittingly admitted regulatory lapses when she alluded to the many tragic incidents on the water channels despite several interventions claimed by the authority to keep them under check.
For instance, she said the over 400 river marshals drafted to various parts of the country along the inland water channels are charged with the responsibility of identifying and reporting wrecks in timely manners, but she also cited an accident in which nearly 300 people died after their boat “hit a tree submerged in the water channel” in Gbajibo River. One therefore wonders why the river marshals failed to identify and report the object in the navigation channel
NIWA’s weak regulation
Egwuatu explained that the most causes of death in the water are human-related factors, which include overloading, non-use of life jackets, inability to sight wrecks submerged in the channel due to boats lacking radar and GPS devices, as well as use of substandard and very old boats. Obviously, all of these are originating from weak regulation and lack of enforcement by NIWA.
NIWA’s agents and river marshals working for the authority are supposed to be at every jetty where the boats load passengers. Unfortunately, somehow, the passengers are allowed to board the boat without safety jackets and boat operators are not stopped from overloading their vessels.
In 2023, over 300 Nigerians lost their lives while commuting in the water, according to a Cable report. This figure of deaths was dwarfed by 2024 figure as only one incident on Gbajibo River in October reportedly claimed about 300 people, a figure supported by NIWA sources.
Following the fatal boat accident at Gbajibo in Mokwa LGA of Niger State, in which 150 Nigerians were killed in October last year, the Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association of Nigeria (WABOTAN) charged NIWA to step up sensitization on water transport safety procedures across the country.
In the October 2024 fatal incident, a wooden boat was reported to have loaded 300 people who were traveling from Kwara State to Niger State to attend an event, Nigeria’s independence day anniversary.
In a statement, WABOTAN lamented the loss of lives and expressed grave concern over the recurrence of such mishaps in the same community, recalling a similar incident in 2023 which killed 31 passengers.
“We are calling on the regulators, especially NIWA, to beef up their sensitization programs and enforce policies aimed at ensuring safety on the country’s waterways,” WABOTAN President, Babatope Fejemirokun said.
Record of boat accidents and deaths across Nigeria in 2023, compiled from Cable report
“While we have cause to be worried whenever there is a boat mishap, we are more worried over this particular mishap as we recall that there was a similar boat mishap in this same community last year where 31 persons lost their lives.”
“From the information we have gathered, the accident was caused by water waves leading to a boat break. While water waves are natural, overloading a boat, lack of safe jackets, and travelling at night are all human factors,” Fejemirokun cautioned.
Unfortunately, the end to this harvest of death does not seem near, as NIWA continues as business as usual, reacting only after every incident with “donation of life jackets” which are never used due to lack of enforcement.
NIWA MD, Bola Oyebamiji mute on Niger boat mishap, declares for governorship in Osun
While nothing has been heard from the Managing Director of NIWA, Bola Oyebamiji regarding the loss of 37 traders on the Gbajibo River in Niger State, the media on Tuesday were agog with the news of his declaration of intention to contest for the Osun State Governorship election coming up in 2026.
Oyebamiji declared his intention to contest for Osun governorship on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), during a visit to the party’s leadership at the APC Secretariat at Ogo-Oluwa in Osogbo, Osun State Capital on Tuesday May 27, 2025.
As his selling point, the NIWA chief executive cited his 15 years of experience in government and 28 years in private enterprise.
“I am here today to … inform the party leadership of my intention to run for governor of the state in 2026. For us to start any advocacy or campaign we have to come here to have their blessing and to communicate my interest today,”
Managing Director, NIWA, Bola Oyebamiji
“I have been in this government for almost 15 years…and have spent 28 years in the private enterprise, combine together I have what it takes to run a good government if given the opportunity,,” he claimed.
Stakeholders call for serious management of NIWA
Stakeholders have since reacted to his insensitive leadership at NIWA and called for a more serious management that is ready to synergize with relevant stakeholders to achieve good results in information sharing and awareness creation.
“The NIWA boss displayed a sheer lack of insensitivity when he did not react directly to the sad incident in Niger State where nearly 40 traders got drown in the Gbajibo River. I think his only subsequent action was distribution of some life jackets after that fatal incident.
“NIWA is just scratching the surface when it comes to water transportation. Unfortunately, it has never been this bad. We expect the agency to grow in our quest for an efficient intermodal transport system, but NIWA is going backward instead,” said Ugo Nwokolo in Port Harcourt.
Nwokolo, a cabotage trade operator, urged NIWA to collaborate with such agencies as the National Orientation Agency, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and non-profit organisations to ensure a robust sharing of information and creation of awareness.
“The government has adequate functionaries and organs for national orientation and change communication, but NIWA which is in the centre of the challenge must synergise with other government agencies like NOA, NTA, FRCN, as well as NGOs, and even partner with private media organisations, as well as adopt common social media publicity channels to create awareness for use of life jackets and to discourage overloading by boat operators. They can also initiate regular meetings with boat operators associations to share safety information and review impacts,” he said.
“Obviously, NIWA is not doing enough. May be the authority lacks the necessary funding, but this assumption is countered by the recent action of the managing director, Bola Oyebamiji, who declared to run for the position of the governor in his state recently. One would ask, how does he get to fund his ambition? Or is he channeling public funds from NIWA into his political interest?,” asked Jeremiah Coker, a mariner and boat owner in Lagos.
Coker believes that the NIWA boss should focus on his current job as the Managing Director/CEO of the authority rather than venturing into politics while he still holds the position of the MD of NIWA
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