The people of Mokwa, a riverine area in Niger State, and Nigerians as a whole, were thrown into mourning on Wednesday last week when a boat reportedly filled with over 300 passengers capsized.

The disaster, which took place at about 8:30 pm, happened after traders returning from a market in Mundi went down en route to Gbajibo in Mokwa Local Government Area. Initial reports had it that local boat skippers and divers combined forces with the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, and the National Inland Waterways Agency, NIWA, to rescue over 100 victims.

About 70 bodies were recovered in the grim night operation, while over 100 were yet to be accounted for. Most of the victims were women and children. This came 18 months after another boat accident in the same general vicinity claimed over 200 people, mainly returnees from a wedding. Only 50 were rescued.

Boat capsizing and mass drowning of passengers is a regular tragic fixture in Nigeria’s riverine areas, especially during the rainy season when the rivers are swollen and churlish. Unfortunately, people who live in these geographical zones never seem to learn from their frequent calamities.

The usual main cause of boat capsizing is overloading. People travelling in large groups tend to insist on travelling together, often without regard to weather conditions. The boat operators never seem to stick to official capacity and safety requirements. The high cost of fuel also tempts operators to overload their vessels.

Most importantly, there is general disregard for the need to wear life jackets. River or waterways transportation is the most underdeveloped, ungoverned aspects of the transport sector. NIWA as a federal agency in charge of waterways safety, has failed to pull its weight. Operators are left largely free to do as they like, and the poor and vulnerable often have to pay with their lives and property.

In developed countries, the air, road, rail and water modes of transportation are equally regulated and developed, which is why fatal accidents are rare and damage minimal. But in Nigeria and most parts of Africa, waterways transportation is still very primitive and neglected. Governments tend to focus more attention on air and road safety. This is unacceptable.

It is the duty of the Federal and state governments, with the partnership of the local authorities, community leadership and waterway transport operators, to ensure that the rules are strictly applied, putting safety above all considerations.

Safety is not to be left to the Federal Government alone. Every individual should take responsibility and put their safety first. Boat operators should be held liable for their failure to provide life jackets and avoid overloading, especially when large crowds of women and children are involved.

People must be held accountable for these avoidable losses.