The Centre for Marine Surveyors, Nigeria, (CMSN) has blamed the inadequacies of safety and regulatory agencies in the maritime sector for the frequent boat accidents.
Reacting to the recent boat accidents in Kwara and Calabar,
the President of CMSN, Akin Olaniyan, said the boat mishaps witnessed in the
country over the years had become one accident too many.
He urged the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to
compel the safety agencies and government departments involved in maritime
safety to either seat up or shown the way out, adding that, they have become
more focused on revenue generation than safety standards
“Somebody must be held accountable because the victims of
these accidents are the less privileged members of the society. If it were an
aviation accident, we would have been declaring a national day of mourning.
“The solution to the marine accident had always been at our
fingertips, the safety and regulatory agencies have always paid lip service to
the issues of safety because we have always had square pegs in round holes,” he
said.
Olaniyan said the country’s maritime agencies have turned to
financial gatekeepers for revenue generation and lost the fundamental reason
for their creation, which is developing the industry.
He said the safer and cleaner Nigeria’s maritime environment
is, the more profitable and investment-friendly it will be, as the waterways
will not be a national gutter.
“Until we change the narrative, we will always live with the
same outcome. Our waterways should be safe and secured to serve as a
transportation conduit to move people and cargo around. Our boats and ferries
should be locally but properly built and certified seaworthy. The businesses
this will generate is humongous,” he said.
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