- Transporters’ greed responsible for the incessant of mishaps, retired fisherman and boat driver, Danlami Adahnu, told newsmen.
- “The best way to prevent accident is to avoid overloading. Because during the rainy season, water waves are strong and very fast, so a wise canoe man reduces the number of passengers even below the capacity of his canoe to avoid capsizing,” Adahnu said
The Adamawa State Government has enumerated factors responsible for the wave of boat accidents recorded in the state recently.
The state has recorded three boat mishaps in the last one week.
Water accidents have claimed dozens of lives in the last eight, eliciting outrage and concerns over the safety and management of water transport in the northeastern state.
On Monday, just as rescue workers struggled to recover corpses of missing persons from Njuwa Lake, another boat conveying dozens of passengers was overturned by strong wind in Gurin, Fufore LGA. Local divers rescued 11 persons while many more remained missing.
The Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, Muhammad Amin Sulaiman, on Tuesday attributed the unfortunate incidents to overloading, disregard for bad whether and non usage of life jackets as factors responsible for the accidents, saying government was working to enforce safety measures to prevent future occurrence.
The state governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri who paid condolence visit to Gurin on Tuesday said he had directed all relevant agencies to enforce safety standards which include ban on overloading and use of life jackets on the waters.
Fintiri therefore called on traditional rulers and local government councils to support his administration in preventing further loss of lives due to negligence and disregard for safety rules.
He said, “We are here to commiserate with you over the drowning of our people here. I want to call attention to the dangers of using canoe without life jackets or engine to drive it especially during storm or heavy down pour. We should know life is better han money.
“I will direct all relevant agencies to regulate water transport. We will provide life jackets at every point where people are transported. Traditional rulers should ensure that a canoe with capacity to accommodate 10 persons is restricted to only 10 persons. What we saw in Rugange and Gurin is enough to serve as lesson to us. We will not wait to come for condolence after loss of life. We will prevent it without fear or favour.”