Funding hampering NIWA’s visibility on Nigeria’s inland waterways — MD

THE National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has blamed poor funding for the Authority’s inability to maintain a very strong presence across the Nigerian inland waterways.

Speaking with selected newsmen in Lagos, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NIWA, Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji explained that NIWA does not see one-tenth of the funds that government spends on road transportation across the country.

According to the NIWA MD, “Just like on the waterways, accidents happen on our roads. Some may be man-made, while some could be as a result of human error. Some accidents happen due to natural occurrences like heavy rain or storm. This is the same thing that is happening on our inland waterways.

“The argument in some quarters that NIWA should be scrapped because of accidents on our waterways is not valid. Why has there not been calls for the scrapping of the Federal Road Safety Corporation (FRSC) because of accidents that happen on our highways?

“Yes, Infrastructurally, NIWA needs to improve. We need more allocations from the Federal Government to improve waterways infrastructure in this country. When we compare the amount of money that is spent on maintaining our roads and highways annually, NIWA does not see one-tenth of such amount.

“So, you see that the agency has been handicapped over the years due to poor funding. There is nothing wrong if NIWA mounts a security boat at every 10 kilometers of the nation’s inland waterways. It is doable, but requires funding.

“In Lagos alone, we need about 10 Ambulances to enhance the agency’s visibility on the waterways so that when accidents occur, the speed of response will be swift. To implement effective regulation of inland waterways is capital intensive.

“But despite our funding issues, we have been able to deploy some patrol boats along our busiest routes. One patrol boat has been taken to Badagry to cover that axis. Another has been taken to Badore; another one has been deployed at Ikorodu; another deployed at Ijegun while the last one is at Marina here.

“The deployment of these patrol boats was strategic. Take for instance the choice of Ijegun. You know Badagry is far, so if anything happens along the waterways leading to Badagry, before the patrol boat stationed in Badagry arrives, the one in Ijegun would have got there.”