Waterways transportation: Boat passengers lament dirty state of Lagos jetties

Boat users who ply the Lagos inland waterways have lamented the dirty state of jetties in the state. This is even as they called on the Lagos State government to ensure sanitation of the jetties across the state.

A boat passenger, Mrs Olaitan Williams, while posting on her Facebook page, had lamented the dirty state of the jetty, adding that safety measures must be put in place with the pilots wearing clean clothes.

She had said “The journey by water to Badagry was interesting. I just love water transportation but my only complaint is that the jetty in Apapa must be conducive. Safety measures must be put in place, the jetty area must be clean, the pilots must be clean, friendly and above all there should be seats for passengers.”

Our correspondent who visited some of the jetties confirmed their poor state. In Apapa, the jetty was in an unkempt state due to the activities of hawkers and beggars who struggle for space with the boat passengers who had besieged the jetty to use the waterways transport.

Speaking to Nigerian Tribune, a boat passenger who simply identified herself as Joy Osas stated that the Apapa jetty has now become a mini market where all sort of things are sold.

According to Mrs Osas, “This Apapa jetty is an eyesore. You can see for yourself. There is no need for me to describe the state of the jetty. In a safe environment this won’t happen, this is more or less a mini Oyingbo market. We now have all sorts of trade going on here.

Also a boat user is a staff of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) who pleaded anonymity also frowned at the dirty state of the jetty, stating that the jetty is not conducive. He noted that NIWA and LASWA have failed in providing conducive jetties for waterways transportation.

“The jetty is not conducive for waiting. Anytime you come and you discover there is no boat on ground, you feel sad because the place is not conducive for waiting. All you just want to do is to get your ticket and leave instantly because sometimes, the place stinks and I think the regulators have not really done well in this area. I have been to Ghana and you need to see how conducive some of their jetties look like. Some even have free wifi for you to sit comfortable and work on your PC while you wait for your boat.

“The only jetty close to what obtains in saner clime is the LASWA Terminal in Falomo. Aside LASWA Terminal, every other jetties in Lagos are an eyesore,” he lamented.

Aside the Apapa jetty, the Liverpool and other jetties visited were also in a sorry state due to trading activities on top of these jetty terminals.

When contacted the Lagos Area Manager for NIWA, Mrs Sarat Braimah informed that the authority has begun the cleanup of jetties across the states, including removal of water hyacinth, while informing that boat users are responsible for the dirty state of the jetty.

“The cleanup is ongoing. We are cleaning the jetties. If you go to some of the jetties today, you will see that they are clean. We have also started the removal of water hyacinth. That’s what we are doing. The boat users most times are the ones who mess up the place” she said.

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