Why boat accidents still dey happun for Nigeria?

Di pattern now don dey very familiar for Nigeria.

Many pipo die for boat accident; officials go tok say make pipo folo di regulations; di pipo go ignore am; campaigners go say di resources no dey available; anoda tragedy go hapun.

Dis time, search-and-rescue team dey look for survivors afta one wooden canoe capsize for Jigawa state, on Sunday, 19 July 2026.

Forty pipo bin dey on board for dat boat, mostly female farmers and labourers, wen e sank.

Twenty-three pipo don dey rescued, nine bodies don dey recovered from di river so far, and many pipo still dey miss.

Last month, boat accident for di River Benue for central Nigeria bin claim di life of 12 pipo including one pregnant woman and six children.

Earlier dis year, 14 pipo also lose dia life wen dia boat capsize for Gumbi, Kebbi state. Dem bin dey return from wedding ceremony, leading di bride to her husband house.

So far dis year, more dan 55 pipo don already kpai for boat accidents, and dozens of bodies neva even dey recovered.

For millions of Nigerians, particularly pipo for di rural areas, rivers na di most practical means of transport. As many villages wey dey close to waterways no get beta roads and bridges, rickety wooden boats na usually di only way for pipo to reach dia family members for oda places, to carry dia goods to di market, or to see di outside world.

For pipo like Isiyaka Bello, di pain of losing dia loved one to water accident still dey fresh. Last year, im wife bin dey return from one village market for Kebbi state wen she and eight odas lose dia life.

"E just be like yesterday. She leave behind four children, and I dey struggle to adjust as I dey raise dem on my own.

"Weneva I pass tru large body of water, all I tink about na her," Bello tok.

Di reasons why water transport for Nigeria dey risky na predictable tins:

Afta evri disaster, authorities go promise to do beta, but on top di water, veri little or notin at all go change.

Mallam Sala Altine get traditional title wey carry di weight of life and death on di river. Im na di Sarkin Ruwan Shiroro - di man wey get di responsibility to keep pipo safe on top di Shiroro Lake for Niger state, wia some of di deadliest boat accidents for Nigeria don hapun.

Di River Niger, wey be di third-longest river for Africa, pass through Niger state and dey share name wit di state. E connect to plenty oda smaller rivers and connected waterways, and dis don create environment wia fatal accidents dey frequent and severe.

Betwin January 2023 and October 2025, Niger state account for significant share of di nearly 860 water accident deaths for Nigeria. One report tok say 253 pipo kpai for water accidents for di state betwin June 2023 and August 2025.

Altine tok say dem get critical shortage of life jackets despite plenty promise by di govment to supply dem.

"Our boats dey usually carry well ova 100 passengers. But most of di time, we fit only provide life jackets for 10 pipo, or even fewer, bicos we no just get enof," e explain.

"We wan make am must say anybodi wey go enta boat must to wear life jacket. But we no go fit enforce am bicos we no get any to give dem."

E tok say afta one accident wey claim around 13 lives, di govment promise to supply more life jackets, "but I no know if dem later reduce di number along di way, bicos wetin we eventually receive dey veri little."

Altine tok say e dey break im heart to see passengers as dem dey enta boats witout any protection.

As one local observer put am: "Dis (accidents) no be acts of fate. Na di predictable consequences of systemic negligence."

Howeva, Ibrahim Husseini, director of information for di National Emergency Management Agency of Niger state, tok say di govment dey regularly provide life jackets, but most of di pipo wey don spend dia whole lives close to di water dey usually tok say dem no need them, or say di jackets dey uncomfortable for dem.

"We get pipo wey dem born and raise dem for di riverine communities, and dem dey take am for granted and say dis na di life dem dey used to," e tell di BBC. "Sometimes e dey difficult to force dem to wear life jackets."

For riverine communities, high proportion of di men dey usually sabi how to swim, but just few women sabi, and dis mean say dem dey particularly at risk if boat accident hapun. And yet, na women dey usually attend big family events like weddings, or take goods to di market.

Afta one particularly deadly accident last year for Niger state, wia at least 32 passengers kpai, di National Inland Waterways Authority (Niwa) announce say life jackets dey mandatory truout di kontri.

In oda to stop boats wey dey pick passengers for unsafe areas and to make sure say pipo dey folo di rules, Niwa director general Bola Oyebamiji also tok say commercial passenger boats must to load passengers only for places wey dey recognised and registered by di authority.

But dis rules no dey new. Dem dey inside di Water Transport Code, wey bicom law for January 2023. But many of di provisions dey routinely ignored.

"Di law require say for any boat wey dey operate for large body of water wia pesin no fit easily swim to shore, all passengers must to wear life jackets," Timothy Iwuagwu, president of di Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, tell di BBC.

"But dis laws no dey eva dey implemented. Any regulation dey as good as dia implementation."

Iwuagwu also point to lack of proper training: "Di majority of dis local boat operators no dey trained or licensed. Boat operator suppose understand di behaviour of di water - di waves, di tide, di current. Boat owners gatz dey well trained and must get licence bifor dem fit operate."

Again, dis recommendation dey often ignored for practice.

E also say di maximum capacity of passenger boats suppose dey clearly indicated to avoid overloading, wey be di cause of boat capsize many times.

Wia life jackets dey available, Iwuagwu tok say na usually poor quality and many passengers no dey know how to wear dem properly.

Last year, di govment say make dem stop to dey do wooden boats. Iwuagwu tok say e agree wit dis move, but e go take time, and say e get oda immediate measures wey dey even more important, like strict enforcement of existing regulations, and to involve safety professionals for di design and implementation of water safety policies.

Di introduction of water marshals to supervise di terminals and prevent overloading neva make any difference. Husseini say di marshals no dey enuf to cover all di terminals.

Anoda problem be say many Nigerian waterways dey full of tree stumps sake of years of logging. Wen di water dey low, you go fit see dem, but wen di water rise, nobody go see am and boats fit crash into dem and overturn.

Dis kain tin don cause plent boat accidents ova di years according to authorities.

Husseini tok say dis na usually di result of poor dredging: "Dem no dey remove di trees for di water from di root."

E add say to remove di tree trunks or roots from di water no be di responsibility of di state government but na for Niwa wey dey handle inland waterways.

Den e get di wooden boats or canoes wey don dey old, weak, and rickety sake of years of no upgrades or major repairs.

Late last year, di Nigeria Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, bin also acknowledge di problem.

"Di time don come for decisive break from outdated practices," e tok. "Wooden boats don serve dia time, but dem no fit be di future of water transport for Nigeria. Di tragic mishaps we continue to witness na di direct consequence of di continued reliance on unsafe vessels."

Oyetola bin tok dis one afta anoda boat accident for di Jaranja River for Sokoto state, wia nine pipo bin kpai as dem dey go to one local market.

"Our ministry don make am compulsory for di use of life jackets, and we don supply dem in thousands to riverine states," e tok. "But life jackets alone no go fit guarantee safety witout safe boats."

E appeal to state govments to make sure say boat operators go invest for fibre and aluminium boats wey dey much safer pass di traditional wooden vessels sake of dia dia superior strength and durability.

Example of how water safety fit dey improved na for Lagos, Nigeria biggest city wey dey along di coast wit roughly one-third of di area covered by water.

Lagos dey notorious for traffic gridlock, so water transport na common way of moving around.

Boat accidents bin dey hapun frequently for di city wit 92 recorded deaths betwin January 2018 and October 2023. But for recent years, e don reduce well-well.

Statistics from Lagos State Water Authority (Laswa) show say only one person die for boat accident in 2024 and 6 people in 2025, and no fatalities recorded so far dis year.

Abdulbaq Balogun, di managing director of Lagos Ferry Services, say di improvement na sake of four measures taken by di state government:

"Even wen accident or mechanical fault hapun, di water guard go quickly inform di control room and rescue boat go dey deployed in record time," e tok.

Di Lagos govment buy plenty life jackets wey dem distribute to boat operators, and bicos of public awareness campaigns, many passengers den now ask for life jacket bifor dem go board - sometin wey dey hardly hapun for oda parts of di kontri.

But to replicate di Lagos model across di whole kontri go take time.

Popular singer Aminu Bagwai na one of only four survivors of one river disaster wey kpai 36 pipo, including bride wey her relatives dey take to her new husband house, for Kano state 18 years ago.

None of di passengers for dat ill-fated journey bin wear life jackets, e tell di BBC.

E write one song for Hausa language wey di title na 'Ruwan Bagwai' (Bagwai's water), about dat tragedy, and di song bicom big hit and make di singer into a household name across northern Nigeria, as pipo dey sympathise wit am ova wetin e bin go tru.

"I still tink about am evriday, and e dey sad say I still dey see boat accidents hapun, leading to loss of lives.

"My prayer dat time na make our own accident be di last one."