NIWA Charges Boat Drivers, Maritime Operators On Safety Protocols

By Chuks Eke—

The National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, has tasked boat drivers and other maritime operators to always imbibe the spirit of discipline and update their knowledge and skills in the maritime sector.

NIWA also attributed frequent boat mishaps leading to incessant loss of lives to la ack of adequate navigation knowledge, lack of discipline and inadequate skills by both boat drivers and other maritime operators in the country.

Amuzat Yusuff Adebayo, a Lead Consultant in mining and navigation technology who gave the task at NIWA Area office in Onitsha, Anambra state, during a three-day training of boat drivers and skippers on boat navigation and safety, sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in conjunction with NiWA, lamented that so many passengers have lost their lives with their goods on the Waterways for lack of maritime knowledge, skills and discipline.

According to Adebayo, whose lecture was titled: “Meteorology for Boat Navigation and Safety, with a subheading: Navigation & Seamanship for Boat Drivers and Skippers”, the training is a direct response to accident investigation findings, which revealed that lack of navigation knowledge is a major contributor to boat mishaps in Nigeria.

“By equipping boat operators with the right skills in navigation, safety, and emergency response, we are proactively saving lives, protecting property, and strengthening confidence in inland water transportation.”

“This training is an intervention of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and NIWA. We acknowledge the leadership and commitment of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, H.E. Adegboyega Oyetola, the Managing Director/CEO of NIWA, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, and the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose administration continues to prioritize safety, capacity building, and sustainable development of Nigeria’s waterways.

Insisting that a safe journey on water starts with knowledge, skill and discipline, Adebayo maintained that the essence of the training is to equip the boat operators with special knowledge on how to navigate a boat to safety in case of water waves, rainfalls and clouds while on a journey with passengers and goods on board.

He also noted that there are better ways of rescuing a passenger on board who falls into the River while on transit, adding that there are also better ways of saving lives and property in the case of a boat capsizing.

In his remarks, NIWA’s Head of Marine in charge of the Onitsha Area, Engr. Omishola John Kehinde explained that the essence of the training program was to enhance the maritime skills and knowledge of the Marine operators on safety protocols, regulations and best practices.

Omishola further explained that the idea of organizing the training session was aimed at improving safety on Nigerian waterways, reducing accidents, ensuring compliance with regulations and promoting performance among maritime operators.

According to Omishola, “we organized this program basically to enhance skills, knowledge and safety protocols of our boat operators and also to enlighten the trainees on transportation regulations and penalties established by NIWA in 2023. With this program, each operator now knows the penalty as stated in the established operational code.

In his speech, Chairman of Onitsha Maritime Operators Union, Hon. Charles Nwabunwanne, commended NIWA and the supervising Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy for organizing the training workshop for boat drivers and maritime operators, adding that the trainees have learnt a lot from the trainers, particularly the lead consultant, Adebayo.

Nwabunwanne, who disclosed that the union lost some of its members and passengers to Marine accidents during the 2025 flood disaster period, expressed optimism that with this training program, there would be no more loss of members, passengers and goods in the 2026 fiscal year.