18 die in another River Niger tragedy

Barely six days after a boat mishap on
River Niger claimed several lives in
Malale village in Borgu Local
Government Area of Niger State,
another mishap has occurred leaving no
fewer than 18 persons dead.
According eyewitness, the accident
occurred when a boat conveying people
from Kokoli to Ulakami capsized at about
4pm. The passengers were returning
from a market in Kokoli, which holds
every Thursday.
The boat was said to be conveying about
80 people when it split into two,
throwing the passengers into the river.
A survivor, Umar Ibrahim, who spoke to
our correspondent said, “We were in
the middle of the 10 kilometre journey,
when the boat split into two throwing all
of us into the water. People started
screaming and falling into the water.”
Ibrahim stated that he was able to
rescue about 10 women and children
adding that the men could take care of
themselves and most of them assisted
in the rescue to reduce the casualty
figure.
He added that the intervention of the
boat captains and some passengers who
could swim also helped to reduce the
number of victims.
“I thank almighty Allah for using the
boat driver and other good swimmers to
come to our rescue fast, because the
bank of the river was far away from us.
The other boat drivers rushed towards
us and put those of us that were
rescued on their boats. Some people
were also very tired,” he added.
The village head, Mohammed Garba,
confirmed that after the incident, he
went round to find out how many
people were missing and they recorded
18.
Though some villagers, said, “The river
is angry because it has not be given its
yearly sacrifice,” some were of the
opinion that the boat was too old and
was not maintained.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on
Disaster and Emergency Management,
Mohammed Saba, appealed to them to
remain calm as people were blaming
the boat operators for the deaths.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency
Management Agency has attributed the
high level of casualty in the last week’s
boat mishap in Tunga Na’ Illo, Borgu
Local Government Area of the state, to
the lack of the state government’s
presence in the area.
Speaking at a one-day sensitisation
workshop on liquid and solid waste
management, organised by the agency
in Minna, the Agency’s North Central
Coordinator, Mr. Ishaya Isah Chinoko,
said “About 70 people died when the
boat which was carrying over 100
villagers to the market suddenly
developed an engine problem and
capsized mid way in the river”.
The NEMA boss however maintained
that the casualty figure would have
been less if there were relevant state
government agencies, like the police
marine and organised local divers
stationed there for rescue purposes in
view of the heavy water transport
activities in the area.