Mahmudu Gbajibo, former chairman of Kaima Local Government Area and son of the late village head of Gbajibo, shares his concerns with GRACE EDEMA about the recurrent boat accidents on the river

Why is the river known for frequent accidents?

Sadly, yes. Every two or three months, we hear about boat accidents—sometimes involving 50 to 100 deaths. It’s tragic. Honestly, we, the Hausa people, are often not careful enough. When something happens, we just say, “Allah kawo” (God will help us). But the main cause of these accidents is overloading, especially during the rainy season, which is very unpredictable.

These accidents mostly occur between May and October; those are the peak months. For instance, on October 1st last year, over 100 people died in a single incident. It was devastating.

Why do you think people deliberately put themselves at risk by overloading boats?

Many people believe that even if something goes wrong, they’ll be able to save themselves. Unfortunately, that’s not always true. Some of the people who die in these accidents aren’t from our community—they’re traders or farmers coming from other places. When they return from the market with their goods, they often become victims. Many of them can’t swim.

However, the indigenous people from our community can swim for two or even three hours at a stretch. That’s why they aren’t as afraid of the water. But still, this is a serious issue that requires more awareness and caution.

Given that these incidents frequently happen during the rainy season, between May and October, why hasn’t the government taken action against boat operators?

To be honest, until this current administration, previous governments did not intervene in this issue. Most of the past accidents involved only a few people—maybe two or five at a time—so they didn’t attract enough attention from the authorities or the general public.

The community has been trying its best, but everyone is so focused on business that there’s little to no regulation. People come and go regularly, and there’s no proper monitoring system in place.

Ideally, that kind of oversight should come from the government. If government-appointed officials were monitoring boat operations, we might not be witnessing these recurring tragedies. I still hope that things will improve and that such incidents will no longer occur as frequently.

How many people died in the latest incident?

Thirty-seven people lost their lives.

Were they all traders or visitors?

No. Eleven of the victims were from our community. The others were traders who had come to the market. In fact, the incident happened on a market day. The previous accident occurred on May 14.

If you visit our community, you’ll find it vibrant and welcoming, especially on market days. The population swells as people come from places like Kainji Dam, Jebba, and Mokwa. Farmers and traders gather here to sell and buy goods. It’s a lively and crowded environment, which unfortunately adds to the risks when safety isn’t properly managed.

Today (Wednesday) is market day. Are the boats overloaded again?

Yes, today is a market day. I spoke with my brother last Friday and again this morning. There are several community committees patrolling the riverine areas, especially in our community. We’re doing our best. We also have a local vigilante group, and I’ve given them the responsibility of monitoring boat activities today, particularly because it’s a market day.

Sometimes, a boat operator will say, ‘I won’t overload; I’ll carry only 100 instead of 150 passengers.’ But even carrying 100 people is still overloading. When there’s any sign of bad weather, no one should be on the river at all.

Does your area have a maritime police post to monitor the activities of boat operators?

We need the government to intervene in that area. I remember that during the Babangida regime, there was a water police unit. They had their own boats and would patrol the river. If your boat was overloaded, they would stop you and ask you to return and reduce the number of passengers. That kind of monitoring really helped people back then.

Apart from that, one of our major challenges is the poor road infrastructure. There are other ways to conduct our business without relying on the river, but the roads are in terrible condition.

That’s why people prefer to travel by water. The river route takes only 30 to 40 minutes, while the road journey can take two to three hours.

We need trained individuals who can monitor river transport activities, especially in our community. Right now, it’s hard to find anyone willing to do that voluntarily without government support.

If the government could recruit 20 to 25 people specifically for that purpose, they would be able to monitor all boat activities effectively. There are different types of boats—some are small, while others are very large. Some boats carry over 500 people, including both farm produce and passengers.

The government can also help by repairing the roads, so people won’t have to rely so much on the river. Even if they do nothing else, fixing the roads would make a significant difference. Good road access is the most important issue.