Boat mishap: NEMA blames Niger Government for high casualty figure

The National Emergency Management Agency has attributed the high casualty in last week’s boat mishap in Tunga Na’ Illo in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State to lack of the state government’s presence in the area.
The Agency’s North Central Coordinator, Ishaya Isah Chinoko, who stated this in Minna, the Niger State capital, over the weekend at a one day sensitization workshop on liquid and solid waste management and the consequences on public health, organized by the Agency, said that if there was any government presence on ground in an event of such nature, the level of casualty would have been less.
“About 70 people died when the boat, which was carrying over 100 villagers to the market suddenly developed engine problem and capsized mid way in the river,” Chinoko said.
The NEMA boss maintained that the casualty figure would have been less if the relevant state government agencies had been on ground, especially considering heavy water transport activities in the area.
According to him: “As busy as that route is, there is no single government agency presence as surveillance in case of this type of mishap.
“The way that river is being used, especially by the people that live along the river bank, the government is supposed to station a marine police there for rescue.
“If there were marine police on surveillance on that particular place when the incident happened, I am sure the casualty figure wouldn’t have been what we had and a lot of lives would have been saved.”
Chinoko however promised that the agency will soon send some relief materials to the victims, especially the survivors, with a view to alleviate their sufferings over the unfortunate incident.
Chinoko disclosed that his office has already done the on the spot assessment of the situation and specifically on those of them that survived the boat mishap and had equally made recommendations to the headquarters.
“I have made recommendations to the management of my agency and as a matter of fact during the week I went personally to inform the DG about the plights of the survivors and I am sure he has promised to do something urgently about it with the view to alleviate the sufferings of the people,” he said.
The NEMA boss enjoined the participants at the workshop to see the disaster as another wake up call towards contributing their quota to the global efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and its devastation on planet earth.