Ambode, stop illegal dredging on waterways
On Saturday, January 30, 2016, a fatal
boat accident occurred off the bank of Ijede Jetty in the Ikorodu area
of Lagos State. The monthly environmental sanitation curfew had just
ended and residents had left their homes for their different
destinations. For the passengers in the ill-fated Amen
boat racing
towards Ajah-Badore in the Eti-Osa, it was a journey they wished they
never embarked on. At about 10.22am on the fateful day, the boat
conveying the passengers capsized after hitting a sand dune buried below
the water surface. When rescuers appeared on the scene, it was rather
too late as eight people out of the 17 passengers on board had drowned.
According to first responders at the scene, the casualties would have
been less but for the fact that the boat was covered.
Even with life jackets, the passengers
could not get out quickly as the boat went down. The tragedy was not
because the accident happened, after all accidents are a common feature
of Lagos water transport system, but those lives were lost to the
failure of government to do what is right to protect the people. It was
also sad because a few insensitive people operating their dredging
business illegally on Lagos waterways do not care about the safety of
other users. That the Lagos State Government has allowed a few
individuals pose a threat to other residents is the reason for this
piece. We should all be outraged by the reckless way a few individuals
who have connections in high places have decided to become a threat to
other law abiding residents.
According to reports, as the boat sped away on that fateful morning, like the Titanic,
it hit an obstacle deep inside the dark waters of the lagoon. Survivors
had also narrated how the boat had hit a sand dune buried below the
water surface. The engine ground to halt and it went down with the
passengers. For too long, the Lagos waterways had remained dangerous.
But with the recent illegal dredging activities going on across Lagos
coastal banks, it has become really unsafe to navigate Lagos waterways.
Particularly, the lagoon is becoming a no-go area for those who still
have the heart to commute on the waterways as an alternative to the
gridlock on land. The resurgence of illegal dredgers on Lagos waterways
had come after a lull in their activities. During the administration of
Babatunde Fashola, the former governor had put a tight leash on illegal
dredging. But they have suddenly resurfaced in the last few months with
scant disregard for safety and the environmental impact.
One also needs to ask if the companies
and individuals operating dredging business conducted any form of
environmental impact assessment before embarking on this large scale
commercial dredging. It will also be interesting to know how they got
their licence of operation in a place like Lagos where the waterway is
so treacherous that it has continued to record several fatal accidents.
No doubt, illegal dredging has added another layer of danger to an
already dangerous situation. Yet, the state government wants to promote
water transport. How can that happen when you leave your waterways to
dredgers who are destroying the ecosystem and putting residents lives at
risk? The reckless dredging of the waterways and the frequent accidents
are a shame for a state that prides itself as a growing megacity and
wants to harness and promote integrated land and water transport to
solve its transport challenges. How do you convince anyone to use the
waterways when they are not sure they will reach their destination? How
do you convince investors to put their money on water transport when
illegal activities have made the waterways unsafe?
In the last few months, there have been
heightened dredging activities in various parts of Lagos. Personally, I
know of the Ijede-Ikorodu areas. Also, on the long stretch of the
Lagos-Ajah-Badore coastal bank overlooking the Ajah-Badore road,
dredgers are back after a long absence. They had disappeared during the
administration of Fashola. Today, their activities constitute a great
danger to residents of that axis. Heavy duty trucks are parked along the
narrow stretch of Badore Road creating a daily gridlock. On a daily
basis too, heavy duty trucks loaded with sands ply the road. Apart from
the stress on the road structure, they pose a danger to road users as
they drive recklessly. Now, Ajah-Badore road has started showing signs
of distress. Illegal dredging is also damaging the ecosystem. Along the
lagoon bank, one can see the disruption of the once serene habitat.
While illegal dredging may constitute a challenge on land, the greater
danger is the risk it poses to water transport.
Dredging, which involves pumping of sand
from lagoon bed to land, is done with huge steel pipes. These pipes are
buried below the surface of the lagoon. Sands are then pumped through
them onto the land where they are loaded into trucks. In many cases,
these massive steel pipes are not visible in the dark waters of the
lagoon. What makes it worse is also the fact that the operators of the
boat cannot identify the routes of the pipes as they navigate their
boats on the lagoon. Many accidents have occurred when boats run into
these pipes. Dredging also leaves the sea bed uneven. The surface of the
water becomes uneven as some sand escape through leaked pipes to form
an island of sand dunes along the dredging routes. These dunes and the
pipes are the greatest danger to Lagos waterways today.
Just some two weeks ago, a colleague who
patronises the waterways frequently, confirmed to me that his boat
almost capsized in Ijede when it hit a dredging pipe laid by a Chinese
dredging firm working in the area. Two weeks later, eight people died as
a result of the activities of the same Chinese firm. As I was writing
this, another boat accident reportedly occurred in Badagry. Again, the
engine had hit an obstacle. Besides the dredging pipes and sand dunes,
Lagos waterbeds are filled with debris like boat wreckages. Also,
logging activities by those who use the water to transport timber also
pose danger to water transporters.
In many instances, when the timbers are
being logged, they break loose and are left on the spot. In the end,
boats run into them. According to a study titled, ‘Evaluation of the
Socio-Economic Impact of Marine Debris in Coastal Nigeria’, conducted by
Chibuzo Okoye Daniels et al, waterway debris poses a danger to the
environmental sustainability of the areas. Interestingly, Lagos, which
was a focus of the study, has witnessed more accidents.
As a solution, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode
must check the activities of illegal dredgers on Lagos waterways. There
is nothing wrong with dredging but operators must be licensed and must
work according to global best practices. Those operating illegally must
be stopped. Presently, their operation is dangerous to waterway
transport and tourism. The Lagos State Waste Management Authority must
continue the clearing of the waterways which it began in 2015 while the
Lagos Waterways Authority must carry out its statutory functions to make
Lagos waterways safe for resident.
Comments
Post a Comment