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.