Ganiyu Balogun, managing director of Tarzan Jetties and president of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON), has urged commuters using Nigeria’s waterways to always wear life jackets and obey safety instructions while on board.

In a statement on Friday in Lagos, Mr Balogun, popularly known as Tarzan, said wearing life jackets remained a simple but critical step that could save lives.

He emphasised that most fatal boat accidents were linked to passengers refusing to comply with safety rules.

“The safety protocols which the boat operators are warned to adhere to strictly are for the safety of commuters being transported on water from one jetty to the other,” he said.

Mr Balogun, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria, said passengers’ resistance to wearing life jackets was one of the biggest daily challenges faced by operators.

“Some passengers, despite the appeal by the boat driver, would simply refuse to wear a life jacket,” he said.

He warned that water transport, like any other mode of transportation, carried risks, adding that preparedness made the difference between life and death in emergencies.

“It is important for them to know that accidents can happen in water transportation, just like any other means of transportation.

“The chances of survival on water are very high when the passenger is on life jacket than when he or she is not wearing life jacket,” he said.

According to him, many past incidents that claimed multiple lives could have ended differently if passengers had complied with safety rules.

“Most fatal cases of accidents on water that claimed so many lives have a lot to do with the passengers not wearing life jackets.

“We spend a huge amount of money to buy these jackets for passengers’ safety,” he said.

He urged commuters to cooperate with operators by seeing life jackets not as an inconvenience but as protection.

Mr Balogun also urged boat operators to take responsibility by enforcing compliance and insisting that all passengers wear life jackets before and during trips.

He said stricter enforcement, combined with passenger cooperation would significantly reduce accidents and boost confidence in water transportation as a safe and reliable option. 

(NAN)