Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel is the General Manager of the Lagos State Waterways Authority. In this interview with ANOZIE EGOLE, he talks about plans by the agency to improve water transportation in the state among other issues
You said there is a drop in patronage for water transportation and you blamed that on subsidy removal. Could you expatiate on that?
As you know, the dominant mode of transportation in Lagos is road transportation and the government has limited resources. So what the government has to do is to look at other modes of transportation and see how to support that area. So the government is at the moment, looking for a way to ensure that it can subsidise water transportation in the meantime, to cushion the impact of fuel subsidies on the people. Generally, water transportation is not cheap because of the high cost of the boat parts, maintenance, and the acquisition of boats themselves. You can’t compare what it takes to buy a boat to what it takes to buy a bus, they are two different things. So the high cost associated with water transportation will always make it more expensive than road transportation. And that is why we have had a few of our passengers now using the cheaper road transportation.
Boat operators are complaining of the hike in the cost of acquiring boats. Is there anything LASWA is doing to help these operators acquire boats at cheaper rates?
Not right now, when I say not right now, I want to be very practical and open. However, the state government is currently working on purchasing boats that would be able to help the operators just like what they did for road transports as well. So the state government is currently working on that and I am sure that between now and next year, we will see that intervention coming into that sector. And what we have been able to do with boat operators is get them to form Cooperatives. In this kind of intervention, the government cannot support individual operators but group of people that are cooperators. We are now in conversation with them on how to support those cooperators.
Now as I mentioned, we are already working on getting boats to support the operators. Another thing we are also doing is on the side of petrol and the engine parts. In terms of petrol, I am sure you know there is not much we can do to that as only the federal government can intervene in that regard. However, in terms of the engines, we have opened up conversations with Yahama in Japan. We have told them that this is a peculiar problem we have in Nigeria, and that we are seeking ways support these boat operators. In fact, in about two weeks, Yahama is going to have a seminar on their engine parts, on how to maintain and sustain engine parts. So you can see that Yamaha is also interested, but it goes beyond them just agreeing to say they can bring down the rates, there are lots of factors that will play in but definitely, it is something we are working on.
Do you think the drop in patronage has to do with the safety of waterways transportation?
To be honest with you, I don’t think it has to do with safety. I think it has to do more with cost and I will tell you why. The accident rate on the waterways in the last few years has dropped drastically. Last year, we only had two major incidences on Lagos waterways; this year as I speak with you, by God’s grace and of course, the safety system put in place by both the state and national bodies, we have not had any major incidents this year. We thank God for that. Of course, we pray but as well, there is a system in place to ensure that accidents do not happen. So it is not because of fear in fact, people are getting more attuned and it is because we do a lot of awareness and sensitization on the use of life jackets. Because when you wear the life jacket you are sure that you are safe on the water in case of any emergency. The Lagos State Government donates nothing less than 2,000 life jackets every year to as many jetties as possible. We have to prioritize, because if you want to do everything at once, you will be looking at about 20,000 life jackets every year. But what we do is that we select areas we focus on every year and we do that every year without failing.
Despite the ban on night navigation by the Lagos State Government, some boat operators are still involved in this. What is LASWA doing to address this?
Rules are there because rules would be broken but if you break the rule you will face the full wrath of the law and that is what we do. Right now we also working with the Nigeria Navy who also carry our patrol and anytime they catch any violators, they are brought to book.
How many of those violators have so far been brought to book?
Well, this year I know there have been about 10 operators who have been caught. Because sometimes they feel like nobody would see them, so they would try to maneuver. But I know about 10 of them have been caught. For night traveling the penalty is fine and not prosecution.
Aside from giving out life jackets what other measures is your agency adopting to ensure strict compliance to safety?
We have increased our water guard personnel from 48 to 108 within the last two years. Our water guards are like our own Lagos State Traffic Management Authority that we have in our jetties. We have increased the number and that has helped us because we have been able to monitor adequately. Secondly, we do what we call biannual inspection of these jetties but we realized that it was not enough, so we started introducing what we call random inspection. With that, you don’t even know we are coming, unlike biannual inspection where the operators were aware we are coming and have the opportunity to fix things. So, random inspection has helped us because we can catch them and ground their boats until they fix everything before they are allowed to continue operation. We don’t want to frustrate people’s businesses as well but you must do the right thing before you are allowed to continue on the waterways. Thirdly, in December the state governor launched the inland waterways control room which is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. That has enabled us to begin to see different locations on our waterways. We have been able to monitor our jetties through technology; we have our water guards who can monitor boats coming in through their phones.
How does LASWA intend to address the issue of rickety boats at Liverpool?
As you know, it is a transition. What we are seeing in Ikorodu today, was not obtainable there years ago, everywhere is being transformed. What the state government is looking at today is how to begin to intervene in each of these locations. Now, Liverpool has a lot of communities in the Apapa axis which is why you are seeing those kinds of boats commuting in that axis. So the intervention project is going step by step and the Apapa axis would not be left out.
What have been the challenges since assuming office as the GM of LASWA?
The challenges have been funding which is what will always happe. Others are cross-cutting functions and stakeholders’ management as well. Being able to manage all of the stakeholders including passengers, operators, and all that is a big challenge.
Can you throw more light on the issue of cross-cutting functions you mentioned?
Of course, as you know, over time there have been issues between LASWA and the National Inland Waterways Authority and at the end of the day, we have concluded that it is all about the safety and development of the state and how residents can be safe moving from one point to the other. So we are now finding ways to work together to ensure that we make things smoother and better. And one of the things we have decided to do is to have frequent engagements with one another. We agreed on different projects we should do so that we will not duplicate projects. And anywhere we have gray areas, we find a way to engage and have a meeting with a view to resolving it.
How is LASWA leveraging technology to improve water transportation?
Two ways, you know I mentioned the inland waterways control room, which is helping us to carry out surveillance at our jetties and help us generate adequate data in other to make informed decisions. And then also the use of the cowry card which the state government has introduced for transportation. It is what they use for BRT and the rail system now it is being used on the water transportation system as well. The card is an e-payment system that enables you to pay your fare without using cash.
Boat Operators have been agitating for a floating fuel dump. What is the update on that?
I am very happy you mentioned that because you know, any time there are issues, we look for ways to solve them. As I speak with you today, there is a floating fuel dump in Falomo here and the Lagos State Government has also set up one each in Ikorodu and Ijegun areas. The reason for this is that we looked at the east, west, and central locations of Logos State because it is either you are in the east, west, or central part of the state. Now, if you look at the central we have one here to cater to the people here, in the east we have Ikorodu to address that. In the west we have Ijegun which can cater for Badagry, Ojo, and all that. And we did that through a partnership with IBILE Oil and Gas which is a state government agency like LASWA.
