Death toll from Sokoto boat mishap hits 65

By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto

The death toll from the horrific boat mishap at Gorau Village in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State has risen to 65, with only 11 survivors so far accounted for, as grief, anger and renewed calls for urgent intervention spread across the state.

The tragedy, which occurred on Thursday at the Gorau crossing point, has emerged as one of the deadliest recent waterway disasters in the country, leaving families devastated and communities mourning the loss of their loved ones.

The latest casualty figure was recorded on Friday after rescue agencies resumed search operations suspended on Thursday evening because darkness and difficult conditions made further operations unsafe.

At least 53 bodies had been recovered before the suspension of the operation, but the resumption of the search on Friday led to the recovery of additional bodies, pushing the confirmed death toll to 65.

The National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, confirmed that 11 persons survived the mishap including the Village head Alhaji Na Batsami Gorau, while several of the recovered bodies were buried in accordance with Islamic rites as bereaved families and residents struggled to come to terms with the scale of the disaster.

The tragedy has heightened concerns over the safety of Nigeria’s inland waterways, particularly in riverine communities where residents rely heavily on canoes and other boats for transportation, agricultural activities, trade and access to neighbouring communities.

Rescue officials continued to comb the waterways around the Gorau crossing point in search of possible victims, although hopes of recovering more survivors had diminished considerably as the operation progressed.

The Head of Operations, NEMA Sokoto Operations Office, Alhaji Tukur Abubakar, declined to comment on the latest casualty figure and directed all enquiries to the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA.

Attempts to reach the Special Adviser to the Sokoto State Governor on SEMA, Alhaji Aminu Liman Bodinga, for further clarification proves impossible as his mobile telephone was switched off at the time of filing this tragic report.

Reacting to the tragedy, the Chairman of the Governing Board of NIWA, Alhaji Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, described the incident as painful and devastating, extending condolences to the Sokoto State Government, Goronyo Local Government Council, traditional institutions and families of the victims.

Shagari urged boat operators and passengers to comply strictly with established waterway safety regulations, stressing that tragedies of such magnitude must not become a recurring feature of inland water transportation in the country.

Former Sokoto State Governor and Senator representing Sokoto South, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, also expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and called for an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

Tambuwal said the investigation should establish both the immediate and remote causes of the accident and ensure that appropriate measures were taken to prevent a recurrence, insisting that the recurring loss of lives on Nigeria’s waterways could no longer be dismissed as an inevitable consequence of riverine transportation.

But beyond the immediate circumstances of the boat mishap, the member representing Goronyo/Gada Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Bashir Usman Gorau, has raised a broader alarm over the condition of the Goronyo Dam and its tributaries, demanding urgent federal intervention to prevent further disasters.

Gorau called on the Federal Government to commence the comprehensive desilting of Goronyo Dam and its tributaries, warning that decades of accumulated silt and sediments had significantly reduced the facility’s water-holding capacity and could worsen flooding and other water-related disasters in surrounding communities.

According to the lawmaker, the dam, constructed by the Federal Government more than five decades ago, has accumulated enormous quantities of sediments over the years, thereby compromising its original capacity and threatening communities that depend on the water infrastructure.

“A dam that was designed decades ago cannot continue to function effectively when its reservoir and waterways are choked with sediments. The capacity of Goronyo Dam has been seriously compromised, and the consequences are being felt every year by communities living downstream and around the dam,” Gorau said.

He expressed concern that the continued deterioration of the dam and its tributaries could compound the vulnerability of communities during periods of heavy rainfall, potentially resulting in flooding, destruction of property, displacement and further loss of lives.
Gorau described the accumulated sediments as a “clear and present danger” requiring immediate federal intervention, rather than waiting for disasters to occur before authorities mobilise emergency relief and rescue operations.

He urged the Federal Government, relevant ministries and agencies responsible for water resources, dams and disaster management to declare the desilting of Goronyo Dam and its tributaries an emergency intervention and deploy the required technical expertise and resources without further delay.

The lawmaker stressed that the exercise must go beyond the dam’s reservoir to include critical tributaries and waterways feeding the facility, arguing that only a comprehensive approach could address the underlying causes of the recurring flooding and waterway-related disasters in the area.

“We cannot continue to wait until people are killed, communities are submerged and property worth millions is destroyed before we take action. Goronyo Dam has served the nation for over five decades; it now requires urgent rehabilitation and desilting to restore its capacity and protect the people. The time to act is now, before another life is lost,” Gorau declared.

He further appealed to the Federal Government to combine the desilting programme with stronger waterway safety enforcement, improved emergency response mechanisms, provision of adequate life jackets, proper regulation of boat operations and sustained monitoring of vulnerable crossing points.

The Goronyo tragedy has consequently reignited a national debate over the safety of Nigeria’s inland waterways and the need for government to invest in preventive infrastructure rather than continue to respond only after disasters have claimed lives.

Goronyo communities, many of which depend on waterways for movement of people and agricultural produce, now face renewed uncertainty as residents demand concrete action to ensure that the latest tragedy does not become another statistic in Nigeria’s growing record of preventable waterway disasters.

As Sokoto mourns the 65 victims, pressure is mounting on the Federal Government, NIWA, NEMA, SEMA and other relevant authorities to move beyond condolences and emergency responses by implementing lasting measures capable of safeguarding lives and livelihoods.

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