Think life jackets keeps you safe on our waterways?think again.

Nigeria’s waterway system has always been seen as a viable alternative means of transport but it has seen its share of deaths. In Lagos State with a population of over 17 million people, journey on the highly congested roads sometimes becomes a harrowing experience. Here, the government has been at the centre of the call for shift to water transport. Official statistics indicate that 1.8million people travel by water in Lagos every month.

However, once in a while, tragedy strikes, casting a long shadow on safety of passengers on waterways in the state even though, as Saturday PUNCH learnt, there is an enforcement of the use of life jackets.

One may have been tempted to conclude that tragedies on waterways in the state have simply fizzled out through the use of life jackets. Only if it were that simple.
In October 2012, 10 people drowned in a boat mishap at Imude in Otto-Awori Local Council Development Area of Lagos, when a passenger boat conveying passengers from Idoluwo-Ile (a coastal village) to Ikotun, capsized
Out of the 20 passengers in the boat, most of whom were children, 10 went under, with their life jackets on and drowned. They were on their way back from the Eid-el-Kabir celebration at the time.

-punch