Drowning caused by negligence not ‘Yemoja’, NIWA tells Ogun residents

The National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, has asserted that drownings on waterways are not caused by Yemoja, a water deity, but by negligence and the abandonment of safety protocols.

DAILY POST reports that Yemọja is a major water deity, mother goddess and orisha in the Yoruba region, revered as the mother of all other orishas and the protector of life, women and children.

The Area Manager, NIWA Abeokuta Area Office, covering Ogun and Oyo States, Engr. Ipinmoroti Segun, stated this on Thursday during a sensitisation campaign at the 2026 Annual Yemoja Festival held at the River Jetty, Ago Ika, Abeokuta.

Ipinmoroti said that in the past, deaths on the water were wrongly attributed to spiritual forces, whereas investigations showed that they were caused by failure to use life jackets, night sailing and operating under the influence of alcohol.

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“In the past, people have been dying, but nobody took cognisance. They would say the person was claimed by Yemoja. Now we understand that Yemoja is not consuming people. It is due to negligence and abandonment of safety protocols,” he said.

He said the sensitisation, themed “Sensitisation on Sustainable Cultural Heritage and Safety Protocols on Inland Waterways,” was organised by NIWA in collaboration with the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOWATON) and supported by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

According to him, the festival connects various cultural groups but must not compromise safety, noting that NIWA has to certify that all boats are seaworthy before sailing.

“As we are celebrating our cultural heritage, we are maintaining safety protocols on the water. We are here to pass a message of total safety.

“Anybody going on board must put on a life jacket before entering the boat, must not sail at night or drive under the influence of alcohol. Safety first; we don’t want any life lost before, during and after the celebration,” he stated.

He disclosed that NIWA has intensified the training and retraining of commercial boat operators, licensing, on-site monitoring and town hall engagements with traditional rulers to drive home the message that safety is everybody’s responsibility.

Ipinmoroti noted that the campaign aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s priority on safety, adding, “My people perish for lack of knowledge. We have been doing constant sensitisation to let everyone know safety is everybody’s concern.”

Corroborating him, National President of ATBOWATON, Ganiu Balogun, popularly known as Tarzan the Boatman, disclosed that the association enforces a strict “No life jacket, no entry” rule at jetties, with marine guards deployed by NIWA.

He appreciated NIWA for maintaining a patrol boat on the waterways, noting that boats are expected to close operations by 7 p.m., with sanctions for any operator caught carrying passengers without life jackets.

Balogun recalled a recent incident in Ogun State in which three people died in a local boat, stressing that life jackets remain mandatory for passengers, as well as operators of local or private boats.

He appealed to the federal and state governments to support operators with more life jackets and fuel stations close to waterfronts, lamenting that boat operators incur extra costs conveying fuel in jerrycans from distant stations.

On safety around riverine areas, he cautioned parents not to allow children who cannot swim near water bodies.

“People take it for granted and say, ‘I am born by the waterfront; water is not my enemy.’ Please do not leave children who cannot swim to go close to the water, because a storm can start at any time,” he warned.

Also speaking, the immediate past Vice President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria, FTAN, South West, Mr Kayode Kolade, commended NIWA and ATBOWATON but called for the construction of a jetty and dredging of the Ago Ika waterway to make it more transport-friendly.

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