The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), has called for the collaboration and support of all stakeholders to ensure the safety foundation of all modes of transportation in Nigeria.
The Director-General of NSIB, Capt. Alex Badeh Jnr., made the call at the Transport Summit organised by the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) with the theme, “Intermodal Transport: Prospects and Challenges.”
Badeh also decried the lack of cooperation from some transportation and maritime related agencies of government, adding that many treat safety issues as a secret.
Badeh who was one of the discussants at the forum stated that safety was paramount in all modes of transportation.
The NSIB, formerly the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), used to investigate only accidents in the air transport industry in Nigeria. However, with the amendment of its Act, the Bureau has been empowered to investigate accidents in all modes of transportation fashioned after the United States – National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The DG however stressed the need for collaboration among agencies of government to replicate the safety in the aviation sector on all modes of transportation.
He stated that aviation was the second most regulated industry in the world with safety as the number one priority but lamented that the same strict regulation was not being seen on other modes of transportation.
“Aviation industry is the second most regulated industry in the world after that of healthcare. We talk regulations all over the world. The more loss of lives, the more heavy regulations you see in the industry.
“And then we find that, here, aside aviation, everyone treats safety as a secret. You approach the other agencies but they tell you, we are not aviation, why should we collaborate with you?
“An accident happens, you send letter to the agencies but they ignore you. We can’t be everywhere as a bureau. For example, some maritime agencies don’t want to cooperate with us,” he said.
The DG however reiterated the readiness of the safety bureau to replicate the safety enjoyed in the aviation sector to other modes of transportation with the cooperation and support of other agencies involved.
According to him, the NSIB investigation is not to assign blame but to ensure the safety of lives of the people.
“As far as we are concerned in NSIB, we want full cooperation of other agencies. NSIB is ready and Nigeria is ready. Accident prevention is not just the responsibility of us the accident investigators or the regulators. it is the responsibility of the public.
“So I will encourage TCAN and other agencies here to educate the public more and more. Let us work together to make safety foundation of our transportation in Nigeria,” he said.
Also, former Commissioner for Transport in Lagos, Dr Kayode Opeifa stated that with the birth of NSIB as a multimodal investigation agency, other agencies cannot investigate themselves.
Opeifa, who is the Executive Director of the Centre of Sustainable Mobility and Access Development (CenMAD) said it was wrong to come up with the cause of any accident without proper investigation.
Also, Mr Michael Ogunsola, Head of Business Development, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), said that the authority had done a lot to curb incessant accidents on the waterways.
He stated that there was still the impression that NSIB was about aviation and promised the readiness of the authority to partner with the bureau to deepen safety on the waterways.
utjkhm