The Director-General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Capt. Alex Badeh Jnr, has called for collaboration and support from all stakeholders to make safety the foundation of all modes of transportation in Nigeria.

He lamented the lack of cooperation from some transportation and maritime agencies, stating that many treat safety issues as confidential.

Badeh spoke in Lagos during the maiden Transport Summit organised by the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN) with the theme, “Intermodal Transport: Prospects and Challenges,” over the weekend.

Badeh, one of the discussants at the forum, said that safety is paramount across all transportation sectors.

The NSIB, formerly the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), was initially tasked with investigating only air transport accidents in Nigeria. However, with the amendment of its Act, the Bureau is now empowered to investigate accidents across all modes of transportation, modeled after the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The DG stressed the need for collaboration among government agencies to replicate the safety standards achieved in aviation across other modes of transportation.

He noted that aviation is the second most regulated industry worldwide, with safety as the top priority, but lamented that the same level of regulation is lacking in other transportation sectors.

“Aviation is the second most regulated industry in the world after medicine. Regulations increase with the loss of lives. However, outside of aviation, safety is treated as a secret.

“When we approach other agencies, they respond, ‘We are not aviation; why should we collaborate with you?’ If an accident occurs, we send letters, but they ignore us. We can’t be everywhere as a bureau. For example, some maritime agencies refuse to cooperate with us,” Badeh said.

He reiterated the Bureau’s commitment to extending aviation-level safety to other transportation sectors, with the cooperation of relevant agencies.

READ ALSO: Tackling sexual, gender-based violence requires collective responsibility 

“Our investigations are not about assigning blame but ensuring the safety of lives. NSIB seeks full cooperation from other agencies. Safety is not just the responsibility of investigators or regulators; it is the responsibility of the public,” Badeh added.

He encouraged TCAN and other agencies to educate the public and work together to establish a solid safety foundation for transportation in Nigeria.

Also speaking at the summit, Dr. Kayode Opeifa, a former Commissioner for Transport in Lagos, noted that with NSIB’s emergence as a multimodal investigation agency, other agencies should no longer investigate themselves.

Opeifa, now Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainable Mobility and Access Development (CenMAD), stressed the importance of proper investigations before identifying accident causes.

Representing the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Michael Ogunsola, Head of Business Development for Lagos Area Office, stated that the Authority has made significant efforts to reduce accidents on waterways.

He acknowledged the misconception that NSIB deals only with aviation and pledged NIWA’s readiness to collaborate with the Bureau to enhance safety on the waterways.