Nigeria faces its worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, with inflation at more than 30 percent and fuel costs more than triple the price of 18 months ago after government reforms.
That can mean a lot in a country where half the 200-million population lives in some form of poverty and where the minimum monthly wage is 70,000 naira or $46.
Nigerians have adapted. Some drive less, use public transport or work more from home. For Lagos boat operators, it often means cutting back to a single one-way trip a day.
Transport expert Samuel Odewumi at Lagos State University says the current Lagos administration will have to ensure the new development is sustainable.
“There are no cons, there are pros and pros for Lagos state with water transport,” he said. “But over the years it has been in fits and starts.”
Other problems such as dredging, fuel prices, jetty and boat quality and safety will need to be tackled, he said.
For the French agency AFD, already working with Lagos on bus systems, inland waterways were a clear solution to the oversaturated Lagos road network and a way to link up points around the city.
Over the next three years, the project aims to develop 15 ferry routes with more than 75 electric vessels, as well as upgrade the jetty system and dredge routes.
To overcome the city’s feeble power grid, solar infrastructure and compressed natural gas generators will recharge the vessels at jetties.
“We already know that other countries are looking very closely at what we’re doing with this project,” David Margonsztern, chief of AFD’s transport projects, told AFP.
Waterways authority chief Emmanuel hopes the project will increase boat passengers from around two percent of total commuters now to around 10 percent.
“We will be moving about 10 million people on a monthly basis,” he said.
Cost and fear of water are concerns for many.
For first time boat rider Adeyemi Jagbojagbo, a driver, the novelty of arriving at a ferry terminal provided relief from the traffic but he was still unsure he would do it again.
“This is my first time, I’m so scared, like the way the boat was doing,” he said. “So I just pray maybe I should come back.”
