Brass—What would have been a tragedy was averted on the Brass waterways yesterday, Friday, 9th, 2021.
A Facebook user and an indigene of Okpoama in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Mr. Nadu Okenema, on Saturday, shared his life-threatening experience.
He wrote that: “I, my mom who just returned from her cousin’s 91st birthday (Prof. Y. O Beredugo), my wife, and our two-year-old daughter set sail to go home to Okpoama.
“We drove down to Igo-piri, Nembe-Ogbolomabiri Jetty to join HRM home for the weekend.”
According to him, in a bid not to breach protocol, he asked his wife to join the escort boats, while he joined the boat conveying HRM King Ebitimi Banigo, the Amayanabo of Okpoama Kingdom.
Nadu pointed out that, few minutes into the journey, their boat developed a technical issue and “could not drive on full capacity while the escort drove ahead. After we passed the JTF (military) checkpoint at Ogbolomabiri.
“The driver who doubles as an engineer asked me to take over the steering, while he checked the fuel system and the plugs.”
“In that process, the escort boat, not seeing us, came back to check on us and the next thing I saw was that the boat has capsized and has been upside down for about 30 seconds.”
Without a second thought, he dashed into the river to save his mother, wife, and child.
Not long after saving his 76-year-old mother, his “wife started screaming for help” because she had hit her leg on the boat’s bench.
After successfully pushing his mother to safety, one of the passengers in the boat took his child from his wife, who also swam to safety.
