Nigerians who have been following the activities of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over the years have not been disappointed that the organisation continues to rely on scientific solutions to resolve some of the intractable road safety challenges facing the country. In its mission statement, FRSC made it clear to the fatalists that attribute road traffic crashes to either the “will of God” or “evil spirits,” that road traffic crashes are not influenced by spiritual elements, but consequences of omission or commission of the drivers and can be prevented with sufficient safety measures.
That was why early in its life, FRSC saw the need to harmonise the campaign for safer road environment with restoration of the integrity of the nation’s licensing system. This informed the Corps’ involvement in the reforms of the licensing system of the country, even as some Nigerians did not immediately appreciate the need for its involvement. But its insistence has paid off handsomely as the nation now has a credible database on drivers and vehicles.
The Corps Marshal of FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi confirmed recently that with the introduction of some features to the licence through various reform programmes carried out, fake licences are being detected while fraudsters that specialise in parallel production of the documents are being eliminated from the system. “We may not be announcing to the world the number of arrests made from the use of FRSC’s database to detect and recover stolen vehicles as well as fishing out those that use fake licences to indulge in criminal activities, but suffice it to say that the nation’s security agencies find our database a veritable instrument for tackling some of the serious security challenges facing the nation,” Oyeyemi stated while declaring open a workshop organised for Military and other security agencies on how to detect fake from genuine licences last year.
FRSC has sustained its reliance on scientific conviction over the years to pursue other road safety campaigns like use of seatbelt, phoning or texting while driving, use of helmet and currently introduction of speed limiting device. It is important to recall that when the idea of introducing compulsory use of speed limiting device in the country was mooted about four years ago by road safety stakeholders following discovery that speed was responsible for most of the crashes and fatalities, enforcement could not immediately commence by FRSC because there was the need to get other stakeholders to agree on their specific roles in the initiative. This was despite the fact that the idea of use of speed limiting device is not new to FRSC, as it is in its Establishment Act as well as National Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR) 2004 and 2012.
Strategies for enforcement of the law was therefore consequent upon involvement of other stakeholders like the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) which are responsible for design and setting of standards for the device. It was after members of the consultative forum concluded deliberations on the need for compulsory enforcement of the use of the device with inputs from stakeholders like road transport unions and related government agencies like the Nigerian Customs as well as professional body like the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) that resolutions to commence enforcement on 1st June 2015 was taken.
The 1st June 2015 date was however postponed to 1st September 2015 when it was realised that the earlier date was too close to the inauguration date of the present administration of President Muhammad Buahri which needed to settle down before facing the challenges that go with such enforcement. However, after considering other obstacles that could hamper smooth enforcement from the 1st September, 2015 date, another extension to 1st January 2016 was sought by the stakeholders to enable the leaders create more awareness to their members, especially for self regulation preparatory to full enforcement by the FRSC. But when this was communicated to Mr President, he rather graciously extended the new date to 1st of April 2016, which stakeholders have been working assiduously to meet.
It was in this process that the House intervened to call for its suspension pending when public hearing is conducted on the matter. Since then, there have different reactions to the House Motion, but one factor that many analysts have not fully appreciated is the disclosure by the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, that speed accounted for about 50.8 percent of the causes of road traffic crashes between 2014 and 2015. He insisted that if the nation is able to control speed, the rate of crashes on the nation’s highways will crash automatically.
“No responsible safety organisation like the FRSC will sit down and watch helplessly a factor that threaten the success of its assignment without taking appropriate action,” he stated. He added: “Our discovery that speed accounts for over fifty percent of road traffic crashes on the nation’s highways is what prompted FRSC to get involved in the policy in conjunction with other relevant stakeholders,” Oyeyemi stated.
Oyeyemi therefore instructed his Commanding Officers to educate members of the public on the role of the FRSC in the project, saying it was only motivated by safety of road users. “FRSC’s interest in the project stops only in enforcement of the use of the device to ensure safety on our roads. We would not be involved in the installation, sale and promotion of a particular type of device or vendor,” he stated.
Speaking recently on what FRSC will do in the face of the Motion passed by the House of Representatives advising the Corps to suspend enforcement pending when public hearing is conducted to determine the necessity of the policy, Oyeyemi expressed the readiness of the FRSC to abide by the legislative demands, saying he would appear before the Committee to present the side of the FRSC to enable members of the Committee take informed decision that could best serve the safety interest of people of Nigeria.
As members of the House of Representatives engage the public in public hearing to determine the necessity for the introduction of the speed limiting device in the country, it is imperative to call on all patriotic Nigerians to join the Committee to carry out this national assignment most efficiently through creation of adequate public awareness on the safety device. After all, provision of safety and security to the citizenry is a constitutional responsibility of government, which patriotic citizens must assist in actualising through informed commentaries on issues that affect their safety.
Abdullahi, a Superintendent Route Commander contributed this piece from Wuse Zone 3 Abuja and can be reached through: abdullahisnn@yahoo.com
