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Road
safety since 1988
By Moses Akaigwe
Friday, February 8, 2008
Rising cases of road traffic accidents (RTA), the resultant
injuries (that sometimes cause the death of road users) and
the attendant toll on the economy, have always been a major
source of worries to various tiers of government and even
the private sector over the years.
This was the reason why back in the 70s and 80s some states,
notably the Oyo, set up road safety outfits to tackle the
problem. The situation became more embarrassing and unacceptable
with time, thereby necessitating a national approach to curtailing
the trend.
And, it was in response to this need that the government of
Gen Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) established the Federal Road Safety
Commission (FRSC) which formally came into existence on February
18, 1988 via Decree 45 of the same year (now cited as the
Federal Road Safety Commission Act, Cap 141 Laws of the Federation
of Nigeria 1990).
Following the creation, Prof Wole Soyinka and Dr Olu Agunloye,
both of whom were involved in the old Oyo State road safety
initiative, were appointed chairman of the Governing Board
and corps marshal and chief executive (COMACE), respectively.
In between the exit of Agunloye and the appointment of Chidoka
were corps marshals like Gen Haldu Anthony Hananiya (rtd),
Danyaro Yakassai, Abba Kyari Wakilbe (both reported to the
Inspector General during the ‘merger’ with the
Police) and Hananiya again in 2003, when the commission was
detached from the Force.
Twenty years after being established and charged with road
traffic administration and safety management in Nigeria, how
far has the commission gone in carrying out its mandate and
living up to the expectations of the government which set
it up and concerned Nigerians?
To the incumbent COMACE, Mr. Osita Chidoka, the commission
has discharged its duties credibly within the limits of its
capacity. RTA in particular, according to him, has reduced
since then.
Though he did not give figures, Chidoka who was speaking at
a recent press conference in Lagos to announce the activities
lined up for the 20th anniversary celebration coming up in
Abuja next month, disclosed that the reduction was more pronounced
in 2004 and 2005.
He said: “Even against all fears of immodesty, I make
bold to hold that from inception, the FRSC has paid its dues.
At least, this commission has been able to demonstrate abundantly
that with purposeful and focused leadership, FRSC has the
capacity to deliver. As such, while it may not be rational
for one to blow his own trumpet, no one can deny the manifest
fact that the FRSC has discharged its responsibilities credibly
and has also been a victim of the general environmental inertia
that has brought it to a crossroads”.
However, observers are of the opinion that aside the tenure
of the incumbent which is only a few months old, the glorious
days of the FRSC were in the distant past when Soyinka /Agunloye
were at the helm. There are also analysts who are nostalgic
about the tenures of Hananiya, described by some as a “very
pragmatic officer”.
Lack of funding, which has consistently depleted fleet of
patrol and administrative vehicles, as well as resulted in
poorly executed projects and programmes, has ‘conspired’
with internal human factors, to affect FRSC’s performance
over the years.
But, Chidoka said that regardless of the constraints, the
commission could still pride itself on having recorded some
achievements, hence the plan to make next month’s 20th
anniversary celebrations “memorable”.
“A number of befitting activities have been lined up
to commemorate the anniversary. These activities are designed
to be accommodated in a week-long scheduled programme. Furthermore,
considering the fact that Nigeria is the current head of the
African sub-group of International Road Safety Organizations
(GPA-PRI), two days of the anniversary programme are to be
dedicated to an International Conference on Road Safety in
Africa”, the corps marshal announced, disclosing that
the theme would be Road Safety Management in Africa: Mission
2020.
He went on: “The two-day conference is quite loaded,
programmed to feature two plenary and several syndicated sessions.
The opening / plenary session would be chaired by Gen. Ibrahim
Babangida, while President Umar Musa Yar’Adua would
be the Special Guest of Honour”.
Chidoka hinted that at least one speaker each would be invited
from Europe, Africa and Asia, as well as Nigeria, to tackle
specialized topics in related fields within the 10 phases
of the technical session, while the Executive Secretary of
ECOWAS Commission, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas will chair the
closing plenary session during which road safety policy framework
will be fashioned out.
The week-long activities which will begin on Thursday, February
14 and climax on Thursday, February 21, will also feature
an award night on Monday (the very day FRSC will hit 20),
motorized road campaign, novelty football match, cultural
displays, visitations to hospitals to meet accident victims,
religious services and the unveiling of the FRSC Anniversary
Sculpture.
“We deemed it necessary to mark this milestone”,
the youthful COMACE explained “in order to draw from
the lessons of the past, realign our focus in line with changing
reality and project our unchanging mandate of safety of lives
on our roads”.
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