Judex Okoro, Calabar
The ‘ember months’, which begins from September to December, are marked by a beehive of activities across the country. For transporters, it is usually a peak period as it brings to an end another year in which families travel to their respective communities and villages for Yuletide.
But for Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), it could be a nightmare as a result of the increase in road crashes on the highways. This development has made these agencies and other Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, embark on series of awareness campaigns on safe driving during the ‘ember’ months.
This year, the road traffic officers in Cross River have risen to the occasion by declaring ‘operation drive safely in Calabar’. The weeklong campaign activities commenced with the inauguration of the Information Communication Centre (ICT), road shows, visits to parks across the metropolis and the induction of special road traffic mayors.
Declaring the week open, with the theme ‘Arrive alive, share the road with caution, share the road with consideration, share the road begins with safety and end with safety’, the chairman, Cross River State House of Assembly Committee on Transport and Marine Services, Ogbor Ogbor-Udop, enjoined road users to see the issue of safety as a business of all persons instead of leaving safety issues in the hands of VIO and Federal Road safety commission alone
“As a motorist, if you take off and never land, it means you have not taken off. Let’s ensure that we obey traffic rules,” he said.
Speaking earlier during the inauguration of the ICT Centre, the chairman, National Conference of Directors and Chief Road Traffic Officers of the Federation, Sir Paul Bepeh, said the new ICT unit would assist track down offenders, motorists and every road users who are in the habit of violating traffic laws.
Bepeh, who doubles as the Chief Vehicle Inspection Office in Cross River, said the establishment of ICT is in line with the digitalisation of all activities to meet up with the social trend where ICT has become the order of the day, adding 8that with the ICT centre, motorists can get their automated drivers permits without any hitch.
“The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade told me that he cannot afford to be a digital governor without empowering the VIO with automated gadgets. We are here to commence with automated issuance of drivers permits. With the Information/Communication Technology Centre, ICT, issues regarding driver permit can be done with click of button.
“With this development, Cross River becomes one of the only states that that does not only follow due process in issuance of driving life-saving document, NDL, and vehicle ownership data image capturing for issuance of road worthiness certificate. This would make it difficult to steal or sell stolen vehicles in the state,” Bepeh said.
He also said even as they are faced with numerous challenges including lack of towing van, hazard allowance and use of outdated patrol vehicles, they have apprehended over one thousand road traffic offenders in the last ten months.
Commending the efforts of the VIOs in the state, the pioneer vehicle inspection officer in the then South Eastern State, Edim Ikpeme, expressed satisfaction that the unit of transportation he established in 1972 has grown to become a full department and even ministry in some states.
Ikpem said: “I feel happy that unit has grown due to the plan we had on ground. Indeed, transportation the world over is a major aspect of government. If we are to achieve safety of property and lives, plans must be laid down and that was what I had to do before I had others coming to assist me. It all started in 1972 first as a unit, to department and now to ministry.”
He however lamented on the poor state of transportation and traffic in the country as government has not put in enough into the safety on our roads, saying, “The roads are not good enough; those handling the jobs are not properly trained and equipped. But we do hope that things would change for better.”
Also, speaking, the Director, National Task Force on Illegal Importation of Fire Arms and Pipeline Vandalisation, Felix Effiong called on state and the federal government to provide the necessary tools needed by the VIOs to enable them function effectively.
In his words, Effiong said: “ As we prepare for the festivities, we should consider that they are other road users. We should support these men because what they do on daily basis on our roads cannot be quantified in terms of naira and kobo.”