Probably embarrassed by reports of missing 2016 federal budget from the Senate that went viral, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has directed a review of all security arrangements in the federal parliament in order to keep the institution abreast of the current challenges in the country.
The Special Adviser to the Senate President on Security, Major General Saleh Maina (Rtd), in a statement today, said that the review of the security around the complex was part of the periodic plans to ensure better protection of lives and property.
He also said the latest security strategy would help to improve on the existing arrangement.
Maina said that in carrying out the directive of the senate president, the heads of all security agencies in the complex and other officials whose portfolio have to do with security had met at different times to devise a common and water-tight plan.
“Following the meetings, it has been decided that henceforth it is compulsory for all legislators, staff and visitors to the National Assembly to wear identity tag.”
Mania also said that as part of the review of the security arrangements, there would be no loitering within and around the National Assembly by visitors and staff, adding that all vehicles to the National Assembly must be parked at the designated parking lots.
According to him, there shall be proper screening of personnel coming into the National Assembly as well as the scanning of their hand bags and luggages.
The Special Adviser called on the security officials at the National Assembly to be polite and firm to all in the course of carrying out their duties. [myad]
Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State has constituted a committee to probe his predecessor, Isa Yuguda, on the contracts, financial expenditure and appointments between 2007 and 2015. A statement by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Abubakar El-Sadique said that Abubakar disclosed this at the opening of a two-day sensitization workshop on corruption for public officers organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in conjunction with the state government. The statement said that the appointment of the committee followed the resolve by the present administration in the state to instill accountability and discipline as prerequisites for good governance. According to the statement, the committee is headed by Alhaji Salihu Lukman, with the mandate “to undertake a forensic audit of all contracts, expenditure and appointments made in all the ministries, departments and agencies from May 2007 to May 2015.” Abubakar, while addressing the participants, said corruption had eaten deeply into the nation’s socio-economic and political sphere of the country, but promised that he would fight against corruption in public life until sanity was restored. He said that he had earlier appointed a committee for the recovery of government property illegally carted away by officials of the last administration that runs into millions of Naira. The governor vowed to fight insecurity that was also retarding development from all facets to ensure that lives and property of the people were protected to pave the way for development in the state. He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his determination and commitment towards fighting insurgency in the North East sub-region. [myad]
The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers has threatened to fight Lagos state government to stand-still, beginning from January 19, if it failed to settle the N224 million it is owing the union. The South West Chairman of the union, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, said in Lagos that the N224 million was for payment for the supply of diesel and kerosene to the state government for the execution of direct labour projects in Ojodu between October 2014 and May 2015. The chairman said that the contract was financed by Skye Bank which is now asking for repayment of the loan. Korodo said that the union would go to the State Secretariat in Alausa with about 1,000 petroleum tankers to picket the Governor’s Office, House of Assembly and other ministries. according to him, the union had written to the state government on the picketing, but regretted that the government is yet to respond, adding that NUPENG had also formally informed the Department of State Services and the state Commissioner of Police on their proposed action. “We are picketing Lagos State Secretariat come January 19 for their indebtedness to our members to the tune of N224 million without interest. “The union was given contract to supply diesel and kerosene by former Governor Raji Fashola for Lagos State Public Works through direct labour between October 2014 and May 2015. “We have since fulfilled our part of the contract and have appealed to the state government to pay us our money. We borrowed money from Syke Bank to finance the project and the bank had been on our neck to pay back the money. “We have written several letters to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to pay the debt but there was no response from him. “Consequently, over 1,000 tankers shall be used by NUPENG members as a means of transportation to the Governor’s Office and State Assembly. If this fails, scarcity of fuel may resurface in Lagos State in particular. “We are pleading with Lagosians to assist us to prevail on our Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to respect the business agreement.” Korodo said that if the state government continues to be silent over the matter after the picketing, the union would be left with no option than to embark on indefinite strike. “If we are provoked further, wvfce will down tools because injury to one member is injury to all members.” [myad]
The former Flying Eagles gaffer, John Obuh has emerged the head coach of the Kwara United Football Club.
The new coach will be in charge of the Ilorin-based club for the next 12 months, with an option for more years based on performance. speaking to news men in Ilorin, the state capital, Obuh said that he will lead the club back to the Nigeria Professional Football League after their relegation to the Nigeria National League at the end of the 2014/15 season. “I am grateful to the Kwara State Government and the good people of Kwara,” the former Sharks gaffer said in a chat with newsmen in Ilorin. “My duty is to move Kwara United to the Premier League. My name is at stake for leaving a premier league club to a lower club. I will raise a team that would restore the hope of the fans.” [myad]
The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has handed the newly installed Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdu-Rasheed Akanbi a staff of office and the instrument of authority.
Present at the ceremony were the Governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, Deputy Governor of Osun Grace Titi Laoye Tomori, and many others.
Aregbesola charged the monarch to lead by example, saying that leadership naturally comes with certain privileges and that a good leader must convert privileges to resources of governance.
He also admonished the monarch to rule with wisdom and fear of God, noting that the people over whom he presides are diverse politically, ideologically, temperamentally, socially and by moral disposition.
“Not all of them will readily agree with you and many of them will say or do things you will consider abhorrent. But they are all your subjects and you are required to preside over them with tact and wisdom in a way that will enable you to get the best out of them.
“A leader must also be a unifying person and must never constitute a divisive agent. There are two kings whose reign the Yoruba never forget. These are the king whose reign is peaceful and the one whose reign is characterized by turmoil and scattering.
“May your reign be peaceful and usher in prosperity for the people in the realm”.
In his acceptance speech, the Oluwo advocated for the use of local resources in the economic production process for the development of our own God-given potential.
According to him, this will guarantee economic well-being of the people of the state even as he promised to focus on the development pursuit of economic liberation of his people.
He also promised to continue to advocate for a massive utilization of locally sourced materials for the production of those articles and goods being massively consumed by the people.
“I am here to serve my people. I am here to take my homeland to that height it deserves among the comity of modern cities of the world.” [myad]
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alleged that the former National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Sambo Dasuki purchased houses in both London and Dubai from the proceeds of the funds meant for the purchase of arms for the soldiers battling the terror group, Boko Haram, in the North-East states.
The Commission’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), in opposing bail the bail application for Dasuki before Justice Yusuf Baba of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, said that the EFCC is still tracing assets linked to the proceeds of the diversion of the funds.
Dasuki and his co-accused persons are being prosecuted on 19 counts of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and dishonest misappropriation of the money.
Rotimi Jacobs accused Dasuki of compromising the security of the nation and committing economic sabotage through his alleged diversion of over N32 billion meant for the purchase of arms to fight terrorists in the North -East.
Giving more details about the alleged diversion of funds meant for the purchase of arms by the office of the NSA during Dasuki’s tenure, the lawyer said that there were documents showing that the ex-NSA gave the approval for the release of the funds to the accounts of private companies and individuals for the procurement of arms.
The prosecution also alleged in its counter-affidavit that Dasuki transferred huge sums of money to companies whose identities were still being traced, and that he transferred large sums of money outside Nigeria to acquire “several assets in Dubai and London.’’
Its counter-affidavit also read: “That our investigation also revealed that the applicant transferred large sums of monies outside Nigeria and he acquired several assets in Dubai and London with these funds.”
The defence lawyers, representing the accused persons, Ahmed Raji (SAN) for Dasuki, A. U. Mustapha for Salisu, and Solomon Umoh (SAN) for Baba-Kusa and his companies – had, while moving their respective bail applications, maintained that the charges filed before the court did not indicate that the money in question was meant for the procurement of arms.
But Jacobs, in picking holes in the lawyers’ contention, referred the judge to pages 14 to 58 of the prosecution’s proof of evidence, which he said contained documents detailing the approval of the former NSA for the release of various sums of money to individuals and private companies for the procurement of arms.
Jacobs said: “In our proof of evidence, we mentioned security money meant for purchase of arms. We also mentioned security equipment, but they decided not to look at it.
“Page 14 to page 58 of our proof of evidence showed approval for the supply of security equipment, satellite and arms. All the charges we filed were based on funds approved for the purchase of arms.”
In a counter-affidavit, deposed to by an EFCC detective, Hassan Saidu, the anti-graft agency alleged that the funds were released to private companies and individuals “who have nothing to do with the supply of security equipment or rendering security services”.
According to the 19 charges preferred against the accused persons, Dasuki, Salisu and Senior Special Assistant, Domestic Affairs to the President, Waripamowei Dudafa, released N10bn to the Peoples Democratic Party for the presidential primary delegates.
It was also alleged that N2.1bn was paid into the account of DAAR Investment and Holding Company Limited, controlled by one Dr. Raymond Dokpesi for the funding of media activities for the 2015 Presidential Election Campaign for the PDP.
The sum of N1.45bn was also allegedly paid to Acacia Holdings Limited, controlled by Baba-Kusa, to organise prayers.
Again, the sum of N750m was allegedly paid to Reliance Referral Hospital Limited in favour of Baba-Kusa for prayers.
Belsha Nigeria Limited, controlled by Bello Matanwalle, was also said to have received N380m to support some members of the House of Representatives for their re-election campaign.
General Hydrocarbons Limited controlled by Thisday publisher, Nduka Obaigbena was also said to have received N670m for “energy consulting”.
The office of the NSA was also said to have paid N260m to a former Minister of Works, Chief Tony Anenih, who was also the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, during the March 28 presidential election.
Senator Iyorchia Ayu was also said to have received N345m for the construction of shopping mall at Jabi, Abuja, purporting the said sum to be payment for satellite charges and security equipment.
EFCC said in its counter-affidavit that it was in the interest of the accused persons to remain in protective custody in order to shield them from being attacked by relatives of innocent soldiers who were drafted to fight Boko Haram without sufficient equipment.
The affidavit read in part, “That the charges being alleged against the defendant/applicant (Dasuki) border on economic sabotage that strikes at the very foundation of Nigeria well-being and existence.
“That it is in the interest of justice to put the applicant in protective custody so as to shield him from a possible attack by the relatives of the innocent soldiers, who lost their lives due to lack of adequate equipment; innocent soldiers who lost their lives due to lack of adequate facilities caused by the diversion of the funds meant for that purpose.
“Apart from the cases that are pending against the applicant, he’s also being investigated in respect of other criminal allegations.”
Jacobs said during the hearing that “investigation into other aspects is still ongoing. There is still investigation into assets tracing.”
He urged the court not to grant bail to Dasuki, whom he said “will escape from the jurisdiction of the honourable court from Nigeria”, adding that “the applicant will not be available to stand trial if released on bail.”
In moving their separate applications for bail, the defence counsel urged the court not to rely on the proof of evidence filed by the prosecution, arguing that doing so would run contrary to the presumption of innocence, which their clients were entitled to under the Constitution.
They maintained that the allegation that their clients would interfere with the prosecution witnesses was speculative.
They added that the provisions of Section 162 of the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act had placed the onus on the prosecution to prove why bail, which, according to them, is “almost automatic” for the accused persons, should not be granted to them.
Raji said, “The prosecution has made strenuous attempt to rely on the proof of evidence in urging your lordship not to grant bail.
“It is my argument that to rely on proof of evidence will violate the principle of presumption of innocence because they have not been tested.”
Raji urged the court to grant bail to Dasuki on condition of self-recognition and seizure of his passport as granted to him by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where the accused person is being prosecuted for illegal possession of firearms and money laundering. [myad]
One of the things I have had to do in recent times was to renew my driver’s licence. This took me to the headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Abuja. The procedure requires the applicant’s presence: forms to be filled, fees to be paid, fingerprinting to be done, and so, that was how I found myself in the expansive and impressive premises of the FRSC Headquarters. It turned to be a memorable experience. In-between the processing of my papers, I was handed over to a young officer in the digitalized command centre at the Headquarters, to give me a brief overview of the operations of the FRSC. I considered this a special privilege, but it turned out that the FRSC opens its doors to visitors seeking information, because just as I was stepping out of the room after almost 45 minutes of briefing, another group of visitors including journalists, were led into the command centre for their own briefing session. I could not fail to notice the fact that the operations of the FRSC are highly modernized and digitalized.
This is a sign of progress and growth because that was not always the case. When the idea of the creation of a special unit for road safety, separate from the Police Department, gained ground in the 70s, this was in response to the enormous carnage on Nigerian roads. Professor Wole Soyinka who suggested the idea to the Oyo State Government has written about how the Ibadan-Ife road had become a death trap for the students and lecturers at the then University of Ife. He would later take on the leadership role of sensitizing the Nigerian public to the evil of road rage, mobilizing volunteers to go onto the road to check drivers, or to assist accident victims. In later years, he became the pioneer Chairman of the Federal Road Safety Corps. In those early days, road safety officers relied on their raw courage, and few equipment, but they were a truly inspired group.
The need for road safety in Nigeria cannot be overstated. Over the years, so many lives and limbs have been lost on the roads. Today, Nigeria has a network of 204, 000 kilometres of paved and unpaved roads, with 12.76 million registered motor vehicles and motorcycles at the ratio of 57% and 43% respectively. Between 1960 and 2015, a total of 1,521, 601 casualties were recorded on our roads. Road traffic cases were particularly most serious between 1976 and 1993, with casualty figures consistently exceeding 30, 000 per annum. Established in 1988, FRSC claims in its annual reports that casualty figures on Nigerian roads have been on a downward trend. This conclusion must be in terms of relative figures in direct proportion to population. For, whereas total casualty figure as reported was 11,299 in 1960, it was 38, 059 in 2014 and 32, 826 in 2015. In 1960 Nigeria’s population was 45.2 million; today, it is about 183.5 million, with more vehicles on the roads.
No one can question the wisdom behind the setting up of this strategic agency and due credit must be given to the founding fathers, the successive administrations that have built up the agency and international organizations like the World Bank, which have provided necessary support. In 1988, the FRSC had a staff strength of just about 300, today it has over 19, 000 workers on its payroll, and it is able to make its presence felt on all Nigerian roads. It is better equipped; its staff are better motivated, and it has attracted a large number of volunteers, also known as Special Marshals who at critical moments step in to act as traffic control officials. According to the FRSC, deaths on Nigerian roads per 100, 000 was 9.0 in 1990; over the next 15 years, this was reduced to 3.62.
Whereas a total number of 8, 154 persons were killed on Nigerian roads in 1990, the number had reduced to 5, 044 in 2015. But perhaps the biggest area of achievement has been in the fact that more people today are apprehended for traffic offences. Between January and June 2014, about 258, 538 traffic offenders were apprehended nationwide; and for the same period in 2015 – 254, 203 persons. In the various reports, the states with the highest cases of traffic offences and fatalities are Kaduna, FCT, Ogun, Kogi, Oyo, Nasarawa, and Edo in that order while the states with the least incidents are Borno, Bayelsa, Yobe, Ekiti, Taraba, Abia, and Akwa Ibom.
It is refreshing that over the years the FRSC has been able to generate such significant data on road safety and fatalities in Nigeria. When I visited the control centre, many uniformed officers were busy behind telephones and computers, receiving information from the public and satellite command centres across Nigeria. Two large screens in the room provided real live indication of accident cases in all the six traffic corridors into which the country has been divided. I was told, and a live demonstration was used to illustrate the claim, that once there is a reported accident in any part of the country, the information is relayed to the nearest FRSC Command for immediate action, all the way up to the National Headquarters which monitors the dispatch of the nearest FRSC patrol team in that corridor on a rescue mission. The officer told me that the FRSC has the capacity to get to the scene of any road accident within minutes, because its men are all over Nigerian roads. I didn’t expect him to say anything otherwise. He was marketing his organization and he would of course tell me all the good things. But I wondered: how many Nigerians know the toll free emergency numbers to call in the event of an accident?
I completed the processing of my driver’s licence. And when it was time to take my leave, I was given some reading materials. A careful perusal would offer more information: the FRSC Call centre receives on the average a total of 258 calls per month on road traffic crashes, and most of these calls are made between June and December. It is as if Nigerians get more reckless on the roads as the year comes to an end. Then the vehicles mostly involved in road crashes are cars, followed by motorcycles, minibuses and trucks, while the principal causes are over-speeding, loss of control and dangerous driving.
On the whole, a lot still needs to be done to curtail road traffic crashes in Nigeria and to check the menace of dangerous driving; the area of challenge is in deepening the prevention strategies of the FRSC and similar organizations that have been set up by state governments such as LASTMA in Lagos and TRACE in Ogun state. A team of Road Safety experts from Nigeria are scheduled to proceed on a two-year deployment to Sierra Leone, which is encouraging, but before we begin to do Father Christmas across Africa with what has been achieved so far, we must never lose sight of the fact that the quoted statistics of persons killed or injured on Nigerian roads is not just cold data, but human lives. Nigerian motorists need to be constantly reminded that they cannot be allowed to either commit suicide or kill others.
It is certainly not surprising that over-speeding is the major cause of accidents on our roads. The FRSC and similar organizations at the state level must insist on the observance of speed limits and impose the stiffest penalties on offenders. It is always very scary driving on any road in Nigeria. Most of our motorists, commercial or private, behave as if the best way to handle a vehicle is to exhaust the speedometer. Speed bumps on inner city roads have made little or no difference. Even when persons are not driving under the influence, they just like to speed. Each time I see any major road being dualized, I immediately think in terms of the number of lives that will be claimed by the road once it is completed. Every person behind the wheels on our roads is a potential Formula One participant.
The commercial drivers are worse. They drive dangerously and lose control, because in any case, they are half of the time, completely drunk. Every motor park has a nearby section where alcohol is openly sold. In between trips, the drivers worship at the paraga and ogogoro shrine, and get thoroughly inebriated before they jump behind the wheels. State governments and the FRSC must liaise with the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to enforce the ban on the sale of alcohol at motor parks across the country; pro-active steps should also be taken to check drunk driving. In some other parts of the world, motorists are routinely stopped and asked to take a breath or sobriety test. We need that here.
Nigerians like to break the law, or test it. When the compulsory use of seat belts was introduced, it was quite a battle getting people to comply. In the same manner, they may resist the observance of speed limits, but this must be strictly enforced. Loss of control while driving, is caused not only by drunkenness, but also the abuse of cell phones. The way some people treat cell phones like a toy is unbelievable. Even while driving, they use one hand to hold a phone; the other hand is on the steering, while their mouth is engaged in animated conversation and their ears in a listening mode. Engaged in such a delicate task as driving, they are nevertheless distracted. I have seen many suicidal drivers on our highways, chatting on phone and going at top speed. This must be addressed.
The various FRSC reports didn’t dwell much on the roadworthiness of vehicles on Nigerian roads. Half of the vehicles out there are imported, used vehicles with broken down parts and bad tyres. Nigerian motorists are not likely to change tyres until the tyres burst, and of course, very few buy new tyres. Roadworthiness checks must not be voluntary or optional but compulsory. The roads are also bad. Bad roads don’t make for safe driving. And to worsen it all: many motorists don’t bother to go to driving schools or take driving tests, and they have no driver’s license. They learn to drive by accident; they have no knowledge of road signs and traffic rules. They drive all the same and cause accidents. The FRSC should seek the enabling powers to ensure that certain traffic offenders are banned for life from driving on our roads. That is the surest way to reduce road carnage. [myad]
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has made it clear that its members have not issued any threat to go on a nation-wide strike.
“Our attention has been drawn to a news briefing on AIT by some pocket of marketers parading themselves as IPMAN members, calling for nationwide strike over petroleum product sharing formula. The national body did not plan any strike action.” In a statement in Lagos by the National Operations Controller of IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, the Association said that those who made the threat to embark on strike are some marketers, who were not members of IPMAN.
“We, the national body of the union are not planning to embark on any strike, because we don’t have any issues with the government whatsoever. We appeal to Nigerians and all independent marketers to go ahead with their normal business and avoid creating panic buying in the society.” Osatuyi commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over petrol intervention scheme given to marketers to augment distribution, calling on the government to make the product available to marketers. The operations controller commended the steps taken by President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the NNPC for greater efficiency, adding that the measures inspired hope and confidence in the future of the nation. The IPMAN operations controller applauded to the Group Managing Director of the NNPC and Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, whom he described as a renowned oil industry expert with the needed global exposure, competence and integrity. He said that it is important for all IPMAN members to reciprocate the government special intervention petrol supply to marketers, saying that the Federal Government, through NNPC/PPMC, should be lauded for these special schemes. “The only way to ensure total eradication of queues in the country is when this intervention of petrol supply is sustained,” he said. Osatuyi, however, advised NNPC/PPMC to ensure sustainability of the product so that marketers could sell at approved price of N86.50k per litre. He said the commitment of government in this regard was a clear demonstration of its readiness to partner with IPMAN on effective fuel distribution. [myad]
The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufai has announced the composition of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the clashes in Zaria between the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, otherwise known as Shiite, and the Nigerian Army in December 2015.
A statement from Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, said that the commission has Justice Mohammed Garba, the presiding justice of the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal as the Chairman.
Director of the Centre for Islamic Legal Studies, Institute of Administration of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr Bala Babaji, was also named as the Secretary to the Commission.
Another member of the Commission is Professor Ibrahim Gambari, a former minister of Foreign Affairs, who was also an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the UN Department of Political Affairs.
Aruwan said that the judicial commission was “established under Section 2 of the Kaduna State Commission of Inquiry Law, 1991.”
He also said that Governor El-Rufai has signed the instrument establishing the commission of inquiry, which is expected to submit its final report six weeks after its first public sitting.
Aruwan said the terms of reference mandated it “to determine the immediate causes of the clashes, examine the historical circumstances and contributory factors of the clashes.”
It would also “ascertain the number of persons killed, wounded or missing during the clashes”.
It would “identify the actions of persons, institutions, federal and state actors, and determine whether such actions were necessary, appropriate and sufficient in the circumstances in which they occurred.
He said the state government “consulted widely with the governments of the 19 Northern States and the Federal Government.”
Aruwan said that this was done “in a bid to identify credible, independent and impartial persons knowledgeable in various aspects that the Inquiry is expected to cover.”
The bloody clash in Zaria between the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and the Nigerian Army from took place between December 12 and 14 last year. [myad]
The Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWU), Lagos State Council, has warned that taking garri, local staple food from cassava, in water, can cause the dreaded Lassa fever even as its members now take it upon themselves to embark on public enlightenment on this.
Chairman of the union, Razak Adeofalade, said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that house rats that caused Lassa Fever are mostly in contact with garri.
“We are going to encourage members of the public to depart from the process of drinking garri at this moment. It is better that the cassava flour is utilized for `eba,’ because of the use of hot water.
“We are waging total war and that is: `War against Rats,’ and that is what we are going to do to ensure we do not have another victim of Lassa Fever in the state.
“We will also be telling them to ensure that their fruits and raw vegetables are properly washed if they must be consumed raw and cook to the appropriate temperature.
“The whole essence is to enlighten our people because education carries a lot of weight in this whole activity.” [myad]
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Probably embarrassed by reports of missing 2016 federal budget from the Senate that went viral, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has directed a review of all security arrangements in the federal parliament in order to keep the institution abreast of the current challenges in the country.
A Visit To FRSC, By Reuben Abati
This is a sign of progress and growth because that was not always the case. When the idea of the creation of a special unit for road safety, separate from the Police Department, gained ground in the 70s, this was in response to the enormous carnage on Nigerian roads. Professor Wole Soyinka who suggested the idea to the Oyo State Government has written about how the Ibadan-Ife road had become a death trap for the students and lecturers at the then University of Ife. He would later take on the leadership role of sensitizing the Nigerian public to the evil of road rage, mobilizing volunteers to go onto the road to check drivers, or to assist accident victims. In later years, he became the pioneer Chairman of the Federal Road Safety Corps. In those early days, road safety officers relied on their raw courage, and few equipment, but they were a truly inspired group.
The need for road safety in Nigeria cannot be overstated. Over the years, so many lives and limbs have been lost on the roads. Today, Nigeria has a network of 204, 000 kilometres of paved and unpaved roads, with 12.76 million registered motor vehicles and motorcycles at the ratio of 57% and 43% respectively. Between 1960 and 2015, a total of 1,521, 601 casualties were recorded on our roads. Road traffic cases were particularly most serious between 1976 and 1993, with casualty figures consistently exceeding 30, 000 per annum. Established in 1988, FRSC claims in its annual reports that casualty figures on Nigerian roads have been on a downward trend. This conclusion must be in terms of relative figures in direct proportion to population. For, whereas total casualty figure as reported was 11,299 in 1960, it was 38, 059 in 2014 and 32, 826 in 2015. In 1960 Nigeria’s population was 45.2 million; today, it is about 183.5 million, with more vehicles on the roads.
No one can question the wisdom behind the setting up of this strategic agency and due credit must be given to the founding fathers, the successive administrations that have built up the agency and international organizations like the World Bank, which have provided necessary support. In 1988, the FRSC had a staff strength of just about 300, today it has over 19, 000 workers on its payroll, and it is able to make its presence felt on all Nigerian roads. It is better equipped; its staff are better motivated, and it has attracted a large number of volunteers, also known as Special Marshals who at critical moments step in to act as traffic control officials. According to the FRSC, deaths on Nigerian roads per 100, 000 was 9.0 in 1990; over the next 15 years, this was reduced to 3.62.
Whereas a total number of 8, 154 persons were killed on Nigerian roads in 1990, the number had reduced to 5, 044 in 2015. But perhaps the biggest area of achievement has been in the fact that more people today are apprehended for traffic offences. Between January and June 2014, about 258, 538 traffic offenders were apprehended nationwide; and for the same period in 2015 – 254, 203 persons. In the various reports, the states with the highest cases of traffic offences and fatalities are Kaduna, FCT, Ogun, Kogi, Oyo, Nasarawa, and Edo in that order while the states with the least incidents are Borno, Bayelsa, Yobe, Ekiti, Taraba, Abia, and Akwa Ibom.
It is refreshing that over the years the FRSC has been able to generate such significant data on road safety and fatalities in Nigeria. When I visited the control centre, many uniformed officers were busy behind telephones and computers, receiving information from the public and satellite command centres across Nigeria. Two large screens in the room provided real live indication of accident cases in all the six traffic corridors into which the country has been divided. I was told, and a live demonstration was used to illustrate the claim, that once there is a reported accident in any part of the country, the information is relayed to the nearest FRSC Command for immediate action, all the way up to the National Headquarters which monitors the dispatch of the nearest FRSC patrol team in that corridor on a rescue mission. The officer told me that the FRSC has the capacity to get to the scene of any road accident within minutes, because its men are all over Nigerian roads. I didn’t expect him to say anything otherwise. He was marketing his organization and he would of course tell me all the good things. But I wondered: how many Nigerians know the toll free emergency numbers to call in the event of an accident?
I completed the processing of my driver’s licence. And when it was time to take my leave, I was given some reading materials. A careful perusal would offer more information: the FRSC Call centre receives on the average a total of 258 calls per month on road traffic crashes, and most of these calls are made between June and December. It is as if Nigerians get more reckless on the roads as the year comes to an end. Then the vehicles mostly involved in road crashes are cars, followed by motorcycles, minibuses and trucks, while the principal causes are over-speeding, loss of control and dangerous driving.
On the whole, a lot still needs to be done to curtail road traffic crashes in Nigeria and to check the menace of dangerous driving; the area of challenge is in deepening the prevention strategies of the FRSC and similar organizations that have been set up by state governments such as LASTMA in Lagos and TRACE in Ogun state. A team of Road Safety experts from Nigeria are scheduled to proceed on a two-year deployment to Sierra Leone, which is encouraging, but before we begin to do Father Christmas across Africa with what has been achieved so far, we must never lose sight of the fact that the quoted statistics of persons killed or injured on Nigerian roads is not just cold data, but human lives. Nigerian motorists need to be constantly reminded that they cannot be allowed to either commit suicide or kill others.
It is certainly not surprising that over-speeding is the major cause of accidents on our roads. The FRSC and similar organizations at the state level must insist on the observance of speed limits and impose the stiffest penalties on offenders. It is always very scary driving on any road in Nigeria. Most of our motorists, commercial or private, behave as if the best way to handle a vehicle is to exhaust the speedometer. Speed bumps on inner city roads have made little or no difference. Even when persons are not driving under the influence, they just like to speed. Each time I see any major road being dualized, I immediately think in terms of the number of lives that will be claimed by the road once it is completed. Every person behind the wheels on our roads is a potential Formula One participant.
The commercial drivers are worse. They drive dangerously and lose control, because in any case, they are half of the time, completely drunk. Every motor park has a nearby section where alcohol is openly sold. In between trips, the drivers worship at the paraga and ogogoro shrine, and get thoroughly inebriated before they jump behind the wheels. State governments and the FRSC must liaise with the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to enforce the ban on the sale of alcohol at motor parks across the country; pro-active steps should also be taken to check drunk driving. In some other parts of the world, motorists are routinely stopped and asked to take a breath or sobriety test. We need that here.
Nigerians like to break the law, or test it. When the compulsory use of seat belts was introduced, it was quite a battle getting people to comply. In the same manner, they may resist the observance of speed limits, but this must be strictly enforced. Loss of control while driving, is caused not only by drunkenness, but also the abuse of cell phones. The way some people treat cell phones like a toy is unbelievable. Even while driving, they use one hand to hold a phone; the other hand is on the steering, while their mouth is engaged in animated conversation and their ears in a listening mode. Engaged in such a delicate task as driving, they are nevertheless distracted. I have seen many suicidal drivers on our highways, chatting on phone and going at top speed. This must be addressed.
The various FRSC reports didn’t dwell much on the roadworthiness of vehicles on Nigerian roads. Half of the vehicles out there are imported, used vehicles with broken down parts and bad tyres. Nigerian motorists are not likely to change tyres until the tyres burst, and of course, very few buy new tyres. Roadworthiness checks must not be voluntary or optional but compulsory. The roads are also bad. Bad roads don’t make for safe driving. And to worsen it all: many motorists don’t bother to go to driving schools or take driving tests, and they have no driver’s license. They learn to drive by accident; they have no knowledge of road signs and traffic rules. They drive all the same and cause accidents. The FRSC should seek the enabling powers to ensure that certain traffic offenders are banned for life from driving on our roads. That is the surest way to reduce road carnage. [myad]