The increasing high rate of road crashes across the country may have triggered the admonition of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, who took a swipe at drivers of vehicles in convoys of government officials and dignitaries, saying they were part of the causes of the carnage on the nation’s roads.
The sultan, who spoke at the 6th annual lecture of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Abuja, said most divers of vehicles in dignitaries’ convoys were careless and violently chasing other motorists off the roads, often leading to auto crashes.
He expressed sadness that officers of the FRSC always failed to stop and caution such drivers, and charged the corps to do the “unimaginable” by arresting any dignitary or convoy driver who is reckless. Abubakar, who is a special marshal of the corps, urged the corps marshal to give special marshals the power to arrest erring motorists.
He said over-speeding is not the only cause of road accidents because; “If you maintain your car properly, avoid the use of cell phones while driving, check your tyres and ensure that every part of the car is in order, there will hardly be accidents on the roads.”
He called for the implementation of use of the speed limit device in vehicles to control over-speeding.
Secretary to Government of the Federation, Engr. Babachir David Lawal, said there was the need for collaboration between the FRSC and the states on road management. He said the present administration was committed to human safety and security on the roads, and called for the training of drivers of government officials.
Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, observed that the major challenge of FRSC is how to deal with errant drivers and ensure proper roads and vehicles for protection of lives. He said the corps would continue to ensure the use of advocacy and enlightenment programmes to pass the message of effective road safety to the people.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state noted that prior to the new regime of traffic management in his state in 2000, an estimated loss of N42 billion worth of man-hours was recorded annually as a result of chaotic traffic situations.
Nigeria has the second highest rate of road accidents among 193 ranked countries of the world with 162 death rate per 100,000 population from road traffic accidents. Deaths from reckless driving are the third leading cause of death in Nigeria.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates, over 1.3 million people are killed annually in road accidents, while over 50 million people sustain different degrees of injuries from such crashes in Nigeria.
It is unfortunate that road accidents have become a normal and re-occurring phenomenon in Nigeria which constitutes a menace in recent times, claiming the lives of some top government officials, namely, Barrister James Ocholi (SAN), the then Minister of State for Labour, and Major General Yusha’u Abubakar, head of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army. These sad incidents occurred within two days i.e. March 6 and 8, this year, respectively.
As matter of fact, no fewer than 327 people lost their lives while 372 others sustained varying degrees of injuries in incidents that occurred between January and March, this year, alone. An average of 20 accidents per month occurred between January and March, 2016 with an average of four deaths per accident. March, during which Ocholi and Major General Abubakar died, recorded the highest rate of accidents within the period with about 32 cases and 136 deaths, while 114 victims sustained various degrees of injuries, according to a newspaper survey.
January recorded the second highest number of accidents of 25 cases in which 99 deaths were recorded, while about 92 victims’ sustained injuries. In February, a total of 14 accidents were reported with a death toll of 87 while 167 victims survived with various degrees of injuries. Curiously, these tragedies occurred outside the dreaded ember months.
Blueprint considers this high rate of death from road crashes as not only alarming but also embarrassing, especially given the fact that government officials who should curb the fatalities are ironically culpable. We agree with the sultan’s advocacy that special marshals be empowered to arrest government officials who contravene traffic laws and regulations. We also re-echo the United Nations General Assembly’s call for dedicated intervention by government to bring down the frightening rise in road traffic accidents by 50 per cent.
