The national president of Driving Schools Association of Nigeria, DSAN, in this piece, gives reasons why the merger of the FRSC with the Nigerian Police as recommended in the Oronsaye report will prove fatal to the fragile progress made so far at improving road safety and reducing road crashes in Nigeria. Excerpts:
As fallout to the pronouncement by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari and echoed by the Honourable Minister for Finance, Budget and Planning that some Ministries, Departments and Agencies be scrapped or merged, have appeared in the print, electronic and social media.
Among the news going round is that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is to be merged with the Nigeria Police. Going through the Oronsaye Committee Report and the Government decision as contained in the report, I found out that the conclusion was that the status quo should be maintained except the Trauma or Emergency Centres which are to be handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health.
I decided to write this article to throw more light and further justify the decision of the Federal Government on FRSC as contained in the White Paper. The Oronsaye report and the subsequent report by the Centre for Social Justice, ((CSJ) revealed a wide gap in their understanding of the status and activities of FRSC as the lead agency on road safety administration in Nigeria.
Virtually every country globally has a lead agency in road safety administration responsible for the effective coordination of policies and activities on Road Safety in the Country.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) fitted perfectly into this position and has been improving progressively since it was established in 1998.
We are aware how chaotic the traffic situation was in Nigeria before the Majamaja experiment of Oyo State which later metamorphosed to the Federal level as FRSC. The fear of FRSC on the highways then became the beginning of wisdom leading to sanity and safety on Nigeria roads.
In a bid to cut down cost, a merger of FRSC with the Nigeria Police was conceived and implemented. The obvious result most Nigerians saw was the infusion of the blood of bribery and corruption into many Officers of FRSC.
The Officers of FRSC that were renowned for transparency and integrity in the conduct of their activities on the highways suddenly became experts and confident in the collection of bribes in the course of apprehending traffic offenders.
The merger with Nigeria police took effect in February 2000, but was de – merged in November 2003, under the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The unproductive fusion of FRSC and the Nigeria Police was terminated for good.
Since FRSC returned to its original status, it has been growing significantly to become a pride of Africa in Road Safety Administration.
The accusation that FRSC deviated into revenue generation is not correct. It is a global practice that traffic law violators are arrested, prosecuted and fined when found guilty in a mobile court or other courts. This function is also contained in the FRSC Establishment Act and the National Road Traffic Regulations 2012.
Concerning driver licensing, and number plates issuance, FRSC only designs and produce for standards and uniformity while State Governments issue same through their relevant agencies. Payments for driver License and number plates are made by applicants into the bank accounts of state governments through the State Boards of Internal Revenue or Motor Vehicle Administration Agency as in the case of Lagos State.
The Joint Tax Board monitors and regulates payments, holds regular meetings with State Governments, FRSC and other relevant Stakeholders. Though revenue is generated through some activities of FRSC, the main focus of the agency is still on the promotion of safety on Nigeria roads as daily manifested in all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territories including Local Governments.
I was proud to be a Nigerian when I travelled to Ghana with some members of the Driving School Association about 2 years ago on a visit to the Ghana Road Safety Commission. During our meeting, the Director General of the Commission told us that they have been coming to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Nigeria to learn how to further enhance Road Safety Administration in Ghana. Many other African Countries have been visiting the headquarters of FRSC to learn from the success stories of the Corps.
As at today, FRSC hosts the Secretariat of the West Africa Road Safety Organisation (WARSO). This is a further confirmation of the commendable role of FRSC in the promotion of Road Safety Administration in Nigeria and the West African sub region.
FRSC has performed excellently well in launching the Driving School Standardisation Programme which is already being taken to a higher level of professionalism this year.
The objective is to ensure Quality Driver Education for safer road use.
In the same vein, the transformation brought to the Driver Licensing system in Nigeria from what it used to be to what it is now by FRSC in collaboration with the relevant State Government Agencies is greatly commendable.
Today, Nigeria Driver Licence is recognised in some countries including America because of the integrity brought into the process by FRSC. Though, there are still some lapses in the system which FRSC has started addressing more effectively since 2019. With the conclusion of the actions FRSC is currently taking with the other relevant Stakeholders, the Driving School system, Driver Licence system and Road Safety Administration will become a pride of Nigeria in line with Best Global Practice.
FRSC is well organised with advanced technology and up to date database greatly desired for planning and development in Nigeria.
A visit to the ICT Department of FRSC is an additional affirmation of the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of the Corps.
Attempting to merge FRSC with the Nigeria Police or any other MDA will amount to drawing back the hand of the clock of Road Safety Administration in Nigeria.
This will not only be a disappointment to Nigerians, but also a drawback to the African Countries that are currently seeing and following FRSC as a role model.
Instead of suggesting the scrapping or merging FRSC, the Corps should be well funded by the Federal Government to perform more effectively.
The State Governments and their relevant agencies particularly the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, (VIOs), and the Board of Internal Revenue should collaborate more effectively with FRSC to maximise the benefits of synergy for the promotion of safety on Nigeria roads.
The ultimate goal should be to drastically reduce the rate of road traffic crashes and fatalities in Nigeria. This is a goal that must be of great concern to the Governments and all Nigerians above all other factors.
I have been a strong critic of FRSC in the past, but with my investigations, interactions and proactive actions taken by the indefatigable Management of FRSC in the past 3 years, I’m convinced just like many other Nigerians have said that, FRSC is capable with its Leadership structure to accomplish the set goals in the overall interest of the Nation.
FRSC should therefore, be left to operate independently as provided for in its Establishment Act.
Credit :Opera News