Road accidents often play out as never-ending tragic drama. They have been identified as the leading cause of mortality among young people in any many countries, particularly, in Africa.
Indeed, accidents have become a health emergency to which governments must find remedies in prevention and deterrence. It is a fact that many deaths and injuries from road crashes are preventable, especially those caused by human error, carelessness, alcohol or drug-impaired drivers. Obviously, road violence is a growing worldwide public health problem that deserves serious attention.
This is also attracting global interest as the recent WHO report adjudged Nigerian roads the most dangerous in Africa.
According to the report entitled, “Road Safety in the WHO African Region, ” road traffic deaths in selected African countries confirm that Nigeria accounts for the highest fatalities with 33.7 percent per 100,000 populations every year.
“More than one in four traffic accident deaths in Africa occur on Nigerian roads,’’ the report said.
The report also claims that road accident is the third leading cause of death in Nigeria. This places Nigeria as having the second worst traffic fatalities in the world. South Africa closely trailed Nigeria. It came second with 31.9 percent per 100,000 populations, followed by DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
In the same report, Africa was listed as the “least motorized out of the six continents in the World, but suffers the highest rates of road fatalities” of the 37 countries that the survey covered, with death rates well above the average of 18 deaths for 100,000 population. The fatality figures for USA and Britain are 15 and seven percent respectively.
The outcome of the WHO survey was corroborated by the reports from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) which state that the rate of traffic deaths in the country is alarming.
For instance, in 2009, deaths resulting from road accidents were 7,000, with 969 of them children. In 2010, according to WHO, Nigeria recorded 5,279 deaths from road crashes.
Between January and June of the following year, 2,218 lives were lost in 2,234 accidents, while 3,000 persons died in road accidents between January and October 2012.
Road accident statistics have particularly been on the upward swing in the cities. This has given rise to the launch of UN Decade of Action for Road Safety with the aim of reducing road crashes, fatalities and death by 2020.
However, in response to United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety at reducing road crash, deaths and injuries by 50% by 2020. The FRSC, led by Mr. Boboye Olayemi Oyeyemi, MFR, mni, is poised to meet and surpass the target even before the stipulated 2020. In achieving this global mandate, Oyeyemi has vowed not to leave any stone unturned in his drive to ensure safety on Nigerian road.
On assumption of duty as Corps Marshal of FRSC in 2014, Oyeyemi promised to adopt best practices and measures in reducing the risk of a person using the road network.
His appointment was widely applauded following the exit of Osita Chidoka who went on to become the Minister of Aviation.
Oyeyemi, who was the Deputy Corps Marshal in charge of the commission’s Operations Department, came at an apt time in the life of the commission.
His appointment came as a total departure from a culture which ensured previous heads of the FRSC were appointed from outside the corps.
Oyeyemi’s appointment therefore ensured seamless continuity and stability.
Coming from a tradition of the road safety business having literarily horned his skills in the commission, he had hit the ground running.
It is interesting to note that before his appointment as number one road safety officer in Nigeria, Oyeyemi was the longest serving such personnel.
He focused on compliance with traffic regulations, road designs, education and enlightenment campaigns, training and re-training of officers as the cardinal programmes of his administration.
Instructively, Oyeyemi is leading an organisation that started with just 20 staff and today boast of more than 23, 000 road safety officers in its pool.
As a thoroughbred road safety officer, he identifies the attitude of the Nigerian motoring public as the bane of safer roads in the country.
Oyeyemi was quick to read a riot act on reckless driving and unethical drinking of alcohol among drivers while promising tougher sanctions.
Walking the talk, the FRSC boss aligned with global best practices which focus on the prevention of serious injury and death crashes to drive home the mandate of the corps.
The Corps Marshal played heavily on safety campaign strategies through the commission’s Education and Enlightenment Unit by organising frequent awareness campaign, workshop, seminars, road show, and distribution of educative flyers, billboard, public presentation motor parks and every other strategic media of communication. Contained in the awareness kits are the facts motorists must be acquainted with to change their behaviour and attitude towards road usage.
Oyeyemi is never tired of affirming that death and injuries can be reduced by half if road users make a commitment not to drink and drive, not to over speed, not use phones or eat while driving, wear seat belts and helmets, obey traffic rules and tell people about Safe Road Nigeria.
No one needs to be told that all the arsenals the Corps Marshal deployed to ensure road safety have began to yield result.
Today, road traffic crashes as at the middle of 2015 have reduced by 12 percent compared to the same period in 2014. Oyeyemi, who gave the figures at a press conference in Abuja recently, said death rate has reduced by 15 percent.
He reiterated his determination to meet its 2015 corporate strategic goals of reducing accidents in Nigeria by 20 percent and deaths for crashes by 30 percent.
Apart from aggressive education and enlightenment campaign, Oyeyemi has taken a step further to stem the trend at containing accident rates in the country, especially on axis such as Abuja-Okene highway in Kogi State and Lagos.
On the recent road mishap, particularly on the Lagos axis, Oyeyemi has been holding constant stakeholders’ meeting with the relevant organizations.
The focus is on compliance with minimum safety standards by trucks that lift petroleum products so as to address the problem of crashes arising from fatigue following unbroken driving hours.
The introduction of speed limit device is another milestone achieved by the Oyeyemi leadership at FRSC and aimed at regulating the speed of vehicles.
Oyeyemi also sought the collaboration of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to ensure standardization in the usage of the device.
According to him, “In 2014 alone, over 50 per cent of major road crashes was attributed to speed.”
The commission has also remained focus in its effort to halt road crashes, death and fatalities on Nigerian roads through enforcing the ban on used tyres.
In this regard, the commission is seeking the cooperation of the Nigeria Police to strategise on a sustainable measure to get rid of expired tyres in the country.
“In some cases, you stop a vehicle with four different brands of tyres being affixed to the same vehicle and we take extra steps to sensitize such drivers on the traffic hazards associated with this practice.
“In most cases, we prosecute them in line with provisions of the traffic laws,” Oyeyemi had said.
All these are coming at time when the Oyeyemi team had dealt a fatal blow to the Driver’s Licence cabal.
The commission has now deployed cutting-edge technologies in the production of Drivers’ Licence, with the bottlenecks associated with the process, production and collection of the Licence tackled.
Again today, any Driver’s Licence applicants can visit the commission’s website and apply for the Licence and make the payment involved in the bank. With this development, transparency, accountability and efficiency have been technically ensured in the system.
Unsurprisingly, the development has created a synergy between the commission and the Vehicle Inspection Officer.
Following massive investment in technology, the FRSC is on the verge of placing the monitoring and apprehending of traffic offenders in the hands of general public.
For playing a lead role in safety management in Africa, the FRSC has won awards as a force to be reckoned with at the regional, continental and global level.
For all African countries to drive to be alive, the commission received the Head of Sierra Leone Transport Authority, Dr Sarah Bendu, who was on a visit to understudy and adopt FRSC Safety strategies on effective road traffic management so as to replicate such in her country.
Attesting to the role FRSC is playing at the regional level, Bendu said her country would understudy the FRSC and adopt its strategies on road safety management.
“Along the West Africa region, we find out that when it comes to road safety, the FRSC is doing well.
“We want to replicate what we have seen here in our country; the FRSC has been in existence for long but Sierra Leone is just coming up,’’ she said.
While deploying hundreds of patrol vehicles and motorbikes for its surveillance patrols, the FRSC is also not underestimating the role of critical institutions in the road safety campaign.
As he sits atop this leading road safety institution, the staff of the FRSC are not unmindful of the eminent qualification of Oyeyemi and this had translated to a boost in morale and improved productivity.
Oyeyemi, who joined the FRSC on 6th June, 1988, has served the FRSC in various capacities such as Sector Commander, Zonal Commanding Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Operations (2009-2010), Assistant Corps Marshal, Training Standards and Certification (2008-2009), Assistant Corps Marshal Planning, Research and Statistics (2006-2008) and Deputy Corps Marshal Operations (2010-2014).
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals, Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Fellow, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, Member, American Society of Safety Engineers, Member, Institute of Road Safety Officers, London, Member, Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents and Member of the National Institute.
