As part of its strategies to further reduce road traffic crash among school children in 2018, the Federal Road Safety Corps has re-demonstrated its commitment to Road Safety Education in Secondary Schools in the country.
The Corps Public Education Officer Bisi Kazeem stated this while addressing students and other guests during the maiden edition of the FRSC inter secondary school debate competition in Abuja on Thursday, where eight schools within the FCT drilled themselves on the basic knowledge of safety.
While highlighting the relevance of Road Safety Education to nation building, Kazeem quoted the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, as saying: “FRSC has come to a point where it can no longer tolerate the death of school children on our roads as a result of road traffic crashes.”
Continuing, Kazeem said the catch them young initiative is targeted at bringing the basic knowledge of road safety to the younger generation as a panacea for road related crashes.
The FCT Director, Education Resource Centre, Oniah Edmond, who chaired the occasion, admonished students to imbibe the safety attitude at all times.
Edmond further commended FRSC for always manifesting sincere commitment to road safety campaign as evidenced by the Corps’ aggressive pursuit of school advocacy and enforcement of traffic rules in Nigeria.
In the same vein, the Chairman/Founder of Iwuanyanwu National Ambulance, who graced the occasion, thanked former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, for establishing the Corps and commended the ingenuity of Prof. Wole Soyinka, who birthed the idea.
He commended the innovativeness of the Corps, especially under the leadership of Oyeyemi, in championing the cause of road safety through public education campaign in the last 30 years of its existence, an effort that has drastically reduced the menace of deaths and wanton destruction of properties on our roads.
He added: “FRSC is blazing a new trail in grappling with some of the endemic problems confronting Nigeria as a nation.
“Problems of road traffic crash can only be solved when the youth are given the right education/orientation right from the cradle.
“We strongly recommend the strides, and the initiatives of catching them young of the Corps to other institutions of government to emulate.”
Pace setters Academy, Wuye imerged the overall winner of the maiden edition while, Government Secondary School Garki was the runner up in a competition involving eight Secondary Schools within the FCT.
Highlight of the event included cultural dance and poem citation.