UN to Nigeria: FRSC, inspiration to other African countries

The United Nations Secretary General’s Envoy on Road Safety, Jean Todt, has described the Federal Road Safety Corps as an inspiration for other African countries and called on them to emulate Nigeria’s example in dealing with the menace of road traffic crashes in the continent.
The Special Envoy made the remark during his courtesy visit to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the State House, Abuja.
According to Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer of the FRSC, Todt, who was the Guest Speaker at the 7th edition of the FRSC annual lecture series, thanked the people and government of Nigeria for the warm reception accorded him and members of his entourage.
He described the FRSC annual lecture series as a positive initiative capable of generating public awareness on issues of road safety, noting that the lecture was a huge success.
According to him, he was impressed with the organisational structure of the FRSC, its enforcement capability and investment in human capacity development, which have resulted in a boost in ambulance and rescue services on the nation’s highways. ‎
He commended the Nigerian government for the huge investment made in road safety, saying what he has seen in the country has allayed his fears about the growing menace of road traffic crashes in developing countries, particularly in the African continent.
He called for concerted efforts to achieve success in the campaign for use of crash helmet, avoidance of use of phone while driving and drunk driving, expressing optimism that with appreciable success in these areas, the nation could meet the target of the UN Decade of Action on road safety: 2011-2020.
Todt further disclosed that the UN has worked on a number of conventions, which he would be availing the FRSC to enhance its capacity for enforcement, and appealed for sustained government support through improved investment in road infrastructure and education.
In his remarks, the Vice President thanked Todt for visiting the country and accepting to serve as the Guest Speaker at this year’s edition of the FRSC annual lecture series.
This, Osinbajo said, was an indication of the Envoy’s interest in road safety matters especially in Africa, and commended him for his untiring efforts to encourage African countries to set up their own road safety lead agencies.
He restated the commitment of the Nigerian government to road safety campaign, noting that the last approval given to the Nigeria Road Safety Strategy Document by the National Economic Council and the inauguration of the National Road Safety Advisory Council all point to the nation’s readiness to tackle the menace of road traffic crashes with political will of the government.
The Vice President identified attitudinal change as the major threat to the success of road safety campaign in the country, saying issues like the use of seatbelt, speeding and drunk driving are attitude-related and could be addressed through positive attitude change by people.
He emphasized that Nigeria has enough rules to adequately address its road safety challenges, and stressed that the FRSC is being strengthened to deal adequately with the challenges of enforcement.
He further commended the leadership of the FRSC for restoring sanity to the nation’s roads through education and enforcement and pledged continuous support of the Federal Government to make it perform more efficiently.