This FRSC Is Drifting (1), By Dele Agekameh

There is the need for the leadership of the FRSC under Oyeyemi to exhibit zero tolerance for indiscipline and other bad behaviours that have crept into the system. That is, if the organisation is to maintain the sort of sanity, trust and respect for which it has been known since inception.

That most Nigerian roads are in a deplorable state is no longer news. Everyday there are chilling stories of accidents on these roads. The cost to the economy and the toll it takes on lives and property can only be imagined. It is for this reason that the Federal Government set up the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

 

The many not-too-palatable stories about the bad state of Nigerian roads have become very frightening to most road users. Long ago, I made it a point of duty to always go by air to any place where there is an airport or at least, where an airport is nearby, as I always try to avoid travelling on the death traps that our highways have become. Last Thursday, November 24, 2016, however, I had to break this rule to meet up a long pending appointment in Osogbo.

 

With the stories about the gridlocks on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in recent times, I set out as early as 5.30am on the journey to the capital of the State of Osun, which is how the incumbent governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has rechristened the former Osun State since he came to power exactly six years ago. I made it that early in order to avoid the usual early morning rush on Lagos roads, as one traverses the city on the way towards the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. At the exit point underneath the Otedola Bridge, close to Alausa, the seat of the Lagos State government, I noticed that the whole place had become well illuminated, with lights radiating everywhere as if it was afternoon. And then there was the usual police presence with their patrol vehicle conspicuously positioned by the road. In the past, that spot was a terrible place to pass through in the dead of the night as commuters were prone to attacks by dare-devil criminals operating under the cover of darkness.

 

By the time we entered the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, one could notice that there were so many cars already on the road at that particular time of the day. The journey was smooth until we passed the Berger area which was also wearing a new look with the pedestrian bridge, as well as the expansion of the shoulders of the road to accommodate vehicles, particularly the commercial vehicles that were hitherto notorious for picking and dropping off passengers anyhow along the road. The usual traffic snarl associated with this indiscriminate dropping and picking of passengers has now become a thing of the past.

 

As we approached the ‘Long Bridge,’ looking ahead, I noticed that traffic had started building up on the road. From that point, it took us more than an hour to wade through to much easy flowing traffic. Those who were not patient enough had to move to the left lane where they faced on-coming vehicles in a fight for space. The whole thing was chaotic as there were no security agent present on the road at that time. This snail-speed continued again shortly before the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Camp, all the way to the Sagamu interchange. From then on, there was a little breathing space on the drive towards Ibadan, except that at the point after Ogere, the road was extremely bad with potholes and irregular surface all over.

 

We managed to reach Ibadan after a gruesome journey that lasted almost three hours from Lagos. And don’t ask me how the journey from the Ibadan end of the toll gate to Iwo Road felt like. The whole place was a mess. Added to this is the fact that the city, at least, around the places we drove through towards Iwo Road, was dirty, filthy, unkempt and stinking. It was as if there was no government or governor in the place as the city maintains its unenviable record of one of the dirtiest cities in Africa.

 

The road from Iwo Road to Gbongan was not any better. The Ikire-end of it was particularly bad as a greater part of the road had been encroached upon by erosion which had literally narrowed it down, while a sea of hawkers compete with motorists on the little available space. As we veered off from the Ibadan-Ife Road to Gbongan-Ode-Omu-Osogbo Road, we came face-to-face with another very bad portion of the road. I am aware that that particular area has been under permanent construction since Governor Aregbesola came to power six years ago. And it looks as if the road could be under construction for eternity. The good news is that while marking his sixth-year anniversary in office recently, the governor promised that all the projects he has embarked upon while in office will be completed before his exit from office in 2018. May God help him!

 

However, an appalling scene soon stared me in the face and I was shaken to my bone marrow. As we moved from Gbongan towards Osogbo, we ran into a patrol team of the Federal Road Safety Commission on a “stop and grab” operation by the side of the road. From what I saw, the corps members were engaged in an extortion-spree of commercial vehicles plying the road. While they look the other way when private vehicles approach, they were more interested in flagging down commercial vehicles. Some of the drivers, who obviously understood the game, just brought out their hands clutching one hundred naira notes as one of the officers stepped forward to swiftly collect the money and pretend as if nothing happened.

I was particularly irked because I had been involved in FRSC’s activities since the commission was established in February 1988. That was the time when two illustrious sons of Nigeria (or should I say two illustrious sons of Africa) – Professor Wole Soyinka and Dr. Olu Agunloye – were the pioneer Chairman and Corps Marshal and the Chief Executive, COMACE, respectively of the Commission. Both of them had zero tolerance for corruption, extortion and bribery of any kind whatsoever. I remember those days when the Commission had an intelligence unit that was responsible for tracking down officers whose conducts on the roads were less than satisfactory. It was through this unit that many bad eggs in the Commission were summarily weeded out of the system.

 

Boboye Oyeyemi, the current COMACE, who was then known as Yemi Oyeyemi, was the pioneer zonal commander of FRSC Zone 4, RS4, with headquarters in Lagos. At that time, there were about three senior officers bearing Yemi. There was Yemi Agoro and Yemi Omidiji, both of who have retired from service. Oyeyemi had had a good record of excellent conduct right from the time he joined the Commission shortly after his National Youth Service (NYSC) programme in 1987. He was known to be a strict disciplinarian, a quality that endeared him to both Soyinka and Agunloye. Everybody knew that Oyeyemi was Agunloye and Soyinka’s boy and he never let anyone down.

 

There is the need for the leadership of the FRSC under Oyeyemi to exhibit zero tolerance for indiscipline and other bad behaviours that have crept into the system. That is, if the organisation is to maintain the sort of sanity, trust and respect for which it has been known since inception. There is no doubt that some bad elements, who probably do not share in the vision and objectives of the body, have found their ways into the system. They must be weeded out before they rubbish the hard-earned reputation of the Commission. In the past, I heard people complain loudly about the bad treatment meted out to them on our roads by some unscrupulous officials of the Commission. I believe the time has now come for FRSC to do something to correct the anomalies in the system. This is a good organisation that should not be allowed to falter or waiver.

Full Enforcement Of Speed Limiters Begins February 1 – Oyeyemi

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Sunday said that violation of speed limiting devices would start attracting fines from February 1, 2017 according to Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, the Corps Marshal.

 

Oyeyemi said that the commission had commenced advisory enforcement to the road users since October 1, and about 131,000 road users have been enlightened on the importance of the device.

 

“The speed limiter is on course; by February 1, 2017, the full enforcement and implementation will commence. We commenced advisory enforcement some months back.

 

“So far, about 131,000 people have been given citation and enlightenment. We are on course because speed limit device is the solution; we will lead them to ensure they are safe and also prevent them from crashes,’’ FRSC boss said.

Oyeyemi said many drivers had yet to comply with the directive on speed limiters, and warned that violation would soon start attracting fines.

 

He urged commercial vehicle operators and all road users to comply with the guidelines the FRSC put in place for their safety and that of their passengers.

 

The FRSC boss said that the commission had put in place measures to eliminate gridlock and make the roads safer during the Yuletide and New Year celebration.

 

Oyeyemi said that government had provided enough logistics to help officers in performing their duties effectively.

 

“Government has provided enough logistics in terms vehicles and ambulance to ensure effectiveness while performing our duties.

 

“That is why I am moving around to see the level of preparedness of our personnel and cheer them up to work effectively as the festive period approaches,’’ he said.

 

Oyeyemi advised motorists to drive safely and take necessary precaution as road construction continues along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Installation of Speed Limit Device Legal – FRSC

Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Tuesday said the planned installation of the speed limiting device on vehicles plying public roads by the FRSC on October 1 is not illegal as viewed in some quarters.

The corps said the plan is in accordance with section 10 subsection (3m) of the FRSC Establishment Act 2007.

Assistant Corps Marshall of the FRSC, Dr. Kayode Olagunju, made the remark while fielding questions from newsmen in Calabar.

Olagunju who doubles as head of Policy, Research and Statistics in the corps, stressed that section 10 of the FRSC Act gives power to the corps to determine and enforce speed limit for all categories of vehicles plying the nation`s routes and also mandates the corps to control the use of speed limiting devices.

He said the law was made by the National Assembly, giving the corps the powers and mandate to carry out such enforcement.

Olagunju pointed out that the National Road Travelling Regulation Act 2012, regulation 152, sub section (4) says that “a person cannot drive a vehicle that is not fitted with speed limiteron any public road.

“I wish to tell all Nigerians that the planned installation of the speed limiting device is legal.

“Section 10, subsection (3m) of the FRSC Establishment Act 2007 empowers the corps with the mandate to enforce the use of the device.

“Also, the National Road Travelling Regulation Act 2012, regulation 152, sub-section (4), clearly states that a person cannot drive a vehicle that is not fitted with speed limiter on any public road.

“The same regulation 152, sub-section (5) specifies penalty of N3,000 or three months imprisonment for defaulters. This is not an administrative issue; it is something that is backed by a law made by the National Assembly.

“We decided not to implement it on April 1 because we thought we needed to do more public education on it and also get the collaboration of all stakeholders,” he said.

The assistant corps marshal averred that if the corps successfully installs the speed limiting device in commercial vehicles, it would reduce the rate of road accidents on the highways, adding that the corps would start the installation of the device with commercial vehicles on October 1, adding that about 60 per cent of road accidents involve commercial vehicles.

“We would start the installation with commercial vehicles first on October 1. This is because about 60 per cent of road accidents involve commercial vehicles,’’ he said.

While harping on the issue of drivers license, he warned officers of the corps to desist from issuing fake licenses to members of the public and stressed that the corps would not tolerate any of its personnel found wanting.

FRSC Refutes Claims Of Federal High Court Nullifying Its Power

The Federal Road Safety Commission on Monday has  refuted social media reports  that a Federal High Court in Lagos has nullified its  power to issue fines, tickets and impound offender vehicles.
The commission’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Bisi Kazeem, said in Abuja that the FRSC was aware of the post on social media questioning it’s powers  to punish traffic offenders.
Kazeem said, “The truth is that there is no recent judgment of the FHC Lagos on the Tope Alabi case as is being circulated.
“What happened was that one Barrister Tope Alabi challenged the powers of the FRSC to arrest him, impound his vehicle and make him pay fines for the offences alleged.
“The FHC presided over by Justice Tsoho held that FRSC had no such powers. This was in Sept, 2014.
“A similar judgment was delivered in the case of Emmanuel Ofoegbu v FRSC by same Justice Tsoho on the same day,” he added.
He said  Justice Tsoho held that FRSC had no powers to set deadlines for motorists to change over to new number plates.
Kazeem said the  decision was appealed and the Court of Appeal held, inter alia, in Oct, 2014 that;
“The FRSC had statutory powers conferred by its enabling laws made pursuant to the Nigerian Constitution to regulate the use of number plates, design and set deadlines for change to new ones.”
The September 2014 judgment of Justice Tsosho which has also been challenged on appeal is the one currently being circulated in the social media by mischief makers, he added.
The commission’s Public Relations Officer said in another case by the same Tope Alabi before same Justice Tsoho , the Federal High Court, taking a cue from the Court of Appeal’s decision in Emmanuel Ofoegbu’s case, held judgment in favour of the FRSC in June, 2015.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there are reported Court of Appeal decisions to the effect that the FRSC has powers to arrest, issue notice of offence to suspected violators, impound vehicles used to commit traffic offences and electing to pay the prescribed fines instead of challenging the notice of offence in court does not amount to usurpation of court powers.?
“It is the voluntary decision of whoever decides to pay fines instead of challenging the notice of offence in court.”
He listed the cases as Ediru vs FRSC (2016) 4 NWLR. Pt 1502, pp209-247 and Esekhaigbe v FRSC, (2015) 12NWLR, Pt 1474 @ 520-537.
He said the Court of Appeal’s decisions no doubt override whatever was decided in the Tope Alabi case, which is also being challenged in the Appeal Court