No More Slap On The Wrist

Sometime in 2008, I had the privilege to be deployed to Kaduna Zonal Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). This privilege was capped when retired Deputy Corps Marshal Babagana Ibrahim was deployed as my Zonal Commanding Officer. My humble self was his head of operations overseeing activities in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa States.

It was during one of our morning routines that my boss drew my attention to what he believed would make a huge difference in our effective policing of Nigerian motorists as a strategy to promote responsible driving and reduce avoidable deaths on our roads. His emphasis was on the need for there to be consequences for bad behaviours.

Just a few days ago, I was discussing with a friend who equally shared this thought, highlighting that the answer to taming irresponsible driving behaviour lies on bearing the consequences for choosing to be irresponsible. This idea has been the kernel underlying the strategic plank weaved by the leadership of the Corps, including the current Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, to tackle bad driving. It explains why there currently exists a strong working collaboration between the Corps and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as well as other stakeholders.

I know I am not a lawyer like my brother Chris Kehinde Nwandu (CKN). I hope to become one and end CKN ‘shakara’ (show-off) for being a lawyer. Although I am not one, I pride myself for being a member of the bar, if you know what I mean. As a member of our bar, I am aware of the provision of the Federal Road Safety Corps (Establishment) Act, 2017, Sections 20 and 21.

Specifically, Section 20 says that ’A person who drives a motor vehicle on a highway dangerously or recklessly shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years’’. If you need more information, please grab a copy of the Establishment Act for your guidance as a deterrent.

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This provision which emphasises prosecution, jail, punishment, or better still real consequences, if you do not mind, came to my mind when I saw the event of last Saturday. My sister, Julie Chi-nwaoha and CKN were the first to alert me.

I was stunned. Shocked. Worried but optimistic. ‘Trailer falls off Bridge, crushes vehicles in Lagos’, was CKN’s headline. Because it was still breaking, it was scanty. Julie’s was more elaborate. It was captioned, ‘Tragedy as truck plunges into the crowd at Agege, Lagos’.

Allow me to bore you with the details for those who were too busy to have read her Facebook page. A road traffic crash hits Agege, Lagos, earlier today (Sunday), when a truck lost control at the sharp bend and plunged off the Agege bridge, crashing into a crowd gathered under the bridge at the bustling Agege Bus Stop.

Eyewitnesses reported scenes of chaos and panic as the heavy vehicle somersaulted off the bridge and landed forcefully in the midst of commuters and traders. Several people are feared injured, and emergency responders rushed to the scene to begin rescue operations.

The truck, according to the witnesses, was descending the sharp curve of the bridge at high speed when the driver appeared to lose control. The vehicle veered off cause, broke through the bridge barriers, and came crashing down onto the crowd below.

It was like a movie, people were shouting and running everywhere; said a bystander who narrowly escaped being hit. At the time of this report, the full number of casualties was yet to be confirmed, but eyewitness accounts suggest multiple injuries and possible fatalities.

Residents and road users have called on the government to enforce stricter speed limits and install more safety barriers on the bridge to prevent future tragedies.

The incident, especially in Lagos, is not the first. There have been several cases not just in Lagos but in other parts of the country. I do not have the exact number of trucks that have lost control and fallen over bridges in Lagos within the last one year or more.

These accidents including the most recent highlight several issues including the mechanical state of the vehicles, traffic infractions, prosecution which is my emphasis today among other issues. They raise issues bordering on the absence of barriers on bridges, speed infractions, trading under bridges, bus stops under or close to bridges, mental, emotional, and psychological state of drivers.

Meanwhile, there have been numerous container truck accidents, including some involving bridges, in the state within the past year. These accidents have resulted in injuries and deaths, as well as significant traffic disruptions. What has been the fate of those behind other crashes? Were they jailed or got away with a slap on the wrist?

In specifics, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority last year reported recording over 100 truck and tanker accidents between January and July. My worry over these prompted me sometime in 2023 to do a piece I captioned, ‘Time to tame killer drivers’.

That piece started thus: On Saturday, 23rd December, 2023, I was startled by a WhatsApp chat from a colleague. The chat was not the usual compliments and prayers that have become the norm during festivities such as the Christmas and Sallah seasons. Rather, it was the harbinger of other tragedies.

It was what we call first information and indeed it messed up my whole day. The chat was about a fatal crash, which occurred on the Majia-Malamawa Road near Gujungu in Jigawa State. It involved two cars. The probable cause was speed violation and loss of control. Ten people died in that multiple crash two days to Christmas.

While I was pondering on this tragedy, my Christmas was soiled by the news from far away Ikirun, Osun State. Unlike the first crash, this was a lone crash that killed nine people. Speed and loss of control were equally the probable cause in addition to fatigue. The vehicle was a Mitsubishi Canter.

Before these two crashes, we had recorded others prior to our end-of-year patrols to curb fatalities. Most of the crashes occurred on the Abuja-Kaduna, Kano-Zaria, Kotangora, just to mention a few, and they claimed lives with several degrees of injuries sustained.

Two years ago, I did a piece with the above caption in response to the spate of crashes and deaths. I am compelled by these deaths to use it again. I do hope you will enjoy the reading with a bit of editing to make it look a bit fresh. For starters, I must confess that I love football. In fact, I am crazy and freaky about football. My craze is worsened when it is about the Premiership where football lives or when my darling Super Eagles adorn our traditional Green, White and Green jersey.