A UNIBEN student condemns traffic wardens and government in Edo State
The Federal government has established various traffic platforms, such as the Federal Road Safety Commission, Vehicle Inspector Officers, and police, while some state governments have established their own state police, such as LASTMA in Lagos and EDSTMA in Edo state.
To curb vehicles crashing on the road, the government established the aforementioned traffic wardens, to maintain and order in our roads to avoid careless driving and accidents.
However, there have been some resurgence of complaints from the masses who always drive on the road or drive once in a while. For some driving is a hobby, and for some others it is a necessity because it is what puts food on their table and feeds their family members. For commercial drivers, official and company drivers, it is a risk to always be on the road, because unfortunately accidents can occur, especially in today's Nigeria, where there is no security on the road. Insecurity is another phobia that does not exclude anyone.
A student at the University of Benin bitterly complained about the way he was recently treated by the EDSTMA officials when he was driving on a sunny day.
According to him, he was going to pick up a sick student who was a sickle cell patient. The student explained that he was aware of the red light and zoomed off when it turned green, but the traffic officer in charge of the traffic light stopped and admitted the car. He said the of
ficers should have given him a query form, but instead treated him like a criminal.
In his words the students described Nigeria as a state where people unreasonably suspects that you must be in possession of weapons and arms.
This incident made the student uncomfortable until the Ultimate Equal, the president of One Love Foundation, Chief Patrick Eholor, and a senior EDSTMA officer intervened.
ur correspondent, who also spoke to the EDSTMA senior officer, Mr. Martins Momoh, who amicably settled the rift, said that Governor Obaseki is a good governor and he did not institute EDSTMA to intimidate the masses but to control the traffic challenges and stop accidents caused by careless drivers.
Also, the student who begged to redraw his name, described Mr. Martins Momoh as an angel who came to the scene to resolve the issue. He also appraised Mr. Momoh for his intervention and settling the disagreement amicably without taking his colleague side.
In his remarks, Martins Momoh mentioned that no one is perfect. He further advised road users to drive gently and to be conscious of the traffic lights to avoid recurring conflict between traffic officers and drivers.
He highlighted the fact that disciplinary actions were taken against defaulting officers and that anyone who encounter any undue disagreement with officers can go on their website to channel their complaints.