By: Busuyi Ojo-Jobus
Federal Road Safety Corps is the Government Agency Founded in 1988 with statutory responsibilities for road safety administration in Nigeria, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) operates in all Nigerian states as well as the Federal Capital Territory and is the leading agency in Nigeria on road safety administration and management.
The statutory functions include: Making the highways safe for motorists and other road users as well as checking road worthiness of vehicles, recommending works and infrastructures to eliminate or minimize accidents on the highways, and educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of road discipline on the highways.
(wikipedia.org)
This means FRSC as a Nigeria government agency has woefully failed in all their assignments, oaths and responsibilities to the citizens by not providing a smooth roads for the motorists, many accidents caused the citizens their lives is from the unworthiness of Nigerian roads.
According to thisdaylive.com "There has been an increase in road accidents in Nigeria for six consecutive years, leading the death of 41,693 annually, new statistics generated by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), World Bank and World Health Organisation has shown."
Can we say Nigerians pay for road worthiness certificate in order to die by the same roads paid for? According to the above-quoted news report, FRSC is aware of this bad governance from the side of the agency itself, the FRSC generated new statistics that 41,693 died yearly of accident, let us multiply this figure by ten years (10years) and see the insanity paying for the road worthiness, instead of curbing the accident by recommending these bad roads to be fixed, they are busy in issuing road worthy certificate when the roads are not worthy.
Recently, around two weeks ago, one of our students from the University of Benin had a fatal accident and still in coma till today, who is pays the hospital bills worths millions? The friends and family members pay, this is an abnormal situation if we really think in this country, if Nigeria is not ruled by the animals.
In the vox pop we had with the motorists both private and commercial, the subject matter and the general opinion of the citizens is that noone can fight government if they do wrong, the fear of the government makes people to keep mum, but people must wake to challenge the government, there is nothing that kills even than fear, it is time for Nigerians to come out and fight for their rights.
In a letter sent to All Campus Show by Chief Dr. Patrick Osagie Eholor otherwise known as Ultimate Equal, the Father of Nigerian Students-FONS and the Global President of One Love Foundation, in the letter he said:
"I am writing this letter as a clarion call to the Socio-economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP) to take immediate action to bring an end to the issuance of roadworthiness certificates to vehicle owners in Nigeria, particularly in Edo State.
"As we all know, the state of our roads in Nigeria is terrible. The roads are full of potholes, broken bridges, and other hazards that make it impossible for vehicles to operate comfortably. Despite the sorry state of our roads, the State Governments still go ahead to issue roadworthiness certificates to vehicle owners, which is quite unfortunate.
"It is evident that issuing roadworthiness certificates to vehicle owners is nothing more than exploiting the innocent citizens of this country. What is the point of issuing a roadworthiness certificate to a vehicle when the roads themselves are not worthy of our vehicles? The purpose of the certificate is already defeated.
"I am, therefore, calling on SERAP to take legal action against the state governments or whoever is in charge to stop the issuance of roadworthiness certificates to vehicle owners in Nigeria, particularly in Edo State. This action would not only save innocent citizens from exploitation but also serve as a wake-up call to other bodies to take similar actions toward ending this abnormality.
"The state governments must be made to realize that they have a responsibility to ensure that our roads are in good condition before issuing any form of certificate to vehicle owners. We cannot continue to live in a country where the state of our roads is nothing to write home about, yet people are forced to pay for certificates that are of no use.
"Thank you for taking the time to read this letter."