Yemisi Izuora
The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has requested for the support of the World Bank to enhance operational activities through capacity building on data management support for newly established Local Government Station Officers, capacity building for paramedics, and fleet renewal to aid the Corps in realizing its corporate mandate.
He made the appeal during the World Bank annual brief on Road Safety improvement in Nigeria.
According to the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, the virtual meeting had the Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, the World Bank Transport Lead, Dr Soasemos Job; World Bank road Safety Specialist, AK Farhad; Consultant World Bank Nigeria, Engineer Chukwudi Ikejiani in participation. Others who participated include Mr Radoslaw Czapski of World Bank USA, the Rural Access Mobility Programmer, Mr Stephen Ibijiola; and the World Bank Road Safety Consultant.
Kazeem noted that Oyeyemi’s requests were communicated in the course of his virtual presentation on ‘ Impact of the World Bank on Safety Management: The Nigeria Safe Corridor Project Experience’. He stated that the annual brief is a platform to review the preceding year taking into cognizance how the Corps has been able to align with global expectations; and also highlighting achievements in road safety as well as stressing peculiar constraints and challenges encountered in the operational year under consideration.
Oyeyemi stated that irrespective of the challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the FRSC made several efforts not only to save lives on the roads, but also became a key frontline player in the broad national strategy to defeat the dreaded corona virus.
Being one of the frontline agencies in combating the pandemic, the Corps restrategised its operational tactics by engaging both stakeholders and the motoring public through aggressive sensitization and enlightenment campaigns on COVID-19 prevention, and ensured strict enforcement of all directives of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
He explained that the Corps put in tremendous efforts towards achieving the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety in Nigeria, with consideration to peculiar environmental challenges and successfully recorded several mind blowing and impactful achievements.
These achievements include but not limited to the following; the adoption of Nigeria Road Safety Strategy (2021-2030), Assessment of the country’s achievement relative to the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020), the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, consolidation of the safe-to-load programme, enhanced public enlightenment, child safety and expansion of the Corps visibility among others.
While promising to mobilize other development partners and donors to support the Corps for optimal performance, the participants acknowledged the resilience of the Corps in implementing result-oriented strategies and expressed satisfaction in the overall achievements recorded so far. They also observed that there is still much to be done on the part of engineering, vehicle inspection and assessment and data management.