Following the recent 30th Anniversary landmark celebration of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) which came with pomp and pageantry, former Military President and Commander in Chief, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) has felicitated with the Corps and all its achievements that have spanned 30 years.
According to Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer, FRSC, who presented General Babangida’s personally signed message to the media, IBB says “I want to share in the glory of this occasion and to congratulate the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi, and the entire staff of the Organization for their worthy achievements over the years.
Continuing, Kazeem quoted him as saying: “In a national environment where Institutions tend to be short-lived and rise or fall with the fortunes of changing dispensations, it is gratifying that the FRSC is one Institution that has weathered the storms of changing times and administration. Not only has it survived, it has indeed grown into a permanent feature of our National landscape. Throughout the length and breadth of our Nation, the presence of FRSC Officers and Operatives on our highways reassures our travelling public and reinforces the belief that we are all united to the Commitment to prevent or at least significantly reduce the loss of lives on our roads and highways”.
Reminiscing on how the Corps began, General Babangida who is popularly referred to as IBB noted thus: “I recall with pride that the FRSC came into being under our stewardship at the helm of our national lives. Prior to its establishment, the level of carnages on our roads and highways had become unacceptable. It was a matter of serious concern to Nigerians and indeed the international Community. We rose to the occasion, inspired by our concern for the protection of human lives and the pursuit of the common Good.
Our Administration summoned Professor Soyinka to higher national service as the founding Corps marshal of the FRSC. I am proud to say that the basic foundation of discipline, firmness and commitment to humanitarian service was laid at this initial period. No doubt, subsequent leadership of the FRSC have brought the organization glaring innovations, increased zeal and heightened commitment”.
Along the line of the strength of the Corps in terms of visibility and workforce, he noted: “the size of the Corps has increased in line with the increae in our population and the volume of traffic on our roads. More gratifying, the national spread and presence of the FRSC can now be felt all over our country. Even those who initially doubted its necessity and efficacy can now testify to the drastic reduction in Nigeria’s road Traffic Accidents and therefore the attendant casualties. We all ought to be proud that the negative publicity that our high road traffic accident rate and casualty figures used to attract is no longer a concern.
Linking the above submission for practical analysis, IBB further commended the Corps’ achievement over the last three decades, for its humanitarian works of saving lives and assisting those in need of emergency assistance in accident situations, the FRSC deserves the gratitude of ordinary Nigerians.
IBB urges the FRSC to remain faithful to the founding principles, and encouraged the Corps to remain dynamic and rise to the challenges posed by new technologies and their application to road safety in-order to meet the demands of the changing times. In his words, “these adaptations are imperative if the Corps is to survive in our changing World as a truly relevant national institution”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, IBB congratulated the Corps and wishes it the best in the years to come.
