The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Tuesday said that road crashes could end the political ambitions of politicians if care was not taken to ensure that they adhered to traffic rules and regulations.
The Lagos State Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr Hyginus Omeje, made the remark during a courtesy visit to the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, in his office.
Omeje, who was represented by Mr Michael Olapade, the Deputy Corps Commander, said that many politicians reacted roughly when stopped by corps’ officers on the roads.
Recalling the death of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr James Ocholi, his wife and son, as a result of an auto crash on the Abuja-Kaduna road on Sunday, Omeje said “the lives of our youth are being lost on daily basis”.
The sector commander, therefore, urged the politicians to abide by road traffic regulations and safety precautions.
He said, “Many people talk of AIDS as most deadly disease. The FRSC does not believe this when you talk of number of deaths because deaths through road accidents are much higher.
“The elite and the youth are being wasted each day in road crashes. Many people are killed carelessly through road crashes and they constitute twice the number killed by AIDs and the elite are the worse hit.
“If proactive measures are not taken, road crashes can end the political ambitions of many politicians.”
The commander, who noted that Lagos state had one-third of the volume of traffic across the nation, needed more than 15 Unit Commands of FRSC in the state.
He said that the corps had continued to enjoy collaboration with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and others bodies, to curb the menace on the roads.
Omeje urged the Assembly to support the corps towards achieving its mandate of a reduction in road crashes through collaboration and the provision of more patrol vehicles.
The sector Commander said that the corps wanted to partner with all significant persons and groups to save the lives of the road users in the country.
He said that the corps was ready to collaborate with the House to decorate lawmakers as special marshals.
Responding, the Speaker commended the FRSC for their good job to reduce carnages on the roads.
He said, “it is a great job that you are doing to ensure that lives and property are being saved. There is hardly anywhere you travel to without seeing the presence of FRSC personnel.
“We need more of your presence to curb auto-accidents. You need to intensify efforts on safety campaigns on the danger of speeding and drug-driving, to reduce losses on the roads.”
“We will continue to support you and give our assistance. It is our duty to protect the lives of the people, we need organisations like yours saddled with the responsibility of protecting people.”
Obasa, however, called on the corps to intensify efforts at curtailing the activities of `bad eggs’ who extorted money from motorists.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that other principal officers of the House were in attendance. (NAN)