by Stanley Azuakola

If the recent air crash has caused for you a phobia for air travel, then this news will not cheer you up. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps, only Eritrea has more road accidents per year than Nigeria.

The Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone RS2 of the FRSC, Adekunle Lawal, who made this disclosure, said that they were determined to reduce the rates by 50 per cent in line with a UN declaration.

Lawal said this during a courtesy visit to the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona. He solicited for the support of the monarch in sensitizing road users about observing safety measure on the roads.

He said, “Recently, the United Nations declared a decade of action for all the countries of the world to reduce accidents by 50 per cent because research had shown that 1.5m people die on our highways every year all over the world. Regrettably, sub-Sahara West Africa tops the list of the countries that have unsafe roads.

“That is the attitude of our drivers. We have drivers who are not ready to see other road users as co-owners of the roads. We have drivers who do not want to follow the rules and regulations vis-a-vis the usage of the road. We have drivers who will want to manage their vehicles and maximise profits.

“Our corps marshal has directed that we should channel our advocacy through traditional rulers, who we need to get to any community.”

The Awujale, on his part, appealed to government at all levels to provide good roads as the bad state of road across the country was mostly responsible for the increasing rate of road accidents in Nigeria.