Borno State Sector Commander Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) Boyi Utten has commended the State Governor Babagana Zulum for promising to assist the Command with a tow truck.
Utten said with the lingering insurgency in Borno, the delivery of the truck would go a long way in sorting out problems of broken-down vehicles within and outside the Maiduguri metropolis.
He told DAILY POST reporter during an interview that his agency was lucky to be in Borno as a tow truck would enable it move broken-down vehicles anywhere in the state.
Utten during the interview held on the sidelines of the Ember months campaign said many commuter vehicles have been abandoned in odd places, which are eventually moved by private tow trucks.
On functional vehicles, he maintained that the State government has been magnanimous enough to refurbish three vehicles for their usage even before 2 more “an ambulance and a fire truck” came in for their support.
He said the existing office spaces for the command are operational but those in central and northern Borno still have security issues because they can’t move in yet due to the insurgency problem.
“Apart from Bama which is now stable, our unit from Dikwa is yet to return but they do patrol along the Mafa, Dikwa axis because peace is gradually returning to some of these affected council areas.
“However, in terms of presence and the ability to do the job, there is no council area without a representative. They feed us with lots of vital information about crashes and road safety-related matters. But apart from Bama where our unit is functioning, we have a unit Command in Kwayakusa and one in Biu council area” said commander Boyi.
Speaking on car crashes in the state generally, Boyi noted that accidents are relatively low in Borno because many of the roads are not well-plied by commuters because of the 12-year insurgency.
“We have a roadside clinic in Beneshiek which covers accidents along these sections of the road. With time we hope to open up a zebra to be able to take care of crashes or any form of eventuality arising from crashes from commuters.
Speaking on security and arms coverage for operations of the Corp, Commander Boyi who assumed duty about 6 months ago said, ” it’s true that we are not yet armed but we have so many other security agencies helping us to make progress in this war theatre. We are doing our best to serve the people of Borno state and we will surely continue.”
Boyi noted that the Ember months campaign ” is an annual event designed by the Corps, mainly for sensitization and reminding of all stakeholders in the Road transportation Sectors and other road users to be cautious while driving on the highway because the Ember months usually precipitate higher vehicular and human movements which do lead to Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) and attendants injuries and deaths.
“The Ember months campaign flag-off also gives us the opportunity to appeal to drivers to adopt defensive driving techniques while plying the roads in this period as it is another time we remind ourselves of the inherent dangers associated with driving on our highways and the need to imbibe positive attitudinal change and to be more careful in order to reduce road Traffic Crashes to the barest minimum.
“The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Avoid Speeding, Over Loading and Unsafe Tyres to Arrive Alive’. The choice of this year’s theme is premised on the fact that overspeeding and tyre bursts have been identified as some of the prevailing causes of Road Traffic Crashes with higher numbers of fatalities especially during this period as a result of a driver’s attitude.
“Statistically according to World Health Organization (WHO), 1.35 million people are kîlled on roads around the world. Every day almost 3,700 people are killed globally in crashes involving cars, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks and pedestrians being knocked down.
“In Nigeria, other factors that contribute to fatal crashes are overloading, overspeeding, wrongful overtaking and dangerous driving among others.”
Reeling out statistics from Borno roads, the commander said that “Consequently, here in Borno State, so far, about 35 road crashes have been recorded this year, involving 42 vehicles and 302 people, while 61 people out of 302 people were killed with 196 others sustaining various degrees of injuries.
“The prevalent causes were attributed to overspeeding, overloading, dangerous driving, failure to install speed limiting device, lane indiscipline, absence of wipers during rainy seasons, faulty lighting system, route violation, use of phones while driving, poor vehicle maintenance among others.”
Borno State Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Bello Fago called on stakeholders to imbibe what has been taught to them during the enlightenment campaign which took place at the premises of the Borno Express transportation company.
He remarked that the main concerns of commuters during the period under review should be “overspeeding, purchase of inferior spare parts especially breaks and of course, the misuse of all manner of hard drugs.
The Commissioner of transportation Abubakar Tijani who represented Governor Babagana Zulum commended the FRSC for keeping faith with the people all these years inspite of the lingering insurgency in the state.
“I must commend you for helping us in keeping our people alive inspite our numerous challenges on our roads
“We are also happy with you for keeping the synergy with other security agencies alive. We are aware of the vulnerability of some of the roads in the state yet you continue saving lives and properties on a daily basis.
“I call on the FRSC and the road users to be more cautious, sensitive and vigilante in controlling these issues and more.
