ACCIDENTS ON ABUJA ROADS

The regulators must do more to ensure safety of commuters

The recent death of five prospective National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members on the Abaji-Kwali highway has once again brought to the fore the frequency of accidents within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). While we extend our condolences to the families of the deceased, authorities of the FCT must begin to find a lasting solution to these incessant road fatalities. As the seat of the federal government and foremost political city, it should not be allowed to live with this paradox. The road network whose master plan was modelled after some of the most efficient cities in the world must not continue to witness avoidable calamities.

The roads in the FCT are the widest and smoothest in Nigeria. But driving on them is now being increasingly undermined by the dangerous habits of some young boys. In March 2018, an accident in Nyanya, an Abuja suburb, involving nine vehicles resulted in 10 deaths, in addition to many injuries. At Wuse, Abuja, the following month, a truck rammed into three cars killing four persons. All the crashes happened at night. Similar disasters have continued to cause anguish and tarnish the image of a potential choice business and tourist destination – complete with a pleasurable, memorable nightlife. Understanding the psychology of these classes of motorists and tackling their excesses frontally would be necessary steps towards achieving order and safety.

The figures of related tragedies are indeed alarming. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the record of people lost to road accidents across Nigeria from January 2013 to June 2018 is as follows: 2013 (5,539); 2014 (4,430); 2015 (5,400); 2016 (5,053); 2017 (5,049) and in the first half of 2018 (2,623). These data clearly show that at least 28,000 lives were sent to their graves in just 68 months. That is approximately 415 people per month, 14 persons daily, and an individual every two hours. In May 2017, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) revealed that there were over 33 deaths per 100,000 people nationally every year. The report made Nigeria one of the nations with the highest number of fatalities on the continent. Unfortunately, two years after, not much has changed.

Any real search for solution to this sad situation should start with a proper understanding of its likely causes. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified some reasons for road accidents. They are not new. They include over-speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and other intoxicating substances, non-use of protective gadgets like seatbelts, distractions caused by passengers, decrepit or substandard road amenities, unsafe vehicles, inadequate post-collision response, and poor enforcement of traffic laws.

Interestingly, the profile of the offenders is as diverse as the triggers of road mishaps suggested by WHO. Some public transport drivers, their private and corporate counterparts, uniformed personnel, chauffeurs of dignitaries and convoys are united in unsettling an otherwise tranquil motoring environment. The exuberance of the last group of transgressors is traceable to the ubiquity of Very Important Personalities (VIPs) in the city.

On a final note, like what obtains in other aspects of the nation’s life, impunity often leads to more lawlessness. Punishment of convicted persons is, therefore, mandatory. Functional streetlights are vital for optimal visibility. Appropriate road signs are also requirements for harmonious driving. The nation stands to gain greatly from a capital that ceases to unwittingly jeopardise the lives of its road users.