The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ogun State, Mr. Clement Oladele, has said that teaching children safety measures in schools will reduce accidents on Nigerian roads.
Oladele said that it had, therefore, become imperative to inculcate safety measures in children in the country.
This, according to him, will also help children to become conscious of their surroundings and to know when to caution drivers and cyclists violating traffic laws.
The FRSC sector commander stated this in a chat with our correspondent on the sidelines of a programme organised by the Ifo Unit command of the corps in Agbado to mark the Children’s Day celebration.
He explained that about 15 per cent of the mortality of underage children was due to traffic-related accidents, hence the need to teach them safety rules when still young.
In order to check the incidence of child mortality due to road accidents, he said the schools needed to engage parents, communities and the pupils on road safety tips.
“The issue of safety is a collective responsibility that cannot be left in the hands of one person alone in order not to jeopardise the lives of our children. The whole essence is for us to have a new set of drivers that we can train at younger age, even before they are due to have driver’s licence,” he said.
Oladele added that this would also help when they were grown enough to drive because they would have become familiar with the rules and regulations.
“By the time they are grown and learn how to drive, it would not be too difficult to abide by the traffic rules. Moreover, it would not be as chaotic as we presently have in the country now because we’ll have an ambassador in every home,” he stated.
Oladele, however, urged school owners and parents to always transport children to and from school in conducive and safe vehicles, as they are valuable assets that the nation requires for a better tomorrow.
The Unit Commander, Ifo Unit Command, Joshua Ibitomi, in his remarks, said the formation of the Road Safety Club in primary and secondary schools in the state was part of the efforts by the FRSC to inculcate road safety culture in the children.
“Our children are our heritage and road safety is everyone’s business, hence the need to catch them young. That’s why we invited schools around our unit to celebrate the day with them as well as teach them road safety tips,” Ibitomi said.
He called on schools yet to inaugurate the club to do so “because it is the duty of all to preach the gospel of road safety for safer roads and fuller lives.”
The State Coordinator, FRSC Special Marshal, Elder Emmanuel Fagbenro, disclosed that his members had been visiting schools that had road safety clubs to teach them safety tips, adding, “We also urge them to take their studies seriously as this is the only way they can actualise their
dreams.”
Over 800 children from different primary and secondary schools in the area attended the
programme.
