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217,875 Persons Died In 111,920 Road Accidents In 9yrs –FG
217,875 persons died in 111,920 road accidents in 9yrs, according to the the Federal Road Safety Corps.
CIoTA said the deterioration of a significant percentage of Nigerian road network is one of the major factors.
The security challenges on the nation’s highways such as armed robbery and kidnapping is another factor.
It was also specifically pained over a reported financial loss to the road disasters estimated at over $7 billion annually
Speaking at the 2nd Edition of a Public Policy Dialogue, organised by the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIOTA), the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, said the road transport industry is presently, largely dominated by unregulated privately owned vehicles.
“Nigeria has about 201,500 kilometers of roads, made up of 35,000 kilometers of Federal roads representing 17 percent of the total road network, 26,500 kilometers of state roads representing 13 percent, and 140,000 kilometers of local government roads representing 70 percent.
“The Federal Government has embarked on a massive road rehabilitation programme of Federal roads that has significantly improved the nation’s motorable road standards.
However, the state of deterioration of a significant percentage of this road network has made the road susceptible to various woes resulting in accidents and loss of lives and properties,” she explained.
Ajani who lamented the security situation on the roads said it was worthy to note that between 2011 – 2020, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) recorded 111,920 road crashes; 402,360 casualties in which 217,875 died.
According to her, recently, the security challenges on the nation’s highways such as armed robbery and kidnapping have become very rampant and worrisome.
She said the situation has made it necessary to strengthen safety and security in the nation’s road transport system nationwide, while assuring stakeholders of continuous functional policy formulation and implementation, especially for road transport and mass transit administration in the country.
Meanwhile, the Assistant Corps Marshal (ACM), Dr. Kayode Olagunju, who is the current Commandant, Federal Road Safety Commission Academy Udi, Enugu, has said the use of the road without attracting any harm or death to oneself or others was the most preferred alternative. In his paper presentation, titled:
“Transport Safety Management in Nigeria : Challenges and Possibilities, he introduced road safety as the use of the road without attracting any harm or death to oneself or others: rather than not destroying through automobiles, the road, and infrastructure.
He affirmed the World Health Organisation (WHO), 2018 statistics that said 1.25 million people are killed on roadway annually.
