FRSC, revenue generation and new number plate (I)

Notable amongst the publications include Saturday Punch of August 3rd, The Nation Editorial of August 13th, the Punch Editorial of August 14th and the Nigerian Tribune Editorial of August 14th, 2013.  There have equally been commentaries, analysis and opinion write-ups on same issues.Initially, there was a consensus by the FRSC to ignore this and rather […]

Notable amongst the publications include Saturday Punch of August 3rd, The Nation Editorial of August 13th, the Punch Editorial of August 14th and the Nigerian Tribune Editorial of August 14th, 2013.  There have equally been commentaries, analysis and opinion write-ups on same issues.
Initially, there was a consensus by the FRSC to ignore this and rather focus on the Corp’s strategic goals of reducing crashes by 20% and fatalities by 30% in line with the United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety projections.
However, I am compelled to use the opportunity offered by my column to address the issues raised for the benefit of the teeming public whose minds might be filled with questions arising from the publications.
The recurring decimal in all the publications seems to be the issue of setting of targets and revenue generation, as well as the new number plate and drivers’ licence scheme.
 In concentrating on the issues of revenue generation, it is pertinent to point out that in line with its statutory responsibilities; FRSC is not a revenue generating agency. The Corps does not spend fines generated from the road and has absolutely no incentive to collect fines that end in the Federation Accounts. No national target for fines generation is set for Commanding Officers. If any Commanding Officer gives targets, it is clearly without the authorization or directive of the National Headquarters. However, it would be absurd for any FRSC patrol team to go out for eight hours and come back claiming not to have seen traffic offences committed, and that rather, they were doing public enlightenment.  Booking of traffic offenders is an indication of our enforcement activities. Indeed, global practices on traffic safety attest to this fact. Fines collection is tangential to the core issues of road safety education, engineering, and enforcement.  And any attempt to educate without enforcement would only lead to entertainment. 
The related issue of whether the enforcement is carried out inside or outside the cities seems quite irrelevant, as traffic offences have no boundaries.  The FRSC is empowered by its enabling act to enforce traffic laws on all Nigerian roads. And unarguably, failure to control behaviours in urban centres would lead to a transfer of these behaviours on the highways.  We therefore have no apology on where and when we decide to enforce traffic sanctions. As for the dishonest officers who view enforcement as opportunity to line their pockets, our surveillance activities and public feed-back has led to continued weeding of those staff.  In line with global best practices, the FRSC sets its corporate strategic goals. A cursory search on the FRSC website will reveal that we have targets across all indicators, which are closely monitored and measured and the result published on the FRSC website, http://www.frsc.gov.ng