Following growing fears of the second wave of COVID-19 infections, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has vowed to deepen enlightenment among travelers and motorists on the need to observe the extant guidelines on social distancing while on the roads and highways.
FRSC Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi who spoke in Lagos at the weekend explained that the agency “would be unrelenting in our commitment to safer road environment through sustained campaigns” even as the End of Year special patrols begin.
Oyeyemi, represented by the Corps Public Enlightenment Officer, ACM Bisi Kazeem spoke at the 5th annual training workshop organized by the Nigeria Auto Journalists’ Association (NAJA).
The FRSC boss assured that his officers would deepen campaigns on social distancing by travellers and motorists to curb the spread of the second wave of COVID-19.
He said, “Recently, the nation was thrown into series of security challenges characterised by kidnapping of travellers, banditry and armed robbery all of which are automobile transportation-based.
“In addition, the nation was faced with COVID-19 pandemic which requires adherence to social distancing protocols by passengers at the parks and inside the vehicles.
“The responsibility of explaining these Federal Government’s directives and ensuring compliance by all fell on the shoulders of the FRSC which is the lead agency in matters of traffic management and safety administration in the country.”
According to him, the capacity building for auto journalists aligns with the FRSC’s vision “of developing the competencies of our personnel for improved service delivery.”
“That’s why training and retraining of our personnel for positive impacts on the motoring public has been part of our development agenda in the past six years of my management.
“Moreover, we are conscious of the fact that whatever training that our personnel receive will remain incomplete, if a strategic stakeholder like the Nigeria Auto Journalists Association who report on the world of motor vehicles are not given similar exposure in the field to complement the efforts,” Oyeyemi added.
He noted the outcome of the workshop will contribute immediately to the attainment of the goals of well trained auto Journalists who are capable of delivering on the professional competence of reporting the dynamics of automobile industry.
“This is more so that the sophistication in auto engineering, reportage as well as the growing reliance on automobile as a veritable means of transportation for private and commercial purposes has made expert knowledge of the industry inevitable.
People require assurances of the type of choice they could make in their means of transportation and the type of vehicles that could satisfy their safety and adventure needs. This, therefore makes it imperative that there must be Journalists with sufficient technical knowledge on the make, mechanics and technology that determine the type of choices that people could make in their automobiles. This workshop, therefore, provides opportunity for such knowledge, and it’s my hope that it would lead to the desired outcomes for the participants.
