Stakeholders in the transport sector have called for strict enforcement of the laws in the land transportation industry, to instill sanity on the highways.
In a survey on the state of affairs in the industry, stakeholders in the North-East told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the existing laws were adequate to ensure the safety of road users.
They, however, noted that the major problem was in the area of enforcement and that the some of the laws needed to be reviewed to meet the challenges of the time.
Alhaji Sueliman Adamu, the Bauchi State Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), said the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) had key roles to play in that regard.
Adamu cited an example of a “brazen’’ disregard for the laws as the fact that human beings were transported in vehicles meant for “Goods Only” without the relevant law enforcement agents challenging the practice.
“The authorities should have officers who should be checking offenders.
“Road users should also adhere to guidelines pertaining to vehicles.
“Those meant for goods should not carry passengers and those for passengers should not carry goods or have both at the same time.”
The chairman also called for the streamlining of commercial and private vehicles, adding that a situation whereby private vehicle owners switched over to commercial activities (kabu-kabu) at will, was not a healthy development.
Concurring with the chairman on this issue, a businessman in Bauchi, Muhammed Buba, stressed the need to sanitize the system for the proper identification of private and commercial vehicles.
Some passengers interviewed in Bauchi, called for the strengthening of the mass transportation system.
“Passengers just risk their lives boarding vehicles without scrutinizing the drivers and the vehicles,” said Zainab Idris, one of the passengers.
In his response, Malam Musa Gidado, the Secretary of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Gombe chapter, said the transport sector could solve the unemployment problem of the country and generate substantial revenue, if properly organised.
Gidado, however, said that the rehabilitation of dilapidated roads and construction of new ones was necessary for any policy geared towards sanitising the sector, to achieve the desired goal.
He said that blamed the poor condition of roads was responsible for most of the accidents on the highways.
“Some of the roads were constructed in the 60s and 80s, and need complete rehabilitation or outright reconstruction,” he said.
He also called on the FRSC and VIO to enforce all the rules on the highway, stressing that the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) should also ensure that all vehicles imported into the country were road-worthy.
Mr. Elam David, the Chief Vehicle Inspector Officer in Adamawa, said the review of the road traffic laws in the state and the country in general was critical to sanitizing operations in the land transportation industry.
According to him, Vehicle Inspection Officers in the state are still operating under the old traffic rules and regulations of 1964.
“We are operating under the old traffic rules of 1964.
“The situation has created a lot of problems as far as road transport regulation in the state, is concerned.
“I am therefore, calling on the state Ministry of Transport and the Adamawa House of Assembly, to review the land transport regulation for the development of the sector.
“On our part, we are making contact with other relevant stakeholders to find lasting solution to the problems of land transportation.
“ In fact, we had a meeting three months ago with the National Union of Roads Transport Workers (NURTW), Roads Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and National Roads Transport Owners Association (NARTO), on how to regulate the sector at the state level.” he said.
Also commenting, the Head of Operations, FRSC in Adamawa, Mr. Muhammed Kabo, said that the establishment of a combined regulatory body for land transport, from the federal to local government level, would help sanitise the system.
According to him, if matters on land transport come under one regulatory body, it will be easy to enforce rules and regulations, and control all service delivery.
He said the regulatory body should comprise of representatives of federal, state and local governments, as well as the private sector, but guided by one policy.
Mr Yusuf Garba, the Sector Commander, FRSC in Yobe, also noted that compliance with traffic laws and enforcement posed serious challenges.
“Checking accidents on the roads is a collective responsibility among stakeholders, who must obey traffic laws, avoid excessive speeding, over-loading and consumption of intoxicants while driving.” he said.
Other stakeholders in Yobe suggested the reactivation of railway transportation and the establishment of special courts to try violators of traffic laws.
“Except Nigeria develops an efficient rail transport, the movement of trailers and tankers conveying goods and petroleum products across the country, will remain a challenge in land transportation in Nigeria,” said Alhaji Musa Muhammad, a transporter in Damaturu.
Abubakar Usman, a passenger, called for efficient public transport system to check the heavy traffic on the roads.
“The roads record heavy traffic because in one house, you find three or more vehicles plying roads daily, causing congestion.
“One vehicle conveys the husband to the office, another takes the children to school and a third one runs errands for the wife.
With effective public transportation system, you do not need all those vehicles plying the roads,” Usman said.
In his remark, Alhaji Ahmadu Musa, the NURTW Chairman in Borno, said that corruption was responsible for the non-implementation of laws designed to sanitise the land transportation industry.
“Even if there are regulatory bodies to sanitise the transport and other related sectors, the opportunity will be used as an avenue to extort money from motorists instead of doing the work and there will be no progress,” Musa said.
