We must stop overloading of vehicles in Nasarawa —FRSC Sector Commander

Faustina Alegbe is the Sector Commander-in-Charge of Nasarawa State of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). She is one among the few female sector commanders in the Corps. In this interview with Godwin Agwam, She speaks on overloading and how the Sector intends to combat it. Excerpts:

Our readers will want to know who you are, madam

I am Faustina Alegbe, Sector Commander of  Federal Road Safety Corps, Nasarawa State Sector Command. I am from Edo State. My primary education started in Ewohimi, Edo state, I went to school in Ibadan, Oyo State and did my Primary Six in St Patrick Primary School, Yaba, Lagos. From there I proceeded to St Maria Goretti Girls Grammar School, Benin City. I went to  Federal Government Girls College, Benin City where I got Higher School Certificate. I proceeded to the University of Benin and graduated.

When I came into the Federal Road Safety Corps, I worked in Jos in numerous positions, notable amongst these were as Surveillance officer, worked in the Motor Vehicle Administration Department at the RS4 Zonal Headquarters, Jos. I was later appointed as the Head of Operations in FRSC Plateau State Command, where I also acted briefly as the Sector Commander, for three months. In 2003 I was transferred to FRSC Rivers State Sector Command, as the Head of Operations.  From there, I came back as the Zonal Head of training in Jos. I went to Edo State as the Unit Commander of Igarra Unit Command. When I got my promotion as Deputy Corps Commander, I was posted to Federal  Road Safety Academy as the Registrar Admin and Human Resources.

As a result of the continuous training programmes of the Corps to improve staff performance, I was nominated to attend the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) for a one year programme, where I got a Postgraduate Diploma (Ph.D) in Public Administration. After the stint in ASCON, I was transferred to the Operations Department, FRSC National Headquarters as the Head of Unit Command Administration and Strategies(CAS 1). The present Corps Marshal was the Head of Operations then. When I got promoted to my present rank, as Corps Commander,  I was transferred to  Special Marshal’s department. I was there as the head of NYSC / Road Safety club Section. From there I was moved to the Logistics Department now Technical Services Department (TSD) as Deputy Logistics Officer. It was from there that I was appointed as the Sector Commander of FRSC Nasarawa State Sector Command in 2014.

What are the challenges so far, since you joined the corps?

Challenges abound but we are made to surmount them. In para-military, the surprising thing is that we don’t see ourselves as females. We are addressed as Sir, and everything goes for every one of us irrespective of the gender.  You may have heard my subordinates address me as Sir. Everything has been good so far  I must say that although we don’t have equal representation, we occupy our quota at the unit, sector and national levels. You know that we are not as many as the male counterparts. But, we have our own portion of representation.

Have you been faced with any form of insubordination as a result of your gender?

Not really. There are rules and regulations that guide an organisation, FRSC is not left out.  There is the FRSC Regulation on Discipline that clearly spells out the offences and processes and procedures to handle cases of insubordination and other offences. All I need to do when such situations arise is to set the machinery of discipline in motion. Then the punishment for that offence will be meted out to the person.

You assumed office in 2014, can you itemise some of the policies that you have been able to put in place since you came on board?

Since I came on board, I have actually worked to ensure that Road Safety is duly recognised in the state. As regards, national policies, we have been able to domesticate a lot in the state. Prominent among these is that of speed limiting device which took effect on February 1, 2017. Before this enforcement date, the motoring public had been sensitised on the importance of the device. We have continued to enlighten motorists, road transport unions and other stakeholders, to ensure they catch the vision,  buy-in and run with it. During the date fixed for enforcement by our national headquarters, we kickstarted it here too. Although, we cannot say there is 100 percent compliance. But we have a lot of motorists that have installed the speed limiting devices in their vehicles. We equally want to talk about overloading which is a bane in our neck in the state. We are trying to stamp it out. It is an on-going exercise. I have had a lot of talks with different union executives. I have enlightened them on this at any opportunity, formal or informal. Even yesterday, one of them was here and I spoke to him about overloading and installation of speed limiting device. We are strongly checking their excesses. However, I want to state where there is a noticeable compliance to traffic lights obedience in the state.

As the commanding officer of the Nasarawa State sector. What goals have you set out to achieve in 2018?

The FRSC has come up with some strategic goals in 2018 and I have already keyed into it. The first is to enhance communication.  By this, we must be heard on social media and traditional media such as print and broadcast media. What this means is that we will use the media to educate the public and enlighten them properly on a lot of issues. We will also sustain a robust relationship with the traditional media. The second one is to improve enforcement and rescue operations. Reduce Road Traffic clashes (RTC) by 15 percent and reduce fatality by 30 percent. We are working towards attaining this, in line with the United Nation Decade of Action on Road Safety. In Nasarawa State, we have gone to some communities to train them as first responders. That is trained on what to do when a crash occurs and have given them our emergency number,122, to call. This is a toll-free number. The FRSC Road Traffic Crash Clinic in Shabu equally provides services to the community around them. This year, we hope to improve further on our response time in terms of rescue. We are also set out to enhance professionalism this year. How do we achieve that? We make sure that our men are trained and retrained regularly to ensure they exhibit the right conduct FRSC staff are known for. We have our own ethics, code of conduct too. We are expected to be fair, friendly and firm in the course of discharging our statutory duties. We monitor our men closely to ensure the rules and regulations that govern patrol activities and other duties of the corps are strictly adhered to. This year in Nasarawa State, we will continue with the weekly Wednesday in-house training of staff,  organise more workshops, where we invite professionals to come and train us and equip us for the jobs ahead. I believe in constant training and improvement of staff. generally, in the Corps, there is continuous training. Some of our staff are sent outside to get a better knowledge of road traffic related issues. They come back to domicile it in the nation. We want to ensure that people meet up to their target destinations at the appropriate time. We have trained our men for these purposes and we are sure that we have bought into the strategic goals of the FRSC for the year. However, I want to stress that this year, we are out to start stamp out overload in Nasarawa. We will do this through constant robust enlightenment, regular meetings with stakeholders and vigorous enforcement. We want to see a tremendous reduction in overloading of goods and persons in the state. I will want to state here that there is a tremendous improvement in traffic light obedience in the state.  I can assure of total compliance this year. These traffic lights installed in the state by the governor have reduced crashes within the metropolis. Over the years, there has been a gradual reduction of crashes in the state though it is still not to the barest acceptable minimum, where there will no be fatalities recorded.

What are your achievements so far?

We have been able to curtail the hitherto incessant clashes between motorists and FRSC officers. Before our time there had been one or two mob actions but since I came on board we have not experienced that. We have a better work relationship between the FRSC and Nasarawa State government. We have been able to secure from the state government a permanent office complex. In addition to this is the donation of an ambulance for rescue purposes and a bus for staff use. We are most grateful to Governor Al-Makura Tanko. This has facilitated our work. We are most visible on the road now than ever before.  We have succeeded in reducing the response time to road traffic crashes. We equally have a good working relationship with stakeholders in the transport sector. We have synergised with sister agencies, director FERMA and Federal  Controller of Works, the State Commissioner of Works and the Board of Internal Revenue, Lafia, to name a few. We work closely together to ensure we deliver on our mandate of ensuring safety on our roads, by reporting on the failed portion of the roads for quick action to be taken by the agency responsible for the maintenance. I must say that we enjoy good synergy with these agencies in ensuring the road is repaired. For example, we collaborate with FERMA  here in the state for issues that require immediate attention and palliative measures and repairs are done by them. We equally have achieved in the area of having the support of the traditional rulers in ensuring their subject comply with traffic regulations, most times they create avenues for us to enlighten their subjects in their palaces.

What are your challenges so far?

My major challenge is getting to stop overloading in the state, route violation that is driving opposite traffic. For now, another challenge which I know is temporal is the inadequate availability of premium motor spirit and its high cost which is hampering our movement. I believe the government is on top of the situation. More personnel and auto logistics are needed to effectively man the road network in Nasarawa State. I believe our national headquarters is working on that. But so far so good, with what we have on the ground, we have been able to do our best and hope to surpass our 2017 best in 2018. That’s our target with God on our side.