As the Christmas and New year celebration draw near, traders, FRSC, the road users, including transporters, drivers, passengers, as well as the trickers are in one voice in the call for precautionary measures to reduce road accident during the period, when many people would be traveling to hinterland to celebrate with their families and loved ones.
In separate interviews with Nigerian Tribune on the good and bad of the seasons, the stakeholders enumerated measures put in place to ensure a safe journey to their various destinations.
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At the popular Aruma junction motor parks Awka and the ever busy upper Iweka motor garages in Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra state, drivers, traders, transport union officials, transporters and passengers bare their mind on how the festive seasons could be made crash-free, even as the listed precautionary measures they have put in place to achieved that, while calling on the government at all levels to help fix the bad roads to make traveling less stressful and reduce incident of armed robberies, as a results of damage spot of the roads across the States.
Chidebere Agbo, a bread and pure water seller in upper Iweka Onitsha, who hail from Ebonyi State, said she does not spen her Christmas and New Year happiness in Onitsha where she lives. This is not because she is under any immediate compulsion, she has to be at the yearly family gathering, which holds in her village, Afikpo, Ebonyi State. She added that as this year’s celebrations which will commence in nine days time, she is already making preparations on her movement between Tuesday and Wednesday next week. She is, however, not the only person planning big for the Yuletide festivities, especially navigating around this period. It is the habit of Nigerians all over to travel from place to place to celebrate with family members.
With roads in very bad shape, especially in the South East States, the situation becomes worrisome, not only for citizens of Anambra state, but everybody, who is likely to travel during this period.
Nigerian motorists appear united in the search for an accident-free journey. They are also adding prayers that would ensure safety in their journeys home because of the evil imagination that it is the period where blood sucking demons operates on highways.
Also speaking to our correspondent, Mr. Ebak Bisong, a native of Ogoja, Cross River State, who was in one of the transport companies, “Star Sunny Motors” operating in Arroma junction Awka, the Anambra state capital to make inquiries about movement to Ogoja that is about eight hours drive from Awka during this Yuletide, lamented the poor state of Nigerian roads particularly the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, Umohia- Port hart court road, that are now unmotorable. According to him, “they are in bad shape, and sometimes, I don’t like travelling if not christmas, because of fear of being attacked by armed robbers when there is traffic on the road, caused mostly by potholes, it is very easy for these dead evil of the road to operate.”
He said “it is not often a palatable story seeing these boys with guns when you are stuck, especially at night, and the police is no where near to protect you. So the government should please act fast on this, because Christmas is a period where a lot people travel to settled families issues and it is impossible for me to spend it here in Anambra state. I must go to my village and celebrate with my loving mother If this is done, I’m sure every Nigerian who used to spend hours on the road will appreciate the improvement”.
Aside from being safety cautious, travellers and motorists have also been told to be security cautious, especially in the inner cities as a result of gridlocks on major roads. A food vendor at a popular Eke-Awka market, Mrs Rosemary Onounkwo, said pickpockets at the market recently all most robbed her, as she was struggled to board a shuttle bus heading to Amowbia a satilite town in the state, where she resident.
“I didn’t know that someone was already opening the side zipper of my hand bag if not for the intervention of other passengers and onlookers that raised alarm for sake l would have been a vitims of pickpocker syndicate, she smile.
Mr Anthony Osorji, a driver with Ekwolobia Transport company, who shuttle Awka- Onitsha axes, said, what they do as a company is to ensure that their vehicles are in order.
Osorji explain that since we can’t repair the roads, because we don’t have the resources to do so, the best we can attempt to protect passengers is to put our buses in good shape. We also make sure our drivers maintain the minimum speed limit, and they drive with caution. More importantly, they are compelled not to drink before and during movement. Above all, they are well trained drivers so they know all these things.”
Another driver of the same company, Mr. Ebuka Adrew, who also shared his oppinion said, “our company make sure the vehicles are sound before we are allow to embark on any journey and also we are made to obey traffic signs and before now we used to maintain speed limit of about 100 to 160 before the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) reduced the speed limit to 90.
A supervisor with Eastern mass transit, Nnewi, Mr. Nebe J, on his part said during the festive season, the company would not embark on night journey for safety and security reasons. “To avoid road accident, we don’t go on night trips, because it is not advisable to ply Awka- Enugu road at night, as some roads are bad and armed robbers operate mostly at night,” he stated.
According to him, the company always adopts safety and precaution measures through the year, adding: “We don’t wait till festive seasons to apply cautions, because people travel everyday of the year.“The first rule in my company is that a driver must not drink alcohol when embarking on a trip and he must not carry more than the required passengers for a trip.
“Some transporters take advantage of the festive season, which is a rush period, to make quick money by carrying more than the required number of passenger the vehicle can convey for a trip. “
Mr Ekwe Thomas, who plies Onitsha- Lagos route with his serrena, said he sleeps and relaxes very well before embarking on the long journey.“What I normally do for precaution is ensure the vehicle has a spare tyre in the event of flat tyres, wheel spanner, fire extinguisher, jack and reflective triangle in case of emergencies.
Mr Thomas said, to avoid sleeping while driving, I look for someone that I can talk with to seat at the front passenger’s seat. At times, I chew bitter kola and also don’t exceed the speed limit of 80 kilometres per hour, maximum of 100.”
Also, l normally make calls to numbers written on the manifest to the family of the passengers or put the passengers in another vehicle in case my vehicle breakdown on the road.
The Anambra Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp FRSC, Mr. Sunday Michael Ajayi, said since December 1, 2018, the command has been creating awareness among drivers on safety and precaution during the season. He stated: “we have been enlightened all transporters loading in all parks across the state to take cautious while driving, because life does not have duplicate.” He added that he has deployed his men in all the major parks in the state to raise drivers’ consciousness on the relevance of the speed limiter as a means of achieving safe driving on the road during this rushing period.
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