By Brown Justice
As the first officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to lead the organization as Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Olayemi Boboye Oyeyemi has made everyone proud in the country.
Appointed in 2014, Dr Oyeyemi has been able to change both the look and the negative perception held about FRSC by Nigerians. The Corps now has acceptable image and status as well as appreciative position in the hearts and minds of Nigerians.
Dr Oyeyemi is a man who not only made integrity his watchwords at the Corps, but has also demonstrated it in no small measures. He institutionalized integrity at FRSC by making sure those officers and men of the Corps abide by the practice.
Being a visionary leader himself, Dr Oyeyemi introduced far reaching measures and policies that made FRSC what it is today. Take for example, the recent inauguration of the National Road Safety Advisory Council as part of the activities to mark the 29th anniversary of the Corps since its establishment in February 1988.
Honestly speaking, since its establishment 29 years ago, they had never been anyone who got the FRSC closer to its core mandate of making Nigeria’s highways safe for motorists and other road users as well as educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of discipline on the highways like Dr Oyeyemi.
At the risk of sounding too sycophantic, let it be on records that the introduction and enforcements of the speed limiting device by Dr Oyeyemi has drastically reduced the rates of road accidents and carnages on our highways.
Before the introduction of speed limiter to vehicle users especially to commercial vehicles by FRSC, speed limits violations by motorists alone accounted for 50.8 percent of the total road crashes recorded in the country between 2013 and 2015.
Nigerians can now see why the usual crashes and deaths normally associated with the yuletide season were drastically reduced last year.
As a regulating agency of the Federal Government, the FRSC under the headship of Dr. Oyeyemi has ingeniously device means of detecting vehicles without speed limiting device installations in them; because not using it is an offence violating section 152 sub-section 4 of the National Road Traffic Regulations Act of 2012. The section reads: ”A person cannot drive a vehicle that is not fitted with speed limiter on any public road.
Therefore, as a regulating and enforcing agency of the state, the FRSC Act of 2007 empowers it to make the use of speed limiting device mandatory on all vehicles plying Nigerian roads, no matter the status of motorists or persons in the society.
The successful execution of the ongoing tyre campaigns by FRSC under Dr Oyeyemi is very remarkable. According to the helmsman, ”Motorists now know that tyres expire. My focus is to raise the awareness and save more lives!”
Other far reaching successes achieved by the Oyeyemi-led FRSC includes but not limited to the ongoing campaigns against overloading by motorists as well as excellence in road traffic management. These two successes alone have worked the wonders of saving even the vehicle owners the burden of frequently taking their vehicles to mechanics as well as giving comforts to passengers.
Others successes are; the introduction of physical fitness exercise for personnel and the introduction of monthly 6-kilometer walking and jogging exercise for officers and men of the corps. The idea behind this is to ensure that personnel are both mentally and physically fit to carry out their functions. This is because exercise itself is a way of refreshing the mind and body of personnel for the various challenges some stubborn motorists may pose to them.
Nevertheless, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi was born on November 26, 1960. He subsequently started his formal education which has taken him to the nation’s citadel of learning.
Today, Dr Oyeyemi is a PhD holder from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. He is also a graduate of the Harvard University School of Government as well as the Royal Institutes for Public Administration in London.
In appreciation of his selfless services to Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 conferred on him the National Productivity Order of Merit Award. He is also a holder of another national honour known as Member of the Order of Federal Republic MFR.
Similarly, his service to the nation has won him many national and international honours and awards. Some of them includes; Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Award, American Medal of Honour Award by the American Biographical Institute, USA.
Others are; Best Performing Head of Department Award from 2009-2013, Certified Distinguished Administrator Award by Institute of Corporate Administration.
Finally, Dr Oyeyemi should be commended by all Nigerians for leading the FRSC to become the first enforcement agency to be ISO 9001:2008 Certified in Africa.
Mr Brown Justice wrote from Benue State.
