Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, mni, has advocated a multimodal transportation system as a way of reinventing public transportation in Nigeria.
Speaking against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s resolve to reintroduce the Public Mass Transit System across the country, Dr. Oyeyemi attributed the current breakdown in public transport to the non-utilization of other means of transportation especially the large water bodies as well as the underutilization of the rail system.
The FRSC boss made this known on Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at the University of Lagos where he inaugurated a 31-member Special Marshal Unit led by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS.
He reemphasized the need for a full-fledged School of Transportation Studies in UNILAG and across all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Establishment of such schools, according to Dr Oyeyemi, will go a long way in instituting and promoting the right driving culture among Nigerian vehicle users.
While commending the commitment of UNILAG management to traffic safety which brought about the collaboration and inauguration of the UNILAG Special Marshal Unit, the FRSC Corps Marshal commended the calibre of members and passed a vote of confidence in their capacities to initiate ideas and policies which would enhance traffic safety around and beyond the campus community.
The event, according to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, demonstrates the university’s commitment towards addressing all traffic issues around the Akoka community and its environs.
In his remarks shortly before the formal inauguration of the UNILAG Special Marshal Unit of the FRSC, Prof. Ogundipe acknowledged the long-standing mutual relationship which the university shares with the FRSC as exemplified by the establishment of a Licensing office on UNILAG campus and the recent replacement of the FRSC Patrol vehicle which was destroyed as an aftermath of the 2020 #endsars protest.
The Vice-Chancellor assured that through the Special Marshal unit, the University of Lagos will make its impact felt in traffic management thereby improving the quality of lives of the motoring and non-motoring publics around the campus community.
There were remarks by the Lagos/Ogun Zonal Commander, Assistant Corps Marshal Peter Kibo and Lagos State Sector Commander; Mr. Olusegun Ogungbemide who both adjudged the inauguration of the UNILAG Special Marshal Unit of FRSC a blend of commitment on the side of the UNILAG management, meeting with the passion of the FRSC Corps Marshal.
Highpoint of the ceremony which held at the Council Chamber of the University of Lagos was the administration of FRSC Special Marshal Oath of Membership on members by the FRSC Legal Adviser while the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, FAS, who was also unanimously appointed as Coordinator of the unit was decorated with his kits alongside other members.
The FRSC Special Marshal as established by the FRSC Establishment Act 2007 is the second tier of the FRSC which is meant to complement the core duties of the commission. It is an assemblage of men and women of means, with proven integrity in the society who are able to voluntarily influence their immediate environment (work place/community) in favour of the course of road safety.
