Drive to Live: Nigeria’s Driving Rules Need an Upgrade

By Adaora Ude I looked everywhere I could think of to find an enabling law protecting road users of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from harm; some sort of responsibility of government (either federal or state) to protect and cover individuals whilst they are on the road! I checked the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and all their acts; I snuck a peek at the Highway Code of Nigeria. Zilch! My search turned up absolutely nothing. Amazingly, there were records kept on the status of roads in the country, probably a report done by a department in the FRSC which consisted of legion of reports that said; “big potholes on_____ Road” and one or two reports stating, “road just being graded”.  My question is this: Did anyone ever use that report to correct the issues plaguing our Nigerian roads? How helpful is such a report to the common men who ply the roads daily? Are we expected to print out such reports, hand copies out to all other road users and use them as maps to know where and where the potholes are in order to reduce our speed? It is laughable and I presume that isn’t what we need. A colleague of mine and her husband narrowly escaped death some time ago when a trailer carrying a 40-feet container fell on a number of vehicles on the road!!  For people who live in Lagos, I don’t need to tell you what traffic looks like going home from work on a rainy day and on dilapidated, rundown roads. Of course pristine roads are a thing of the past in Nigeria.   The driver of this trailer, obviously struggling on terrible roads after heavy rains with the rest of the dog-tired and weary commuters, took a decision that cost a lot of people their lives.  The trailer started to shift and my colleague quickly warned her hubby of the impending danger. He promptly swerved and took the car swiftly to an available little spot to the left and the next sound heard was a loud thunderous bang! The car right behind them was squashed; and the man in it barely escaped with his life.  Unfortunately, a bus with travelers from the east didn’t quite make it. It was literally squashed! You could only view the head lamps of the bus as the whole top was pressed down!  If this lady hadn’t thought fast, they both might have perished, leaving sympathizers at their home wondering what would become of their two sons. Sadly, the tanker driver took off before he was apprehended. He probably was aware of the impending “Jungle Justice” that most certainly would have been his fate. For survivors of the crash and beneficiaries of the victims, where do they go to seek redress? Who pays for mindless accidents allowed to happen every day on our roads?  Are we expected to take laws into our hands? Another family was wiped out entirely in one of these freak accidents.  A man, his 7-month pregnant wife, their 2-year-old daughter and his mother-in-law who was over for a visit all perished in one Sunday afternoon on their way back from church. Another of the crazy trailers carrying containers all over Lagos! And on TERRIBLE roads! Another avoidable loss of lives! It makes one wonder what value is placed on human life in this country. Are we just simply a means to an end for the Government and for employers of labour? Why aren’t there laws protecting us? Why are there no laws there regulating heavy duty vehicular movements? These days, commuters have their hearts in their mouth if they happen to be beside one of these trucks, trailers or heavy duty vehicles. And there is always a sigh of relief when one makes it away from their sides with no incidents. Sad isn’t it? Why isn’t there a law in place addressing the proper shackling of the monstrous weights these vehicles transport? Again I ask, what is the value placed on human lives in this country? Every day people are maimed and killed in one mindless accident or the other along our roads and we just accept it as fate and the will of God. It is preposterous! Our government owes us that much. Our fellow Nigerians who own these trucks and operate them owe us that much. Is it too much to ask?