1.3million children die annually in road crashes

iyebiye olawuyi

May 25, 2017 3:41 PM

Children must be given their rightful place in the campaign against the scourge of untimely death on the roads.

Nigerian Children

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has said that about 1.3 million children die annually nationwide in road crashes.

The Lagos State Sector Commander, Mr Hygenus Omeje, disclosed this at the official inauguration of 45 students to the Road Safety Club, to mark the 2017 Children’s Day tagged “Our Children, Our Future: Say No To Road Crashes,’’ held at the Isolo Unit Command on Thursday.

Omeje, who was represented by Mrs Rahila Kholi, the Deputy Corps Commander (DCC) in-charge of Administration and Human Resources, Lagos State, said that children must be given their rightful place in the campaign against the scourge of untimely death on the roads.

“According to the reports, about 1.3 million children die annually as a result of crashes, while about 200,000 are also maimed and rendered absolutely dependent."

“The corps as a world-class institution is working hard to hit its 2017 Corporate Strategic Goal which is 15 per cent reduction in crashes and 25 per cent reduction in its attendant fatality."

“The future leaders must be adequately and intellectually prepared to correct the errors of the past,’’ he said.

According to him, children are veritable tools to effect the change and we believe in catching-them-young so that as they grow older, they would find it easy to obey traffic rules.

Mrs Hauwa Olowookere, the Isolo Unit Commander of the FRSC, in her opening remarks, said that the corps, as a leading agency in traffic management and administration in the country, was doing everything possible to prevent road crashes.

Olowookere said that part of ways to promote good road safety practices was to bring safety consciousness to the children every time.

According to her, the inauguration of the students into road safety club will bring uncommon sacrifices among them to promote the FRSC vision of curbing crashes.

Miss Favour Umanwa, one of the inaugurated students, gave kudos to the FRSC for given the young ones the opportunity of including them in the fight to curb road crashes in the state.

Umanwa said that the students would work hard in assisting the corps in achieving a crash-free society.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FRSC unit command inaugurated 45 students into the road safety club from nine Schools in the Isolo community, to mark the 2017 Children’s Day tagged: “Our Children, Our Future: Say No To Road Crashes’’.

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