Jun 7, 2007

FRSC. Practice What You Preach!

FRSC is an acronym for Federal Road Safety Commission, a commission whose primary objective is to maintain safety on Nigerian Roads. This they do by ensuring that road users abide by road rules and regulations. Some of these include checking to see if drivers have their seat belts on, watching out for road offenders, dangerous overtaking, making sure cars have appropriate "C Caution", and making sure each car has a fire extinguisher. Allow yourself to be caught violating any of these rules, and you should be ready to sacrifice some precious time, as well as part with some valuable cash.

That said, I'd like to bring your attention to the pictures below. They came out on Page 16, The Guardian Newspapers of June 1, 2007. Some passerby had taken them and sent them to The Guardian. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, see for yourself.





In the picture is an FRSC official car with the engine apparently on fire. People are running around looking for ways to quench the fire. Some are trying to gather sand to throw on the fire while an FRSC lady officer is running with a bucket of water. As illustrated in the Guardian, a question comes to mind, where is the Fire Extinguisher? We all know that the Fire Extinguisher is the best when it comes to quenching fires... and ironically, many Nigerians have been harrassed by the FRSC because they had no Fire Extinguishers. So now where is FRSC's fire extinguisher? Someone should please tell them to practice what they preach.

27 comments:

Omodudu said...

Blog post of the week. This is what a real post is supposed to be like. Second time. Great job.

Writefreak said...

Nicely said Tayo, obviously they don't have or don't know how to use it...food for thought! So much for the harrasment of innocent Nigerians

Anonymous said...

Totally appalling situation. This is a reflection of the Nigerian society as a whole. With the regulating agencies in shambles, how can we ever move forward??

Tayo, thanks for the post!!

aloted said...

@tayo- lol...nawa for FRSC o. I can't laff. lol

@omodudu- so tell us exactly what a real post should be like cuz me i don't understand. Is there a template somewhere??

Ejura said...

Hi Tayo! Blogville idol competition going on. Links on my site. Check it out. Spread the gist!

Anonymous said...

Na wa o. How do u even expect there to be a fire extinguisher in a jalopy car like dat sef?

BlogVille Idol said...

hey tayo...bloggers living in 9ja can participate..uzo who is in 9ja has the voice player up her page sef....as we said earlier u dont even have to have the voice player on ur own page...just dial the number on d screen...so are u still down in being randy let us know asap

Anonymous said...

I find this interesting...for two reasons:

This is a confirmation that government policies are meant to be spoken and stated on paper in Nigeria; they are hardly enforced or implemented to any reasonable extent.

Secondly, citizen media (or participartory journalism) works in Nigeria. The observer took the pictures and sent them to the newspaper; the newspaper used it in their report; and a blogger sees it and posted it.

So what?

This model is the future of news reporting and information sharing - several mainstream media have started incorporating user-generated items in their reports. I'm not sure Guardian and other Nigerian newspapers fully realize the relevance of this concept, yet.

Unknown said...

@Omodudu, thanks a lot for the award :D Who shall present it?.
@Writefreak, na so we see am o! Shameful
@Deji, If you are DD, thanks for visiting, if not, thanks all the same.
@Aloted, lol
@ejura, I already saw it. I'm in.

Unknown said...

@wienna, thank God we see you again. Very valid point you've raised there. The car probably doesn't have a spare tyre, talk less a fire extinguisher
@blogville idols, I left a message for you.
@african loft, true. I actually received 2 text messages from different people telling me to go and check page 13 of the guardian. I guess they knew I would blog it. Information will soon no longer be limited to the media houses.

AaaDee said...

A Very Well Written Blog. Keep it up !

Anonymous said...

Well there we go with another hilarious shade of our social moral. FRSC should keep 'trying' to understand their own laws, they'll soon get there because,... "who Tries never fails"(aka Aaadee's theory on ______(fill in the gap).Lol.

Mimi said...

Lmao!!!!!!!!! nice post!! well done!

Emmanuel said...

great post man, i am not a nigerian but i live in lagos for 3 years before i came to the states, love your country, keep it up.

Unknown said...

@aaadee, thanks a lot for your comments, and thanks for visiting.
@truth, na so we see am o
@mimi.. LOL. I thought u had fashied my blog
@michael, thanks for visiting. I'll be on your blog soon.

Admin UD said...

One word: S.P.E.E.C.H.L.E.S.S.

Funmi Iyanda said...

tayo, this is the future of the media, where information is pulled rather than pushed. With newer easier to access technology, citizens can document and circulate info that conventional media cannot, will not or is ill equipped to put forth. Note how SKY news and the police are teaming up to use citizen recorded clips to find criminals. The future is too cool for school. Well done.

diary of a G said...

hi tayo
this is not a Bride
but I think ur a incredibly awesome dude
and any lady of which u cross path
is a very lucky woman
thank u
and have a nice day

Unknown said...

@Ugo, na so o. I was speechless myself.
@Funmi, thanks for visiting. I agree fully with you, info is not restricted anymore.. and is getting less and less centralized.
@diary of a g, thanks for visiting. Man, I'm flattered!

Unknown said...

FRSC officials and vehicle didnt have a Fire Extinguisher!!! GOOD LORD!! I can remember the countles number of times they stopped me and gave me a fine cos I didnt have one until I finally got one for myself. SHAME, SHAME , SHAME on them. LOL!!

Hey Tayo, this is not related to this post. Can we members of the audience get an icon for BLOGVILEE IDOL audience too? Please?

Andrew F. Alalade said...

Tayo, whazzup? Long time!!!
Hope the FRSC staff in the picture have been charged and disciplined for contradicting what they stand for?
Naija, na waah for us ooh!

Anonymous said...

This is so hilarious.b sure to download this on my phn so the next time i get harrasd by them heifers i can show em.
Mad ppls..............xxx

Unknown said...

@Calabar Gal, LOL. I wish common citizens could collect fines from them now. About the icon, I think Ugo should be able to design one for the audience.
@andy, thanks for your comment. I hope so too o
@anon,LOL. Don't show it to them o ... them go just vex more increase your fine!

TMinx said...

I may be ignorant buutt, will water really work? I've water trying to be used a lot of times and the whole car still burns to a crisp. Hmm so ironic

Anonymous said...

This is just a true picture of "Law Enforcement" in Nigeria. This just goes to show how these government agencies and parastatals cook-up all kind of requirements from motorists and citizens yet they don't even have the basics like a Fire extinguisher!

Unknown said...

@Tminx, you're right. Water might not really work. Usually, some detergent (Omo, etc) is mixed with the water before it works.
@Nkechi, You can imagine! Thanks for visiting.

Anonymous said...

I have to confess if you have the courage, check FRSC Vehicles 90% have no fire extinguishers, reason, the ogas at he headquarters are busy fighting themselves forgetting their primary assignment.