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t
is most incredible, worrisome and embarrassing to discover the manner the
nation drifts tentatively towards a bleak future, more so as the Legislators
who the people overwhelmingly voted for and reposed their total confidence in,
to represent their interest, have rather unmindfully traded away the confidence
the people bestowed on them, for their (Legislators’) parochial and selfish
gains.
It
is equally pathetic and demoralizing to hear that, most Members of the National
Assembly canvasses for their personal interest and with impunity ignore and/or
brush aside public interest that supposed override individual or few persons’
interest but immorally compromises their integrity; that of the Electorates
vis-à-vis that of the nation, to fraudulently swell their personal pockets or
Bank Accounts. Such unpatriotic and corrupt Legislators failed to put the
nation’s interest first at the back of their minds and/or their legislative and
oversight duties but falls cheap to Nigeria Police dangling open cheque, to get
the Law-makers’ support, irrespective of the social implications and the
outcome of their stand to the people and the nation’s worsening economy. This
is unimaginably to the detriment of our collective interest.
The
Traffic Warden Service (extra-ordinary) Bill remained one such imperative,
popular and an all-encompassing Bill that needed to be given robust attention
and considered for passage as an Act of the National Assembly. The Bill is an
antidote and a direct response to the lingering unemployment saga bedeviling
the nation and the shoddy manner the intra-city road traffic control function
is being stage-managed. The Bill therefore came rather at a good time when the
government is battling to respond effectively to the numerous campaign promises
including job creation, unwittingly made to the people.
During
its 1st and 2nd Reading in the floor of the Senate, the
Bill received overwhelming support, as the Lead Debate told his Colleagues
that, the Traffic Warden Service Bill when passed into law shall amongst other
incentives reposition the moribund Traffic Warden Service, as the rightful
Agency set-up by law to administer and manage the intra-city road traffic control
function in the country; he said the process would further create mass
employment to our hungry and frustrated people; curb youth restiveness, social
vices overdependence and disabuse the people’s minds from criminality. That,
the Traffic Warden Service would be made to remain focused on the intra-city
road traffic control function that is her primary function; it would promote
division of labour, efficiency and professionalism; allow Traffic Wardens enhance their potentials
in the Public Service. Also, the intra-city road traffic control subsector has
to be overhauled, to make the road beneficiary to the Federal Government and
the Road Users, by properly coordinating the various revenue-yielding windows
from the road traffic activities, into government Coffers; curb man-hours that
the nation has been losing as a result of terrible gridlocks on the roads. The
National Assembly should therefore endeavour to be patriotic, ignore monetary
inducement, greed, selfish interest and whatsoever, to pass the Bill for sake
of posterity.
During
the Public Hearing of the Bill reluctantly conducted by the Senate Committee on
Police Affairs, the Nigeria Police obviously remained the only institution with
contrary views on the Bill. They did not support the de-merge of the Traffic
Warden Service from Nigeria Police. The Police in her questionable and
unpopular argument could not convince the Senate Committee on why the 43 years
old Establishment should not gain her deserving independence from Nigeria
Police, citing duplication of function as the main reason. The Police failed to
realize that, they are mere parasite in the road traffic function, that the function
belongs to the Traffic Warden Service.
The
Police are rather the Agency that is entangled in the duplication saga. The
Nigeria Police no longer supposed to be part of the road traffic function, upon
the establishment of the Traffic Warden Service in 1974. The Police have been
forcing themselves on the function because of what the Police are gaining to
themselves from the road, to the detriment of the nation’s economy. The traffic
function has since been transferred from Nigeria Police to the Traffic Warden
Service.
Equally,
the FRSC and the VIO the Police referred to in their duplication argument; don’t
have traffic control as their primary function. These two Agencies cannot be
held responsible for traffic gridlocks or for not doing enough to ease traffic
congestions. The Police are merely developing cold feet because they are
expected to vacate the road traffic subsector, where the Police exploitatively
garner Billions of accruable income every day, enriching their pockets, through
illegal extortion of Commercial Drivers and other Road Users; fraudulently
robbing and depriving the Federal Government of such huge revenue from the
road. Having therefore lost the argument to retain the Traffic Warden Service
and the road traffic function, the Police resorted to their usual corrupt habit
and monetary inducement; influencing Committee Members with huge amount, for
the Committee to do their bidding. It is therefore not a surprise why all of a
sudden the Committee lopsidedly presented her Report favouring the Police,
behind the Public Hearing arrangement, to dump the Traffic Warden Service Bill.
Corruption one may infer.
The
Report shielded the Police of the various glaring culpable and inhuman actions
and improprieties towards Traffic Wardens and the brazen illegal extortion that
the Police openly indulges her Personnel in, on the road vis-a-vis the laxity
and the shoddy manner the Police conspicuously stage-managed the road traffic
subsector, that were presented as evidence to the committee. It became very
clear that, the Committee rather took the interest of the Police into
cognizance, to justify the gratification the Police provided, than the interest
of the people and that of the nation. Are the Law-makers truly representing the
people’s interest or their personal interest? The President must hear this.
This
was noticeable antics when the Bill was referred to the Senate Committee on
Police Affairs, on the 10th of December, 2015 and given barely four
weeks within which the Committee was expected to submit her Report. From that
day, the IGP relocated to the National Assembly, monitoring and influencing the
Committee not to conduct Public Hearing on the Bill. On the pressure from the
Senate Leadership, the Committee reluctantly fixed 7th of June, 2016
for the Public Hearing of the Bill, seven months after the 2nd
Reading. It also took the Committee another two months for her to come up with
her Report, submitted on August, 2016, a day the National Assembly was to
proceed on two months recess. It has been four times the Report of the Bill
appeared on the Order Paper of the Senate and subsequently adjourned, leaving
the Bill unattended to, as the Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Abu Ibrahim
(Katsina South) continued to avoid the Senate sittings, making it difficult for
the Bill to be considered.
It would be recalled that,
on two occasions (2006 and 2010), the Federal Government tried to consider the
Court of Appeal judgment on the Traffic Warden Service; but the recalcitrant
and inexplicable attitude of Nigeria Police at influencing Committees and
Government Officials not to implement Reports that favoured the de-merge of the
Traffic Warden Service from Nigeria Police, continued to pose a barrier to the
implementation of the Court’s judgment. The Police have refused to give
tangible reasons why the Traffic Warden Service and the traffic function must
remain compulsorily under the Police
watch. None of the Committee Members either had been patriotic enough to
challenge Nigeria Police, why the Police are always running helter-skelter and
uncomfortable each time the Traffic Warden Service matter is at the public
domain, but government Officials or Committee Members are carried away by the
Millions the Police dangles to woo them to dance to Nigeria Police discordant
tune.
However
there is a brazen messy politicking surrounding the Bill amongst the Law-makers
as a good number of responsible, patriotic and incorruptible Senators, who are
quite aware of Nigeria Police recklessness, intransigent lawlessness, illegal
and fraudulent extortions on the road and the shoddy manner the Police have
stage-managed the road traffic control subsector, are bent on passing the Bill,
for sake of posterity, to enable the nation achieve her desired change mantra on
job creation and the need to overhaul the road traffic control subsector
vis-à-vis the imperative need for revenue generation drive from the road traffic
activities, as proffered.
The
Police as viewed cannot afford to combine the function of fighting and
preventing crime in the nation and at the same instance take charge of the road
traffic control function. Such is not possible. Such is the reason why there is
abysmal failure recorded in the subsector. These are two sprawling and
demanding functions that cannot be handled by one Organization. There has to be
division of labour and professionalism. The Police should remain focused on her
primary function of crime prevention, internal security of lives and properties
while the Traffic Warden Service take charge of the intra-city road traffic
control function as her primary function. It makes sense at this way. There is
no way the Police can afford to be in these two functions and expect the Police
to deliver efficient services to the nation. Crime wave is escalating and the
Police are yet to conquer or reduce crime in the society. The move to pass the Traffic
Warden Service Bill as an Act of the National Assembly remain the best option
most Law-makers are favourable to and likely to adopt, to create mass employment
for Nigerians. Any move short of passing the Bill is a dis-service to the
people and the nation.
Not
passing the Bill amounts to promoting internal colonialism, apartheid, inequality
and social injustice in the Public Service and encouraging modern slavery and
the continuous enslavement of Traffic Wardens, fellow Nigerians that the Nigeria
Police are noted for, subjecting Traffic Wardens to suffer unimaginable social
injustice in the Public Service. The Bill is merely out to allow the rule of
law to take its course. The Traffic Warden Service is a separate Establishment
from that of Nigeria Police. Above all, the Court of Appeal had on the 18th
of May, 2000 granted autonomy to the Traffic Warden Service. The Police argued
in Court that, Traffic Wardens are not Members of Nigeria Police. A judgment
the Nigeria Police undermined and failed to challenge at the Supreme Court. Why
then would the Traffic Warden Service continue to remain languishing and
relegated to the background under the Nigeria Police House of bondage and
without any form of palpable development? If the nation is truly practicing
democracy and Nigeria is an egalitarian society then, the game is up for
Nigeria Police unilateral actions and misuse of power against Traffic Wardens.
A good radiance for bad rubbish. The Law-makers should be able to invoke the
political will required to save Traffic Wardens from further enslavement and to
create opportunity for mass employment, through the Traffic Warden Service. Public
interest overrides individual or Nigeria Police myopic interest. Let us do what
is right for the nation.