During the recent
call for memorandum to the Public Hearing on the Traffic Warden Service Bill,
conducted by the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, the Nigeria
Police-propounded argument had it that, the de-merge of the Traffic Warden
Service from Nigeria Police amount to duplication of function. The Police
further argued that, the FRSC and the VIO and/or the Police perform the same
function on the road.
The Police, in that context arrogated to herself the
position of government’s spoke organ, by telling the Committee that, the
country’s financial position, is not favourable to support the funding of a
separate Establishment, thereby pre-empting government position on the Traffic
Warden Service independence; so that the Senate should ignore the high level
unemployment saga ravaging the society but allow the Nigeria Police to continue
her laxity and the shoddy manner she condones the traffic menace on our roads
and the massive corruption that the Police enjoy and brazenly indulges in on
the road traffic subsector.
However, other
superior arguments propounded by the NGO and the proponents of the Bill have
tentatively proved the Nigeria Police wrong on the question of de-merging
Traffic Warden Service from Nigeria Police. According to the NGO, the Police
were supposed to have vacated the road traffic control function, as the Traffic
Warden Service was established and, after providing the necessary training and
transfer of experience to the Warden Personnel initially recruited in 1974.
But
when sensing that, the road traffic control function is to go out of Nigeria
Police management, the Police rather tactically induced Government Officials who
drafted Decree 21 (the instrument of law the established the TWS) to
unconscionably conscript the then nascent Traffic Warden Service to come under
the Nigeria Police. The Police became uncomfortable and since then the Police
launched a hidden agenda to unilaterally mess, frustrate, stunt, destroy,
block, make the Establishment ineffective, make Establishment redundant and
finally fizzle-out the Traffic Warden Service out of existence and thwart the
plan of the Federal Government to have the Traffic Warden Service Establishment
take-over the function and equally use the Traffic Warden Service Establishment
to generate the much needed revenue from the road, that supposed to plough into
the maintenance of the vast network of Federal roads across the nation.
This,
according to the NGO was perpetrated because the Police don’t want to
relinquish the road traffic function, owing to what the Police are realizing
from the unofficial/illegal levies and extortion imposed on Commercial
Vehicles’ operators and other Road Users across the nation. The NGO told the
Senate Committee and submitted substantiated evidence of such extortions in
some Police Divisions and other reported cases of Police immoral extortions on
the road. The NGO told the Committee that, the Police garner Billions of income
on daily basis from this illegality and shared to themselves, depriving
government access to such accruable revenue. The NGO told the Senate Committee
that, Police Personnel no longer bother or care about public comments on such
unlawful and brazen day-light robbery, as Police Personnel now openly demand
for money, using the arms at their disposal at forcing Motorists and Road Users
to part with their money, which on refusal would cause the Motorist(s)
unnecessary delay, humiliation and frustration.
With such illicit
business the Nigeria Police indulges on, the Police don’t want to support any
legislation or reform that would compel the Police to vacate the road traffic
function. In furthering their intractable lawlessness, the Police ferociously
refused to either allow Traffic Wardens to see the light of the day or provided
an enabling environment of operation, equal opportunity or a level playing
ground to Traffic Wardens. The Police completely hijacked the road traffic
control function to her Personnel, refused to carrying Traffic Wardens along
the path of human development in the Police institution. The Police refused to
consider Traffic Wardens for rapid promotion. The Police inhumanly blocked all
opportunities available for Traffic Wardens to enhance their potentials in the
road traffic control function, in the Police institution and in the Public
Service. For 43 since 1974, the Police have unilaterally subjected Traffic
Wardens to suffer unquantifiable losses and irredeemable damages in the Public
Service.
The Bill is merely
to compel the Nigeria Police to vacate the road traffic control function, for
the Traffic Warden Service (whose duty is to manage and control the road
traffic) have concentration and focus on the subsector. No duplication of
function. The Road Traffic Control function belongs for the Traffic Warden
Service. The Police should vacate the road traffic function and focus their
energies on Crime Prevention, internal security of lives and properties. The
passage of the Traffic Warden Service Bill shall create mass employment for the
people through the Traffic Warden Service and millions of Service Providers
(Contractors, Suppliers. Artisans etc.) who shall take part in the development
process of the Traffic Warden Service. The Traffic Warden Service shall be in
position to properly coordinate the various revenue/income generating windows
from the road into Government Coffers. According to the Stakeholders on the
road project, de-merging the Traffic Warden Service from Nigeria Police is not
in any way a duplication of function. Rather, it is a blessing to the nation’s
economy. The Traffic Warden Service shall officially be in position to generate
huge income from the road activities into Government’s Coffers.
Although, the
Nigeria Police and Traffic Wardens have been co-performing the road traffic
function with the FRSC and the VIO equally performing their respective primary
functions, without the question of duplication of function. It is quite
convincing that the Nigeria Police are on their usual gimmicks to block the
Traffic Warden Service from gaining her deserving independence. It is therefore
inexplicable if the Police are answerable to any superior authority, going by
their unilateral actions and misuse of powers, rebuff and undermining
Government policies that are meant to regulate the Police illegal activities
generally.
It has been over
four decades when the Traffic Warden Service was established to take-over the
road traffic control function but the Nigeria Police rather than allow the
Traffic Warden Service to have the job for which the Service was established,
the Police rather developed unilateral heinous hidden agenda to unjustly stunt,
mess-up and rubbish the Service to her ultimate phase-out. Such actions are
tantamount to absolute lawlessness and disobedient to Order. This was why the
Police discourteously dominated, overwhelmed, suppressed and subjected Traffic
Wardens to suffer social injustice in the Public Service, without any form of
palpable development recorded for the Traffic Warden Service after forty-three
(43) years of her existence. The Police vehemently refused to allow the Traffic
Warden Service and her entire Personnel the leverage to take-over the job for
which Traffic Wardens were recruited, trained and mandated to render invaluable
services to the public and the nation on the road.
On the contrary, the
Police demonstrated outright negligence, lack of interest and the zeal to do
the practical job of road traffic control on the road. The Police failed to
proffer common solution to the lingering traffic gridlocks bedeviling the nation’s
Cities and urban towns that has also drastically affect the nation’s economy. It
therefore remains inexplicable if the Police actually possess the right to
subject Traffic Wardens, fellow Nigerians to suffer such humiliating and social
degradation in the Public Service, yet the Police have the audacity to
mindlessly throw spanners in the wheel of Traffic Warden Service freedom.
It was on such
discovered social injustice that the Human-Rights NGO, Greater Virtue for
Traffic Watch and Development Initiative waded on the matter, to rescue Traffic
Wardens and effectively reposition the Traffic Warden Service to her statutory
function on the road.
The Traffic Warden
Service was set-up to handle the road traffic control function. This was to
enable the Nigeria Police remained focused on her primary function of crime prevention,
internal security of lives and properties in the country. The Road Traffic
Control function belongs to the Traffic Warden Service as formally transferred
to her since 1975(ref: Decree 21 of 1975 embedded in Police Act CAP 359 LFN
1990). The Traffic Warden Service had been in the traffic control function for
43 years now. The Service is not a new Establishment.
When the Traffic
Warden Service Bill is eventually passed, the Traffic Warden Service shall be
in position to effectively handle the road
traffic control function across the nation, generate income from the road
through the Vehicles plying the roads or parked in the country on daily or
monthly basis respectively and the development of High-Rise commercial Car
Parks and on other related matters while the Police vacates the function. The de-merge
of the Traffic Warden Service rather has tremendous economy advantage to the
people and the nation. The Law-makers should not be deceived by Nigeria Police hypocrisy,
rebellion and un-patriotism. The Police have nothing to offer in the subsector
or Traffic Wardens at this point other than to promote inequality and
perpetrate their greed on the subsector. The Nigeria Police should no longer be
part of the road traffic control subsector, as the function has since been officially
transferred from her. There is no duplication of function.
It has to be stated
that, the FRSC, the VIO or the NSCDC don’t have the road traffic control as
their primary function. These Agencies are merely encroaching on traffic
control because they saw the yawning vacuum created by Nigeria Police
negligence, dereliction and lack of interest as demonstrated in the subsector.
The Police should leave the road, to allow Traffic Wardens to concentrate and
focus on the decongestion and traffic control for which the Service was
established.
SOURCE: TRAFFIC WARDEN SERVICE. For more info visit: http://www.vanctrawact.org.ng/