A Bill that is sponsored, to effectively overhaul and
reshape the stage-managed road traffic control subsector and equally contribute
meaningfully to the down-trodden economy of the nation; As it is unarguably
that, the road traffic impasse terribly affects the nation’s economy; the Bill
is being threatened by Nigeria Police persistent brazen hypocrisy, rebellion
and sabotage, to continue holding the nation to ransom.
A Bill that is to reposition the moribund and (Police
unilateral) relegated Traffic Warden Service Establishment; the
Establishment set-up by law to have the intra-city road traffic control
function, as her primary function in the country, protect public
infrastructures on the road and deliver invaluable services to the public. A
Bill that is to empower Traffic Warden
Service Personnel, to properly have focus and squarely unravel the
persisting cankerworm aggravating the road traffic gridlocks, congestions,
hold-ups and other related matters in the nation’s metropolitan cities and
urban towns.
A Bill that is to create mass employment directly to 1.4m
idle, hungry, poor, frustrated and despaired Nigerians; create job opening for
millions of Service Providers (Contractors, Suppliers and Artisans) who would
take part in the Traffic Warden Service Project development across the nation.
A Bill that is to support the fight against and eradicate the
endemic and glorified massive corruption, fraud and illegal activities
around the road traffic control subsector particularly and out of our national
life generally. A Bill that is to empower
Traffic Wardens to officially coordinate the various revenue-generating windows
from the road traffic activities; create other legitimate windows for effective
revenue drive and wealth creation annually into the Coffers of the Federal
Government. Such accruable revenue that the Nigeria Police illegally and
quietly garner on daily basis into their private pockets; robbing and depriving
the Government access to such huge income.
A Bill that is to curb the man-hours that is constantly
wasted and controllably lost in traffic hold-ups, go-slow and congestions. From research, an average Civil Servant and
economic Player put-in mere 3 hours a day; 15 hours a week and 60 hours a month
instead of 8 hours a day; 40 hours a week and 160 or more a month.
Incontrovertibly, the country losses a considerable number of man-hours
(official time) to traffic gridlocks, all over the nation. The system
drastically affects the nation’s GDP. Can the nation afford to continue this
way?
A Bill, whose content has a lot of potentials to
offer in reshaping, revamping, creating wealth and contributing immensely
to the down-trodden economy of the nation. Unfortunately this Bill is being
threatened by fraudsters in Nigeria Police. Nigeria doesn’t need to go borrowing. The country has all what she
needs right here, it is only when we are able to harness our resources and
allow the right thing to be done on the road traffic subsector. The road is a Gold mine. Let us explore
it to our national/collective benefit. This all-important Bill suffers setback,
sabotage, monetary inducement, blockade, deceit and corruption from unpatriotic
Elements, enemies of progressive change, anti-development Cabals in Nigeria
Police and their collaborators in the National Assembly who are feeding and
benefitting from such illegalities on the road. However, the reality has to be said, no matter whose Ox is cog.
Enough is enough. The Nigeria fraudulent Police have lost the decorum of
regards they deserve. The Police are unreasonably inconsistent, nonchalant,
greedy and inconsiderate in their unilateral actions and culpable impropriety.
The Nigeria unsupervised,
lawless, recalcitrant, reckless, unpatriotic, rebellious, dishonest and
corrupt-infested Police, contending powers with constituted authority, have
vehemently stood their ground, not willing to vacate the road traffic control
subsector or ready to obey Order handed down by government, to revamp the road
traffic control subsector. What a lawless Police Nigeria begets.
For the third time,
the fraudulent and anti-development Police misuses tax-payers’ money to
influence Government Officials not to make public, Committee Reports on Traffic
Warden Service predicament. This time around, the Police relocated to the National Assembly, with DIGs, undermining
the consequences of bribery and corruption in our laws, went despicably
harassing and forcing themselves on the Members of the Senate Committee on Police
Affairs and other Law-Makers to hijack the proceedings of the Hallow Chambers.
The Police are prevailing on the Senators to do the Police bidding; not to pass
the Traffic Warden Service Bill, even when the Bill merits excellent passage. A unilateral willful obduracy that is
by all standards, against the norms of the human fairness. Such Police action
lacks integrity. It is a threat to our democracy. The Police cannot dictate to the Senate. Such is unacceptable.
The Bill has made
five appearances in the Order Paper of the Senate between September 22nd
and October 13th 2016; it is either the Committee Chairman, Sen. Abu
Ibrahim failed to make himself available during plenary, for the Bill to be
stepped down or adjourned. The Police don’t want to vacate the road traffic
function in-spite of a legal framework that had formally transferred the
function since 1975 from Nigeria Police. The Police are skeptical being exposed
because emancipating Traffic Warden Service at this time would expose Nigeria
Police over the absolute lack of palpable development surrounding the Traffic
Warden Service that had been under the Police management for 43 years. They
have to render account, apart from the huge amount the Police quietly garner
and benefiting from the road that cannot be overemphasized. That is the problem
of the Police. The Senate needs to consider critically that legal framework
behind the establishment of the Traffic Warden Service. The Traffic Warden Service is the rightful Agency and the custodians of
the road traffic control function. All other Agencies including Nigeria
Police are mere intruders and attaches.
The Nigeria
intractable Police were supposed to have vacated the road traffic subsector,
upon the establishment of the Traffic Warden Service and, the training of
Traffic Wardens recruited in 1974. The Police, on sensing that the traffic
function has been transferred from them, secretly influenced the unconscionable
conscription of Traffic Wardens under the Nigeria Police, to enable the Police
remain perpetually part of the function, to further their extortionist tendency
with Commercial Drivers and other Road Users. The Police dogmatically refused
to allow Traffic Wardens to function independently or be alienated from the
road traffic control function. The Police however shot herself on the foot by
refusing to carry Traffic Wardens along the path of human development.
The Police
unilaterally chose to exploit, suppress, humiliate and subject Traffic Wardens
to suffer degradation, social injustice, irretrievable and irredeemable damages
and stagnation; deprived Traffic Wardens of the regalia that goes with Public
Office. The Police unilaterally and unjustly relegated Traffic Wardens to the
background without any form of development or a sense of belonging in the
Public Service. Such inauspicious treatment obtains up till this moment and
over four decades. Except as this Bill clearly spelt out the status of the
Traffic Warden Service or otherwise to reposition the Traffic Warden Service,
no other legislation or amendment had ever been put in place to change that
status or challenged the Police on such unilateral mentality and misuse of
power against Traffic Wardens, fellow Nigerians and Public Servants. So, if there is duplication of function in
traffic duties, the Police are the
intruders.
The Police are not
ready to accept blame for their laxity, shoddiness, incompetence and abysmal
failure they have conspicuously demonstrated in the stage-managed road traffic
subsector; that has cost the country unquantifiable economic losses over the
years. The Police are not ready to
imbibe the paradigm of CHANGE mantra that the system demand at moment, but
wish to continue their primitive unilateral actions and misuse of power by
shamelessly going the way to blindfold, propound implausible argument, deceive and
use monetary inducement to corruptly influence greedy Government Officials and
Law-Makers to play to the gallery. The Police want the Law-Makers to dump the
Bill and ignore such viable advocacies as contained in the Bill that supposed to
overhaul and reshape the road traffic subsector and create job opportunity for the
suffering masses out there; to allow the Police to leverage to continue
perpetrating themselves on the subsector, stealing and manipulating the country
from the comfort of their bedrooms. Where
are the Nigeria Police taking this nation to? The truth has to be told.
Enough is enough. The Police must vacate the road traffic function, to allow
the Traffic Warden Service the leverage to correct the anomalies created on the
traffic control subsector, for the benefit of all Nigerians.
The power-drunken Police
have made themselves a demi-god, untamable, above the law, above criticism and
a liability to the nation. The Police used such monetary inducement and
corruption to exploitatively monopolize the collective wealth of the nation, to
themselves; amassing wealth, promoting massive corruption, culpable
illegalities and fraudulent in the system and on the road traffic subsector
unabated. They indulge in eye-service and pretend to perform traffic control
duties (only within the FCT). While the Police incontrovertibly avoid traffic
control duties in other States, but have their eyes glutinously on the
extortionist tendency and monetary returns in the subsector. This has resulted
to why State Governments have to set-up untrained traffic Agencies manage
traffic situations in their respective States. Can the Law-makers claim to be representing the people’s interest?
The Traffic Warden
Service Bill is about public interest and the nation’s economy. Public and
national interest overrides Police or IGP’s interest. There is no cogent
reason(s) why the Traffic Warden Service Bill should not be passed at this
point, if the Legislators sincerely have the interest of the people, the
Electorates at the back of our minds.
The Legislators
should have a rethink and do the right thing for sake of posterity. A good name is better than Silver and Gold.
After all, the money paid by the Police as bribe, has no receipt. The Police
dare not demand for refund. The Law-Makers are entitled to their opinion.
From: The
Traffic Warden Service Bulletin