Panacea for road accidents

Road accidents have become a regular feature on our major roads where there are heavy traffic jam. Thousands have died, and many families have been robbed of their beloved ones. The truth is, many families will never know joy again due to road accidents.

The World Health Organisation listed the number of road accidents globally and concluded that this menace comes second on the chat of causes of death in the universe.

One need not be a clairvoyant to know that the last regime under Olusegun Obasanjo did nothing about the bad roads particularly in the South West. The billions of naira budgeted for road rehabilitation were used to repair the pockets of those in the corridors of power . History will surely judge those who diverted this money into their private pockets. As a result, what we have today are impassable and pothole-ridden roads.

In this regard, the government of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua should wake up to the task of rehabilitating the following roads presently in a state of disrepair. They are: Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Mile 2- Badagry expressway, Lagos-Ore–Benin expressway, Ibadan- Osogbo expressway, Owo- Lokoja-Abuja expressway, Ibadan-Ilorin expressway, Igede-Aramoko road, Ilesha- Akure expressway. The Akure-Ondo-Ore road should also be dualised for free flow of traffic .If the affore mentioned roads are in order, accidents will be reduced to its barest minimum in the country. Aside bad roads, there are other things that should be considered.

Overloading and driving at breakneck speed have led to fatal accidents. This can be corrected by the passengers. They should discourage drivers from driving at breakneck speed.

The use of seat belts should be taken seriously. Vehicles should be properly maintained to avert any mechanical fault that can result to road accidents. Making or receiving phone calls while driving should be prohibited.

Drunk driving should be prohibited while government should enact a law banning the sale of alcoholic drinks at motor parks. NURTW officials should also discourage the sale of such in motor parks.

Members of the Federal Road Safety Commission should try and live above board by rejecting bribe. No cow should be ‘sacred’ in discharging their duties.

Policemen should stop blocking highways, they should learn the modern way of stopping vehicles on the road. They should stop behaving like armed robbers on the roads.

On a final note, the Federal Government , NGOs and other private organisations should help in organising public campaign against road accidents. They have done creditably well in the case of HIV and AIDS, they should know that accident kills faster than AIDS.

Olayiwola Adedapo Fire,
National Co-ordinator,
Operation Save The Oppressed,
Ekiti State.

Protecting the investing public

In response to the complaints of the investing public to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently announced its intention to sanction companies over unnecessary delay in the issuance of share certificates of their public offers and the return of surplus monies to investors.

The sanctions against such defaulters are that the shares of the companies would be suspended from trading on the floor of the NSE and the registrars would no longer maintain the register of their related companies with effect from April 2008.

In my opinion, the sanctions are not stiff enough to protect the investing public and guarantee confidence in the Nigerian capital market.

First, when the shares of such companies are excluded from trading on the floor of the NSE, the shareholders will suffer devaluation in the worth of their capital as such capital will hang indefinitely until the sanction is lifted. This implies that investors cannot access their certificates for verification , hence the security cannot be sold.

I would rather suggest that a huge fine be levied against defaulting companies, the registrar sacked and the company taken over tentatively by an administrator from SEC, who will effect the issuance of certificates. By this, the interest of the investing public will be protected and quoted companies will seat up while patronage of the stock market will thrive.

Dayo Adesulu,
29, Burma Road,
Apapa,
Lagos.