By Ologeh Joseph Chibu
The Lagos State Government has called on students across the state to embrace road safety practices to reduce traffic-related accidents.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Bakare-Oki Olalekan made the call at the re-launch of the Lagos State School Safety Traffic Advocacy Programme in Agidingbi, Ikeja, on Wednesday.
Addressing students from several primary and secondary schools present at the event, Olalekan highlighted the alarming global statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), which reveal that over 1.2 million people lose their lives annually due to road traffic accidents.
“The idea of the Lagos State School Safety Traffic Advocacy Programme for children in schools, as being carried out by the agency, is geared towards ensuring that children in their formative years know how to identify dangers on our roads,” Olalekan said. “It is important that they also know how to assess risks, walk on the roadside and practise safety and responsible behaviour whenever they are going to and returning from school.”
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, underscored the importance of adhering to road safety rules. “certain rules and regulations and some behaviour that we must keep to on the road because whatever you do on the road has an effect on others and the road is a symbol of everything that has to do with our lives” he said.
Representing the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, reiterated the government’s commitment to child safety. He emphasized that the initiative addresses critical gaps in traffic education and attitudes that contribute to gridlock and safety challenges in Lagos.
“This initiative reflects the government’s intervention to address two critical issues: the lack of traffic knowledge and poor road attitude that contribute to gridlock and road safety challenges in our state,” Musa said.
The initiative is part of the state’s broader effort to instill safety consciousness among young Lagosians, ensuring a generation that prioritizes road safety.
