Boxing day fire mayhem in lagos and the Fire service

Why is it that our emergency response outfits are always complaining about how the crowd hindered their rescue operations?

The recent inferno in idumota, lagos on boxing day caused by a fire-cracker where 1 person died and about 30 injured as well as buildings and properties destroyed shed light once again on our disaster mgt portfolio and their capacity.

As a safety person, It is common knowledge that when a disaster occurs, the first group of people who gets to the scene is always passersby, the community, and other stakeholders and rightly so they would naturally want to help as some of them are people whose properties are probably being destroyed right in front of them, this scenario is always expected and for the Fire service or NEMA to keep complaining about the crowd begs for another critical analysis as regards their capacity.

In disaster management, the crowd has its advantages and disadvantages, and the first thing to do is called CROWD MANAGEMENT, the fire service should learn to turn the disadvantages to their advantage by learning to manage and use the crowd. Before I delve Into a few tips as per crowd or scene management permit me to reiterate that the emergency outfits need to work on their response time, without which all we say here will always amount to nothing, having said that here are a few tips that would have helped.

1. The fire service should try to establish community relationships.
2. Appoint safety champions within communities.
3. Engage in fire campaigns and education at community levels.
4. On getting to a scene, manage the crowd by setting up barricades.
5. You need enough manpower which is not readily available so use the crowd to work, use community safety champions and Leaders to help manage the crowd.
6. Remember you need to adopt a parallel project management approach, meaning split your team up into rescue, crowd and scene managers, and then evacuations etc. While the crowd managers take over the scene the rescue and evacuation are saving lives and properties. This impacts response time as well as recovery.
7. Remember to also use the help of other agencies, police, Frsc, civil defence etc.
8. Educate, educate, educate.


The above are just tips, however what we need is actually coordination where we have a tripartite relationship. Safety is everybodys business and can't be done in isolation, the FIRE SERVICE must have healthy and efficient interagency relationship and coordination as well as intercommunity relationships completing the triangle.

As such I propose once again the NIGERIAN SAFETY COMMISSION (refer to my other posts).
A regulatory body that will look at safety hollistically and not in isolation, bringing to perspective the multidisciplinary nature of safety and its handling.

Nigeria cannot keep paying lip service to safety issues, doing things the same way and expecting a different results.

My condolences to those who were affected by the inferno, the families who lost properties and lives.

One day, one day he go better.

Black Sunday: Dana Insurance Cover, a myth?

It’s been two weeks now, that Dana Air crashed along with 153 people as well as few others on ground at Iju Ishaga where the plane crashed into. I want to commend every Nigerian for the love and unity shown as well as the Government and all stakeholders for all they have done so far.

However the aftermath of the crash has been filled with activities and a frenzied reaction on the part of Government (as usual, Reactive instead of Proactive they are). Such activities include:

1. Investigations into the crash.

2. Audit of the entire Aviation sector.

3. Reactions by all stakeholders

4. Victim identification and burial arrangements

5. Proceedings geared towards initiation of Insurance payments to the victims/families.

6. A premature and baseless certification of the Nigerian Airspace as the safest in the World by the Minister for Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah (Too bad!)

Permit me however to speak on points 5 and 6, as revelations coming to me from a source at NAICOM has revealed that the much self-acclaimed insurance cover taken by DANA Air may be a ruse after all, Konja (Like my peeps say) and another mythical story told to us Nigerians by Indian Business men foraging on the business landscape of Nigeria.

DANA as revealed to me by my source, has not paid its insurance premiums from 2010 till date, it has only been paying premiums on the international route excluding, to the detriment of its business sustainability and the safety of unsuspecting Nigerians the LOCAL route premiums. The Company is said to be making attempts at paying up the owed premiums NOW, after the incident in order for the Insurance Companies to cover the incident, which they (Insurance companies) are vehemently refusing to do.

If this is true, I cannot help but weep for my Country. However I suggest that:

1.       The present audit been carried out should be extended to not only safety audits but financial and business health audits as most of the time, SAFETY and the MORAL, SOCIAL and ECONOMIC arguments or standards of a company are not mutually exclusive. The degradation in moral, social or economic activities of a Company is a quick and clear indicator of a direct and proportional degradation in safety standards as well and as such most of these Airlines may be flying time bombs or sitting ducks. The Regulator needs to be more proactive and ensure a robust monitoring system if they really know their Jobs.

2.       Nigeria needs to take safety more seriously, even if it means making laws that seek to jail perpetrators of such acts. If DANA management is found wanting in this regard they should be made to pay dearly for the rape of Nigerians economically, the unsafe actions and conditions festered by them and the deaths of so many Nigerians and the consequent traumatization of their families.

Lest I forget about point 6, It is quite unfortunate that the Minister for Aviation has been credited with the statement that “Nigeria has the safest airspace in the world” (I laugh in capital letters) in one of the national dailies, I was dumbfounded when I read that piece.

I doubt very much that a Country that has witnessed up to 45 air crashes, Lack of aviation infrastructure, lack of adequate regulatory activities, Technology, Power failures and corruption can be said to be the custodian of the safest airspace in the world. By what standards did she measure this claim?

Air safety is a term encompassing the theory, investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation, education and training. It can also be applied in the context of campaigns that inform the public as to the safety of air travel.

Did she consider?

1.       The fact that weather conditions in Nigeria are not as harsh compared to other Countries, yet such Countries boast of lesser incident rates within the same period, and the fact that Force Majeure claims are not rampant in Nigeria?

2.       The level of Aviation technology and infrastructure in Nigeria as compared to other Countries?

3.       Does she have the data detailing the accident rate per mile travelled, the passenger numbers per mile travelled in her Country compared to others?

4.       The level of Regulation, Education and Training within her sector.

5.       The fact that fatalities may be higher in one air crash incident in Nigeria, as compared to other Countries who even have a higher incident rate due to proactive remedial measures and a robust emergency management systems?

6.       Is she saying for real, that Nigeria’s Airspace is safer than USA's and others?

I am at a loss as to the potency of her claims, and the premature ejaculation of such a statement at a time when a major audit is being initiated in the sector and the outcome of such is yet to be determined.

Is she for real?

sigh, sigh, sigh......

Black Sunday in Nigeria; Dana Air Crash.

No one is safe, anywhere in Nigeria....

This was the thought that criss-crossed my mind on Sun, 3rd June 2012 as my Blackberry was being bombarded with information on the just-crashed Dana Nigeria Aircraft at Iju-Ishaga axis of Lagos State, Nigeria. On board were 153 (or is it 148?) passengers and no one survived the crash, affected also were those in the neighborhood where the plane crashed into.

May their souls rest in peace...came tumbling out of my mouth and it is still tumbling out till this day. Amidst serious anger, I haven’t been able to write as my mind and spirit went numb, for no one is safe anywhere in Nigeria as it could have been anyone of us in any one of the so called aircrafts Nigeria parades.

Yet I must speak, Yet I must write, perchance my message will be carried on the internet river, across IP bridges and over virtual mountains till the whole essence of every Nigerian is permeated and a paradigm shift begins to occur in the direction of Safety issues. My last blog was focused on:

1. The lack of Safety Standards in Nigeria

2. The lackadaisical attitudes of foreigners to health, safety and environmental issues in Nigeria.

3. The fact that only European and American companies seem to practice a mild form of safety management, (at least relative to what they do in their own Country) while their Asian (Indians in particular) colleagues are at the ground level of the Health and Safety management ladder.

4. Proposal for the establishment of the Nigerian Safety Commission.

5. And finally that I do not blame them, for it is we, who have allowed it fly. (Kindly check my blog of Thursday 31 May 2012).

However it has been said that the Flight Data recorder and Cockpit recorder has been found amidst the wreckage and we hope that a thorough investigation into the Accident will be carried out (Really?)

Due to the fact that investigations are still underway, I will refrain from pointing fingers yet, however I will still analyze some information received so far.

1. History of Plane Crashes in Nigeria and any lessons learned?

Nigeria has had so far 45 plane crash incidents. If Nigerian Leaders and those saddled with the responsibility for decision making at all levels know what they are doing then I think the DANA air crash shouldn’t have happened (Barring any Force Majeure (Act of God).

What do they call investigations? Is it that when they conclude it they toss the reports into the bin (anyways we never get to hear or see the reports sometimes), in safety management for every incident and its investigations, lessons learned are generated which eventually causes a review of the existing standards (Do we have any?) and control measures in place.

Let them come out and show us the lessons learned from the past and what they did about it.

I will suggest that this particular incident should be tackled thoroughly, sparing no one and ensure we get to the root cause for two reasons:

1. Ensure it never happens again, or at least it is controlled to ALARP (as low as reasonably practicable).

2. Punish all those who might have looked the other way, and allowed the Plane to fly even though it shouldn’t fly (It is funny how some people can sleep easy, when their actions and inactions have sent over 153 people to the grave as well as causing grief for a lot of people directly and indirectly).

2. Nigeria and Its emergency response system. How fast?

Reports shows that our Emergency services arrived the scene after close to an Hour, even after the Plane sent a distress call at just 11 Nautical miles to the Airport, and in safety, time defines the survival rate after an Accident, such that they could have saved a lot of people.

Nigeria is one of the few places where Commissions/agencies/departments are set up:

1. Just for the Fun of it (So it seems).

2. Without adequate funding to perform their mandates (as reflected by our budgetary allocations and its prioritizations.)

3. Without the Necessary and qualitative human resources needed (People are elected and appointed into positions without necessary recourse to relevant qualifications, experience etc.).

4. Where even when adequate funding exists, corruption at all levels erodes the gains.

For any Emergency response system to live up to its mandate, it must have within its policy statement and vision a “response time measurement parameter" a sort of KPI to guide its resource prioritization. I am sure that day, NEMA and others might:

1. Not have a functional standby system within the airport.

2. Not have received the alert on time either due to lack of communication gadgets and integrated systems to the Airports communication system.

3. Not have a carrier, such as a helicopter that could convey resources to the rescue as fast as possible.

4. Not even have enough fuel in their cars (Don’t laugh! It’s not funny at all).

I suggest that Nigerian Government prioritizes safety funding in Nigeria, ensures that the Emergency services function and live up to their mandate, man them using truly safety professionals without resorting to politics and ensure thet have offices within such sectors.

3. Risk assessment and audit of the Aviation sector. When was it carried out last?

I cannot remember the last time Nigeria carried out risk assessments in any sector, not to talk of the aviation sector.

Is it rocket science or high level quantum physics for any leader within the aviation sector to know that he needs to carry out audits on the sector? Such Audits is meant for:

1. To monitor compliance to standards and regulations (if any? or if realistic and functional)

2. To ascertain the state of health of operators (I dare them to carry one out NOW! and I am sure Nigerians will once again resort to road transport).

3. To assist in ensuring that a continuous review of safety policies is maintained and as such controls are updated.

4. Etc.

It is sad, that we have people who call themselves professionals and yet do not know their left from their right, is it a case of literate-illiteracy, or that of knowing too much about nothing?

Without further delay, all Air lines in Nigeria should be made to undergo a risk assessment and audit by an independent body (I hope it will truly be independent and without tampering from you-know-who...). In fact at the risk of sounding like an extremist, none should fly for now pending the outcome of the audits (quite impossible though).

4. Operational peculiarities and characteristics of foreign companies.

I am so sure that by the time the investigations are concluded, the INDIAN management of DANA Air would be identified as one of the causes.

Most foreign companies, even though welcome and filling a NEED have to be monitored and if possible sent packing or possibly ostracized (if possible within the framework of international relations). My last post made a reference to this also, statistics and experience has shown that the manner in which ASIANS (particularly Indians) do business is bereft of morals and standards and reeks of profit maximization to the detriment of all other things.

However if they are truly enlightened and know how to do business, they will know that amongst all things safety has a direct and indirect (almost hidden, yet costly) relationship to their profitability and sustainability. Is it not true that in Nigeria, no AIRLINE survives the outcome of a PLANE CRASH?

But I do not blame them, but I blame my Government who has allowed his front yard and backyards to become a dumping ground, and allow all sorts of things to fly and wait for the deaths of its citizenry en-masse before he revokes the licenses of operators. I hope they are all happy now? I hope they enjoy the proceeds of their compromise and gamble played using the lives of 153 Nigerians?

1. Nigerian should develop a very stringent safety framework and standards, even more stringent than UK, ensure that they fulfill the Terms, recommendations and conventions of all ratifications, such as that of ILO and ISO etc.

2. Don’t just develop it for development sake, but monitor and review periodically (Reviews of policies in Nigeria is non-existent).

5. Any National Safety regulatory body?

Nigeria will only be wasting time and money, without a national monitoring giant devoid of distractions and interference.

Those who may want to argue that, we have regulatory bodies for each sector within, to me lack in-depth safety issue analysis, especially in a place like Nigeria and considering the subject called SAFETY.

A SYSTEM is what we need, not isolated pockets of regulations. For Safety to really work in Nigeria (or even anything at that), The Government needs to look at it as if one is looking at a continent from outer space. What view would you see?

A solid, continuous mass.

Safety is inter related and should hence be managed holistically. Permit me to put it in perspective using this scenario. A truck carrying hazardous chemicals has an accident near a nuclear reactor plant.....to safely and successfully manage this incident...the following people need be there, Fire safety, Road safety, nuclear safety, chemical safety, evacuation teams etc.

In order to ensure all resources are deployed to the site timely and in an integrated fashion without conflicting interests and thereby save lives, it needs to be looked at together, like a system.

Without calling for the scrapping of all other safety bodies or sub-sector regulating, I once again propose and promote the formation of:

A NIGERIAN SAFETY COMMISSION (Please check my last blog May 31, Thursday 2012 for detailed proposal on the commission).

Permit me to rest my pen here and to say once again May the souls of the departed rest in peace. And to my Government I say:

"You can compromise on something’s, but you can never compromise on SAFETY, as ACCIDENTS are patient but unforgiving....and it may be YOU next time!"



Development of a robust Health and Safety Management system in Nigeria

The safety culture in Nigeria can be said to be at its nadir, with isolated pockets of advancement, framework and compliance here and there, led by some who see-and-don’t-act or say-and-don’t-act either due to their being round pegs in square holes or due to literate-illiteracy. It seems Occupational and Process safety is not part of the definition of Safety for the Nigerian Leadership, it seems to be defined by the sum-total of security to property and lives offered by the Police, Armed forces and other Para-military bodies.

The Oil and Gas sector is still the best place to encounter a robust and well developed HSMS (Health, Safety Management Systems) championed by the input of multi-nationals and fueled by the very cost intensive nature of the business and the magnitude of the implications of a lack of safety culture, followed by this sector will be the Construction and Health services sector.

I have observed two things however in the nature of the above deductions;

1. The highest standards exist with Multinationals, with European and American companies being top on the list, while their Indian and Asian counterparts rank lowest, and some (emphasis on SOME) Nigerian companies seem not to care with some work places lacking any semblance of a safety culture (a statistic derived from personal experience).

2. The standards this Multinationals exhibit in Nigeria is still incomparable to what they exhibit in their own Countries, with some of them getting away with all sorts of infringements, infractions and non-compliance they otherwise couldn’t have in their country.

The above deductions from my observation beg for analysis and a plan of action. The analysis albeit critical, suggests two obvious things right away.

1. Nigerians as a people and as a country lack Safety cultures and probably don’t understand safety in all its ramifications. And

2. Due to the above our Environment sustains a steady lack of compliance to standards (If any exists) by foreign Companies and a lackadaisical attitude on the part of Nigerian Companies.

 The implications to the Country cannot be overemphasized and as such I would like to propose:

THE NIGERIAN SAFETY COMMISSION

The commission will not be set up to scrap other existing bodies that presently manage safety within the Country, rather it will serve as the REGULATORY BODY for all agencies, ministries, departments, private organizations as well as NGO's who are involved in the business of safety within Nigeria (And the truth is, everybody is involved).

The main problem with Safety in Nigeria is there are no STANDARDS. The commission should be saddled with:

1. Define Standards of Safety at all levels and in conjunction with the National Assembly pass legislations.

2. Regulate all sectors in terms of safety and monitor compliance, issuing recommendations, warnings and eventual prosecution initiation, handover workmen compensation cases discovered to the NSITF.

3. Carry out research, investigations and statistical analysis on safety related data within the Country.

4. Commission will be divided into directorates covering all aspect of safety, such as Road safety and its departments, Occupational Safety and its departments, Nuclear Safety and its Departments, Food Safety and Its departments, Environmental Safety and its departments etc.

5. In reference to all international treaties ratified by Nigeria such as the ILO, ISO etc. as regards safety, develop national frameworks for managing safety within Nigeria.

Many more functions will definitely be attributed as the Government deems fit.

The Commission will ensure that there are no disconnects within HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) managements in Nigeria, the approach will ensure a structured and holistic view of managing safety in Nigeria.

I do not expect the Foreigners to take us seriously, if we don't take ourselves seriously. The implications of a lack of such a Commission in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. If only a true picture of things could be generated by bodies such as the National Bureau of Statistics you would find out that a lot of Nigerians die and would die of work-related illnesses, that are not discovered or when discovered are shoved under the carpets consciously or unconsciously, as well as the direct and indirect costs attributable to the loss. The Potential revenue that could be generated for Nigeria via this Commission is enormous via loss prevention both in terms of human and material resources.

If Nigeria is truly serious about development, this is the right step in the right direction as well as being the demonstration of the grasp of real issues facing the common man.

Selah!

The NPF and FRSC vehicle license drama- A constitutional lacuna?

“A civilization is seldom destroyed from without but from within”



The recent drama orchestrated by the FRSC and the NPF on the floor of the Senate hearing on the proposed new vehicle plate numbers to me represents a miniature picture of the true state of affairs within the Nigerian State.

A state of perpetual waste and inefficiencies engendered by the duplicity of functions and responsibilities within Government agencies as well as between Government agencies was the image painted by the two sister agencies on the said day, an indictment on the ACTS establishing both of them and the unveiling of another constitutional lacuna (Others await revelation-in-time).

And if not for the wise intervention of the Committee Chairman Senator Dahiru Kuta, by reminding the directionless agencies of the agenda of the hearing, perhaps more illegal-legalities would have been unearthed (I scream as I think of the amount that the country has spent doing the same thing by two different agencies of Government, albeit in a different way) and the need to set up more senate hearing committees would have been needed (a waste of tax payers money, yet a need though).

I am not here to discuss whose ACT OF ESTABLISHMENT is correct, or who needs to go back and study its JOB DESCRIPTION again, or the fact that THERE EXISTS AN OBVIOUS CONSTITUTIONAL LACUNA in both ACTS, or the fact that the NPF and the FRSC needs to undergo A MERGER OR ACQUISITION (A battle that has once raged between both agencies, which I think was just an issue of EGO, rather than the interest of the State at heart by the powers that be.). Those issues are as obvious as the rising sun and I leave them to the experts.

Rather I am here to analyze the issue and proffer a lasting solution to inter-agency rivalry and irresponsibility, either genuine or not. In one single word, my solution is:

DECENTRALIZATION

Yes! Decentralization of both the NPF and the FRSC.

Is it rocket science, and as such it is not obvious that leaving the job of POLICING and ROAD SAFETY of the entire Nigeria in the CENTRE is one of the greatest lies ever told? It is too large for the CENTRE to handle not to mention the fact that it is a process in futility, spotted with inefficiencies and a lack of project management insight.

What I ask for is the creation of State Police and State Road Safety while the CENTRE serves as a regulator harmonizing the affairs of States. I will however not deviate from the focus of this blog and discuss the decentralization of the NPF; rather I will concentrate on that of the FRSC.

Are you with me?

DECENTRALIZATION


The FRSC becomes a regulatory commission saddled with the responsibility of regulating and harmonizing laws and safety instruments such that the standards in quality and quantity as well as pricing are maintained. The issue of dubbing some roads Federal and some State based on who built or maintains it should not apply to the safety of road users and as such each State would man the roads within its jurisdiction.

ADVANTAGES

1. States can make laws peculiar to their States and safety nature (based on approval and harmonization from the FRSC).

2. The Federal Government can better focus resources on other things, instead of wearing itself thin trying to perform the function which it cannot fund both in terms of human and financial resources.

3. The States will also provide employment for its citizens and stem the tide of OTHER STATES-FCT migrations.

4. An overall and holistic efficiency will be observed in road safety.

The advantages are numerous.

I rest my case folks

FRSC and the new number plates saga; a GOOD BAD law?

It is said that “A GOOD act is not necessarily the RIGHT act".

That saying came back to mind again as I watched the FRSC try to defend its GOOD BAD law.

The FRSC Act 2007 (section 10 sub-sections 3d and 3f) mandates the Corps to design, implement and produce items of the uniform Licensing Scheme like Number Plate, Driver’s License and their components.

Journey with me as we take a peek into the NEW VEHICLE PLATES, and its features.

1.    COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

The new Vehicle plate numbers and drivers license for one will conform to international safety standards as regards such documents,  standards and protocols such as the Geneva convention and the Accra declaration amongst others come to the fore here. Such standards are not just limited to physical features but also acquisition and regulatory policies.

2.    SECURITY FEATURES

As opposed to earlier versions of these safety documents, security is going to be slightly enhanced and actually represent a major move to a highly structured road safety database.

This will help Nigerians achieve the Accra declaration of making Nigerians one of the safest nations by 2020 and the reduction by up to 50% of road fatalities by 2015 (Really?).

The Markings on the plate number will control forgery, the numbering plan also will make it easier for Data base querying and data manipulation all aimed at security enhancement. The plate number is tied to each driver’s license such that from sighting a license plate you can actually track the owner of the vehicle, date of licensing, location of licensing, third party sales and the whole works (Wonderful! Isn’t it?).

Car theft recoveries will be supported and enhanced.

3.    REVENUE ASSURANCE AND GENERATION

It is funny how the FRSC and all proponents failed to really harp on this aspect (I get it though).

Of course the country will make more money (Obvious Isn’t it) since there is an upward review of prices. However apart from making more money from the Country for the Country (I like that, I laugh out loud) the new scheme will also reduce and curb wastage as well as revenue leakages due to sharp practices of some cabals within the system.

All lofty ideals and Ideas, isn’t it? However permit me to take a look into the other side, that side that represents the view of most, the masses and the large population of those who don’t support the law.

1.      The agency and its proponents say the Plates and licenses are now a security document and also a deadline of twelve months for moving over to the new platform. As good as that is, the audience needs serious re-orientation as to the above advantages and even more.

CHALLENGES

The average Nigerian distrusts its Government and all form of representation of Governmental authority. They do have valid reasons to distrust though, when you have a Government that “doesn’t do what it says” either due to genuine reasons or not.

2.      The Country just came out of a Fuel subsidy removal crises and it’s after effect of another GOOD BAD policy.

CHALLENGES

The timing of the policy under review reeks of insensitivity and the seeming un-holistic view of Government on its countries issues and the prioritization of real issues facing real people. The cost of supporting the SURE program on the people is still being felt, even though we are yet to see the dividends of the ‘it-seems-like-the Government-abandoned- the SURE program’ under the claim that the subsidy removal was not a full one.

3.      The policy may as well just not achieve anything not because the Government and its agency do not have good plans, but just because proposing something is one aspect and implementing it is another.

CHALLENGES

Unless the Agency has air tight processes and professionals manning the system it is bound to be compromised again, especially in a tripartite arrangement. Another aspect is the REVENUE angle in which it seems the monies will be accrued to the state as it is a joint venture of sort. That may be a GOOD thing but is it the RIGHT thing? Is it constitutional according to all relevant laws?

Another thing is the SECURITY angle; can this processes and features really assure security? Or is it just another Information Technology stunt.

Also I will keep mapping and reviewing the FRSC’s primary assignment to all its policies already and that will be proposed in future. Can the FRSC really align and realize a positive IMPACT of this policy to the reduction of RTA’S (Road traffic accidents) and the achievement of the Accra declaration?

Am I to trust the Government whose policy ventures have not really impacted the people positively?

Should I go on without preferring solutions? Of course not.

PALLIATIVES/SOLUTIONS

1.      The Government should endeavor to always carry its people along. Some would however argue this based on the fact that in all systems in order to be able to deploy solutions timely and effectively a few people must decide for the majority, and this will be our REPS as well as SENATORS. However a more robust and wide consultation is still needed (civil groups, stakeholders like NURTW etc) and this also reflects a disconnect between what the people really want and what their representatives out there propose. The PRODUCT will always REFLECT the process.

2.      An efficient process or project should always reflect an attribute of Cost effectiveness. This is even more pronounced in a Government process/project. The FRSC or any other Government concerned with the SAFETY of people and lives amongst others should live up to the ideology of Government that says “ its sole responsibility is the protection of the people”(not only in terms of properties and lives, but also in terms of pocket friendly policies).

Besides if the FRSC is not a revenue generating arm of Government per- se, then the cost of switching over (upgrading) should be free and then moving forward you can charge a stipend for renewal.

3.      We need to begin to practice real program/project management in this Country. There should always be as part of the process, a REVIEW period where all policies and its impact be scrutinized and if we find out that it is not performing as planned, instead of a continuous utilization of Tax payers hard-earned money to fund such a colossal waste, the process be revamped and the Tax payers money better utilized towards creating better results. I am yet to see any project or policy review by FRSC on any of its policies.

This will prove to the people that they have people who are without wax at the helms of affairs and that the Government is really for the people.

4.      Lastly I would want to advise the Government to do a VSM (Value Stream mapping) of its agencies and eliminate wastage as well as identify opportunities in all policies or projects carried out.

What am I driving at? In terms of creating a source data and the beginning of a truly national database the Government needs to maximize opportunities at all instances. One example of that is the Election process as well as any other data-capture events. That process could have eliminated a lot of waste in terms of future events, source data that the FRSC could tap into and as such drive down the overall cost of their own process.

Also the Government actually needs to begin a process of all data capture types in the country and then merge them all into a common platform. What I am saying is the FRSC as a Government agency generates what sort of data type? The answer is TRAFFIC / ROAD USERS, the HOSPITALS generate what sort of data? The answer obviously is also HEALTH RECORDS including BIRTHS and DEATHS.

Now imagine if we have a central platform where the FRSC data is integrated with the HOSPITAL data. What do you think will happen?

A ROBUST DATABASE will begin to form and at the end of the day we will have such a database that will be so robust as to be able to tie your driving habits to your health records, to your demography, everything that is reasonable. This is not without its challenges however it can be done with the right PEOPLE in control.

I rest my case peeps.