The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has revived its Annual Lecture Series after an eight-year break, aiming to enhance partnerships and promote global best practices in road safety management across Nigeria.
At the 8th edition held Wednesday in Abuja, the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, described the lecture as a platform to deepen awareness and discourse on the persistent challenge of road traffic crashes.
Mohammed identified road crashes as a significant public health issue requiring urgent national attention, reaffirming the corps’ commitment to adopting international partnerships and strategies to improve road safety outcomes.
He recalled that the inaugural lecture was held in 2009 under the theme “Sustainable Development and Road Safety,” and served as a yearly platform for advocacy and stakeholder engagement.
The Corps Marshal said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on sustainable transport development and improved public health through safer road systems.
He explained that the 2025 theme, “Road Safety Management and Emerging Transportation Trends: Global Partnership and Optimal Performance,” was carefully chosen to address evolving global and national transport issues.
Mohammed added that the theme was in line with the United Nations Assembly’s resolution to reduce road crash fatalities and injuries in Africa by 50 per cent by the year 2030.
In spite of progress made through enforcement, public education, and advocacy, Mohammed cited data showing an annual average of 5,000 deaths and more than 31,000 injuries from road crashes in Nigeria.
He stressed the need for more strategic resource mobilisation to fully implement the National Road Safety Strategy (NRSS), which he described as the blueprint for multi-level road safety governance.
The Corps Marshal expressed confidence that the lecture’s resolutions would generate insights critical to the effective implementation and success of the national strategy across all levels of government.
Mohammed also emphasised the pivotal role of the National Road Safety Advisory Council (NaRSAC), chaired by the Vice President, in harmonising stakeholder roles within the NRSS framework.
He said NaRSAC would drive effective collaboration between government agencies, private sector actors, and civil society groups, ensuring all parties contributed to achieving the NRSS objectives.
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