BOBOYE OYEYEMI AND THE DAUNTING TASK OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
By Bisi Kazeem fsi
Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi
In its thirty four years as lead agency in traffic and safety management, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has recorded tremendous achievements in the area of Traffic Engineering, Road Safety Administration, Traffic Management, rescue operation,changing bad road use behaviour and Crash reduction. The road traffic management Agency achieved this glorious feat, through a chain of pragmatic leadership, sagacity of different generations of management, ingenuity of its Policy formulators and the dexterity of the handlers of policy implementation.
Today as it stands in history, the Federal Road Safety Corps is not oblivious of the major, immediate, and evolving challenges in road safety administration and traffic management that threaten the realisation of the safety mandate. The Corps does not have the luxury of choosing among these challenges which to tackle, its prepared to deal with them all, and one of the fastest way to achieve this, is the ongoing infrastructural revolution, particularly that which concern the growth and development of staff professionalism and office infrastructure which took place within the Corps under the leadership of Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, the out going Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps.
Since his assumption of office, the Federal Road Safety Corps has evolved a wealthy culture of professionalism and excellence in service delivery which has positioned it as the lead agency in road safety management and traffic administration, with a passionate and enduring commitment to creating a safer motoring environment that is unequalled in the African sub-region.
This unquenchable commitment asserts undue pressure on the Corps; thereby propelling it to more than ever before, continue to strengthen its strategies, programmes, knowledge and processes, capable of surmounting all challenges militating against effective and efficient administration of safety in Nigeria.
Retrospectively, the Corps under different governmental and administrative leaderships has proven to allay the menace of road traffic crashes in its more than three decades of existence.From the pioneer Corps Marshal, Dr. Olu Agunloye to Chief Osita Chidoka all of whom were appointed from the civil population, the Corps witnessed a formidable foundation laying processes that has provoked effectiveness, efficiency and pragmatism in road safety administration in Nigeria.
The icing on the cake of sagacity in leadership came with the emergence of Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi on 22 July, 2014 as the first indigenous Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps. Being the first Corps Marshal to emerge from the ranks, the Corps Marshal over the years has justified the wise decision taken by the then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR who took the courage to change the narrative of leadership of the Iso certified organisation by appointing for the first time, an insider to champion the cause of leadership of the Corps.
Since taking over the mantle of stewardship, Oyeyemi, the last man standing as he is fondly called has exhibited extra ordinary and exemplary leadership qualities that have placed the organisation in the same footer with its contemporaries across the globe.Having been in the Corps since its inception, there was no doubt, his experience and mastery of the art of safety would definitely serve as a necessary ingredient for effective and transformational leadership.
Just as I have stated in previous publications, it is most imperative to bring to the fore that beginning from 2014 the year that marked the emergence of a new era, frantic efforts have been put in place to expand both the internal and external horizons of the Corps with more robust collaborations on all fronts that has led to a paradigm shift in road safety administration, from Traditional approach to Safe Systems Approach.
It is therefore apt to state that, to a high and remarkable degree, that the Corps Marshal, through series of life changing policies, has strategically confronted road traffic crashes that bedeviled the highways with implacable will; knowing that if there’s a hill to climb, waiting will not make it any smaller.
His major priority areas are man power development, fighting corruption in the work place, health and welfare of personnel which has birthed the expansion of the operational, medical, and educational infrastructures of the Corps located in various states of the federation.
The Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi has often stated that safety is like oxygen. When you have it, you don’t think about it. But when you don’t have it, it’s all you can think about. According to him, same applies to health, education and human capacity development of employees because; any organisation that fails to rise up to the challenges of building bridges by enhancing staff capacity and providing adequate infrastructure that could trigger motivation and greater productivity, that organisation has no doubt prepared to perpetually remain at embryonic stage till eternity.
Just before I X-ray the transformational leadership of Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, it’s most important to view from another prism, his contributions in the area of elevating the Corps to a national organization operating with full blown global standards and practices.
To begin with, on the global scene, FRSC takes leadership role of West African Road Safety Organisation (WARSO) as part of measures to scale up the bar on road safety management within the West African region.
The Corps has provided technical assistance to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia and so on. FRSC made Nigeria the first African country to be admitted into International Traffic Safety Data analysis group IRTAD, became the first African country to accede to six (6) United Nations Conventions on Road Safety. This is to align with global best practice and domesticate the standards.
Permit me to emphasize that the accession of the 6 Conventions makes Nigeria the only country in Africa to accede to all the six (6) UN Conventions/ Agreements on Road Traffic and the tenth (10th) in the world to do so.
The development of a national road safety strategy road map, established a National Road Safety Advisory Council (NaRSAC) which is directly under the Office of the Vice President, improved operational efficiency, enhanced regulatory environment, and accelerated response capability to situations that needed immediate actions.
The establishment of NARSAC was a springboard in securing the endorsement of National Road Safety Strategy I in 2016 and the revised version, NRSS II in 2021 by the Federal Executive Council.
These efforts have given the organization awards both national and internationally. Worthy of note is the award received during a workshop under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the FRSC was adjudged the best lead agency on road safety management in Africa.
Apart from adoption of Nigeria Road Assessment Programme (nRAP), adoption of Road Safety Observatory, making Nigeria an Advisory Member, UN Road Safety Fund and acceding to the African Road Safety Charter; Oyeyemi’s administration also succeeded in gaining World Bank recognition of the Corps a Case study of Road Safety model for adoption by African countries.
His ingenuity in the area of bringing adequate reforms into the National Drivers Licensing Scheme through drivers’ education, training and certification process (hand shake and e-testing) has in no little degree enhanced the integrity of the National Driver’s Licence in all countries of the Federation.
As it stands today, our Drivers License is recognized world wide courtesy of these sagacity, dexterity and intelligent disposition in leadership.
It is therefore these and many other factors and achievements that had been outlined in previous publications that enabled FRSC to position itself on the global scale.
To end this piece of art, suffice it to state that the Corps is indeed fortunate to have the caliber of leaders that have steered the will of administration over the years, especially the outgoing Corps Marshal who has proven beyond any doubt through evidenced achievements that the best personalities to handle the Corps are right within the system and not anywhere else.
Bisi Kazeem fsi
Is the Corps Public Education Officer
FRSC Headquarters, Abuja.
