Road Accident is the Nigeria's Killer Outbreak not Disease says FRSC

Mr Osita Chidoka, the Corps Marshal of Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), said on Saturday that road accidents are the biggest killers of Nigerians, more than any other disease. Although he did not provide statistics for a reality check and comparison with other killers, Chidoka said the frequency of accidents has become a great source of concern.

“No other disease is killing people in the country like road traffic accidents and this is a source of concern for all the stakeholders,’’ he said in Sokoto at a Special Marshals Sectoral Workshop, with the theme, “Advocacy as a tool for improved road safety activities’’.

Last year, 3,000 people, according to a contentious statistics given by the FRSC, died in Nigeria in 2,235 accidents, making Nigeria, the second country in the world with the highest fatalities on the roads. The World Health Organization and the National Union of Road Transport Workers all disputed last year’s figures. In earlier figures, FRSC reported deaths of 17,000 between 2007 and 2009.In comparison, 220,000 people were estimated to have died as a result of AIdS in 2010, according to the statistics provided by http://www.avert.org/africa-hiv-aids-statistics.htm.

We have all be urged to regard road safety as a collective national duty