Abuse of the siren

Emeka Omeihe

THE decision by the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) to commence immediate arrest and prosecution of abusers of sirens and convoys is welcome. But, its implementation may prove herculean given the ambiguity that surrounds the interpretation of those entitled to their use. This reality inexorably exposes some of the ills holding down this country from taking its proper position within the committee of nations.

Corps Marshall of the Commission, Boboye Oyeyemi said the decision was informed by the realization that most abusers of convoys and sirens are not government officials but private individuals who are not authorized to their use. The commission intends to work with the police to ensure that offenders are prosecuted and given appropriate punishments to serve as deterrent to others.

In carrying out this task, the FRSC will have to contend with the proper interpretation and application of the rules guiding those entitled to the use of sirens and convoys. This is especially so, given that many of our government functionaries and public office holders who currently bestrode our roads and highways with menacing impunity are not even entitled to its use. The first assignment of the commission, if it must succeed in this new assignment will be to give proper interpretation to those allowed by our laws to use sirens and convoys. With that, it will now be in a proper stead to confront the menace.

The National Roads Traffic Regulation NRTR specifically spelt out those entitled to the use of the siren. Section 154 states that “No person other than the president of the  Federal Republic of Nigeria, Vice President, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Deputy president of the Senate,  Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, governors and deputy governor of states shall drive a vehicle on any public road using sirens, flashers or beacon lights”.  The regulation also stipulates punishment for any driver or vehicle that knowingly obstructs those entitled to sirens as well as its abuse by unauthorized persons.

But we have had situations when the police issued directives expanding the category of persons entitled to its use. At least, two Inspectors-General of Police had in the past come up with their own versions of those entitled to the use of sirens. While one of them expanded the scope over and above the stipulations of the NRTR, the other had something very close to the regulations.   That may account for why sundry public officials including ministers, heads of military, paramilitary and ancillary organizations now use the siren.

All the same, it is good a thing the commission has been so sufficiently challenged by the spate of lawlessness on our roads often compounded by the use of sirens and convoys that it decided to confront the scourge. Road users, especially during festive periods have had to contend with the menace of all manner of persons using convoys and sirens.

And as should be expected, the multiplicity of these convoys and sirens raise questions as to the number of persons entitled to their use. Apart from the army of those who use convoys and siren to chase and intimidate innocent road uses out of the roads, the manner some of them have carried on has become a great source of concern to the public.

It is a standard practice for certain categories of public functionaries and those in some special services to use sirens in cases of emergency. That is also the case here. Sadly, that privilege has not only been brazenly abused in this country but exploited by all manner of persons to achieve self-serving ends. What it now takes in this country for someone to begin using the siren is the acquisition of one or two Toyota Hilux vans or similar brands fitted with the alarm systems. While some of such people proceed further to procure the services of one or two police escorts, there are a handful of others that do not. It is commonplace to see lone drivers on our highways and streets blaring siren even when there is nothing necessitating its use. What of the harassment and intimidation of road users?

Even then, these convoys (many of them illegal) have had very negative effects on free flow of traffic. The indiscriminate manner they drive against traffic at the slightest traffic delay is one of the major sources of the gridlock on our roads. There are also instances of serious accidents arising from the indiscriminate manner some of these convoy operators have carry on.

Ironically and in the face of this abuse, the government appears not to have mustered sufficient courage to stem the tide. It is therefore heart-warming that the FRSC has taken up the matter with the appropriate authorities and drastic action will now be taken to stem the tide.

We endorse the observation of the commission that the “abuse of convoys and sirens are an abuse of freedom of movement and intimidation to road users and citizens across the country and this act must stop”.

But this is not the first time the authorities would be expressing misgivings about the indiscriminate use of sirens and convoys by unauthorized persons. We have had such promises in the past without concrete results. This seemed to have emboldened all manner of characters to embark on a bazaar of acquiring vehicles fitted with sirens. For the new move to succeed, the authorities must first regulate the ease with which all manner of persons acquire siren fitted vehicles and secure the services of police escorts. The rules must be clearly spelt out on those who can move on our roads with such vehicles and the conditions for it.

For a country buffeted from all angles by all manner of security challenges, it is mortal risk allowing the indiscriminate use of sirens go on this way. Given the ease with which they move on our roads (some of them with their number plates covered), there is little doubt that they have become a source of serious security challenge. Evil minded persons: kidnappers, armed robbers, bandits and terrorists could find comfort in convoys and sirens to perpetrate their heinous acts and escape the prying eyes of law enforcement agencies. This danger is real and we can only toy with it at the risk of the escalation of the deteriorating security challenges in parts of the country. So it is the overall interest of the country that something very drastic and result-oriented is done to stem the madness which the use of sirens and convoys have become especially in some parts of the country.

Behind the indiscriminate use of sirens by persons not authorized to its use is issue of ego and ostentation. We are contending with a people who want to be noticed; people who want to show off and intimidate others even when they have nothing to offer. We are dealing with a population that revels in self-gratification, personality cult and pleasure-seeking. That is the culture of underdevelopment, a vicious cycle that will continue to vitiate efforts by this country to take its proper place within the comity of nations despite its huge endowments by nature.

The FRSC may mean well. But unless it gets the cooperation of the presidency and the National Assembly to enforce extant regulations on the issue, its new resolve may go the way of those before it. It may be able to rein in some of the private persons- businessmen, traders and the army of former office holders who regularly abuse the siren. But a majority of those in contempt of the siren are public office holders at the national and state level excluded from it by extant regulations. The solution lies in strict compliance with the NRTR stipulations. That is the challenge.