orried by the high rate of road accidents and the vulnerability of children and young people, Cornerstone Insurance Plc has entered into a bilateral partnership with the Lagos Zone RS2 Headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to check the menace and its attendant fatality.
Acting Zonal Commanding Officer John Meheux, who spoke at the inauguration of the Safe Route to School road initiative of insurance firm in partnership with FRSC, said the deal is in line with the commission’s mission statement and pillars of decade of action on promotion of stakeholders co-operations as articulated in its corporate strategic goal 2013.
Meheux said the project was initiated by Cornerstone as an integral part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with 2013 as a pilot phase.
He said the Command entered into a five-year project implementation understanding with the firm with the concept for each year to be designed and implemented by the two bodies in line with the biddings of the corps and the strategic goal for the year.
He noted that the project was designed with the laudable objectives of carrying the messages of road safety through motor parks, media advocacy like radio, TV and print media and handbills with series of road shows, all structured towards community based advocacy.
He added that the implementation of the pilot phase which started with inaugural rally in April, last year started with a road show and consummated with motor park rally with the theme “Stay alive, prevent road crashes: Your intervention can make a difference”.
He said: “It is my strong belief that the various successes recorded in the rallies and other advocacies, formed part of the achievements of the Zone in reducing road traffic crashes by 33.7 per cent as against the 2013 strategic goal mandate of 20.
“Road accidents are the highest threat and have a tremendous impact on children and young people. Globally, road accidents are the leading cause of death for young people aged between 10 and 24 years, and is predicted that by 2015, it would be the leading cause of premature death and disability for children in developing countries from age five and above (WHO). It is therefore no coincidence that the UN Third Global Road Safety Week held in all FRSC formations, and in the 187 United Nation member countries had as its theme “Keeping Children Safe on the Roads”.
“Our collaboration with Cornerstone Insurance for 2014 has as its theme ‘Safe Route to School’. This theme is very apt and is in keeping with global thinking. All children have a right to safe walk to and from school, markets, hospitals, places of worship, among others.
He explained that FRSC Zone 2 comprising Lagos and Ogun states would assign Road Guard Marshals to assist our children cross the roads at designated points near their schools at peak periods between 7 am to 9 am and 12 noon – 2 pm and also teach our children on how best to use Zebra crossings, foot bridges, and other road signage, using the Road Safety Clubs in schools.
Meheux encouraged other stakeholders to emulate the efforts of Cornerstone and appealed to all and sundry to ensure that school children and indeed all children are protected when they go to and back from school.
General Manager, Cornerstone Insurance, Mrs Yinka Adekoya, said the company care about the environment and the community and the constant pursuit for innovative ways to respond to society’s biggest challenges drives their approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
She said: “For instance, we are worried and disturbed by the soaring rates of road accidents in the country. In fact an account shows that road crashes claim more lives that HIV/AIDS and Malaria combined in Nigeria. This is a big challenge that requires both conscious and collective efforts.
“Usually, as an insurer, you insure and you pay when people die; but for us the real test is: We don’t want people to die. We want people to live happily; we don’t want people to be maimed as an aftermath of road crashes. This is why we felt it is an opportunity to partner with one of the most credible agencies in the road safety value chain to touch lives and minimise the impact of road crashes.
“This year, we are turning our attention to an important segment of the society; and that is the children. The kids are the most vulnerable member of the society, a respectable number of them walk to school every day under challenging circumstances, safety wise.”
She said there is a report that a child is knocked down every other day en route to school by unwary driver and that 80 of children related causalities can be linked to lack of adequate safety road signs.
“This is what informs the ‘Safe Route 2 School’ CSR project. From today into the next few months, we would be activating scores of schools across Lagos State. The plan is to put in place illuminated safety signs and zebra crossing markings with on the spot safety sensitisation on the use- of these facilities. The- exciting part of the- project is that, nomination of school for activation is opened to the public. If you want your school nominated; all you are required to do is to log on to our website.
“Beyond this, we have also provided additional platform to give everyone the opportunity to take part in this project. If you want to endorse this project, please do not miss the opportunity to sign on to the pledge to help the children get to school safely. This banner would be on tour across Lagos. This way, we hope to speak to the inner persons of as much number as we contact to commit to the safety of a Nigerian child,” she said.
