11th October, 2012
The 200 officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA and the Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI currently undergoing intensive career evaluation training programme have embarked on field project in areas with traffic bottleneck.
The officers had since Monday been deployed to Ojota, Ladipo, Mile12 and Apongbon areas of Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, on a field project where they had been trying to proffer solutions to traffic gridlock.
The deployment which is part of their one-month training programme was aimed at imparting practical approach to complement their theoretical aspect of the training which also witnessed a community service relations visit to several Orphanages and Less privileged Homes last week.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Transport Education, Dr. Mariam Masha, while speaking on the significance of the field project said the law enforcement officers, having completed their two weeks in-class training had begun their field projects which was a critical component of the training exercise.
“The officers were grouped and assigned specific areas in Lagos with various traffic and environmental challenges that need to be addressed. They developed plans to address these and work with the community to effect positive change and promote law and order.
“This project will form a significant part of their assessment. We humbly request the general public who are being served to appreciate their work by providing an enabling environment for the officers to help serve them better,” she said.
Special Assistant to the Governor on KAI, Mr. Dapo Bode-Thomas said the training has had positive impact on the officers, but noted that more work still needed to be done by officers deployed to Ladipo and Apongbon as they were not working as a team.
According to him, 50 officers were deployed to each of the four locations, saying that the officers at Ojota and Mile 12 were working as a team, which made the work easier while more improvement still needed to be done in some other areas.
“You can see what those in Ojota are doing, they are using fliers and banners to enlighten the people on the need not to cross the road but make use of the pedestrian bridge provided for them. The people are now complying by using the pedestrian bridge,” he said.
Many of the officers commended the initiative of the training programme, saying it had impacted positively on their work output while also improving their relationship with the public.
One of the LASTMA participant, Mr Awotungase Adelaja said they had been trained on the techniques to combat traffic and that this had been very useful in decongesting traffic at in Ojota.
A KAI participant, Mr Akin Ogunlana, who was posted to Ojota said his group had printed 10,000 fliers and banners to enlighten the people not to cross the road but use the pedestrian bridge “especially when a man was killed by a moving vehicle while trying to cross the road.
“When we got to Ojota, the whole place was in disarray because of the man that was killed while crossing the road. The first thing we did was to meet with NURTW executive on ground and we used what we have been taught to solve the situation on ground.”
Mr. Akinola Abiodun of LASTMA said the training has been very useful in decongesting traffic in the metropolis, saying that the experience acquired would surely improve their efficiency in traffic management.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga