The Lagos State Government has urged students across the state to adhere to road safety standards to prevent traffic accidents.
The General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Bakare-Oki Olalekan, stated this on Wednesday during the re-launch of the Lagos State School Safety Traffic Advocacy Programme held in Agidingbi, Ikeja.
At the event, attended by several primary and secondary schools, the LASTMA GM quoted the World Health Organisation, noting that over 1.2 million people die each year as a result of road traffic accidents.
Olalekan said, “The idea of the Lagos State School Safety Traffic Advocacy Programme for children in schools, as being carried out by the agency, is geared towards ensuring that children in their formative years know how to identify dangers on our roads.
“It is important that they also know how to assess risks, walk on the roadside and practise safety and responsible behaviour whenever they are going to and returning from school.”
Also speaking at the event, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, stressed that it was important for children to follow “certain rules and regulations and some behaviour that we must keep to on the road because whatever you do on the road has an effect on others and the road is a symbol of everything that has to do with our lives.”
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Olawale Musa, said the initiative reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that the state was safe for children.
“This initiative reflects the government’s intervention to address two critical issues: the lack of traffic knowledge and poor road attitude that contribute to gridlock and road safety challenges in our state,” he said.
