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Chidoka Takes Message of Transformation to FRSC Field
Commands
BY Sani Abdullahi Newsdiaryonline
Tue July 5,2011
Osita Chidoka
Though the concept of institutional transformation is not new to
staff of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) as the Corps
Marshal and Chief Executive, Osita Chidoka had initiated it in
his first tenure, the need to further take its message to all
levels of the Corps became most imperative because the present
administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan hinged his
campaign slogan on it. As one strongly committed to
institutional transformation to complement the efforts of the
Federal Government for holistic result,
therefore, Chidoka
recently took the message to field commands of the Corps through
what he termed “Advocacy and fact finding tour of the field
commands”.
Zone one, comprising of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states
with about eighteen unit commands was his first zone of the
tour, even as staff were yet to fully recover from the
excitement of his reappointment. They therefore looked anxiously
to receiving him in their commands with his message of “We Say,
We Do”; but this time not in the usual strict regimental
tradition of “Parade and Three Hearty Cheers” that characterised
such visits in the past.
The Corps Marshal had earlier directed the Commanding Officers
that he was not just going to address the parade and go away
without listening to the staff and interacting with them. “The
organisation I’m building is not one that is driven only by the
principles of “Command and Compliance”, but one that is anchored
on the ingredients of modernity with robust interaction between
management and staff driven by functional feedback mechanism”,
he had stated. Thus in all the commands he visited, from Kaduna
and katsina sector commands in zone one; Ibadan, Oshogbo and
Akure in zone eleven to Benin and Asaba in zone 5, the common
practice was to sit with all the staff including the Special
Marshals and NYSC Road Safety club members under a durbar-like
arrangement devoid of strict official protocol, to deliver his
message and allow free expression of views from them.
And the responses from staff in all the commands showed clearly
that they had long been yearning for such opportunity. While
some said seeing the Corps Marshal in person and listening to
his presentation had satisfied their curiosity, removed their
doubts and restored their confidence in the policies they were
hitherto not well enlightened on, others confessed that they got
even more than they bargained for and had therefore resolved to
continue to contribute their quota for the success of the
transformation agenda. The sessions were in fact a validation of
the truism that leaders need to take the pain to listen to the
views of their followers, at least to convince them of the
collective nature of institution building and secure their
commitment, inputs and understanding necessary for the
stabilisation of leadership vision.
This idealism became manifest when in his usual display of
spirit of collective responsibility, the Corps Marshal
attributed the success recorded by FRSC in the last four years
as acknowledged by local and international road safety
stakeholders including government institutions in the country,
to the commitment of the patrolmen, rescue teams, those in
various offices and the least marshal of the Corps who
diligently did his job. According to him, “When people say to
me, you are successful in FRSC; I take it that we are all
successful. Because, am not the patrol team leaders who
diligently led their men to enforce traffic laws to bring sanity
to the highways; am not the staff of Information Processing
Centre (IPC) who printed the licences; am not the one at the
Call Centre that mobilised the patrol teams for rescue
operations after receiving distress calls and I could not have
been everywhere to do all that were required to be done to
ensure the successes that convinced Mr President to reappoint
me. So, I said, if am successful, it means we are all
successful, and FRSC is successful”, he emphasised, to the
standing ovation of all staff in attendance.
The overwhelming applause for this statement, no doubt,
signified man’s need for recognition and an affirmation of the
superiority of democratising power through mass participation as
against authoritarianism that undermines the contributions of
the followers in institution building efforts. Further in his
address, the Corps Marshal recalled some of the things he has
done in the last four years to enhance the operational success
of the Corps and particularly, to promote the welfare profile of
staff. Such welfare programmes he said include: Clearing of the
backlog of promotion in 2008,
automation of accounting system to facilitate prompt
payment of salaries and allowances thus enabling distribution of
payslips through personalised staff e-mail addresses,
establishment of Microfinance Bank to address staff’s immediate
cash needs; capacity building programmes through various
training opportunities and ongoing construction of a world class
Academy at Udi, Enugu state affiliated to the Federal University
of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) to serve as African Centre for the
study and award of
Masters Degree in Road Safety, with Prince Michael of Kent
graciously agreeing to
serve as the Patron of the institution.
Others include: Construction of staff housing on owner-occupier
basis for junior and middle cadre officers at Masaka and
Lokogoma in FCT, to be ultimately expanded to the six
geopolitical zones of the country with availability of funds,
efforts he has been making to ensure payment of monetisation and
furniture allowances to staff, commencement of the process for
promotion examinations. And as he concluded by disabusing the
minds of staff that the policy of “no waiver” he has promoted
since his assumption of office was rather to strengthen espirit
de corps and make the patrol team leaders more responsible and
accountable on the road; and that staff should feel free to tell
him, other areas they thought he could do more to improve their
welfare status, the ovations that followed the presentation in
all the commands were thunderous, with some staff shouting “Igwe!,
Igwe!”, to demonstrate their convictions of the credibility of
his leadership and adoration of his traditional title of
Ike-Obosi.
It was a day, the like of which had never been witnessed in the
Corps, with most staff openly confessing that the stories they
had heard about some of the policies enunciated in the last four
years were far from the truth. One Marshal at Akure, Ondo State,
dramatised the mood of his colleagues when he turned the
question time to sermon: “Today is the happiest day of my life”,
he started. “That I can stand here face to face with the Corps
Marshal today after all these years of longing to meet with him,
it shall be well with FRSC; I’m a fulfilled man today, and
henceforth, road traffic crash shall be a thing of the past...”
As he continued his sermons of the new dawn for FRSC under
Chidoka’s second tenure with other staff chorusing: “Amen,
Amen!” it took the intervention of the Provost Marshal of the
command before he could release the microphone for others lining
up behind him to speak.
While most staff felt there was no need for questions, as the
Corps Marshal had convincingly addressed areas of their concern,
others who volunteered their views on welfare matters were
unanimous on the need for the provision of Uniform Materials
from the National Headquarters to all the formations of the
Corps at affordable prices for staff to access. They also called
for the establishment of Tailoring Units in the commands to
enhance uniformity of staff uniforms at all times. As one
officer of Oyo State sector command put it while giving a vote
of thanks on behalf of the staff of the sector and component
unit commands to the Corps Marshal for his visit to Ibadan: “We
had been ignorant about most of the issues the Corps Marshal has
explained to us in his address today. While we will rededicate
to the new realities, we can say from today that indeed, we are
better informed about the policy thrusts of the Corps and would
be better public enlightenment officers of the organisation at
all times”, she stated.
As the Corps Marshal promises to take the message of
transformation to all the commands nationwide, he continued to
assure staff of his focus, vision and determination to make FRSC
a functional and high performance organisation of world class
standard. But he enjoined all to rededicate to the
transformation agenda in order to ensure Nigeria’s attainment of
50% reduction in road traffic crashes and fatalities by 2015 in
line with Accra Declaration and making her one of the 20 safest
nations in the world by 2020 in line with the United Nations
Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020 which is in
congruence with the nation’s development agenda of Vision
20:2020.
Sani Abdullahi,
Route Commander is a staff of FRSC and can be reached on
a.sani@frsc.gov.ng
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