…We are not, we are enforcing the law – VIO
By Taofeek Lawal, Abuja
Articulate vehicle, truck, van, commercial and private drivers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have frowned at the attitude of the officials of the Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS), popularly referred to as vehicle inspection officers (VIO), over continuous harassment on FCT roads.
Some drivers who spoke to our correspondent said the attitudes of the men in black and white have made life difficult and frustrating for them which they said has been affecting their finances and psychology. The drivers said the DRTS officials have formed a permanent habit of stopping vehicles at will even when there is nothing tangible to ask the drivers or the occupants. According to the drivers, there is a brewing anger against these officers who rather than being friendly and restore sanity on the road are hostile and constituting nuisance on Abuja roads and highways.
Our correspondent observed that the DRTS officials most times throw caution into the winds when dealing with the drivers and act unprofessionally. Checks on areas like Nyanya, AYA Roundabout and especially the road that connects the Power House to AYA Bridge has become notorious for laying ambush for drivers on a daily basis.
Unsuspecting drivers while connecting AYA Bridge run into the ambush of the DRTS officials who demand for all sorts of things from them before letting them (the drivers) off the hook. At Nyanya during rush hours even after they have been told they should not hit the road before 10 o’clock in the morning, the DRTS officials seize the opportunity of the traffic situation along the Abuja-Keffi road to pounce on drivers demanding for papers. They also engage in indiscriminate removal of number plates from parked vehicles.
“The attitudes of these people are very frustrating. They are never civil in their approach to us. Even when you want to make them see reason they should not stop you, they insist they are carrying out their orders of their superiors which most times are not true. We want to appeal to concerned authorities to please call these VIO to order so they can act professionally at all times as it is done in advanced countries of the world. They need proper orientation and reorientation and must change their psyche on how to handle people at very critical times,” a driver said.
But in an interview with the Nigerian NewsDirect on Monday, the Head of Public Relations and Enlightenment, Directorate of Road Traffic Service (DRTS), Mr Kalu Emetu, said only those with skeletons in their cupboards will always complain about the activities of the VIO because the sole aim of the directorate is to enforce the law and make the road safe for all motorists. He said motorists who are with all their papers will never have a problem with his men anytime. He also said that articulated vehicle drivers know when they are to ply the road which his men always enforce.
Emetu said, “It is not true when motorists say we are frustrating them. One thing we should know that anybody or group who tries to enforce that right thing should be done must surely have so many people who would resist such. In every society, people will in one way or the other, try to manipulate certain developments and activities that tend to guide or direct all the acts or change people’s behaviour and ours is not an exception. We are a uniformed organization trying to enforce laws especially as they relate to traffic. Our stakeholders who are the motorists you talked about are not ready to obey the law and will always criticize everything we do. But what we advised these motorists on is for them to know that we are on the roads because of them. If there are no vehicles on the road our staff will definitely not be there. We try as much as possible to place balance because we know we exist because of the motorists in the same way they should understand that without us too, the road will not be as free as it is for them to ply on. If you renew your documents and you register your vehicles properly and at the click of a button, all your data show, no one will stop or delay you on the road.”
“We are on the road to change the psyche of the people and do enlightenment most times and especially for the safety of the motorists and pedestrians alike. In this case, we are supposed to be friends and not enemies only if they understand what we are doing for them, so there is nothing like delay, it is all about your life which is very important to the society, he added.
Giving reasons on why his men remove number plates from errant motorists, he said only those who parked wrongly on walkways or awkwardly have their number plates removed.
“When you park on the verge or walkways meant for pedestrians or you park in the wrong place, do you don’t expect pedestrians to walk in the middle of the road? Though we don’t encourage the removal of plate numbers, it is to serve as a deterrent to others, pay fines and you learn your lesson. The inconvenience we put through is for you not to do it another day. For articulated vehicles, nobody is witch-hunting anybody, they are not expected to ply the road from 6 O’clock to 10 O’clock in the morning and from 4pm to 10 pm and all these are to save lives and reduce accidents on our roads,” he said.