A non-government organisation (NGO), GreenLight Initiative, has called on governments at all levels to invest in road safety projects in order to reduce the alarming rate of road traffic crashes across the country.
Executive Director of the group, Simon Obi, made the call at an event held in Abuja on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event, tagged: “Introduction to Road Safety: Advocacy for Youth Involvement in Road Safety” was organised, in collaboration with Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).
Obi noted that more than 80 percent of economic activities relied on road transportation, adding that government needed to make roads safe in order to boost the country’s economy.
“Government should invest in road safety, as it is an improvement in the economy.
“We cannot do without the road. An improvement in road safety is an improvement in the sustainability of the growth of any country ‘s economy.
“We all use the road for almost everything: to go to work; market and school. If we improve investment in road safety, then our economy will improve; the standard of living will also improve,” he said.
Obi quoted a recent World Bank report which stated that countries that did not invest in road safety lost three to seven per cent of their annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He also called on government to implement the policy for road safety inclusion in schools’ curriculum, especially for primary and secondary schools.
“That policy hasn’t been effective. So we are advocating for full implementation and strong policy backing from the government and strong investment in the policy to make it work,” Obi said.
Also speaking, Coordinator of YALI, Abuja network, Okafor Innocent, said that YALI was a group of young persons focusing on civic engagement, entrepreneurship and public management.
“It is an initiative of the US Department to raise future African leaders,” he said.
Okafor called on government through the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to create more awareness on the various traffic codes to tackle the menace of road traffic crashes.