By Ibironke Ariyo
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Malam Shehu Mohammed, has described volunteerism and sacrifice as the foundation of Special Marshals’ contribution to road safety administration in Nigeria.
Mohammed stated this in his welcome address at the Special Marshal National Summit on Wednesday in Abuja.
He explained that road traffic challenges in Nigeria were part of a global reality, not peculiar to the country.
“What you are experiencing in this country is not different from what the global world is experiencing.
“Those who watched CNN yesterday would have seen how the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, even had to call on U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene in traffic chaos in New York yesterday evening.
“This calls for all of us, road designers, engineers, policymakers and stakeholders to unite in developing infrastructure and safety systems that will improve road use in Nigeria,” he said.
Mohammed said that the work of Special Marshals went beyond volunteering, describing it as a service defined by compassion, empathy, and dedication.
According to him, volunteerism is about sacrifice. Sacrifice of time, resources and knowledge. It is service, passion, empathy, dedication, leadership and knowledge.
“Together, we must use our knowledge to be the change, to give the change, and to change the possibilities in this country,” he said.
The Corps Marshal applauded special marshals for their efforts in complementing regular marshals through the deployment of human and material resources that advanced the Corps’ strategic goals.
He highlighted their contributions between 2020 and 2025, which included the areas of infrastructure, vehicles, devices and knowledge.
These, he said, were in addition to road safety education, partnerships to promote driving and vehicle standards, and inputs in policy research.
“These achievements reflect the invaluable place of special marshals in the overall success of the Corps,” he said.
Mohammed said that the summit should inspire special marshals to strengthen their commitment to FRSC’s mission.
This, he added, were especially through the election of an executive committee capable of harnessing their collective resourcefulness.
He urged the incoming leaders to align their plans with the Corps’ 2025 Corporate Strategic Goals, designed to deploy technology-driven solutions to traffic safety, improve data collection, and enhance FRSC operations nationwide.
He noted that the summit lecture titled: “Special Marshals’ Strategic Role in Road Safety Administration” underscored their relevance to the Corps’ work.
In her goodwill message, the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, commended the FRSC Corps Marshal and other speakers.
Dongban-Mensem, however, adopted their remarks while emphasising that volunteerism complemented the government’s efforts.
According to her, volunteerism is an act of selfless sacrifice to a community and, in your case, to our great nation, Nigeria.
“It is evidence that the government cannot do it all by itself. We must collaborate with the government.
“We must proactively take interest in the functions of government and complement the efforts of persons assigned to perform duties by our national government.
“The Corps Marshal is supported by the government, but the government alone is not enough to take care of all of us.
“Therefore, each of us should participate, supplement and complement their efforts,” she said.
Highlights of the event were decorations of four honourary special marshals, including the Administrator of National Judicial Institute (NJI) Justice Babatunde Adejumo and technical sessions.
