Boboye Oyeyemi is the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria’s Lead Agency in Road Traffic Administration and Safety Management. An alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru and Harvard University’s School of Government, he is a member of the International Police Chiefs and Fellow of multiple professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, London; Nigeria Institute of Corporate Administration and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria. Born and bred in the ancient city of Ibadan, the city with rusted roofs, Boboye holds a doctoral degree in Public Administration from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has been at the helm of affairs at the Federal Road Safety Commission since July, 2014.Federal Road Safety Corps, otherwise known as FRSC is the Government Agency with statutory responsibilities for road safety administration in Nigeria. Founded in 1988, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) operates in all Nigerian states as well as the Federal Capital Territory and is the leading agency in Nigeria on road safety administration and management. The statutory functions include: Making the highways safe for motorists and other road users as well as checking road worthiness of vehicles, recommending works and infrastructures to eliminate or minimize accidents on the highways and educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of road discipline on the highways.
Many rarely know him as an excellent author or writer. Boboye writes fantastically well, he is the author of Productivity and road traffic administration in Nigeria. The Commission under Boboye’s watch has improved the safety on highways in the country for motorists and other road users. Despite the changes in time and space, however, what has remained constant with the FRSC is the fact that its commitment to quality service delivery and its personnel’s attitudes towards safety of human lives and property on the roads as well the focus and determination of its leadership to sustenance of values of selfless service introduced by the founding fathers have remained sacrosanct, as anyone can see.
The Commission has also recommended works and devices designed to eliminate or minimize accidents on the highways and advising the Federal and State Governments including the Federal Capital Territory Administration and relevant governmental agencies on the localities where such works and devices are required.Highly resourceful officers of the Commission have been educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of discipline on the highway, which has prevented accidents on the highway.The stressful days of acquiring Drivers’ licences have long been forgotten. The Commission has eased the stress with the introduction of e-processing of drivers’ licences. This makes designing and producing the driver’s license to be used by various categories of vehicle operators so easy.In exercising these functions, members of the Commission have the power to arrest and prosecute persons reasonably suspected of having committed any traffic offence.According to a statement from the Commission’s Media stable, “As the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi has always maintained, keeping roads safer is a collective responsibility, and every stakeholder has a role to play in ensuring a safer road environment. That’s why the FRSC continues to expand in stakeholders’ consultation and sharing of initiatives to improve on the existing methods of enlightenment and enforcement of traffic rules and regulations. The confidence that the Corps has been able to build among its stakeholders in the country in pursuing this policy is unprecedented in the history of public involvement of members of the public in policy formulation towards public safety. From our effective collaboration with transport unions, stakeholders in government and non-governmental organisations to our initiatives in special Marshal, FRSC has no doubt become a reference point in volunteerism against the menace of road traffic crashes which has been acknowledged globally.Though it is impossible to guarantee perfection among all its members for the simple reason that Dr. Boboye and other top hierarchy officers at the Commission cannot be everywhere at the same time to ensure compliance to the stated values of the Commission, the Commission has succeeded in ridding itself of uncompliant and recalcitrant officers.The Commission consciously monitors its personnel to ensure that those that violate the operational guidelines are promptly punished, knowing that as a service-oriented organisation, revenue generation is not the motivating factor in our operations, but the quality of services it renders to road users evidenced by how we can reduce the rate and fatality of traffic crashes to the minimal.This is probably why the Commission has been adjudged the most disciplined uniformed Agency under the Federal Government.Dr. Boboye’a awards include the National Honour of Member of Federal Republic (MFR) and the National Productivity Order of Merit Award (NPoM).He is an American Medal of Honour recipient of the American Biographical Institute, publications including: Productivity in Road Traffic Administration: Issues, Strategies and Impediments and Strands in Road Traffic Administration in Nigeria (Ibadan: Clemeve Publishers, 2003).The World Bank has recognized the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) best example of a Lead Agency in Road Safety Management in Africa
