The President of the Court of Appeal and Founder, Kwapda’as Road Safety Demand, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, shares views with GIFT HABIB on the menace of road crashes and justice for victims
Data from the Federal Road Safety Commission and the National Bureau of Statistics say between 2013 and 2020, at least 41,709 persons lost their lives to road crashes in Nigeria. What do you feel about these worrying statistics?
Well, I must tell you that it is very worrisome because what it means is that even though we have been on the road, in the street, in motor parks, in schools, talking about road safety, not much has been achieved. My son was killed 11 years ago (in 2011) and this is 2022 and we are still talking about the attitude of people on the road, the number of people, especially youths, being killed in needless road crashes and the helplessness of the victims of road crashes. It is a worrisome situation.
Does this figure show that road safety enforcement is weak and inadequate?
You know Nigeria is a huge nation and there are different levels of education, comprehension and concern about road safety. I think the Federal Road Safety Commission is trying its best but road safety issues are actually capital-intensive and the government alone cannot manage it effectively. We need more hands, especially corporate organisations, to take up responsibilities too.
As an advocate of road safety rules, how will you describe the level of compliance among Nigerians?
We go out to the motor parks to talk to drivers. We no longer call it road accident, we call it road crashes, which is a decision of the United Nations because if one is driving and unfortunately knocks down and kills someone and you fail to stop, it is no longer an accident. You are given responsibility because it appears you set out to do a thing without caring about the consequences of your conduct. The drivers tell us that even when they want to slow down, passengers in the vehicle will tell them to speed up because they have an appointment to meet up with. We also speak with some passengers. We ask them if they are aware that they can ask their taxi drivers to slow down? We tell them that they have the right to tell the drivers how to move. Some drivers want to rush and do three or four rounds in a day. For instance, I once travelled in a taxi and the driver was speeding. I asked him why he was speeding so much and he said he wanted to go back to Abuja. I told him it was not possible because the journey was from Abuja to Lagos. We kept cautioning him until we told him to stop when we saw a police station. I told him that I would take him to the police station and ask them to detain him because he wanted to kill us. Passengers have a right to do that and drivers have a right and duty to obey the road use guidelines. Though, we have not really taken statistics because we do not have the resources, I can assure you that most of the drivers in this country are illiterate. They do not know anything about road signs. Anyways, the road signs are not even there. They have disappeared from the road.
In the process of educating people, because we understand that a lot of road users and motorists are ignorant of road signs, we decided to start a driving school in Jos. We train people and what we found out is really worrisome. Most people know nothing about road signs. These include young people whom we expect to know these signs but unfortunately, they do not know. We had to train some of them in their native languages such as Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and others. We had to go this far to explain these things to them.
We were shocked when we went to motor parks and realised that alcohol was sold freely. There are drugs and other mixtures taken by these drivers which we cannot see unless one investigates. We do not have resources to do all that, so we are calling on everyone to always be on alert, mindful of the environment and the person you are entrusting your life to.
Some of these vehicles that are put on the road are outmoded and when the drivers are privileged to handle a new model, they jump onto it and start driving without proper training or understanding of the vehicle. There are some drivers that do not know anything about vehicle manuals. Companies and employers must make sure that drivers are well trained and they should allow their drivers to rest and go see their families from time to time. We just need to help ourselves.
What are the knotty issues the FRSC and other authorities need to address urgently?
First and foremost, our roads are bad. Some of our roads are in bad conditions. They were bad since but now, they are in worse conditions. We have few good roads though because the government has been intervening in different ways but you know the government cannot reconstruct or repair all bad roads at the same time. Also, our drivers when they have good roads, they misuse them and then fatal accidents happen. So, we will say that the (poor state of the) roads is responsible for road crashes? I think it is people’s poor attitude, lack of concern, distraction, stress, and absent-mindedness (that are responsible). There are so many issues involved and those issues are far beyond the FRSC to address. We, the people, must reconsider our attitude towards road usage because the majority of us travel by road. If you are not driving, then you are a passenger and if you are not a passenger, you can be walking on the road and get knocked down. Like my son, he was not driving. He was crossing the road and someone knocked him down and left him to bleed to death. When I saw my son’s dead body, I examined him and realised that he had broken two of his two legs. He bled to death from his legs.
How has the loss of your son shaped your world view?
The loss of my son has pushed me into road safety advocacy and with that, I have been able to participate in road safety conferences all over the world. It has shown me that we have similar problems. We are one people in the world. We have the International Victims Association. Many of us are mothers who lost their children in similar circumstances that I lost my son. It has shown that human suffering is universal. What we are suffering is not peculiar to Nigeria but it can be stopped. In June this year, I was in the UN General Assembly and we advocated more attention on road safety. The youths were there crying and demanding more attention. It is the youths that are being killed because they are the most mobile. They move more than the elderly people. So, we are losing vibrant economic drivers. For instance, my late son wanted to be the best prosecuting lawyer because he hated criminality. As a judge, he drilled me. He would sit in front of the television and watch crime movies and ask me so many questions. We had vibrant discussions. You can imagine what a well-equipped young lawyer he would have turn out to be but we lost him. The world has lost a contributor to the economic development of the nation.
Was justice served in your son’s case?
People saw him, knew the person that killed him and never came up to tell and the authorities then did not go after the culprit. The person who killed my son thinks that he has escaped justice. He is still driving and who knows how many more people he has knocked down. On the day he knocked down my son, he called someone in his panic and someone overheard the discussion but no one was willing to come forward to say anything. The culprit, the people that he discussed with and the people who heard their discussion all refused to come forward.
Do you think road crashes cases should get accelerated hearing in court?
Most certainly. I am advocating that the UN should come up with a convention at which laws should be made to ensure that investigation, prosecution and adjudication of all road crash cases are given accelerated hearing. All governments of the world should commit to ensuring that this convention is applied immediately in their jurisdictions.
Would you say road crashes victims get deserved justice from courts?
Not at all because when I lost my son, it touched me closely. I have seen road crashes and provided minimal support but when it touched me, and then I came to the reality. What came into my mind was what can I do? My son is dead and gone, how can I stop the next victim? There was nowhere to go. I went to the FRSC. Fortunately, they guided me and supported my aspiration to start a non-governmental organisation. The corps join me anytime we embark on a programme. We just have to gamble our way through. But anytime we thought of something, they came to assist us.
The first thing I started was essays for youth corps members because I felt that they are the next crop of drivers on our roads. We decided to have this essay competition where youth corps members write about road safety. The FRSC assisted. They set the exams and grade. At the memorial of my son, 23 September every year, we give presents to the best three writers of the essay competition. We also have quizzes online. We ask vital road safety questions and sometimes, we give airtime to winners.
Do you think judges in Nigeria have adequate training to appreciate and do justice in road accident cases?
Judicial officers are very well trained but whether they have been trained to change their attitude towards handling road crash cases, I am not very sure. I think there is a need to pay attention to that because if you look at our laws, we have been trying for four years now to introduce some changes in the Road Use Act. We have not succeeded. Even the Insurance Act, there are so many things in there that are inimical to the interest of road crash victims but we have not been able to succeed as well. And of course, I am not into full-time road safety. I wish I could really go full-time but I need to serve my nation and earn a living. But I spend a lot to really manage the NGO because it is not like there is full support. So, I think that the judiciary needs to be more engaged and fortunately, at our last conference, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, made commitment that he was willing to get the judiciary to partner the FRSC to ensure that judiciary officers are more enlightened in making decisions in road safety crash matters but we need a law to actually support us and move us forward.
What is the level of support for Kwapda’as Foundation Victim’s Trauma Centre? When is it likely to see the light of the day?
I look to God to help me because that is my aspiration because that is where every road crash victim can go as the first port of call. We do not have such centres in Nigeria or anywhere in Africa. I have gone to the trauma centre in the National Hospital here in Abuja. What they have there is for injured victims but what I am talking about is a counselling centre for victims or relations of victims. When we go out for visits, we go to hospitals to see road crash survivors and when you see their families, it is very pathetic. Like the last time I went to Jos, I visited the trauma centre in Plateau State Hospital. I met three ladies whose father had been in a coma for six months. He was knocked down by a car and rushed to the hospital. The ladies were stressed up. They took turns to stay with their father. Their jobs were suffering because they had to take permission to go see the man and their resources suffered as well. The hospitals too are overwhelmed, especially the trauma centres. We do not even have enough manpower to manage the patients in the trauma centres. However, the trauma centre that I am thinking of is one that will receive these victims, sit down with them and guide them on what they need to do. If they know the people who cause their pain, we can go after the culprits or those behind the wheel because these drivers are not the real owners of these vehicles. We can get the insurance to pay what is due to these victims. We do not have such centres. I am aware that the Legal Aid Council has something like that. We are discussing with them so that we can partner them. But you see, one thing I know is that the government can regulate but it cannot execute this type of thing. We need a committed NGO with a passion for road safety to pursue this issue. Unlike the government agencies, where there are bureaucracies. We do not need that because road safety matters are a very serious matter that affect everybody. Often I tell people that even if you fly all the time, you cannot land on your bed. You have to walk from where you land to go to your bed and anything can happen. We have had incidents where people were sleeping and vehicles crashed into their rooms and smashed them there. Nobody is safe.
Till date, roadside assistance for accident victims is almost nil. What are you doing to get broad support from the public and private sectors for this initiative?
It is the advocacy that we are doing. If you go to the radio, we will need to pay. I said to myself, it is better to go out to the victims and talk to them and help them directly. The money spent on speaking via television and radio could be better spent on supporting the victims.
Our roads are still flooded with vehicles that are not roadworthy and many motorists do not even have basic insurance. Are you not worried by this?
Of course I am very worried and that is why I am into road safety advocacy. Now, for the vehicles that are not road worthy, the vehicle inspection officers are there. I believe they are doing their work. But how many of them are out there? We have a bit of a manpower issue. I believe that those engaged are actually doing their best. In every organisation, there are bad eggs that compromise certain things. It could actually be better.
Majority of our roads lack road signs and streetlights even in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Isn’t this emblematic of the government’s poor attitude to road safety and infrastructure development in the country?
I do not know whether it is the government’s attitude or ours. Like I said, the corporate organisations can take up responsibilities. Some organisations can decide to provide streetlights in some areas or streets. They all have lands. The Minister of FCT, Mohammed Bello, has been very helpful to the foundation. He pays attention to what he says and sometimes, he takes steps to do a few things that we requested to be done. However, if every corporate organisation pays attention and takes steps to install streetlights in different portions, the burden on the government will reduce. Like my foundation is into advocacy, we do not have the resources to put streetlights or mend bad roads. It should be a question of cooperation. Citizens should commit to ensuring that fellow citizens are safe on the road.
In what way has your position as the Court of Appeal President helped in attracting the necessary support for the foundation?
What I do know is that when we had the 10th anniversary of my son’s departure from this world, we invited some governors, ministers, captains of industries and we commissioned them as ambassadors of road safety. We told them what we expected of them. It is not easy. As a judicial officer, it is a bit difficult for me to go out and talk to these people. We can only appeal to their consciences to do something. Sometimes, we take our conferences to particular zones where road crashes are rampant. We have been to Kaduna, Awka, and Jos. We have also intervened in some schools. Like Abuja Municipal Area Council, we try to partner to see if we can create some safe zones in the road safety international programme. Some of the traditional leaders are ambassadors in our campaign. I thank my friends and a few people who have listened to us. They made commitments. People offer their services and that is the way we have been moving.
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