In Nigeria, we seem too pre-occupied
with criticising agencies and institutions of government that we often
fail to realise that those public institutions are a reflection of our
defective national character and the rot that has pervaded the society. I
have always thought that though many of our public institutions have
fallen deep into corruption and inefficiency, there are still
individuals who have resolved to do things differently.
Continue reading after the cut......
In the course of my interacting with
Nigerians, especially those working in the public sector, I have found
out that not every government employee share in the general decadence
that has become the face of public service today. While we are fixated
on the dark side of these institutions, we often forget to commend some
of them for the service they are rendering to the community. While some
may argue that those working in government agencies and institutions are
paid for doing their job and do not need any commendation, workplace
ethics demand that when workers are motivated, they are productive and
do their job better.
In the United States of America,
citizens are celebrated as heroes when they perform heroic deeds or do
something extraordinary. For example, firemen in the US Fire Department
are often honoured for the risk they undertake on duty. A fireman that
risks his or life in a burning building during a fire incident is
honoured by the president, governor, mayor and the community. While we
bestow honour on questionable individuals in our country, heroes are
made of ordinary citizens in other climes. Closely related is how we
look down on the plight of those who perform essential duties such as
the traffic wardens, highway managers, refuse disposal officials and
those who do sundry jobs we consider inconsequential.
In recent times, I have often wondered
how those among us who perform jobs we consider lowly survive the
excruciating and suffocating economic environment in the country. For
example, labour authorities should be concerned about the condition of
service for those workers who perform essential services but are poorly
paid with worst conditions of service one can find. It is even worse
that they work under situations that expose them to dangerous occupation
hazards.
Some days ago, it was reported that an
official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority popularly known
as LASTMA slumped on duty and later on the way to the hospital. The man
was said to have collapsed while controlling traffic in Lagos.
According to media reports, “he was initially taken to the Lagos
University Teaching Hospital, but he could not be attended to because of
the ongoing strike action. He was then rushed to the Randle Hospital,
Surulere where he was confirmed dead.” According to the report, the
official was among the LASTMA officials on duty at a private event. The
sudden death of the traffic official should raise questions about the
condition of service of public workers on essential duties not just in
Lagos but in the entire country.
In Lagos, for example, LASTMA officials
work in extremely dangerous situations. Just like the so-called highway
managers, they are constantly exposed to the elements in extreme weather
situations and at the mercy of hostile motorists. I understand all the
criticisms that have been levelled against LASTMA, but we must also
spare a thought for their well-being while on the job. What for example
is the condition of service for the LASTMA and highway mangers in Lagos?
Do they have insurance and health policies? The death of the LASTMA
official revealed some familiar yet distressing facts. When he was
rushed to the Lagos State Teaching hospital, he could not be admitted
because medical workers were on strike. So we lost a life before he
could even be saved. He was said to have died of accumulated stress
according to his colleagues. I know for sure that LASTMA officials are
being deployed to manage traffic even when the deployment is not
official-an added burden to their daily duty.
I have often seen LASTMA officials
deployed to private events around town. Do they get remunerated for
such? Are they not overworked in the process? I was informed in the
course of writing this piece that private postings are personal
arrangement between the organisers and LASTMA management. I have a
feeling that traffic officials are being exploited while the “big ogas”
feed fat. At worst, they get a pittance for long, grueling hours
managing traffic. The LASTMA official who lost his life was on one of
such duties. His colleagues complained of being overworked.
LASTMA officials had lamented “We do not
have any insurance policy. We do not have any hazard allowance. It is
very painful. Since the government sacked some of us last year, there
has been a burden on the workforce. Work posts, where seven personnel
were handling, have been reduced to one or two.”
In Lagos, LASTMA and other essential
duties personnel continue to face serious threats to their lives. In one
incident, a hit-and-run driver killed a LASTMA official. In another
incident, yet another official was run over by a reckless motorist
driving in a one-way lane.
In one pathetic incident as reported in
The PUNCH, September 14, 2014, a hit-and-run driver knocked down two
highway managers of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency. These
incidents should begin to give the relevant authorities a cause for
concern. Significantly, accidents to LASTMA officials have increased in
recent years. I am not sure if the authorities of the two agencies are
aware of the dangers and are putting measures in place to minimise
dangers to their officials.
I have seen highway managers without the
basic kits and road markers sweeping busy highways in the early hours
when visibility is poor. I really fear for their lives as they can be
easily run over by reckless motorists. What does it take to procure
theses kits? How much does it cost to kit LASTMA officials in decent
uniform other than the untidy manner they appear on the highways? It
certainly will not cost a fortune to buy reflective jackets for highway
managers to make them visible to speeding motorists.
As a solution, Governor Akinwumni Ambode
must scrutinise the operations of LASTMA and LAWMA and other agencies
of government. It is not enough to have these agencies without demanding
accountability. The government must take a second look at their
condition of service. A situation where they put officials on the road
without the necessary working tools and conditions being met must no
longer be the norm. LASTMA and LAWMA officials must be employed and
placed on working conditions commensurate with the hazards they face on
the job. One also hopes that when LASTMA officials are deployed to
manage private events, they get extra allowances for such off-duty
posting.
In spite of the criticisms that have
trailed the excesses of LASTMA, anybody familiar with the chaotic
traffic situation in Lagos before the establishment of the agency will
give them some credit for the way it has managed traffic in a city where
breaking traffic laws used to be norm. But it’s time to create a better
working condition for those who ensure free flow of traffic and make
our roads clean.
- Bayo Olupohunda/Punch
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