Nation
Nigerians condemn NANS on the face-off with FRSC over illegal plate numbers
The firestorm began last Tuesday when the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) issued a widely publicized threat to shut down any Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, command that dared impound any vehicle belonging to the student body over an illegal plate number.
The student umbrella body noted that it received with great disappointment the recent announcement by the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed, instructing his officers to arrest and impound vehicles belonging to NANS structures for illegal use of unauthorized plate numbers.
In a release signed by the Clerk of the Senate, NANS National Headquarters, Oladimeji Uthman, which was made available to journalists in Ibadan, the body stated that the directive to impound NANS’ vehicles was not only a sign of disrespect to it but also amounted to an affront to its structured movement.
Uthman implored FRSC to tread with caution, warning that if any FRSC command dares to implement what it called an “unjust directive” by arresting or impounding NANS vehicles — whether at the national, zonal, JCC, NAPS, NAUS, NANCES, or SUG level — it would mobilize “our armless battalions and stage a massive protest to defend our rights. We will not tolerate any form of disrespect towards our organisation.”
The release reads in part, “The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has received with great dismay and utmost concern the recent pronouncement by the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Shehu Mohammed, directing his officers to arrest and impound vehicles belonging to NANS structures.
“We view this pronouncement as an attempt to undermine our operations and frustrate the representation of Nigerian students across all levels.”
For peace to reign, NANS called on the FRSC to invite its leadership for a useful and constructive dialogue in the spirit of mutual respect and in the interest of maintaining peace and order, saying, “Engaging in meaningful discussions will help to address any concerns amicably, rather than creating unnecessary tensions that could lead to avoidable confrontations between NANS and FRSC officials.”
But in a swift reaction last Wednesday, a day after NANS’ threat, the FRSC issued a strongly worded statement that it will not be deterred by threats from the National Association of Nigerian Students over the impoundment of vehicles with fake number plates.
Mr. Shehu Mohammed, FRSC Corps Marshall, said the FRSC’s primary duty concern remained the safety and security of all road users and that nothing would deter it from continuing to carry out its statutory responsibilities without fear or favour.
He stated that FRSC was unequivocally bound to maintain the integrity of the National Vehicle Identification Scheme and would not be intimidated by threats from any individual or group.
He referenced the threat from the student body, noting that, “The special operations is a fallout from the increasing abuse of the Nigerian number plates by organisations and faceless individuals. These are people who desire to drag the nation back to the olden days of indiscriminate, unregistered, and irregular use of number plates.
Mr. Mohammed wondered that it was baffling to comprehend that Nigerian students who were supposed to be at the vanguard of a law-abiding nation would resort to the arcane method of issuing such threats to FRSC.
The FRSC boss, however, implored NANS leadership to have a rethink and withdraw the reported threats.
Mr. Mohammed assured that FRSC commanding officers nationwide had been handed out directives not to give in to any intimidation or threats from individuals or organizations in the cloak of promoting acts likely to compromise the objectives of the National Vehicle Identification Scheme and national security.
This, he said, was necessary, especially when carrying out their statutory responsibilities of keeping the nation’s highways safe and secure for all road users.
However, a NANS officers at the University of Ilorin who craved anonymity since he was not authorized to speak on the matter told Business Hallmark that “if Shehu Mohammed is looking for revenues he should look elsewhere, and if he’s trying to impress President Tinubu that’s his business but he should not come near NANS in the guise of his illegal order. Among the numerous challenges facing the road ecosystem, accidents on daily basis that claim lives of Nigerians, inability of FRSC to enforce speed limits, corruption within FRSC itself that clogs the efficiency of the body to make our roads safe, it’s only threatening NANS that they now want to focus in the face of daunting challenges.”
However, some Nigerians expressed concern over this stand-off, wondering why NANS, the body or organization of students, who are the future leaders of this country, would insist on an illegal action, which is not only a security risk but also puts them above the law by creating two classes of people. They noted with sadness the example being shown by the students’ bodies and pointed to the misbehaviors of the political class for such perfidy as the turn of law and justice on its head.
Dapo Adetutu, a lawyer expressed harsh words for NANS. She told Business Hallmark that NANS cannot be above the law. “It’s highly disappointing that the students’ unionism of today has descended into pettiness; they no longer espouse high ideals and great causes that defined unionism of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. What FRSC is doing is good. Many criminals use fake plate numbers, so what the students are saying is like aiding and abetting those who can use such numbers to commit crimes and they would not be able to trace them.
“We have so many issues bedeviling the country that NANS can take up as a cause to advocate on, such as inflation, unemployment, bad economic policies, high tuition fees, but they didn’t fight for these causes.”
Adetutu’s views were supported by Damola Adebayo, a civil servant, who urged FRSC to disregard the threat.
“My take is that NANS has lost its relevance. Where were they when this current administration imposed harsh economic policies that have caused ongoing hardship? If it were NANS of old, they would have fought the government to a standstill. These students are misguided, they don’t know what they are doing again. Some of them during elections act as thugs to politicians”, he said.
A student of the University of Lagos told Business Hallmark, under the condition that his identity would not be revealed, that ” what many people don’t know is that these days our union is emasculated and highly tied to national politics. Government surreptitiously intervene and interfere with the election of pliable individuals that now become their agents on the campuses ensuring that seeds of radicalism are nipped in the bud, that’s why we students find it difficult to fight for just causes nowadays.”
