By SANI ABDULLAHI
When some Journalists asked former Corps Marshal Osita Chidoka why he was investing so much in quality management system towards the attainment of the international organization for standardization certificate (ISO 9001; 2008) for the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), he said he wanted to bequeat a legacy of evidence-based decision making process rather than resort to personal discretion by Management. He added that with the attainment of ISO certification, successive Corps Marshals would have no options but to remain committed to the ideals of institutionalized productivity and continuous improvements in service delivery through the retention of the certificate, failure of which could raise the red flag. That consciousness, he said, will keep the leaderships on their toes while the public would continue to play their watchdogs roles.
Today, it’s no longer news that the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has recertified the quality management system of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in accordance with the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization to ISO 9001: 2015) to validate the sustained commitment of the Corps to doing what it says it does. That this feat was achieved by the leadership of Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed within the first year of his assumption of office remains the most visible evidence of his success story in what the Nigerian public and strategic stakeholders have described as both “a commendable feat and another demonstration of his commitment to the policy continuity he adopted on assumption of office.”
Describing the award as a tribute to the continuing sacrifice and commitment of the personnel and strategic stakeholders to selfless service and improved productivity, Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed calls for sustained vigilance to make the nation’s highways safer for all. While paying glowing tributes to the founding fathers of the FRSC for the visions they demonstrated in establishing the Corps and the past leaders for initiating the ideas of quality management system in road safety management, the Corps Marshal restated his commitment to leveraging on policy continuity and moving FRSC to greater heights in increased productivity and improved service delivery.
When FRSC was established in 1988 as a specialized road safety lead agency by the federal government, it was charged with the responsibility of addressing the menace of road traffic crashes through aggressive public enlightenment programs and robust enforcement strategies as well as efficient rescue operations using all scientific tools. Part of the strategies adopted by the past leaderships was to key into the global search for efficiency and effectiveness in road safety campaign through quality management system. This resulted in the first award of ISO 9001:2008 certification in 2013 which made FRSC the first law enforcement agency in Nigeria to attain the status.
Yet, through rigorous, determined and consistent adherence to its processes, FRSC not only got recertified in 2016 for the 3 yearly certificate renewals, but repeated the feat in 2019 and 2022 respectively. That was why all eyes have been on Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed to prove his leadership mettle by retaining the award this year, which he successfully did recently when the Standards Organization of Nigeria confirmed the Corps’ recertification to the upgraded ISO 9001:2015 certification in its award of 17 April, 2025, few weeks to the first anniversary of the Management.
As some observers rightly put it, “the award is both inspiring and gratifying,” especially coming few weeks before marking the first one year anniversary of Shehu Mohammed-led-led Management in the office.” The Corps Marshal in his reaction to the award vows not to rest on his oars in his commitment to quality management, saying the rising cases of death and fatal injuries from different categories of vehicles on the nation’s highways serve as a wakeup call for all stakeholders to rise up to the occasion to force down the trends. He expressed gratitude to all personnel of the Corps including the Special Marshals as well as strategic stakeholders for remaining diligent and unwavering to effective traffic management against all odds.
Shehu Mohammed reiterated the need for greater aggression and collective responsibility in dealing with the menace of road traffic crashes in the country, stressing that delivering safety to all through vigilance and prompt response to emergencies must be the new attitude to patrol duties by personnel of the Corps as well as stakeholders in the collective zeal to create sanity on the nation’s highways.
We congratulate the Management and give kudos to all personnel of the Corps for the feat of the first year.
*Abdullahi wrote from Abuja.