Category: Featured

By Adebayo Taofiq Aribidesi (P.A.O LASTMA)

In the unrelenting symphony of Lagos—the colossal megacity whose ceaseless rhythm reverberates across its gridlocked highways, teeming marketplaces, and frenetic boulevards—mobility stands at once as a lifeline and an omnipresent peril.

With a population surpassing twenty-two million and vehicular density exceeding one million, the city is a daily theatre where the fragile threshold between human life and mechanical force is relentlessly tested.

Within such precarious circumstances, the guardianship of life requires more than the rigidity of enforcement; it calls for foresight, pedagogy, and the moral architecture of civic education.

It is in this crucible that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has revitalised one of its most visionary interventions: the School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme (STS-AP)—a flagship initiative designed to inculcate traffic discipline, civic consciousness, and life-preserving ethos within the youngest generation of Lagosians.

Under the sagacious stewardship of Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, General Manager of LASTMA, the programme has been elevated from a marginal sensitization exercise into a transformative educational crusade—one shaping the emergent custodians of the city’s road safety culture.

Children as Sentinels of the Future

The genius of the School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme lies in its profound recognition that the destiny of Lagos’ traffic culture is not etched upon its asphalt but inscribed in the consciousness of its children.

Mr. Bakare-Oki’s administration has therefore advanced a bold paradigm—embedding traffic enlightenment into the quotidian lives of school pupils.

Through orchestrated school engagements, interactive workshops, dramatized role-plays, and experiential road-safety simulations, children are not only introduced to traffic codes but to the inviolable sanctity of human life upon the roadways.

Pedestrian discipline, interpretation of signage, the sacred duty of using pedestrian bridges, the universality of seatbelt culture, and safety in cycling and motorcycling are conveyed not as sterile regulations but as habits to be embodied.

In classrooms and assembly halls across the metropolis, LASTMA officials now appear not as stern enforcers but as empathetic tutors—transfiguring road safety from a punitive structure into a formative pedagogy.

The child who halts at a zebra crossing, the student who insists on ascending the pedestrian bridge, becomes the seed of generational transformation.

Embedding Safety Within the Educational Ecosystem

Under the forward-thinking stewardship of Bakare-Oki, the programme has expanded beyond episodic interventions into an institutionalised partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Education. Safety advocacy is no longer a perfunctory afterthought but is increasingly interwoven into school timetables, extracurricular pursuits, and civic clubs.

Many schools have birthed Traffic Safety Clubs—peer-led fraternities where pupils, guided by LASTMA mentors, emerge as ambassadors of safety within their institutions and homes.

These young vanguards carry their convictions beyond the gates of their schools, admonishing parents about seatbelt compliance, exhorting motorcyclists to don helmets, and dissuading siblings from reckless jaywalking.

Thus, advocacy transcends the classroom, infiltrating households and communities with the wisdom of tender but insistent voices.

Innovation in Advocacy and Communication

This administration has not constrained itself to traditional didactics. Conscious of the fact that contemporary children are digital natives, the programme has incorporated visual technologies, animated traffic-safety clips, and gamified simulations to enthrall young minds.

Pamphlets are disseminated, yet more significantly, interactive media is deployed to engraine learning.

Radio jingles and child-friendly road-safety dramatizations are broadcast in indigenous tongues, ensuring inclusivity across diverse socio-economic landscapes.

Social media, too, has become a vehicle for youthful engagement through quizzes, competitions, and campaigns.

The result is a hybridised model of advocacy—both analogue and digital—that resonates across generational divides.

From Classrooms to Crossroads: The Tangible Impact

Empirical evidence substantiates the programme’s efficacy. Data curated by LASTMA’s Research and Statistics Department reveal a discernible decline in pedestrian fatalities among school-aged children, particularly in corridors where advocacy has been most vigorous.

Schools once infamous for tragic roadside incidents now record fewer casualties, as disciplined crossing patterns and greater use of pedestrian bridges become habitual among pupils.

The anecdotes are as moving as the numbers. Parents narrate children’s stern admonitions to “strap in” before starting a car.

Commercial bus drivers recount pupils who resolutely refuse to disembark at unsafe points. Such testimonies reveal an unassailable truth: that authentic advocacy multiplies its effects far beyond statistical measure.

Recasting the Public Image of LASTMA

Long perceived as an agency defined solely by punitive enforcement, LASTMA under Bakare-Oki has undertaken a deliberate recalibration of its identity.

The School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme epitomises this renaissance, humanising the agency by portraying its officers as nurturers of safety, guardians of discipline, and stewards of innocence.

By investing in the consciousness of children, LASTMA accrues not only compliance but trust. Citizens increasingly behold the agency not as a punitive hammer but as a social partner in the preservation of life.

This shift in perception is itself a profound achievement, for without public cooperation, sustainable traffic management is an impossibility.

A Template for Foresighted Urban Governance

The elevation of the School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme transcends administrative reform; it represents a moral investment in the metropolis’ posterity.

It affirms that a city cannot be permanently coerced into order—it must be educated into discipline. By cultivating traffic consciousness at formative stages, LASTMA is sowing seeds of a civic culture destined to outlive present administrations.

Global observers take note. Road-safety experts affirm that the most enduring cultures of discipline in advanced nations were not forged through draconian penalties alone, but through sustained child-focused advocacy.

By situating Lagos upon this trajectory, Bakare-Oki’s administration has inscribed the megacity into the pantheon of forward-looking metropolises.

Conclusion: A Covenant with the Future

The Lagos School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme under the stewardship of Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki is no mere bureaucratic reform—it is a quiet revolution.

It transmutes classrooms into nurseries of civic virtue, children into apostles of discipline, and families into allies of enforcement.

In a city where disorder often masquerades as destiny, the deliberate shaping of youthful consciousness towards road safety is both a governmental act and a moral covenant.

The triumph of this programme reaffirms that road safety is not the burden of officers alone, but a shared responsibility germinated in childhood.

As Lagos advances towards its aspiration of global-city stature, Bakare-Oki’s legacy may ultimately be measured not only in decongested highways but in preserved lives, reformed habits, and generations awakened to the sanctity of order amidst motions.

By Dave Agboola

In an age where technology often serves as a double-edged sword, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) finds itself in an increasingly uncomfortable position, especially when it comes to smart glasses or being filmed.

Designed to augment reality and capture experiences seamlessly, these nifty devices are being leveraged by citizens to expose the very activities that have long plagued Nigeria’s roads—corruption, extortion, and misconduct—leaving the police scrambling to adapt to this new reality.

Take, for instance, the viral cases where enterprising citizens, armed with nothing but smart glasses, have successfully documented illegal activities involving police officers on major highways. Instances abound where motorists have recorded conversations with officers demanding bribes, clearly revealing the corrupt practices that often go unchecked on our roads.

One can imagine the weeping of NPF officials as videos of these encounters circulate on social media, exposing their less-than-illustrious dealings to the world, making them unwitting stars of a reality show none of us asked to watch.

This fear of exposure reached a comical peak recently when a team of police officers was filmed struggling to remove smart glasses from a driver during a routine roadblock. The sheer desperation on their faces was almost laughable as they grappled with the glasses, clearly aghast at the thought of being recorded.

What were they afraid of? The possibility of their overly aggressive tactics being caught on camera? The last thing they want is public proof of the “Nigerian police experience,” which can often involve aggressive demands for cash over compassion and service.

On few occasions that I had things to sort out at police stations these days, I’ve come to realise that you have to drop your phone at the gate before being allowed to carry out your transactions. I guess, it is the fear of being recorded. Isn’t this too paranoid of them?

And who can forget the confrontation between the police and activist journalist Omoyele Sowore? His fearless approach to issues of governance often meant that he faced the brunt of police intimidation. With smart glasses in tow, he effectively captured instances of police harassment, thereby turning the tables on those who wield their power like a baton of oppression. At some point, they even allegedly stole the glasses from him at their Abuja headquarters, in a protest meant to address issues that concern the police welfares! Intriguing?

For NPF officers, facing the likes of Sowore while he records the situation in high definition is akin to an episode of a high-stakes game show where the stakes are not just pride but accountability.

As the police grapple with the implications of being recorded right where they stand, they must come to terms with the reality that smart glasses and other recording devices are now part of the public’s arsenal against their questionable practices. Rather than adapting by improving their conduct, the ongoing struggles reaffirm the fear and helplessness the NPF feels in the wake of citizen-led transparency initiatives.

In a nation desperate for change, perhaps the solution is not to fear the technology that puts them in the spotlight but to embrace it.

If the Nigeria Police Force wishes to earn public trust and respect, they should welcome these smart glasses with open arms — if only to ensure they are delivering the quality of service expected from them, rather than becoming unwitting stars in a series of unfortunate viral moments. After all, in a world where every misstep can be caught on camera, it’s much easier to clean up one’s act than to battle the inevitable — because really, what’s scarier than accountability?

So, I ask again, why is Nigeria Police Force afraid of being filmed?

Dave writes from Lagos.

By Adebayo Taofiq Aribidesi

In the restless arteries of Lagos—the commercial fulcrum of Nigeria and the pulsating heartbeat of West Africa—mobility is not a mere convenience but the very essence of survival, commerce, and urban productivity.

Within this sprawling megacity, traffic has long been both a challenge and a determinant of destiny. It was against this backdrop that the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) was conceived in the year 2000 to serve as custodian of road order and arbiter of discipline.

Yet, it is under the visionary and reformist stewardship of its current General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, that the Authority has entered a renewed epoch of institutional modernisation, operational refinement, and civic legitimacy.

Recasting Institutional Ethos

When Mr. Bakare-Oki assumed office, he inherited not a monolithic agency, but a living civic institution tasked with one of the most formidable assignments in Africa—ensuring discipline amidst the daily chaos of Lagos traffic.

Cognisant of this monumental responsibility, he sought to recalibrate the agency’s internal ethos: shifting LASTMA from an enforcement-dominated identity to a service-oriented institution defined by professionalism, empathy, and integrity.

Under his reformist compass, LASTMA officers are no longer viewed as mere enforcers of the law but as guardians of public safety, facilitators of economic life, and stewards of order.

This transformation—where civility complements firmness—has become a defining hallmark of his tenure.

Innovation, Technology, and Institutional Renewal

Mr. Bakare-Oki’s administration has been distinguished by a resolute embrace of innovation, technology, and structural upgrades commensurate with the complexities of a megacity of over twenty million inhabitants.

Recognising that manual enforcement alone is inadequate, he has championed the integration of intelligent traffic systems, digital monitoring mechanisms, and evidence-driven interventions.

Among the most groundbreaking strides is the inauguration of the LASTMA Toll-Free Hotline (0800-005-27862)—a direct lifeline for Lagosians to report infractions, seek assistance, and access real-time traffic information.

This innovation has fortified transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in unprecedented ways.

Equally transformative is the strengthening of the Research and Statistics Department, which has been upgraded into a formidable hub of data intelligence.

By systematically collating and analysing traffic patterns, accident trends, and enforcement outcomes, the department now informs policy decisions with precision—ensuring interventions are not reactive but strategically anticipatory.

Synergy, Advocacy, and Civic Enlightenment

Progress under Mr. Bakare-Oki has also been marked by expanded stakeholder collaboration and enhanced advocacy. Strategic partnerships with the Nigeria Police, Federal Road Safety Corps, Local Government Traffic Units, and the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation have strengthened enforcement synergy across the State.

At the community level, LASTMA has invigorated the Lagos State School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme, transforming it into a formidable channel for nurturing traffic consciousness among the younger generation.

By embedding road safety discipline into the minds of schoolchildren, the agency is laying the behavioural foundation for a more orderly Lagos of tomorrow.

Complementing this is a renewed emphasis on public enlightenment—leveraging radio broadcasts, grassroots forums, and civic dialogues—to foster voluntary compliance through education rather than coercion.

Professionalisation and Officer Welfare

Believing firmly that no institution can transcend the quality of its personnel, Mr. Bakare-Oki has prioritised the capacity building and welfare of LASTMA officers.

Continuous training in ethics, modern traffic management, and interpersonal engagement has become institutionalised.

Simultaneously, the reinforcement of welfare incentives and a culture of meritocracy has restored morale and instilled renewed pride in the uniform.

This revitalisation is now palpable on Lagos roads, where officers conduct their duties with heightened professionalism, courtesy, and effectiveness.

Economic Stewardship through Order

The economic implications of these reforms are immense. By reducing gridlock, minimising travel-time uncertainty, and dismantling the operations of impostors and illegal enforcers, LASTMA under Mr. Bakare-Oki has directly enhanced productivity, safeguarded man-hours, and lowered logistics costs for businesses across the metropolis.

Every avoided accident, every intercepted extortion, and every traffic delay mitigated translates into measurable economic value.

In this regard, LASTMA’s transformation has proven not only an administrative achievement but an engine of Lagos’ economic vitality.

Restoration of Trust and Civic Legitimacy

Perhaps the most enduring accomplishment of Mr. Bakare-Oki’s stewardship is the progressive restoration of public trust.

Once maligned by caricature and scepticism, LASTMA is steadily being reimagined as a partner of the motoring public rather than its adversary.

Through transparency, fairness, and empathy, the Authority is reclaiming its rightful stature as an indispensable ally in the daily quest for safe, predictable, and efficient mobility.

Conclusion: A Legacy of Leadership

The evolution of LASTMA under Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki is far more than a chronicle of administrative reform; it is a testament to the power of leadership in redefining institutional purpose.

Traffic management, under his vision, is no longer merely about roads and vehicles—it is about people, commerce, safety, and the preservation of the lifeblood of Lagos’ economy.

With the toll-free hotline empowering citizens, the fortified Research and Statistics Department guiding evidence-based interventions, and the revitalized School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme shaping future generations, Mr. Bakare-Oki has secured LASTMA’s trajectory of sustainable progress.

As Lagos marches resolutely toward its destiny as Africa’s model megacity, the Authority’s contributions under his leadership stand as a solemn assurance: discipline shall remain the guardian of prosperity, and order shall continue to be the bedrock of development.