A retired pioneer staff of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Deacon Sunday Taye Dairo, has called on the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, to institutionalise recognition and special recruitment consideration for the children of the 25 pioneer personnel who established the foundation for the Corps in 1988.
Dairo, who retired in 2013 as Deputy Chief Road Marshal and Zonal Road Safety Marshal with badge number M8805-00021, said the appeal was to preserve the legacy of founding personnel and reduce the suffering of the surviving pioneers and families of deceased members, The Guardian reports.
Dairo, who narrated the history of the Corps, said 25 men of the former Old Oyo State Road Safety Corps were given to the newly constituted FRSC by a circular dated April 8, 1988, issued by the then Military Governor of Old Oyo State, Major General David Jemibewon.
“The federal government requested the 25 personnel to train the first batch of 1,000 youth corps members and start the operational activities of the FRSC when there was no structured federal road safety institution in Nigeria. Connect with Diaspora Networks
Dairo claimed many of the pioneer personnel perished in active service while some retired after many years of service with only 11 of the 25 pioneer operating personnel still alive.
“Many of the personnel died on active service while others retired peacefully after years of meritorious national service. Of the original operating personnel, just eleven are still alive, although now retired. “I am one of the surviving retired personnel and I am writing for all of us,” he stated.
“The surviving pioneers are struggling financially in retirement, with many depending on their pensions and also supporting unemployed children who have completed their education,” said the retired Zonal Road Safety Marshal.
“We are just living on our tiny pensions, though we have graduated children who could be taking care of us in our retirement years, but these children have no jobs.
“So instead of them having to look after us, we have to be using our meagre pensions to look after them. “Things are so pathetic that we have no option but to appeal for a compassionate consideration,” he said.
Dairo urged to the Corps Marshal to promote employment of qualified children of the pioneer personnel saying such gesture will give meaning to the sacrifices made by the founding members.
“I am pleading that you please use your good office to help facilitate the appointment of any of them into the Corps so that my 35 years with the Corps will not be in vain,” he stated.
To highlight his appeal, Dairo mentioned the story of two children of one of the surviving pioneers, Deputy Chief Inspector Sunday Taye Unuigbe from Edo State, who featured in the just ended FRSC recruiting exercise.
He identified them as Unuigbe Tomiwa Odion, CX0126831ED and Unuigbe Yemisi Adesua, CA0246823E.
Both candidates cleared the prerequisites, went through the screening phases and completed the necessary six months training before they were dropped at the last step, Dairo said.
“They weren’t told why they had been excluded,” he claimed.
Dairo consequently encouraged Mohammed to formally acknowledge the 25 pioneer staff and establish a preferential recruitment policy for their children and dependants in future recruitment campaigns.
“We are humbly pleading with the Corps Marshal to consider giving us some slots whenever the Corps is recruiting to assist us in alleviating our hardships as our leader and father that God has put in authority,” he stated.
He said such award would be a way of appreciating the sacrifices of the pioneer personnel and also an encouragement to the serving commanders.
“This is not simply about jobs. It is about honour, legacy and paying thank you to those who laboured to construct the FRSC from scratch when there was nothing,” Dairo said.
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