By DAUD OLATUNJI, Abeokuta

Emotion was high and the atmosphere sober  recently  in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, when the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, reeled out the number of deaths recorded in two years through  road accidents. According to Amosun, in 2011 a total of 722 people died and another 1,696 injured in 1,975 accidents in the state. The year 2010 recorded 649 deaths, 1,533 injuries and1,980 accidents.

Disturbed by the incessant  and alarming rate of deaths caused by road accidents on various roads in the state, the government assembled  stakeholders in the roads safety sector who submitted that some of the deaths were preventable. The   stakeholders, which included the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, the Nigerian Red Cross, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, TRACY and the Nigerian Aid Group, NAG, also  came to the conclusion that unless urgent steps are taken, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, which links the busiest air and sea ports of Lagos with the rest of Nigeria, and the Sagamu-Ore-Benin expressway, which links the Western and Eastern parts of Nigeria, would continue to be death traps.

The Governor who  launched   the re-branded State Ambulance Services and Global Action on Decade of Road Safety, four new advanced life support ambulances and 10 refurbished ambulances, however, stressed the need to improve on provision of effective emergency services .

*Some of the ambulances on the fleet of the relaunched State Ambulance Services

He  appealed to well-meaning individuals, philanthropists and corporate organisations to come to the aid of the state government in its efforts to provide 42 life support ambulances that would cover the whole state.

Gov Amosun, represented by his deputy, Prince Segun Adesegun lamented the wave of accidents on Nigerian roads, adding that Ogun had recorded the highest number of road crashes in the last two years. He disclosed that his government has purchased four new state-of-the-art ambulances and have also refurbished 10 basic life support ambulances to help reduce fatality and other complications resulting from road accidents and other emergencies.

Affirming that his administration was committed to achieve efficient healthcare delivery, he said: “The government’s approaches in the health sector in the areas of promotion, prevention, cure, rehabilitation and surveillance, using the primary healthcare approaches, are on course”.

According to him: “The state is proud to be the first in Nigeria to join in the United Nations declaration on Decade of Action on road safety officially launched globally on 11th of May, 2011 with the aim of reducing into half by the year 2020 road accidents and casualties in all Nation of the world”.

Speaking on human capacity development, he disclosed that the emergency personnel have been sponsored for training on first responder skills, basic life support and advanced cardiac life support certification by the American Heart Association. Governor Amosun called on well- meaning Nigerians, philanthropists and corporate organisations to partner with the State to achieve the goal of having at least 42 life support ambulance to cover the entire state.