We rounded off the day with a visit to the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM, which provides regular traffic updates, takes calls from listeners, and hosts guests. I was warmly received for a brief but lively on-air chat. Additional highlights included the West African Road Safety Organisation Secretariat, which Nigeria currently hosts, and the African Lead Agency Secretariat, which Nigeria secured from Zambia by a very narrow margin.
It began like any other bustling workday at our office when I participated at a media interaction at the Headquarters of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Abuja.
Not many visits to public officials stir the kind of anticipation this one did. As I had closely followed the FRSC’s transformation in recent years, particularly since Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu appointed Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed, a member of national institute (mni), to lead the Corps in May 2024.
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A distinguished career officer with over three decades of service within the agency, Mohammed is a chartered accountant who currently holds the prestigious traditional title of Sulukin Arewan Zazzau within the Zazzau Emirate Council in Kaduna State. His footprint within the FRSC is anything but modest.
He launched a paperless electronic document management system and introduced body cameras for patrol officers alongside a dedicated mobile app for emergency responses. He upgraded printing facilities to produce an average of 15,000 driver’s licences daily and initiated a contactless biometric capture system to eliminate processing delays. Most notably, he led the FRSC to achieve ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Certification, making it the first uniformed organisation in Africa to reach this milestone.
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Added to these achievements is the conversion of nearly 1,400 personnel from the marshal to the officer cadre, and the initiation of training for over 1,600 staff across various ranks. Impressive credentials on paper, no doubt, but nothing could have fully prepared me for the revelation that the man’s vision and impact reach far beyond what the tabloids have captured.
As we were ushered into his impressively organised office, spaciously appointed and genuinely welcoming, we came face to face with a man whose humble demeanour effortlessly complements his transformative strides. As both bosses exchanged handshakes, I observed from a short distance that, much like my CEO, Corps Marshal Mohammed is precisely the kind of person you would describe as a true “guyman.”
His qualities were immediately perceptible: visionary, warm, self-aware, eloquent, deeply informative, and above all, firmly data-driven.
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A few minutes into our conversation, past the pleasantries, it became clear that what the FRSC has achieved in the last two years is merely the tip of the iceberg. For instance, preparations are in top gear to allow motorists to register for number plates entirely online, choose their preferred number combinations, make payments, and have the plates delivered to their chosen address. “This is also an opportunity, through the value chain of transport and logistics, to create more jobs for our teeming unemployed population,” he said with evident enthusiasm. Beyond that, the contactless driver’s licence capture system can read a thumbprint from several metres away without requiring physical contact with the lens. All NIN-linked biometric data is drawn instantly, and a driver’s licence is printed and issued on the spot.
“When I came in, we had about 400,000 unprinted licences. We printed them and reached out to the owners to inform them their licences were ready for collection. Today, we have a backlog of barely 5,000,” Mohammed explained.
As he walked us through his vision and reforms at the FRSC, including the rollout of body cameras for patrol officers, I asked how he had managed to achieve such a high compliance rate, given that many workers naturally resist change and prefer the status quo. Even as I posed the question, I was not entirely surprised by his approach. Upon entering his office, my eyes had quickly caught a copy of Robert Wanyama’s Disruptive Strategies resting calmly on his desk. The book is centred on empowering leaders to navigate rapid industry changes by treating disruption as an opportunity rather than a threat. “This is one remarkable public servant with the Midas touch,” I thought to myself, resisting the very tempting urge to pick up the book. Little wonder he does not rely solely on official channels for actionable intelligence. He leverages active social media monitoring to decisively address public complaints, employs on-the-ground scouting to tackle traffic offences, and benchmarks global driving cultures, including economic conditions, literacy levels, and quality of life standards, to shape policy decisions.
“Have you ever asked yourself why someone in Jigawa or Kano might agree to be transported in a vehicle’s boot, while someone in Lagos simply would not? These things matter,” he said, reassuring us that the FRSC remains open to public concerns. “Even if someone sees something they dislike about us and brings it to our attention, we will address it. We are very much committed to holding ourselves accountable,” he added.
The more you engage with Corps Marshal Mohammed, the more you encounter a man with a genuine difference to make in public office and nothing to conceal. He personally led us into his inner chambers, walking us through the gallery, meeting areas, and conference room, all of which were immaculately organised and appointed with the polish of a world-class corporate setting.
Our team was subsequently taken on a tour of the facilities, including the call centre, where the toll-free emergency number 122 had received 2,265 calls from the public at an average call duration of 41 seconds on the day of our visit. The tour extended to the control room for body-worn cameras worn by patrol officials stationed across the country. We were able to monitor, in real time, what was unfolding at various patrol posts across Nigeria, including Abuja, Kaduna, and Taraba.
“We have the technology to remotely take over the camera in cases of sabotage, and we can also control the speed of the patrol vehicle from this room. To counter power challenges, we always equip officers with extra batteries,” the officer in charge explained.
We rounded off the day with a visit to the National Traffic Radio 107.1 FM, which provides regular traffic updates, takes calls from listeners, and hosts guests. I was warmly received for a brief but lively on-air chat. Additional highlights included the West African Road Safety Organisation Secretariat, which Nigeria currently hosts, and the African Lead Agency Secretariat, which Nigeria secured from Zambia by a very narrow margin.
Corps Marshal Shehu Mohammed’s agenda at the FRSC has been built on a six-point framework anchored on policy reform, digital transformation, and enhanced staff welfare, and the evidence is impossible to ignore. With barely two years at the helm, he has repositioned what many once regarded as a slow-moving institution into a technology-driven, citizen-focused agency setting benchmarks not just in Nigeria, but across the African continent. No doubt, the road ahead under his watch promises to be a remarkable one.
Mohammed Dahiru Lawal, a factchecker, writes from Abuja.
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