The tragic accident involving Anthony Joshua, which claimed two lives, is more than an unfortunate incident on Nigeria’s highways.
It is a damning indictment of how far the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has drifted from its founding ideals and why public confidence in the agency continues to erode.
Predictably, the FRSC has fallen back on its familiar script: over-speeding, wrongful overtaking, driver error. These explanations may be convenient, but they are also incomplete and evasive. They shift responsibility entirely to road users while ignoring the institutional failure that has allowed indiscipline to flourish unchecked on our roads.
There was a time when such an accident might well have been prevented. Under the founding leadership of Dr. Olu Agunloye, the FRSC was not a desk-bound bureaucracy issuing post-accident press statements. It was a visible, proactive, and feared presence on Nigeria’s highways. Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other critical corridors were routinely patrolled. Overspeeding was sanctioned decisively. Broken-down trucks-those silent killers, were swiftly removed. Disobedience to traffic rules carried real consequences.
In those days, enforcement was deliberately inconvenient. A motorist fined in Lagos could be directed to pay in Abuja. The message was clear: breaking road safety rules would disrupt your life. Before offenders were allowed back on the road, they were compelled to confront the brutal reality of road crashes by watching graphic safety videos. The intent was not punishment alone, but deterrence and behavioural change. Even the Corps Marshal himself led from the front, personally conducting road patrols.
Contrast that with today’s FRSC, where enforcement appears sporadic, reactive, and often performative. Patrols are scarce where they matter most. Wrecked and broken-down heavy-duty vehicles linger on highways for hours, sometimes days. Sanctions have lost their sting, and road users have learned, correctly, that the odds of being caught or seriously punished are low.
The Anthony Joshua accident did not occur in a vacuum. It happened within a system where preventive enforcement has been replaced by excuses after the fact. When the FRSC abandons speed control, tolerates highway obstructions, and reduces sanctions to token fines, it creates the conditions for tragedy. Blaming drivers alone, in such circumstances, is an act of institutional dishonesty.
The painful lesson from this accident is not merely about who was at fault at the wheel. It is about an agency that has forgotten why it was created. Road safety is not achieved through slogans, checkpoints, or press releases issued after lives have been lost. It is achieved through relentless patrol, uncompromising enforcement, and leadership by example.
If the FRSC is serious about preventing the next Anthony Joshua tragedy, it must return to the ideals of its founding fathers. Revive constant highway patrols. Enforce speed limits without fear or favour. Remove road obstructions immediately. Restore sanctions that genuinely deter. Above all, put offices-bound leadership back on the road.
Until then, every fatal crash will continue to raise the same uncomfortable question: were these deaths inevitable, or were they enabled by an agency that has chosen convenience over commitment?
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