The appointment of Dauda Ali Biu as the Acting Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has been described as placing a round peg in a round hole, considering his vast experience and passion for the job.
Biu, a seasoned road safety professional who hails from Hawul Local Government Area of Borno State, joined the Corps in 1988 and rose through hard work, dedication and commitment to the rank of Deputy Corps Marshal before his elevation to the rank of Acting Corps Marshal.
Following his appointment, Nigerians have expressed optimism that his emergence will help transform the agency considering his vast experience on the job.
Recounting their experiences, some Nigerians disclosed that the Corps Marshal has assisted in saving the lives of accident victims irrespective of his ranks.
Mr Maduabuchi Nwadike told our reporters that he met him sometime in 2019 at the highway around Julius Berger bridge at an accident scene when they were trying to rescue the victims.
Nwadike said they could not get a car to covey the victims because they parked on the other side of the road, but someone came and immediately asked his driver to convey the victims to a nearby hospital while he waited at the scene.
According to him, “I saw a Road Safety official vehicle coming, when it gets to the scene, it stopped, and the man came out to see the situation and he noticed the victim, a girl was unconscious and he ordered his driver to assist and take the girl to the nearest hospital – Zanklin hospital in Mabushi.”
He said, though, there is a sector that was in charge of the Berger area but before they could come with their vehicle, he (Ali Biu) used his official car to convey the victim to the hospital.
“I was trying to find out who he was because on rare occasions he would have called the officers in charge of that place to come and do their work. But he chose to use his official car to convey the victim to the hospital. I was touched to ask him who he is, when I got closer, I saw his name tag, written ‘Biu’. I can joke at times, so I called him.
“The girl in question was related to me and she was coming to see me when she had the accident. Before the people of that Command came and they met us in the hospital and he handed over the keys to them before we exchanged contacts and left,” he said.
Also, Mallam Nasir Dambatta, said that Buhari has certainly displayed exemplary wisdom with the appointment of Biu, a man whose leadership, sacrifice, statesmanship, patriotism and unwavering commitment to the interests of the people of Nigeria at large the citizens of Nigeria as a whole have few parallels in our nation.
According to Dambatta, “we feel proud to say that we drew and shall continue to draw inspiration from his life and works and shall continue to strive, in all we do, to live by the personal and social values and standards he has lived and set for himself as a citizen, subject, and leader.
“Is there any testimonial that can be better said about a man who started impacting life right from humble beginnings oblivious of what the future held for him decades ago? His must be a case of ‘do good always wherever you are not minding whoever may be looking at you.”
They strongly believe that the Acting Corps Marshal will improve on the achievement of his predecessor to transform road safety to the admiration of other countries.