FRSC pioneer seeks jobs for officers’ children
Retired officer appeals to Corps Marshal
By Adeola Badru
A retired pioneer officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Deacon Sunday Dairo, has appealed to the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, to consider employment opportunities for the children of the agency’s pioneer personnel.
Dairo said such intervention would help ease the hardship faced by retired pioneer officers who, according to him, depend on modest pensions while some of their children remain unemployed.
The retired officer, who spoke with Vanguard on Monday, said he retired in 2013 as a Deputy Chief Road Marshal and Zonal Road Safety Marshal in Osogbo after 35 years of service.
He urged the FRSC leadership to formally recognise the 25 pioneer personnel who helped establish the Corps and consider a special preference for their children and wards in future recruitment exercises.
Recounting the history of the Corps, Dairo said 25 personnel of the defunct Old Oyo State Road Safety Corps were released to the newly established FRSC following a circular dated April 8, 1988, issued by the then Military Governor of Old Oyo State, Major-General David Jemibewon.
According to him, the personnel were released at the request of the Federal Government to train the first batch of 1,000 youth corps members and commence the operational activities of the FRSC.
Dairo said only 11 of the pioneer operational personnel were still alive, all of them retired.
“Most of us only survive on our meagre pensions even though we have children that have graduated from school who could be taking care of us in our retirement years, but these children have no jobs.
“So instead of them taking care of us, we have to be using our meagre pensions to take care of them,” he said.
Dairo appealed to the Corps Marshal to consider helping qualified children of the pioneer officers secure employment opportunities in the FRSC.
“I’m 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 said.
He cited the case of two children of one of the surviving pioneer officers, Deputy Chief Inspector Sunday Taye Unuigbe of Edo State, who he said participated in the recently concluded FRSC recruitment exercise.
Dairo identified the candidates as Unuigbe Tomiwa Odion and Unuigbe Yemisi Adesua.
He alleged that the two candidates met the requirements and passed the various stages of the recruitment process before completing the mandatory six-month training, but were not retained at the final stage.
Dairo said the experience had reinforced his call for the FRSC to establish a formal mechanism for recognising the contribution of its pioneer personnel.
“We humbly request the Corps Marshal to consider allocating some slots to us anytime the Corps is recruiting as a way of assisting to alleviate our hardships as our leader and father that God has put in authority,” he said.
He said the request was not only about employment but also recognition of the sacrifices made by the officers who helped establish the FRSC.
“This is not just about employment. It is about honour, legacy and saying thank you to those who toiled to build the FRSC from scratch when there was nothing,” Dairo added.
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