NO matter the intent of change or reform, people would always question the rationale behind the move. This phenomenon was even fuelled by revelations that had trailed reasons behind such moves. Nigerians will never forget in a hurry when the uniform of the Nigerian Police Force was changed simply because a sweetheart of somebody in the corridors of power so wished, because it was not well thought, within six months, the police uniform was changed twice.That experience, has always informed Nigerians' decision to always find change or reform difficult not minding if it has any benefits. After three years of consultations, the federal government according to President Goodluck Jonathan, has decided to come up with another change, this time around, the drivers' licence and vehicles' number plates. The innovation according to the president was the 'culmination of three years of hard work which started with a discussion I had with the Corps Marshal in my office then as Vice President on the need to improve our driver's licence for it to meet international standards.'The question many Nigerians are now asking is what is the international standard for driver's licence and number plates' Nigerian Tribune investigation revealed that the international standard being referred to by President Jonathan is its ability to serve as a medium for security checks founded on a network of database.In Bangladesh, a licence is considered as a standard form of identification, as good as a passport. And in a number of European countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and even the United States which have no national identification cards and because of the widespread use of cars, driver's licences are often used as a de facto standard form of identification. In the People's Republic of China (mainland), Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Spain and Venezuela, the driver's licence number is the same as the citizen's ID number. But in Hong Kong, a licence carries the same number as the holder's ID card, but has no photograph.What form of security measures does the FRSC want to introduce by the way of new driver's licence and number plates'In Nigeria before now, to acquire a driver's licence, one must have attended a certified driving school and pass a test with the Vehicle Inspection Officers(VIO). But with time, the process was truncated and later, even a day old baby could get his driver's licence by only making a payment and not appear at the licencing office at all.According to Mr Chibuzor Aneze, a retired civil servant, 'driver's licence doesn't mean anything again when every Dick, Tom and Harry can get one. I'm sure the influx of Tokunbo cars affected the entire transportation system in Nigeria. In our days, you can't just pick up a driver's licence without undergoing a thorough driving test. But when these Oyinbos used cars flooded Nigeria, everything about our driving system collapsed. I remembered vividly that hardly could you see a young boy behind the wheels in the 60s and 70s, but today because of Tokunbo cars and the fact that the owner can get it from numerous sources, everyone now drives carelessly on the roads. Can you then question where those people get their driver's licence' 'Before the introduction of the new driver's licence, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Tribune gathered, was unable to control the proliferation of the document, but with the new development, according to Mrs Oluwakemi Oladayo who is in charge at the biometric data section, FRSC, Mokola unit, Ibadan, 'the public has been wrongly fed on the intention of the FRSC on the introduction of the new number plates. First, let me state that the FRSC only designs and print the number plates, we're not in charge of issuance and the payment is being made to the States Board of Internal Revenue(SBI). And as against the rumour, we're only attending to renewals now and not to fresh issuance at the price of just N6,350 not payable into FRSC account but the SBI's.'Let me also add that the new driver's licence is a better document from the old one because every information supplied at each point will be stored at the Corps database which can be accessed anywhere in the country. After completing the process, the intending applicants would be issued a temporary copy which will last for 60 days (two months) before being given the real copy which will expire in four years. The new licence has been designed to check crime rate by its new features. It has on it some security codes which I cannot mention. On it we have the owner's mobile telephone and next of kin number in case of emergency and which should tally with the same information on the number plates in case of applicants that own a car. Unlike before, each applicant must be physically present before he can be issued one,' she noted.Confirming the genuineness of the process, Oladayo said the process is simple and has clearly justified that FRSC collects no dime from would be appli-cants.She said the process of application has been fully advertised in the media.An interested applicant can only apply online at https://www.nigeria-driverslicence.org , print out the form and bank teller or in person at the Drivers Licence Centre (DLC). He will then pay for the licence fee online or at designated banks and present the form to the Board of internal Revenue Officer or Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) at the DLC for endorsement before proceeding to the FRSC Officer, at the DLC for biometric data capturing. Finally, the applicants would be given a temporary drivers licence that is only valid for 60 days.For fresh applicants, the difference is that the new applicants must have attended an accredited driving school which will in turn sponsor the person for a driving test at the VIO section. However, the fresh applicant must pass the driving test after which the VIO will issue such a person a Certificate of Proficiency before proceeding further.Furthermore, Nigerian Tribune gathered that the federal government is bent on Nigeria's compliance with the international standard as hinted by President Jonathan at the official launching in Abuja. That it was gathered, was to comply with the Vienna and Geneva Conventions on road signs and markings it acceded to last year. According to President Jonathan, 'The accession to these conventions, which have been in existence since 1949, imposes new responsibility on Nigeria to ensure that the driver's license is a competency-based certificate.'By that, it means, the driving schools will now present or sponsor successful applicants for the application of driver's licence in accordance with the Driving Schools Standardisation Programme (DSSP) that stipulates that only accredited driving schools must sponsor all fresh applicants for driver's licence. To this end, a new regulatory regime of mandatory test and continuous drivers training would be introduced for commercial drivers.Meanwhile, Nigerian Tribune further learnt that checking criminal acts which was the baseline for the introduction of the new driver's licence may, however, be a mirage if there is no complement number plates. But few months after it was introduced, the House of Representatives criticised the idea, saying it is not only economically oppressive but also lacks value to national security. But after the House directed its Committee on FRSC to investigate the rationale, necessity and circumstances of the planned phasing out of the extant vehicle number plates and present licences, the issuance was put on hold.But the Corps Marshal and chief executive of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Osita Chidoka, denied the fact that FRSC sells the number plates and the driver's licence to members of the public. Chidoka said that FRSC only prints the documents for the state governments, based on the information the latter supply. 'Such licences are returned to them (state) under the tripartite arrangement, which they make available to the public, not the FRSC. And the Joint Tax Board determines the prices.'For the avoidance of doubt, the approved prices for vehicle number plates are N15, 000 for new vehicle registration and N10, 000 for old vehicle exchanging for new one, excluding other administrative charges,' he said.'Government can never enunciate policies just to exploit the Nigerians, because the welfare and security of the people is the reason for the existence of government in the first place. Therefore, the overriding interest in this project cannot be the exploitation of the people, but ensuring national security and the safety interest of all Nigerians. I would prefer that analysts focus more on that angle and not just emphasy on the economic aspect of it,' Osita said.The revalidation of the old number plates according to the FRSC is N10,000 for cars and N2,000 for motorcycles. However, for a licence to be duly revalidated, according to the FRSC, the old driver's licence must be original- the FRSC should be able to trace it in their data base to discover when it was first issued. In case the old document could not be traced, it will be treated as a fresh application. For new registration, the prices are stipulated as follow:1. StandardN15,0002. Articulated (Trucks etc) N20,0003. Out of series N40,0004. Fancy N80,0005. DealerN30,0006. Government N15,0007. Government Fancy N40,000Meanwhile, Nigerian Tribune was reliably informed that the price stated above are the approved cost excluding other fees for renewal of various documents (papers) which a new car might need to be road worthy.The new number plates, it was learnt had a comprehensive database to check car theft and combat crime in the country. Some of the visible changes in the new number plates which the FRSC say will assist in car tracking include; the embossment of the map of Nigeria, the re-arrangement of numbers, which now starts from the local government code, vehicle registration numbers and the serial code.According to the Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Mokola Unit, Ibadan, Mrs Medinat Titilayo Ishola, Nigerians will eventually like the scheme because of its integrity. According to her, 'The new number plate will be very, very difficult to fake because it has a central verification mode and the ones which are not from the same source can be discovered by our verification facilities. It will help to reduce car theft and help reduce revenue loss by the government because there are no other places to get it than from one source and which is the government.'Although, the House Committee on FRSC has put on hold the new exercise but some people had already got the new number plates from some of the states which had invested on it. And according to reports, men of the Nigerian police have been cashing in on some motorists, demanding where they got the new number plates.The old number plate is expected to be phased out by August 31, 2012, but how prepared are the agencies in charge to cope with the challenges of achieving such by the stipulated date and will the entire populace eventually agree that the change is worth it
Click here to read full news..
