By Theodore Opara
NECESSITY, they say is the mother of inventions. This is what the outbreak of Coronavirous pandemic has turned many organisations, agencies as well as military and paramilitary bodies across the globe.
While some companies have become manufacturers of ventilators, others have taken to the production of facemasks, all aimed at saving lives while COVID-19 lasts. The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, has joined the league of those who strive to contribute their quota for safety of lives at this tough time by engagin g in the production of facemasks which have become very scarce commodities in the country at the moment.
The Federal Road Safety Corps one of the most revered paramilitary agencies in the country, has commenced the production and distribution of customised face masks for its personnel across the country. This development came in response to recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 for all ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government to procure and distribute locally made face masks for use by their staff as part of established efforts to quell the spread of the virus.
According to Bisi Kazeem, the Corps Public Education Officer of FRSC, “to ensure a timely response to this directive, the Corps Marshal, Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi has directed the tailoring unit of the corps to commence immediate and speedy production and distribution of customised face masks for officers and marshals of the corps nationwide due to the critical role of corps plays in the ongoing enforcement of the national restriction order.
Kazeem noted that with FRSC personnel being at the front line in the enforcement of the presidential restriction order on COVID-19, they have tendency of coming in contact with different categories of people including carriers of the infectious disease, and as such deserve to adopt all precautionary measures, especially the constant use of face masks while discharging their statutory functions.
He further stated that the produced facemasks to be distributed to personnel have been certified by medical experts to be fit for use by all staff. The spokeperson recalled that in the wake of the pandemic, the corps marshal had proactively supervised the distribution of alcohol based sanitisers and the conventional medical face masks to staff at the national headquarters and other formations including the National Drivers’ Licence capture centres.
