Governor Babatunde Fashola
By Gboyega Akinsanmi and Taye Oye
Lagos State Government has inducted another set of 200 officers of the Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Kick against Indiscipline (KAI) for the ongoing career evaluation training programme; thereby making about 800 officers who had undergone the programme in six weeks.
The state government also said the programme was introduced to change the approach of both LASTMA and KAI personnel to law enforcement in the state, noting that the effort was designed to discourage the use of use in law enforcement and boost the law enforcement under the new traffic regime.
Senior Special Assistant on Transport Education, Dr. Miriam Masha, explained the rationale behind the career evaluation programme at the Public Service Staff Development (PSSDC) in Magodo, while 200 LASTMA and KIA officers were inducted for the fourth batch of the training programme.
Addressing journalists after the induction, Masha said the core objective of the programme was to equip all the participants with the better approach of law enforcement, which she said, largely de-emphasised the use of force while placing premium on the tools of advocacy in changing the way people behave.
She explained the travail of law enforcement agents in the state, saying there “is nowhere in the world that people like those enforcing the law. This is because they are trying to change people’s behaviour and make them do things in certain way that may not be comfortable, even though it will benefit the larger society.
One of the participants at the programme, Mr. Rasheed Sulaimon, expressed satisfaction with the evaluation programme, noting that it would definitely enhance the capacity of the participants to discharge their responsibilities more effectively.
Another participant, Mrs. Mosunmola Agboola commended the state government for introducing the programme, saying it offers them rare opportunity, which she said, would help them respond to environmental, social and traffic challenges differently and with clear mastery.