NITT creates driver training centres to reduce road accidents

Worried by the alarming rate of road accidents in the country, the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria, has constructed and equipped driver development and training centres across its outreach to reduce road crashes.

The Institute’s Director-General, Dr. Bayero Salih Farah who disclosed this in Zaria while briefing journalists on the achievements of the training school in the last one year of his leadership, said part of his desire was to see drivers in the country learn basic defensive driving techniques and inculcate decent driving habits essential to their profession.

According to Dr Farah, “We decided to construct and equip ‘Driver Development and Training Centres’ in all the Institute’s outreach learning centres across the six geo-political zones.

“With this initiative, the country will hopefully in future witness significant drop in accidents rates because drivers’ behaviour would inevitably change as a result if continuous training.

“We are aware of the state of road traffic accidents in the country and research has shown that most of these accidents occur as a result of human errors.

The centres would be furnished with modern training equipment facilities to ensure that drivers get quality driving training,” he said.

Speaking on the Institute’s mandate, which is training in the area of transport technology, Dr. Farah said the institute has trained over 3,125 persons in long term and short term programmes on transport logistics.

According to him, the trainees have acquired a Diploma in Transport and Logistics, Advanced Diploma in Transport and Logistics, Post Graduate Diploma in Transport and Logistics as well as Masters in Transport and Logistics.

The NITT DG also said the Institute was sponsoring 16 staff abroad for PhD and MSc in various fields of transport, engineering and other critical areas of need.

He added that the institute has concluded arrangements to establish an 84-hectares Jathropa plantation, for production of bio-fuel technology.

The Director-General who noted that the resolve to embark on the Jathropa plantation was informed by Nigeria’s desire for alternative fuel, disclosed that the Institute under his leadership had already acquired 84 hectares of land from the Kaduna State Government for the project.

According to him, “The country is looking for alternative to fuel and in regard to that, we have identified Jathropha plant as the best alternative. We are embarking on plantation of this plant so that, if it is successful we can expand it and extend to private investors.”