As traffic builds up across Nigeria for the Yuletide season, the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has rolled out a nationwide search and rescue operation aimed at keeping roads safer and reducing preventable tragedies.
The agency on Wednesday officially flagged off Operation Eagle Eye 2025 in Abuja, a strategic intervention designed to support traffic control, curb road crashes and ensure rapid emergency response during the festive rush.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar, stressed that road safety goes beyond enforcement, describing it as a shared duty that requires the cooperation of all road users.
She urged motorists to take responsibility for their actions, warning that negligence remains a major cause of crashes.
Operation Eagle Eye, an annual initiative, targets periods of increased vehicular movement when the risks of road mishaps are highest.
Umar said the exercise would complement the efforts of traffic and emergency agencies nationwide to protect lives and property.
She noted that the operation followed a recent “Operation Keep Fit” exercise personally led by her, aimed at ensuring that NEMA personnel were physically prepared for the demands of field operations during the festive season.
The NEMA boss raised serious concerns about poor vehicle maintenance and drivers’ unfamiliarity with current road conditions, especially on long-distance routes.
She warned that many motorists embark on journeys without checking their vehicles or updating themselves on ongoing road construction.
“There are vehicles on major highways that have not been properly inspected in months,” she said, citing routes such as Enugu–Port Harcourt and Lokoja, where changing road conditions pose additional dangers.
Umar also cautioned rescue personnel and volunteers to prioritise their own safety while on duty, recalling a fatal incident during a previous operation in Lagos.
“You must stay alive to save others. If a trailer is not slowing down, get out of the way. Your family is expecting you back home,” she warned.
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She further directed that any injured person evacuated with a Mobile Intensive Care Unit must be accompanied by a relative to ensure accountability and proper hospital documentation.
Declaring Operation Eagle Eye 2025 open, Umar urged commercial drivers to “drive to stay alive” and expressed hope for a peaceful and accident-free festive season.
Earlier, the Head of Abuja Operations Office, Mr Zakari Abubakar, said the programme harnessed collaboration among key stakeholders to ease traffic flow and reduce crashes during the high-traffic period.
Also speaking, the Director of Search and Rescue at NEMA, Air Commodore Usman Bature, explained that the operation was being carried out simultaneously across the country to ensure swift response to emergencies on major highways.
Bature warned motorists against risky driving habits common during holidays, urging them to remain vigilant and cautious at all times.
The Director-General of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency, Mr Abdurrahman Mohammed, reminded drivers that safety, not speed, defines good driving. He disclosed that a 10-day intensive monitoring exercise had commenced and would run until January 3, 2026.
He added that the operation involved the Vehicle Inspection Office and other agencies stationed at major junctions across the FCT.
Representing the Federal Road Safety Corps, Assistant Corps Commander Sani Idris emphasised that road mishaps are largely avoidable, describing them as crashes rather than accidents.
He cautioned against speeding, phone use while driving and alcohol consumption.
Idris explained that driving at 140km/h instead of 100km/h often saves only a few minutes but greatly increases the risk of death.
He also warned drivers against relying on stimulants such as caffeine or kola nuts to overcome fatigue.
“The road is patient, but it does not forgive,” he said, urging motorists to rest properly before embarking on long journeys.
NAN
