The Pélébé Menace Among Commercial Drivers in Nigeria

Gegele Taiye Abdullahi
tgegele@gmail.com
+2347060761801

Keeping mum on issues that threaten human lives with the present dwindling life expectancy rate in Nigeria is doing a great disservice to humanity. Sadly, not when Nigeria is acing the scores on various world rankings on negative narratives. The malady of alcoholism and highness among commercial bus and truck drivers in Nigeria is alarming and calls for an urgent intervention. I believe a radical approach is required to tackle these dangerous lifestyle habits of drivers. Road traffic accidents have killed more Nigerians than any other known causes of death.

According to the Federal Road Safety Corp, an average of 12 people died daily as a result of road accidents in 2019. The National bureau of statistics reported 2,598 deaths caused by road traffic accidents between October 2017 – March 2018. Numerous statistical figures from other credible sources informed my assertion above.

Nearly all parks are known to have open or secret stalls where alcohols, bitters, intoxicating concoctions and other substances in their league are being sold. Pélébé in the Yoruba parlance describes anything flat or sachet-like. Alcohol in sachets has been made so affordable and accessible that drivers and bikers now refer to it as pélébé.

A two hour journey on the Benin-Ore expressway last weekend has proven to be the longest two hours of my two decades of existence. Our vehicle developed a mechanical fault, presumably, overheating half-way through our journey, which required topping up water in the radiator. Each time the driver stops to top-up water in the radiator, he gives himself a top-up of one pélébé too. Noticeably, he was losing it, he was giving completely unrelated responses to our concerns and queries.

The terrible state of Nigerian roads and insecurity on the roads are enough worries, let alone adding a drunk driver to the frustration and fears of travelers. The federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) and the Road Transport Unions need to take proactive steps to help curb avoidable road traffic accidents and loss of lives. Transport and Drivers Unions such as the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), National Association of Road Transport Owners(NARTO) and the Heavy Duty Truck Drivers Association of Nigeria(HDTDAN) should embark on sensitization for their members, put strict regulations and effective monitoring and compliance mechanism in place that will severely punish erring members.

Also, the FRSC should not only limit their random alcohol level test on commercial drivers to festive seasons, drivers drink and drive round the year, lives are being lost due to road traffic accidents round the year.