The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) on Thursday through its flagship initiative, the Lagos State Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme, convened the grand finale of a statewide inter-school essay competition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the essay competition was part of the activities lined up for the agency’s 25th anniversary and as well a prelude to the second Lagos Traffic conference.
The intellectually enriching event designed to galvanise the critical faculties of young minds across Lagos State, witnessed active participation from public and private secondary schools.
The students submitted incisive essays articulating forward-thinking and sustainable strategies for enhancing traffic safety and efficiency in a complex urban ecosystem like Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Mr Sola Giwa, lauded the initiative for its far-reaching impact.
Giwa noted that the initiative sought to ignite civic consciousness and cultivate intellectual discourse among the youth on the intricacies of traffic regulation and safety.
He emphasised that the contest served not merely as an academic exercise but as a transformative platform for amplifying the voices of future city-shapers in Lagos’ transportation narrative.
“The competition culminated in a riveting final round, wherein the shortlisted finalists demonstrated exceptional analytical depth, rhetorical finesse, and creative ingenuity, reflecting a sophisticated understanding of urban mobility dynamics.
“An erudite panel of adjudicators comprising scholars, policy analysts, and transport sector professionals undertook a rigorous evaluation process to identify the top three laureates, each of whom offered compelling paradigms for reimagining traffic management in the megacity.
“The climax of this noble intellectual endeavour lies ahead, as the three distinguished winners shall be publicly honoured and conferred with awards of excellence by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, at the second Lagos Traffic Conference,” he said.
He added that the conference would take place July 15 at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Mr Olawale Musa, extolled the efforts of the students from various schools who actively participated in the essay competition.
Musa urged the students to remain steadfast in their academic pursuits and to conduct themselves as worthy ambassadors of both Lagos State and the nation at large.
He commended the students for the insightful and thought-provoking arguments articulated during their presentations.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, underscored the imperative of mainstreaming youth engagement in traffic policy discourse and behavioural re-orientation.
“Today’s students represent the architects of tomorrow’s transport systems. Embedding civic responsibility and traffic consciousness in their formative years is indispensable to cultivating a future motoring environment characterised by compliance, empathy, and order,” he said.
Bakare-Oki described the essay competition as a cornerstone of LASTMA’s strategic advocacy framework, which was anchored on education, public enlightenment, and participatory governance.
He noted that the initiative dovetails seamlessly with the overarching theme of this year’s Lagos Traffic Conference: “Rethinking Urban Mobility: A Strategic Blueprint for a Safer Lagos.”
“This milestone engagement with our youth signals a pivotal stride toward institutionalising a sustainable traffic culture and entrenching safety consciousness in the hearts and minds of the next generation of Lagos residents,” he said.
