The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has organised a stress management and emotional well-being workshop for law enforcement officers to boost service delivery and interaction with civil society.
The training workshop, organised in partnership with the Rashtriya Raksha University, India, took place at the FRSC headquarters on Monday in Abuja.
The FRSC corps marshal, Shehu Mohammed, in his remark said that sustainable and efficient service delivery not only depended on operational competency, but the mental and emotional well-being of law enforcement officers.
According to him, when stress isn’t managed properly, it can affect judgement, decision making, interpersonal relationships and overall effectiveness, hence the need to strengthen officer’s psychological resilience.
“The demands placed on law enforcement personnel continue to increase in today’s dynamic operational environment.
“Daily exposure to traumatic incidents, road traffic crashes, emergencies, disasters, security challenges and other critical situations place enormous psychological and emotional demands on officers.
“While we have traditionally focused on developing technical and operational competencies, experience has shown that sustainable effectiveness also depends on the mental and emotional well-being of law enforcement personnel.”
The corps marshal said that managing stress and improving emotional well-being of personnel charged with protecting lives and property was no longer optional, stating that it is now a strategic imperative.
“The FRSC has consistently remained committed to developing a highly professional, resilient and people-centred workforce capable of delivering efficient road safety administration and emergency response services,” he said.
He said that the commitment prompted the decision to partner with Rashtriya Raksha University, India, to bring the workshop to Nigeria as a product of the planned adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
“This collaboration reflects our determination to align our human capacity development initiatives with global best practices by equipping law enforcement personnel with practical skills in stress management.
“We also aim to give practical skills in emotional regulation, psychological resilience, self-management and peer support.
“These competencies are essential not only for personnel well-being but also for enhancing professionalism, improving casualty handling, strengthening emergency response and delivering quality service to the Nigerian people”, he added.
Mohammed revealed that the workshop which had been in planning for over a year, had been carefully designed to provide practical tools for managing occupational stress and recognising emotional challenges
He appreciated the Indian Government, and the Rashtriya Raksha University for sharing its expertise and experience with Nigeria as well as the ministry of foreign affairs for their commitment to the success of the workshop.
He said the collaboration represented another important milestone in international cooperation aimed at strengthening institutional capacity and promoting excellence among law enforcement agencies.
He urged personnel not to only acquire the knowledge, but to translate same to improved professional conduct, healthier work environments, enhanced resilience and better service delivery to the general public.
He also tasked high ranking officers to foster environment and organisational cultures where mental health was recognised as an essential component of operational readiness.
“Taking care of those who protect the society is indispensable to building safer communities and stronger institutions,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Correctional Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were part of the workshop.
The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abhishek Singh, said training collaboration had been the bedrock of the robust engagement between the two countries.
He said engagements such as the workshop not only helped share best practices and induce mutual learning through experiences, but also help build stronger ties between the various professional institutions of the respective countries.
Singh, represented by Manoj Singh, Defence Advisor to the High Commission, said that the engagements also lay the groundwork for stronger people-to-people ties.
He thanked the FRSC for the opportunity to share experiences while also learning from the participants’ experiences.
“It makes it more important for all of us to actually apply our minds, share our best practices and lay ground for the future,” he said.
NAN also reports that the workshop featured lectures from Dr Jasbir Thadhani of Rashtriya Raksha University among other resource persons.(NAN)
