The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),Bayelsa State Command, has urged Nigerians to adopt the use of bicycle as an alternative means of transportation, stating that it is cheaper and serves as means for exercise, keeping the body fit and healthy.
The Sector Commander, Mr Ibrahim Usman made this call during the 3rd ‘World Bicycle Day’ which held in Yenagoa,the state capital at the weekend.
Usman, in an awareness campaign led a team of cyclists,comprising officers of the Corps, government officials and professionals to a bicycle ride round notable areas in the state capital.
He said that it was time to re-enact the transportation system that had helped human civilisation for ages, since the 17th century.
The United Nations in 2017 had declared June 3rd of every year as World Bicycle Day,prompting the sector command to the organize the event at the weekend in the state, few days after the global day set aside.
“Advanced countries have adopted bicycle transportation system as a matter of public health wellbeing and control of greenhouse effects of carbon emissions. We want our people to come back to the basics, cycling is good for the body and environment and it’s economical to maintain”, he said.
“That is why we are raising the awareness again and calling on the Bayelsa Government to join us in this campaign to revive the culture of the use of bicycle as a means of transportation,” he added.
Also speaking, the Bayelsa state Commissioner for Transportation, Mrs Grace Ayakpo, represented by an Assistant Director in the Ministry, Mr Abigini Ndiomu, lauded the efforts of the FRSC at ensuring the safety of all on the roads.
She said the initiative of the Corps to revive the use of bicycle as a means of transport, was noble one, adding that the State Government would do everything necessary to make it succeed.
Meanwhile in a lecture commemorating the day, tagged ‘benefit of cycling’ a physician with the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, Dr Fidelis Otokolo has highlighted the health benefits of cycling to human health to include free flow of blood to the heart for good function and strengthening of the lungs as well as muscles, just as he noted that it also helps in the inhaling of good and fresh air to improve posture.
He added that cycling helps the stamina in the body, as peddling reduces arthritis in various joints and parts of the body.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa