A 36-year-old female driver of articulated vehicles, popularly called trailers in Nigeria Hajiya Rabi Abubakar has attributed her over two decades of accident-free driving on the nation’s highways to diligence, cautiousness and adherence to safety rules and regulations.
In an interview with newsmen shortly after receiving an award of recognition and excellence as an outstanding woman truck driver from Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC) Kaduna Command, Hajiya Abubakar described truck driving as fun, enjoyable and above all, lucrative job that should be embraced by the female folks.
She said her secret of driving on Nigerian roads for 21 years without a single crash despite deplorable condition of most highways in the country and unruly and reckless attitudes of most drivers could be attributed to adherence to the popular safety philosophy of never be in a hurry to reach your destination while on the wheels.
The female driver, widely known as Hajiya Dangote disclosed that she has received over eleven awards for her outstanding records of safe and cautious driving behind the wheel.
“I was in America and Germany where I received outstanding awards for overall African female driver in fanfare and to the amazement of foreign crowds who were all over the place to catch a glimpse of me.
“Since I found myself behind the wheels of trailers I have learned to accept my fate, giving all the glory to God Who has been the source of my strength and inspiration to have remained unperturbed in the face of challenges associated with the job of driving articulated vehicles on our roads,”she explained.
Hajiya Abubakar who said she had mentored over 11 ladies as truck drivers called on women, particularly those in the northern part of Nigeria to take haulage driving as a profession because according to her the negative views and myth held in the conservative region against female drivers didn’t matter anymore.
The woman driver who stood out among other awardees as darling of pressmen at the venue urged Nigerians to be proud of the country in spite of socio-economic and security challenges here and there, adding that the nation would soon become her numerous challenges.
“I have never been so proud of Nigeria until the day I was called out in U.S. and Germany and conferred with awards in recognition of my vocation earned through good track records on the wheels as a driver of trailer, an uncommon feat in north where I come from.
“I have driven a variety of big trucks, many of which were complex and complicated that require special skills and rudiments to master but I have been able to overcome all mechanical challenges associated with these vehicles.
“I want to see a country where the number of female truck drivers outweigh that of the men so that we will be a force to be reckoned with,” she said.
In his remarks earlier, while conferring the award on the female truck driver, kaduna Sector Commander of FRSC Kabiru Yusuf Nadabo eulogized driving skills, respect for traffic officials and excellent safety records as reasons for choosing Hajiya Abubakar among others for recognition.
He called on women folks to embrace and copy the feats achieved by the female driver so they too could emboss their names in gold.
