If you’re not from these parts, you might wonder what the big deal is with getting a driver’s license ‘without greasing palms’. You see the service is basic but some offices will offer to quicken the process for a fee. A fee that doesn’t come with a receipt. Some people pay and others (like my friend above); choose to do the right thing. This is what makes this next story I say on social media so unique. Bayo (@bharyour on Twitter) provided a step-by-step account of how he renewed his driver’s licence. Everything went in record time and he didn’t have to grease any palms.
According to him, all he had to do was follow the procedures listed on the FRSC website. He read the FAQ properly and filled the online form. After that, he got his printout and proceeded to the FRSC office on Lagos Island to complete the process.
He was asked to pay ₦1,000 (don’t raise your eyebrows yet). A fee they explained was for a short test and CD. The officials issued him a receipt to confirm payment. The process included some data entry before they asked him to come later for ‘documentation’.
Everything happened under 30 minutes and was as seamless as streaming YouTube on a 4G network.
It’s good to know change is starting from some of our offices.
I await the concluding part of this epic journey and can’t wait to share it with you.
See his tweets below
I Googled and found the website maintained by FRSC. Chose the link for renewals and typed in the details of the expired one (since 2011)…
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
Boom! All my old details were there with the option to correct/update them. Did allathat and proceeded to pay online.Was a pleasant surprise
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
I'd gotten that far before with other processes in all honesty e.g. passports. The real test now was to see what will happen in the offices.
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
Went to the processing station in VI, they took a glance and asked me to attach a copy of the expired one to confirm my identity.
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
"How did you pay?"
"With my card online"
Sceptical glance…
"Ok"
Signs off and verifies the payment
"Go to the second to the last room"— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
Second to the last room was the Lagos team.
"You have to pay N1000"
My first impulse was to ask what for,infact that's what the next guy did— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
I did notice the fat receipt book in front of them so I decided to see. I handed over the money and application form.
"Passport"
Ha?!— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
"Passport ke? No one said I needed to bring any passports"
But I had one in my bag. Handed it over and got a basic test on driving rules.— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
Then I got a receipt for the 1k. Then the dude corrected the test and told me what I missed etc. A lot of stamping and then.
"Front office"— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
TBH, I read the FAQ on the FRSC website.Everything was going precisely as described except for the passport thingy which seems to be for Lag
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
The 1k was for the test and this CD. This perhaps could have been done online, but what about those 3 jobs? Trade-offs, trade-offs. pic.twitter.com/a4x0OO7heX
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
Anyway, FRSC was the first delay in the process. Up till this point it was barely 20mins. The officer was busy doing some data entry.
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
When he was done he picked up my forms. Signed a date on it to return for the "capture" and bid me farewell. It was a pleasant surprise…
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
As is customary there were signs of deal-making and/or facilitation ongoing. The "capture" date for example seemed arbitrary, from thin air.
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
But being able to go through the process without all payments receipted and without anyone asking "who dey epp you" was a relief folks.
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
I'll let you know how the rest of the process goes when I return in about a week for the capturing. I like that term…
— Bayo Owolabi (@bhary0ur) October 5, 2016
