Mr. Gabriel Rotimi Aroge, a road safety advocate and the Founder cum President of GRA Empowerment Foundation, in this interview with OLORUNDARE ENIMOLA, revealed how his foundation is using cycling as a practical solution to eliminate cost of transportation to schools for indigent public school students through an initiative he called; ‘Cycle2School Plus (C2S+)’ with plans to donate 1000 bicycles during the launch of the pilot project between September and October. Excerpts: Kindly tell us about yourself, sir. I’m Gabriel Rotimi Aroge, founder of the GRA Empowerment Foundation. Beyond advocacy, I’m a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) advocate focusing on road safety and non-motorised transport. I’m a design thinker and social entrepreneur, passionate about community impact and innovation-driven solutions, especially those that empower underserved youth. Tell us about your advocacy work and what inspired it. Our work is multi-dimensional. As a product designer and social enterprise developer, I focus on using cycling as a practical solution to bridge educational access for underserved public school children in Nigeria. Our initiative -Cycle2School Plus (C2S+)—is launching its pilot phase this September/October and will provide free, safe mobility to students, especially girls, who are burdened by long and dangerous treks to school. This advocacy was born from a tragic incident on October 21, 2006, when over 100 people were killed in a crash at Agric Bus Stop, Ikorodu. My wife, the only known survivor, spent a year in recovery. This deep personal loss ignited my mission. I came to understand the gravity of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety and resolved to contribute through innovation and grassroots empowerment. Our target beneficiaries belong to the endangered and vulnerable groups of road users, therefore, amplifying the protection and enhancement of Cycling and walking is at the fore of our development. Cyclists especially are target of hostile, unfriendly and unqualified motorist, sometimes even cyclist and pedestrians are a challenge to themselves on the road due to the low level of road safety education in Nigeria. With a platform like Cycle 2 School Plus we believe that we can be ‘the change’ when it comes to addressing the poor road user illiteracy in Nigeria. We believe road safety must be democratised, decentralised, and enterprised – and we are delivering that through C2S+. Is your message being understood by your audience and partners? Absolutely, but there’s room for growth. Our vision aligns with SDGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 16, and 17. We’re addressing poverty, good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, descent work and economic growth, sustainable cities, climate action, peace justice and strong institutions & partnership to achieve the goals through a single scalable platform. Reorientation of the Nigerian road users is the most critical challenge we are faced with today, investment in behavioural change programme is urgently needed to help the road users appreciate the effort of law enforcement agents. We estimate a 70% acceptance rate for our initiative, with the remaining 30% relying on how well we communicate cycling as a game-changing solution. Policy influencers and private sector leaders must understand that this is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. What are your notable achievements to date? Hosted the Executive Director of Re~Cycle Bikes to Africa at Sussex Innovation Centre, UK. Conducted a working visit to Re~Cycle’s warehouse in Colchester, UK. Organised the first-ever Nigerian visit of Re~Cycle’s Executive Director in Feb 2025 and partnered with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) for the 8th UN Global Road Safety Week. We celebrated World Bicycle Day 2025 with FRSC and other partners. Appointed brand ambassadors including former national cycling champion Afitz Bakare. Onboarded brand strategist Dr. Charles O’Tudor as mentor and fundraising lead. We’ve already received a donation of 1,000 bicycles and international support to ship our first container of 500 bikes into Nigeria – what we now need is local backing to complete the implementation plan of this program. How do you fund your operations? Our biggest resource is people – volunteers and partners who’ve worked pro bono for years. Re~Cycle UK covered the full shipping cost of 500+ bikes to Nigeria. Sussex Innovation Centre sponsored a business incubation program worth over £10,000. Brighton Bike Hub trained me as a volunteer, and today, they’re technically supporting our operations. All these are at a huge cost if we were to pay from our pocket. The Brighton Bike Hub where I initially volunteered as a mechanic apprentice during my MSc programme in the University of Sussex led me to our principal partner Re-Cycle Bike to Africa, who has donated 1,000 bikes to help us launch our pilot programme in Lagos. These foreign partners didn’t need to know me or where I was coming from to support. This cause is great, they have visited Nigeria to verify our claim, they are going ahead to push even harder than what they have done in the other African countries. But, we cannot sustain this momentum without Nigerian partners. We are calling on banks, insurers, FMCGs, telecoms, and philanthropic organizations to join this historic effort. Education isn’t free when students must pay up to N90,000 yearly in transport. With C2S+, we will eliminate this burden. For the first time, we shall be launching a bicycle fleet for school children where they would access a free bicycle service for the whole of their tenure in school. When you hear free education, you would think it’s actually free. What about the transport? Is that also free? Meanwhile this is a recurrent daily cost that usually leads to many dropping out of school while those who can still manage, do a lot of long and dangerous trekking to get to school in a staggered pattern which does not culminate to the excellent result and optimal performance such children would have had given the same opportunities as their peer. What would you say to the Nigerian government about cycling infrastructure? Infrastructure is key, but behavioral change is more urgent. Let’s start with public education, policy enforcement, and road safety campaigns. We must tackle driver hostility and unsafe road habits before any infrastructure can be effective. Moreso, cities like Lagos must integrate bike lanes and accessible paths into urban planning. The Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) policy from LAMATA must be fully implemented. But we must also leverage what we have—safely. How can we reduce road crashes in Nigeria? Invest in road safety education for all road users. Enforce traffic laws and punish violations – justice is a deterrent. Train the next generation through schools, starting today. Promote walking and cycling as viable transport options. Integrate and amplify SDG 16 (Peace and Justice) in transport governance. Our Cycle2School+ programme will help prepare tomorrow’s drivers today. Additionally, there should be stricter enforcement of traffic laws and the implementation of better road safety measures, like signage and speed bumps, are essential. Promoting cycling can also help reduce the number of vehicles on the road, subsequently lowering the risk of accidents. What are the economic benefits of cycling for Nigeria? It’s cheap: Reduces transport cost for poor families. It’s healthy: Promotes fitness and reduces medical expenses. It’s green: Cuts emissions and protects our climate. It’s a business: Sparks local repair shops, rentals, and training schools. It’s smart: Eases congestion in overpopulated cities like Lagos. What’s your 5-year vision for GRA Empowerment Foundation? By 2030, we want to be Nigeria’s leading non-motorized mobility advocate, with presence in all 36 states. We plan to: Partner with universities (e.g., LASU, UNILAG, NITT) to build training hubs. Develop a national volunteer corps. Launch community-owned bicycle repair cooperatives. Offer scholarships through our impact tracking system. Collaborate with FRSC to expand school-based Road Safety Clubs. What are final words to the Private Sector and Philanthropists? International partners have done their part – they didn’t need to know us personally. They saw a powerful idea, and they invested. Now, we need Nigeria to rise to the occasion. Let’s work with the Rotary Clubs, multinationals, impact investors, state governments, and citizens of goodwill. Together, we can offer free, safe, and dignified access to education through mobility. Support us, join our movement. A single bicycle can change a child’s life forever, empathy