By Aluta News
Dec. 14, 2021
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has enjoined stakeholders in disaster management to put thoughts together to contain incidents of fire and other disasters in Kwara.
NEMA Head, Operations Office, Minna, Hajia Zainab Suleiman-Saidu gave the advice on Tuesday in Ilorin in a remark at a stakeholders’ meeting on strengthening the mechanism of disaster management in Kwara.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the meeting was “Strengthening mechanism with critical stakeholders”.
“I am not also oblivious of the fact that our country is already experiencing the dry season, this season is also peculiar due to its unique threat to lives and wealth of the people.
“Fire disaster is the predominant phenomenon alongside other health hazard associated wealth this season.
“I once again urge us all to engage our thoughts and put our contributions together to contain these threats as well as many other threats that can result in disaster in communities within Kwara,” Suleiman- Saidu said.
According to her, the essence of the stakeholders’ meeting is to further strengthen the mechanism for disaster management in Kwara.
“Over the years, we have related as partners in progress, but with the current disaster happenings globally, coupled with the unpredictability and dynamism of disaster events these days, it has become expedient by stakeholders to deepen the synergy amongst us,” she added.
She added that stakeholders should meet regularly to review previous operations with the view to reducing or eliminating past errors towards a perfect execution of disaster prevention, mitigation, response, and necessary plan.
“This is in tandem with the best global approach to disaster management which is “Disaster Risk Reduction“.
“I believe that if we religiously adhere to this principle, together we will be able to prevent, or at least reduce loss of lives and property,” Suleiman-Saidu said.
She noted that flood has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria since 2012, adding that floods occurred in virtually every part of the country during the rainy season
and sometimes came with storms that destroyed homes and uprooted economic trees.
In her presentation, NEMA Head of Planning, Research, and Forecasting, Hajia Ramota Turaki, said disaster management in Nigeria dated back to when the Federal Fire Service was established.
She pointed out that NEMA was formally established in 1976 as an agency of the Federal Government saddled with the responsibility of managing and preventing disasters in the country.
Stakeholders in disaster management presented their equipment holding for disaster management at the meeting.
The stakeholders are the Kwara State Emergency Management Agency (KwaSEMA), Ministry of Local Government, Kwara Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Health.
Others are vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO), Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and then +Nigeria Immigration Service.
The stakeholders later sensitised the people at Ipata Market , Ilorin on safety tips to prevent fire.
NAN