The Director General, National Emergency Management Agency, Muhammad Sidi, has urged security agencies to collaborate with his men during disaster management.
Speaking at a stakeholders workshop in Ado Ekiti, Sidi lamented that many of the security men engaged in avoidable pride during accident situations by not obeying commands from the agency, a situation, he said, could increase the casualty figure.
Sidi said, “We have to forget about unnecessary ego while trying to save the lives of the people at the scene of disaster. Some of the high ranking officers will not like to take command from civilians or their subordinates, which may lead to loss of lives.
“I could remember a time when there was flooding in Lagos, a Commodore in the Nigeria Army, who appeared in NEMA’s operation uniform called an officer to perform certain task but he refused. The Commodore later went to wear his uniform before they started taking such orders and this should not be so in the interest of the precious lives of those that were at stake during accidents.”
The Seminar attended by men of the Nigeria Army, Police, Red Cross , Fire Services, National Youth Corps members among other critical stakeholders, also featured a simulated exercise on mass casualties at the scene of bomb explosion.
The Head, Ekiti Operations Office, Mr. Shaheed Akiode, said the interactive session was organised to create awareness and sensitive relevant stakeholders on the proactive policies and programmers of the agency.
This, he said, would strengthen the existing cordial relationship between NEMA and stakeholders for better synergy in terms of coordination, identify major hazards, disasters and emergencies peculiar to the areas of coverage and evolve common intervention strategies.
The Anti-Bomb Squad Commander, Ekiti Command, ASP Martin Mba, in his presentation, lamented how Nigerians rush to scenes of bomb explosion.
Mba said, “Rather than allow our men from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal to do their job, people always rushed to the scene of explosion. And many times there could be twin explosion, which we called secondary explosion that may happen shortly after the first blast that can increase the level of casualties. So it is always advisable for people to keep about 200 metres to the scene.”
The NEMA Coordinator for South West, Mr. Iyiola Akande, called on non-governmental organisations and corporate bodies to join government in providing rescue equipment that would make the lives of victims safe when unwarranted situations happen.
Akande also advocated the inclusion of disaster management in the school curriculum at the secondary cadre, to complement the Master’s degree being offered by some universities across the country.