Disaster Management: Sanwo-Olu’s wife tasks LASEMA on use of simulators
Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, has urged the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) team to use simulators equipment to reduce the risk of disaster to the barest minimum.
Sanwo-Olu made the call during the first Road Traffic Accident Simulation Exercise held at the Cappa Response Unit, Oshodi in Lagos on Monday.
According to her, every government is duty-bound to protect the lives of its people and their properties from disasters.
“LASEMA’s Simulation Exercise is an important aspect of the agency’s increased state of preparedness to ensure proper readiness in order to help fulfill its mission and mandate.
“Lagos State is extremely vulnerable to high incidence of disasters and emergencies.
“To mention a few, Lagos is particularly susceptible to flooding, fire, road traffic accident, pipeline vandalism and explosions, among others, due to the peculiarity of its topography, climate condition, vegetation and strategic location.
“ This is why the frequent occurrence of some of these incidents in Lagos metropolis is to be entirely expected while the responsible agency must be on its toes.’’
According to her, residents of Lagos State have in recent times been inundated with road traffic accidents, disaster/emergency incidents and fire outbreaks.
“These unfortunate occurrences destroy homes and several means of livelihoods but also leave their immediate environment blighted, while jeopardising the entire society and economy of the state in the process.
“It is, therefore, the responsibility of a caring government to engage in active disaster risk reduction efforts by aligning the skill set and competencies of its staff and stakeholders to build the capacity of Lagos residents from the grassroots level up.
“This is through the establishment of Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas in the state,’’ Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor’s wife urged residents and organisations in the state to be safety conscious adding that safety starts with people resolving to take individual responsibility to ward off any potential threat.
Ibigoke, however, said it is the collective responsibility of all to work with government to protect residents.
She also commended the Management and Staff of LASEMA and the entire sister agencies working together to ensure safety of Lagos residents.
Also, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Tayo Bamgbose-Martins said: “Disaster prevention and management is a top priority of this administration.
“I can say with confidence and gratitude that Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has always supported the ministry and all the relevant agencies every time we call on his assistance.
“Lagos State is densely populated and being the economic hub of Nigeria has made Lagos prone to disasters of varying causes, ranging from global incidences to local industrial activities.
“The state has witnessed a series of accidents, flooding, gas explosions, fire outbreaks, pipeline vandalism and other mishaps.
“However, I am glad to say that LASEMA and our sister agencies have lived up to the expectation that birthed their existence.
“Loss of lives has been prevented, and the effect of many disasters mitigated with their professional handling of such unfortunate events.
“This simulation exercise, the first this year, is to further prepare our agencies for better disaster management and also show the level of preparedness of our agencies, stimulating our responders for any event that will need their expertise,” Bamgbose-Martins said.
Speaking earlier, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Director-General (D-G) of LASEMA, said the simulation was a demonstration of the agency’s new responsiveness to emergency situations.
According to him, LASEMA is collaborating the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to create the needed public reorientation.
Oke-Osanyintolu said that from statistics available to LASEMA, casualties recorded in disasters in 2020 were lower compared to 2019 and 2018, attributing the lower human casualties to improved rescue time and availability of latest equipment.
“We have been able to manage all forms of disaster under the watch of Governor Sanwo-Olu.
“ This is a simulation of an accident involving mass casualties. You can see that all the responders are working together with each focusing on their core areas of competence.
“We have helicopters, bikes, towing vehicles; these are the tools that we use to ensure we manage the golden hour.
“The state keeps on carrying a lot of sensitisation and advocacy that is why we are going to put more emphasis on enforcement in 2021,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
He assured of the agency’s commitment to efficiency and effectiveness.
