By Faith Yahaya
The new Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Muhammadu Muhammed (Rtd.) has promised to tackle the alleged case of fraud in the agency scientifically.
The former DG of the agency, Mustapha Maihaja who was recently sacked was alleged to have embezzled N33billion allocated to the agency.
Following the loss of lives and properties linked to flooding annually in Nigeria, the DG also said his administration will give special attention to flooding.
He also described the outbreak of Coronavirus as the worst disaster that has affected the human lifestyle.
Responding to questions in Abuja at the maiden press briefing and meeting with directors of the agency, the DG said: “On the issue of fraud and flooding, first of all, I am just coming in and the interactions I have had so far is still at familiarization stage.
“While we were going through the familiarization stage, we saw a number of things but those are not things that you will handle with fiat. My approach is scientific. I intend to adopt a scientific approach to every challenge in this place, otherwise, decisions will be taken and when you get to certain stages, you will realize that certain things have not been considered.
“I believe the questions on fraud and flooding as it relates to the agency need scientific approach to handle. As soon as we do that, we will interact with the press. As a matter of fact, we are going to be having quarterly conferences where the press will participate fully. We will let you know our direction hoping that good suggestions will be made by the media towards improving the agency”.
On what the agency intends to do to tackle incessant cases of flooding in various parts of the country, he said: “It looks like flood has refused to go away and that is the fact. From childhood, I have been hearing about flood and even up to last year, flood is still there. I wonder why we were not able to address the issue of flood in Nigeria.
“If something has been occurring for this long time, I think it is something that bothers everybody and it is something that we must address. I assure you that flood will be one of the most significant things we are going to give attention to.
“In the brief that I had initially, flood actually surfaced beyond my imagination, from the beginning, I am beginning to have an idea that flood is something that we have to prepare like yesterday for. So, I will say we are going to give it the attention it deserves.”
The DG also lamented that the outbreak of coronavirus has made the management of already existing disasters difficult.
He said: “The immediate results of the pandemic is a situation that has changed the world completely. We are not used to wearing mask, we are not used to be being locked down, we are not used to sitting without means of livelihood, we are not used to not watching football, we are not used to not farming, coronavirus is indeed a disaster and our way of life has changed.
“We cannot go out to earn money, we cannot go to market when we please; I think there is no worst disaster than this. I was not in this position when the virus started in Nigeria but I am sure the nature of the outbreak is one of the reasons why Mr. President sent palliatives to people across the country.”
On his roadmap for the agency, Muhammed promised to give attention to the welfare and training of staff.
I am aware that there are challenges within the agency that has caused several uproars and unpalatable reactions. Therefore, while we will continually do our best to address the welfare challenges of all cadre of staff as the human asset of any organization is the fulcrum of its success, it is expected that all staff at all levels would give their full cooperation and equally lend ideas on how best to resolve issues whenever they arise.
On how the agency will respond to disaster outbreak, he said: “We will do as much as possible to equip our staff with the requisite knowledge through trainings to ensure they give their best whenever called upon.
“Successful emergency management relies on experience and expertise. Consequently, while we cannot stop natural disasters, we can arm ourselves with knowledge and a reasonable level of disaster preparedness so that, not so many lives would be lost.”
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