The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Safety

  • Federal Govt’s social safety net programme

    President Muhammadu Buhari took over the mantle of leadership of Nigeria on May 29, 2015, with a clear agenda to curb corruption, fight insecurity, reposition the economy and tackle the pervasive poverty in the land.

    These critical issues were central and dominant in his campaign promises as well as his compact with all Nigerians when he took the oath of office a little over a year ago.

    In keeping with his determination to immediately tackle the menace of insurgency and restore law and order in the North-eastern, he ordered the immediate relocation of the command and control centre of the Nigerian military to Maiduguri. Today, Boko Haram insurgency has continued to suffer crushing defeats in the hands of our gallant military. This is evident in the recovery of all territories hitherto captured by the insurgent group, including the Sambisa Forest, the epicentre of the battle. Also of triumphant significance is the liberation of thousands of victims that were held hostage by the insurgents, including Amina Ali, one of the over 200 Chibok School Girls abducted in 2014.  The freedom of Amina is a symbolic indication that all the abducted schools girls and others in the captivity of Boko Harm are on their journey to freedom.  From all sides, the Boko Haram walls are falling.

    On the fight against corruption, it is now clear to all that the fear of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom. The anti-corruption search-light is uncovering all rots and previous cans of worms, with the high and the mighty scurrying for cover. With presidential courage, commitment and consistency, some rotten eggs are being hurled into the dragnet, while many more are surrendering the national loot with sobering trepidation. Thanks to the President, the anti-corruption czar.

    At the economic front, the battle is no less fierce. From the background of decades of economic misdirection, made worse by a social system that institutionalized corruption and riddled our common wealth in the vault of oil, the Buhari administration has ignited a conflagration in all directions. The plummeting prices of petroleum products at the international market, with the crippling effects on our foreign exchange earnings, have made economic diversification a national imperative. Here again, the President is brazing the trail in agriculture, agro-allied industries,  solid minerals, mining and mineral prospecting, culture and tourism and several other sectors. The productive base of the economy has been unlocked to ventilate the economy and provide entry visa for Nigerian made products into the international market.

    While working hard to reposition Nigeria for accelerated growth and development, this administration is not unaware of the challenges of poverty and unemployment in the land and the need to evolve measures tocushion the effects of the social squalor of the vast majority of our people. Accordingly, the Federal Government has rolled out a comprehensive Social Safety Net Programme, to address unemployment and better the condition of living of the extremely poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

    It is pertinent to point out that the sum of N500 billion has already been approved in the 2016 Appropriation Act to finance this social intervention programme. Specific schemes under this programme include the creation of 500,000 teaching assistance for qualified teachers for a period of 12 to 24 months in the first instance; the training of 100,000 artisans and the provision of soft loans for them to commence business activities; and conditional cash transfer which is intended to pay the sum of N5,000.00 to one million Nigerians across the country. Others are micro-credit scheme for more than 1.5 million Nigerians and N50,000 education support grant for 100,000 students in tertiary institutions who are undergoing courses in Science Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Education.

    Another key component of this programme is the National Home Grown School Feeding Scheme targeted at 24 million pupils in 18 pilot states in 2016. The food for the programme, which will run till 2020 would be sourced from local farmers and prepared by qualified caterers within the host communities. This is to benefit the pupils, the farmers and the local communities alike. It is projected that this scheme would create 1.4 million jobs for community caterers, support caterers and small house-hold farmers across Nigeria.

    The overall objectives of this programme are to reduce poverty and unemployment, empower the people economically, encourage school enrolment, build capacity, equip the less educated people with the skills to be self-employed and promote scholarship in the areas of science Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Education.

    Indeed, there is no doubt that these policy measures would go a long way in making life more tolerable to ordinary Nigerians who constitute a larger percentage of the population. For the first time, the less privileged Nigerians at the grassroots shall begin to feel the impact of governance directly.

    As the Federal Government commences full implementation of this programme, all hands must be on deck to ensure that it meets the desired objective of empowering the indigent members of our society. The programme must be massively publicized to raise public awareness on its various components so that the targeted Nigerians can benefit from it.

    The process of enrolment into these schemes should be open, transparent and not subjected to the manipulation of some unscrupulous members of our society. Accordingly, government should note that those who have criticized this project as a white elephant programme and have sentenced it to death even before arrival would do everything possible to scuttle it.  All measures must be deployed to counter their devices.

    The political class must ensure that this programme is not hijacked for political patronage or to fill personal pockets. It is a programme meant for the poor and those who would sit on the welfare of the poor shall certainly have their judgment.

    The masses must police the implementation of this programme to ensure that due process is followed. This is why the idea of Grievance Redress System is a welcome innovation that would facilitate speedy report and redress on issues that may violate due process in the implementation of the scheme. This is where the grassroots reach and capacity of the National Orientation Agency is very critical. The agency should be empowered and strengthened to mount intensive public education campaign on the programme, as well as drive its implementation at the grassroots, to ensure that it is carried out to specification.

    The freedom of Information Act empowers all Nigerians to ask questions or demand explanation on issues that appear hazy to them. Nigerians must rely on the provisions of this Act to keep under close watch, the activities of all those that are saddled with the implementation of this programme. It is by so doing that the laudable vision and intentions of government in embarking on this programme are not subverted by a few self-serving Nigerians.

     

    • Dr. Adewole is Director, Public Education and Mass Mobilization at the National Orientation Agency, Abuja.
  • Power of safety

    Power of safety

    •We cannot back down from a nuclear plant, but we need to handle it with care

    To generate power, we have to take advantage of all the avenues provided by nature and technology. That accounts for the approval by the Federal Government of an $80 billion nuclear plants construction with a Russian firm, Rosatom.

    The concept of a nuclear deal in Nigeria is an act of courage in a nation that has demonstrated epic carelessness in handling delicate responsibility. But we cannot for that reason bow out of an opportunity to enhance one of the drawbacks of development: provision of electricity.

    The Federal Government signed the Final Investment Decision with Rosatom after completing, according to a news report, the environmental impact assessment of the sites as well as completing the design for the plants.

    This programme certainly began in the Jonathan era and inherited by the Buhari administration. It is not a wholly Nigerian project in funding since the Russian firm will hold a majority controlling share of the nuclear facility. The Russian firm will finance and also build, own and operate and eventually transfer the facility to the Nigerian government.

    The project is ambitious. The first, whose location has yet to be announced, is expected to be in Kogi State. But other plants are also in the offing. The first plant will provide 1,200 megawatts of power. The others are expected to generate 4,800 megawatts at around 2025.

    Mindful of the need for care, the minister of power, housing and works, Babatunde Raji Fashola, said, “We have gone through the training level; we have produced 25 graduates of master’s level under certification of International Atomic Energy Agency.” He added that “That is the stage we are now. Once we conclude that, we move to the design and  the construction. If all things go well, by quarter four of next year – that is the schedule that I met – we should have started construction.”

    Franklin Erepamo Osaisai who heads the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, has confirmed that negotiations were still afoot to finance and contract the project. The idea of a nuclear plant to help in generating energy will be welcome as part of a multi-pronged efforts. The others are solar energy and wind, and what is called renewable energy that can even be extracted from waste.

    Nigeria’s main source of power has been gas, and we have been in a terrible state of scarcity in the face of abundance. For decades the atmosphere and, at times, skyline of the Niger Delta region has been sullied and gas flares amounting to billions of dollars.

    The Federal Government has also noted that, in spite of the fact that it can generate a good amount of gas, it still does not have the capacity to transmit as much. That makes the gas option as much a long-term proposition as other possibilities.

    The other options are not expected to be scary like the nuclear plants. The assurance by Fashola that the personnel are trained to international standards, while cheery, still beckons us to beware of familiar Nigerian lack of attention to details. A nuclear snafu can be a major human and environmental disaster.

    But it does not use fossil fuels and does not discharge carbon monoxide into the air. It is also a better and more modern one than coal. This does not mean we should do away with the others, including coal that we have aplenty and have left untapped for too long.

    The other disadvantage of nuclear technology is that it is not necessarily cheaper than coal and gas. It calls for care not only in the discipline to manage it, but the huge financial outlay to maintain the plants.

    While it makes sense to have this technology, all due diligence for safety must be of the essence.

  • Firm makes case for improved marine safety

    Poor maritime safety in the country could be responsible for the upsurge in sea piracy and other related crimes, Tosan Harriman, Chief Executive Officer, Neptune Marine Services has said.

    Neptune which prides itself as a leader in the sector having been in existence as a going concern for over 60years, supplies safety equipment from leading manufacturers as well as operates liferaft stations in some parts of the country.

    The company only recently donated some equipment to the Nigerian Navy as part of its corporate social responsibility and commitment to stakeholders in the sector.

    Justifying the need for the donation, Harriman recalled that the relationship between his company and the Navy goes way back when the patriarch of the Harriman family, the late Dr. Hope was actively involved in the sector thus the company had no plans to severe that relationship hence they decided to contribute the little they did towards uplifting the Navy.

    The younger Harriman said the company is usually all for awareness creation as far as marine safety is concerned.

    “Safety is obviously a big issue but there are always challenges. In terms of priorities and the other factors, you find that sometimes things get prioritised in such a way that marine safety is critical. Human beings have been going to sea for millennia’s but human safety is very important. When there is trouble at sea, the options are very limited and the chances of survival are high, everything has been prepared in advance.”

    On what the government can do with regards to marine safety, Harriman said there needs to be effective collaboration with sister agencies in order to achieve the utmost objective of marine safety in the country.

    Government, he stressed, “Has a very well developed and effective marine safety policy in place. It has institutions like NIMASA that oversees its general interests. So, I won’t say that government needs to do anything particular about the awareness of safety.” What is missing is maybe the coordinated understanding of the latest development. For example, what we are donating is a brand new product, top on the range. Sometimes, people make do with older technology. Government does a lot of awareness but they can always do more. I think perhaps in the area of enforcement. I suspect that there may be operations that are not adequately secured in terms of safety. There are institutions in place to monitor that.”

    Neptune Marine Service Limited, formerly known as Marine Factors was the brainchild of the late Dr Hope Harriman. The company which has brought a lot of innovation into marine safety and security is currently being run by two sons Charles Tosan Harriman and Harold Oti Harriman.

  • Highway safety: FRSC targets secondary schools’ pupils

    Highway safety: FRSC targets secondary schools’ pupils

    To inculcate road safety in youths, the Federal Road Safety Corps in Lagos State has taken the campaign to secondary schools’ pupils.

    As part of the campaign, it organised a quiz competition for selected 20 schools to commemorate the 2016 children’s Day.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition was organised separately by the Lekki and Yaba Units of the corps to inculcate the Highway Code in the students.

    Mr Azuibike Onyemeh, Unit Commander of Lekki told NAN that the campaign was to prepare the children to start thinking of the challenges of being future leaders in various aspects of life.

    “The objective is to inculcate in them and put into practicel road safety education and the culture of road safety in children because they are the future leaders.

    “This is the reason for the road safety related quiz competition in which five schools are competing.

    “If their parents are driving on a high speed or making calls while driving, the children will be able to correct them since they have learnt the necessary precautions,” he said.

    In her remarks, Mrs Nimota Okoro, the officer of Yaba Unit of FRSC, observed that most parents or drivers pay little or no attention to the safety of children, especially while driving.

    “Evidence from patrol and enforcement activities show that several children are not protected with seatbelt while sitting in a vehicle and there are a lot of underage drivers.

    “This act of negligence exposes them to great danger especially in the event of road crashes.

    “Often you see mothers carrying their babies on their laps or children standing while on the wheels; or parents sending their underage children on errand with their cars.

    “This is wrong and it must stop,’’ he added.

    She, therefore, urged all stakeholders to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of children in their environment.

    Mrs Owoupele Diseph, a parent, commended the FRSC for the initiative and urged other parents to ensure that the safety of their children was accorded priority attention.

    Another parent and teacher, Mrs Tinuke Ogunleye, said the programme was educative, especially the rules and driving code..

    “Parents need to expose their children to such knowledge because it teaches the children the hazards of disobeying the road safety rules.”

    Miss Ijeoma Ubah, a student of Ayomi School in Lekki, said the event had enlightened her on road signs and driving code.

    “Before now I did not know much about the various road signs and code but preparing for the quiz competition made me to know more,’’ she told NAN.

     

  • ‘Why Assembly initiated Neighbourhood Safety Agency bill’

    ‘Why Assembly initiated Neighbourhood Safety Agency bill’

    The Bill for establishment of Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency is meant to monitor and improve the effectiveness of vigilance groups, House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa said on Wednesday.

    Speaking at a public hearing on the Bill for the establishment of the agency organised by the House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, Obasa said the agency would register and regulate the activities of vigilance groups in the state; monitor them and ensure that they work within the law which will in turn improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

    “The present administration has made giant strides in improving security of lives and properties in the state and we in the House have always played our part by giving legislative backing to initiatives aimed at improving security in the state,” he said.

    He said the assembly would not rest on its oars in ensuring safety of lives and properties.

    Obasa said the bill when passed into law will give more legal backing to the activities of vigilance groups and improve community policing in the state.

    “We believe in state police but at present, since there is no provision for such, we believe we should put in place structures that will improve community policing in the state. We believe that the people should get more involved in the policing of their various communities,” he said.

  • ‘Food safety laws do n’t exist in Nigeria’

    The issue of food safety is a subject that has continually been thrashed but not duly addressed by relevant laws and agencies in Nigeria, and therefore many consumers are daily exposed to the risk of impaired health from the various foods that end on our tables.

    But, Zainab Akanji, a certified and pioneer trainer in food safety, who heads the First HACCP System Limited, an organisation that trains staff of companies, food outlets and food security stakeholders on food safety, believes that the objectives of food safety can be achieved through an internationally-recognised food safety management system called the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP).

    As an objective of food safety, she says that HACCP is a system where “food safety is managed by identifying significant and potential hazard (biological, physical and chemical) at every step (‘farm to fork’) of food preparation/processes/manufacturing. Afterwards, it assesses which of the hazards will pose a health risk to the consumer and then puts in place control measures that are critical to the safety of the food and consumer. This is a proven system that helps food businesses operator ensure proper food safety measures are in place. In other words, HACCP is designed to help food organisations minimise health risks (likelihood of harm) from food hazards.”

    Asked what food safety entails, she says: “Food safety is all about protecting consumer health.”

    The UK-trained food safety specialist says she has been into the campaign for eight years, adding that she is one of the best trainers and consultants in the field.

    She claims that she has had more great feed backs than bad ones from trainings that she has given to staff of companies, food outlets and food security stakeholders.

    Though the federal ministry of health has tried to put in place a food safety policy, Akanji claims there is still so much to be done on the instrument, as there are comments from stakeholders being awaited before the policy can be ratified.

    As a trainer, she had to develop a food safety management system pack, first of its kind in the country, “to help food handlers follow rules and help organisations/employers, as well as supervisors, to train their staff to produce safe food.”

    According to her, the pack focuses on the ‘four Cs’, which are the control measures that guarantee food safety; Cleaning, Cross-contamination, Chilling and Cooking.

    Expatiating on the use of the pack, the trainer declares, “This training pack also stresses the importance of training and supervising of food handlers on how to implement the ‘four Cs.”

  • Okada ban and Lagos’ safety

    Total ban on okada will not kill anyone but will provide safer roads while the public will be made to patronise other means of transportation that are safer. People always think it will bring about hardship on general public but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages”.  – Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Abuja (2014)

    Leadership, of men and materials entails having the clear capacity to understand the contending issues at stake and mustering the political will to take hard decisions and implementing them promptly. The salutary aim of course, is to find lasting solutions to persisting, socio-economic or political challenges, all for the common good. In so doing, the leader, acting in concert with the relevant team of technocrats, critically analyze all the factors at play. These should also include the likely implications on the stakeholders before arriving at the conclusion. But when it has to do with the protection of  lives and property, which he solemnly swore to before the public, his action could be more drastic.  Indeed, he would likely be driven by seeking enduring good than pandering to the wishes of the critics, or being swayed by the temporary pains of those who may have benefitted from the anomalies being corrected.

    It is within this context that one must take a dispassionate look at the recent threat by the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to enforce a total ban on commercial motorcycles (aka okada) operations in the Lagos metropolis. In fact, not a few public affairs analysts feel this has become necessary, given the recent bloody, inter-ethnic clash in the Ketu-Mile 12 area of the state, ignited by a dispute between an okada operator and a passerby. It led to the loss of lives and property worth millions of naira. That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Now, tough choices have to be made on the part of the governor as the chief security officer of the state. Elsewhere, such hard or harsh policy decisions have been taken that have paid off, eventually.

    For instance, Lee Kuan Yew, the pragmatic economist who engineered Singapore’s economic miracle, as its Prime Minister between 1959 and 1990 took such hard stance. Without it, he could not have transformed the once unrecognized  island, devoid of natural resources to rival the likes of Hong Kong and Manhattan, with solid infrastructures, skyscrapers and alluring tourist attractions. In a similar vein, when in 1974, Sheikh Rashid tasked the young Mohammed with overseeing the growth of  Dubai International Airport, hard choices had to be taken to carve out the dream that it has become this day. Some people had to bear the brunt at the beginning of the implementation of the structural changes. Similarly, compelling traffic-related situations as we face in Lagos may inform tougher and more stringent measures, in order to save more lives from being wasted.

    It would be recalled, that the immediate past administration of  Babatunde Fashola, irked by the menace posed by the okada riders had signed the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012, on August 2, 2012 which restricts okada operations in at least 492 of the 9,200 roads across the metropolis. It was with the intention of ensuring safety and orderly flow of traffic within the metropolis. But sad to note that some four years after, the problems posed by the okada operators have worsened rather than abate in spite of the restrictions. It is a common sight to find them plying against traffic flow along Pen Cinema-Fagba, Agege-Abule-Egba and the Ketu routes. Some of the operators have been accomplices in series of armed robbery attacks and fatal accidents, with ample evidence when one visits Igbo Orthopedic Hospital, Yaba.

    Governor Ambode has convincing reasons therefore, to approach the Lagos State House of Assembly to amend the law from the restriction of okada operations within some routes to total ban of their operations in the state. Indeed, as a stickler for the rule of law, he cannot be comfortable with the flagrant abuse of the law by okada riders, added to reports of some robbery incidents perpetrated with the motorcycles.

    Interestingly, similar reasons were adduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) while placing a total ban on commercial motorcycles in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2014. According to Mrs. Susan Ajenge, the then FCT Sector Commander of FCT, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the ban of okada within the city centre drastically reduced the rate of accidents in the area. In her words: “Before the ban of okada in the city centre, hospitals and emergency wards were always filled with okada accidents’ victims, same with mortuaries, but this has drastically reduced as result of the ban”.

    Though some hard-line critics would vociferously argue that a total ban would be insensitive, given the fact Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of the country, with the seaports and high density population, the long-term advantages should be taken into consideration. A smoother flow of traffic, less accidents and robberies traceable to the operators would be guaranteed. So also would be the reports of police harassment and extortion of okada riders.

    In fact, one of the reasons Abuja presents a beautiful vista and instantly attracts a visitor, even at first sight is the easy traffic flow, devoid of okada operators and clustered buildings. Lagos can achieve a similar scenic scenario if laws are amended and enforced. There are other seaport cities or capitals in both the African continent, nay the world that have population issues to that of Lagos but not solved by motorcycle operators. Name them; Cairo, Tunis, Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, Jakarta, Istanbul and Casablanca are some of them which have adopted creative strategies to combat traffic gridlock in the absence of motorcycles.

    The position of Governor Ambode that the city could well do without their menacing presence is in tandem with the 21st Century Lagos City Master Plan, currently evolving under his people-friendly administration. With the light-rail project in progress, inner roads receiving the desired attention and increasing emphasis on water-based transport system, what is needed is massive public enlightenment on the immense benefits of Lagos without okada.

    There is little doubt that many of the operators would be thrown out of job and suffer some temporary economic setback. But they could seek alternative means of livelihood by keying into the N25 billion Youth Empowerment Scheme of the pragmatic Ambode-led administration. With it, they will be empowered with requisite skills acquisition that would be more enduring than riding motorcycles for commercial purpose.

    Those who however, think that taking to crime would be an option should have a rethink. This administration has zero tolerance for all shades of crime and criminality, as violators of laws would only have themselves to blame.

    On its part, the government will do well to engage the relevant transport unions of the commercial okada operators in sustained sensitization programmes. All the members could be re-organized into skills cooperative societies. They should have their mindset reoriented towards finding suitable alternatives, with the aim of putting food on their families’ table. The time for the total ban on okada in Lagos is now.

     

    • Baje, a journalist writes from Lagos.
  • Easter: FRSC assures of free flow of traffic, safety

    Easter: FRSC assures of free flow of traffic, safety

    Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), on Thursday assured Nigerians of free flow of traffic and road safety during the Easter holiday.

    Oyeyemi told newsmen in Abuja that the commission had deployed appropriate logistics to major high ways to check traffic challenges during the period.

    “We have about 23 corridors which the country high ways have been divided into, and with the injection of new sets of patrol vehicles, we have been able to cover critical corridors effectively.

    “Going by the strategic session we had last week, we promised Nigerians we will be able to put in our best to ensure free flow of traffic.

    “Already you know we have some critical black spots from Kotonkarfi to Yangoji, then from Yangoji, you look at Lokoja/ Okene Egbeda, that is, Iwo Road-Ninth Mile, then Ogere and Akwanga.

    “Those are the critical areas and corporate personnel have been deployed there; we want to assure Nigerians that we will continue to ensure that for these critical locations, there is free flow of traffic,’’ he said.

    According to Oyeyemi, if there is any crash, the FRSC should be able to give prompt attention to crash victims.

    He appealed to Nigerians, especially families travelling to use their seatbelts, including those in front and at the backseats, and advised that children should not be put on the front seat.

    He also advised women to seat at the back of the car with the child and use the child’s restrained seatbelts to strap him.

    “These are the critical things we need to look at and take precautionary measures seriously than before.

    “As you can see, the weather is changing and we are gradually moving into the full cycle of the rainy season.’’

    Oyeyemi advised Nigerians to ensure that tyres were in order, the braking system and the wipers also fully in order, and to ensure that they put on head lamps when it rained.

    He said that when in parking position, drivers should switch on the car head lamp so that the rear lights would be on to avoid being run into from the rear.

    The FRSC boss reiterated the commission’s commitment to sustaining its campaign on road safety while using the traffic alert in festive seasons like the Easter.

    He appealed to road users to be more conscious of the vehicle conditions, especially while travelling and to adhere strictly to traffic rules to avoid crashes.

  • Emeruwa completes safety, security course

    • Commends NFF leadership

    Secretary of the NFF Security Committee, Christian Emeruwa, on Thursday completed a course on sport safety and security at a university in Germany, with praises for the NFF leadership for facilitating his participation.

    “I want to commend the leadership of the NFF, especially President Amaju Pinnick and General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, for ensuring that I started and completed this elite course in sport safety and security management, making me the first African to be so certified,” Emeruwa said on phone from Germany on Thursday.

    Titled “International Advanced Studies Programme on Sport Safety and Security Management,” the correspondence course started on  July 8, 2015 and ended with the examination on  March 3, 2016 at the SRH University, Heidelberg, University.

    The certificate makes Emeruwa, who is also special assistant to the NFF General Secretary, a sport safety and security professional. He is also a FIFA security officer.

  • Federal Govt backs safety training centre

    Federal Govt backs safety training centre

    The Falck Prime Atlantic Training Centre in Ipara, Remo, Ogun State has received the Federal Government’s support for in-country training of public servants. The Minister of Interior, Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, gave the assurance during a visit to the centre.  EMEKA UGWUANYI was there.

    Falck Prime Atlantic Training Centre in Ipara, Remo, Ogun State isbthe nation’s flagship safety training centre for the oil and gas and allied industries.

    The centre, established a few years ago, has facilities and equipment of international standards, the management has said.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Ayo Otuyalo told The Nation that his goal was to make the centre Africa’s number one oil and gas industry health and safety training centre.

    He said: “Our objective here is to showcase what we have in-country, he will be surprised at the competence and capability that we can provide in-country, all the facilities we have here are world class, and it matches any training centre anywhere in the world. What we want to do is that you can take advantage of what we have on ground and see how we can provide services to those who require the training in Nigeria.

    “Ours is strictly safety training which encompasses various types of fire-fighting, helicopter manning officers, which visit those who work offshore, and helicopters that come to land on platforms. We do confine space training. We train with latest fire-fighting equipment  called the Cobra, where we train people with technology for fighting fire, where you don’t need to go into the building because you can fight the fire from the outside the building.”

    He said the company prides itself as an example of local content. “We are proud to say we are the flagship of local content because a lot of training that were previously done abroad is being done here. We have several courses that we do here that we are the only one that do it in Africa and because of this; a lot of oil companies have resolved to be their training here. Certain certifications are required to do offshore works in Nigeria.

    “I must say we have most of the certifications in-country such as Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) and most of our courses are OPITO certified. We are currently building scaffolding training platform, and we are the only company that has a certificate called CSRS in-country. Some of our clients are Chevron, Shell, Total ExxonMobil and some other companies, and we have capacity to accommodate 100 people a week because training here is not long term,” he added.

    Interior Minister Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, during the tour of the facilities, was shown the Emergency Breathing System (EBS) and helicopter underwater escape training (HUET) for emergencies, such as fire outbreak on platforms, among others.

    Dambazau said: “I’m very impressed with the facilities we have here for training particularly in the area of fire fighting. We have such facilities here, so we don’t need to send our personnel outside this country. The advantage is we save cost, and we also contribute towards providing employment to Nigerians. We also build capacity faster and more efficiently. I think there is a lot we will do with this company in terms of training our personnel but I won’t say what exactly.”

    Otuyalo further noted that Falck Prime Atlantic believes that training should be as practical and realistic as possible. Our highly regarded and qualified instructors are experienced firefighters with practical knowledge of dealing with emergency situations, he said.

    According to him, training is conducted with the latest techniques and technology and is delivered in a safe and controlled environment. This allows trainees to receive the maximum benefit from their training should it be required in a real life situation.

    Training is delivered in a variety of training simulators and where realistic fire scenarios are created to simulate emergency situations. Our ability to develop and change scenarios means that we can offer training to meet the demands of varied industries, for example offshore energy, maritime and petrochemical.

    He said: “Training is conducted to OPITO standards for the offshore sector and for the maritime industries advanced and basic programmes to SCTW 95 standards. In addition basic fire fighting courses are provided for onshore customers covering topics such as fire safety awareness and fire warden training.”