By Precious Igbonwelundu

The House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster has promised to support states to develop their emergency management agencies (SEMAs) to mitigate the effects of disasters.

The committee spoke during a tour of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s (LASEMA’s) command and control centre in Alausa, Ikeja, alongside officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), as part of its oversight function.

Committee Chairman Olatunji Olawuyi said they were impressed by the structure, equipment and coordination of LASEMA, whose template he said was worthy of emulation by other states to effectively manage disasters and ensure safety of lives and properties.

According to him, the committee members embarked on the tour to get first-hand assessment as the committee was aware that some states did not have the capacity to manage any emergency situation.

“We are aware that some states in Nigeria do not have capacity. I know of a state that its total staff strength is about three or four. Like I promised earlier, we are going to do all within our power to make all SEMAs to be as vibrant as possible in legislation and support from House of Representatives.

“I am saying this on behalf of our able Speaker. We are going to do a lot to make Nigeria a valuable place in terms of emergency and disaster, like a replica of what we have in the United States and other advanced countries,” said Olawuyi.

Asked how the committee would ensure that ecological and other funds earmarked for emergencies were not siphoned or misappropriated, Olawuyi said the committee was not aware if any such cases had occurred though he promised the committee would look into it.

On what the committee was doing to ensure better funding for the Federal Fire Service, Olawuyi said it was in favour of decentralising emergency management up to local government level.

“It is high time we prioritised all our events. Disaster has no boundary. We are going to do as much as possible to decentralise all these agencies,” he said.

NEMA’s Director General, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Muhamamdu Mohammed (retd.), advised state and local governments to set funds aside for their SEMAs and local emergency management committees to function.

Mohammed, who was represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Kayode Fagbemi, reminded Lagos of the flood alert, adding that citizens should be mobilised to take conscious steps to prevent devastating floods.

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He stressed that LASEMA was the best emergency management agency in the country and expressed appreciation for the collaboration, corporation and coordination NEMA had enjoyed from the state agency.

“LASEMA is the best emergency management agency in Nigeria. If all the SEMAs were like LASEMA, NEMA will be able to support and reduce the risk of disasters in this country.

“Many people think SEMAs belong to NEMA. No, SEMA is a state owned agency. The state governments are to fund SEMA the way the Federal Government funds NEMA. States should fund their SEMAs to have capacity to respond to emergency situations.

“Then, when the situation overwhelms them, NEMA can intervene. But we have situations where some states cannot even attend to a single building’s fire. We will be very glad to see what the committee can do because disaster management is not exclusive to the Federal Government.

“It is on residual list, which means even the local government should be able to have Local Government Emergency Management Committee so that everybody will keep aside contingency funds for emergency. This will help the country, as not everybody will be dependent on the Federal Government,” he said.

LASEMA’s DG, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, called for capacity building and exchange programmes among the various SEMAs.

He noted that such programmes would enable emergency responders to understand the terrain in other states and put them in a better position when the need to help arises.

“I am so happy the House Committee appreciated the equipment and capacity Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has put in place for emergency management.

“We need help in terms of capacity building, exchange programmes and equipment. We are appealing to NEMA to resume the capacity building programmes it used to do. We want a situation whereby our workers can go to Maiduguri to assist, or to Niger State, and theirs can come here as well. That was how I was trained, and it helps in exchange of ideas,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.