THE NEED FOR A COORDINATED APPROACH TO DISASTER MANAGEMENT

BY
EMMA NJOKU

Disaster is a sudden occurrence or unstoppable event that places people or things in a state of jeopardy. They include those that are man-made, as well as technology-induced ones. The most common disasters in Nigeria are natural and man-made. Some of these include the various floods disasters in the country. The nation has also experienced many plane crashes. The Ijeja Cantonment bomb blast and the incidents of collapsed buildings which has resulted in huge loss of lives and properly abound in the country. The response by the EMERGENCY agencies TO THE recent case of COLLAPSED BUILDING in Abuja left much to be desired. It was disappointing that THE agencies such as NEMA depended on construction companies for bulldozers and other equipment for rescue operations. It is worrisome that the reactions of the public agencies and the affected communities in cases of disaster have always been haphazard and ad-hoc in terms of search and rescue as well as recovery or rehabilitation programmes. This is largely due to lack of an actionable comprehensive disaster management policy. The social behaviour and attitude of a community are usually defined by either law or common practice. Nigerians have over the time developed a survival instinct that is largely based on an individualistic, rather than a holistic approach in pursuit of national goals, even if such action may constitute a risk to others around them. It is estimated that about 80% of the fire disasters recorded in the country are actually deliberately set. The present situation now demands the basic involvement of communities, using Community Development Agencies in the design and implementation of disaster management programmes. This must be done at national, state, local government and even village levels. There is therefore the need to re-examine the Nations policy in this regard. This should be aimed at adopting a more functional approach to containing emergencies situations and to reduce human and material losses to the lowest minimum, whenever the inevitable occurs. The suggested merger of related agencies such as the Fire Service the national Emergency Management Agency, NEMA and the Nigeria Security and Civil defence Corp may therefore be a worth while initiative. The education of all Nigerians on their roles during such hazards is also very important. Efforts should be made for the enactment of laws to provide for effective and prompt enforcement of existing safety codes. There is also need to install smoke and fire detectors as well as the provision of escape routes in public buildings. If these agencies saddled with mitigating and preventing disaster are given the necessary encouragement a lot will be achieved in terms of response to disaster. There is the urgent need to remove all obstacles that may hinder the operation of such agencies. The problems of inadequate funding, logistics and other operational problems resulting from delay in decision making at Federal and State levels have negatively affected their operational effectiveness. Even though nature has been kind to as a nation, such that we have been spared the share of annual visitation of typhoon, hurricane, earthquakes and landslides, yet there is the need for concerted efforts to appropriately manage the cases of disaster such as flooding which has occurred in some parts of the country. NEMA plays an important role in coordinating this effort, but in order to make progress, there is the need for the infusion of new resources, expertise as well as capital. More States must also establish Emergency Agencies to complement the efforts of NEMA. It is critical to pool the resources of various groups, private and the public sector to address this issue. Public Education efforts in particular, need to focus on informing citizens about potential disasters that could affect them and the importance of developing a plan of action which can be implemented by themselves and their families when a natural disaster or emergency occurs. We must recognize that disaster management is a multi-disciplinary effort and if the nation is to be spared the trauma of the attendant pains associated with disaster, we must change our approach to emergency preparedness.

Source: recorded live from FRCN daily commentary