ABUJA— IN its bid to build a resilient community and to prepare Nigeria as one of the best prepared nations in terms of response to natural disasters and mitigation programmes, the National Emergency Management Agency [NEMA] has concluded plans to make more functional the coping mechanism within our various communities.
Speaking in Abuja at this year’s World Disaster Day Celebration with the theme: “Learning from Today’s Disasters for Tomorrow’s Hazards”, the Director- General, Alhaji Salihu Makarfi said that studies have shown that attempts at reducing disaster with the overall goal of sustainable development at any level must involve both an integrative and holistic approachs.
According to him, the agency is celebrating this year’s disaster day with emphasis on children between sixteen and below since they constitute a sizeable segment of Nigeria population which can not be ignored by any programme that torches on their life and for the overall sustenance of the country.
“As leaders of tomorrow, children must know what hazards they face as individuals or as a group so as to prepare them for better copying mechanism. There is the need therefore to create awareness and prepare the vulnerable towards the management of disasters.”
“It is for this reason that this year’s Disaster Reduction Campaign, targets one of the most vulnerable groups, that is, the children”, he said.
The event which was held at the Government Secondary School, Tundu Wada, Abuja and jointly organised by the United Nations Children Fund [UNICEF] was well attended by students drawn from schools in the Federal Capital Territory and representatives of the Federal Fire Service as well as the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Alhaji Makarfi said that NEMA, since inception has celebrated the campaign as a deliberate and conscious effort geared towards disaster prevention, mitigation and management as the society must be fully aware of its vulnerability to hazards, adding “this therefore, makes it very important that our children, who are the leaders of tomorrow, be sensitized on the principles and management of disasters for the future”.
In his goodwill message, the Deputy-Comptroller General, Federal Fire Service, Engr. John Obinyan noted that disaster preparedness is quite pertinent in any society when viewed against the background of some particular situations of disasters across the world.
According to him, ” it has now come to be appreciated that disasters can wipe out years of development in matters of hours. Big disasters destroy farmland, animals, livelihoods and most importantly human beings, keeping people poor, hungry and maimed.
