15th October, 2010
Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu is the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA. In this interview with our reporter, Kazeem Ugbodaga, he spoke on the activities of the organisation, its challenges and critical issues in disaster management in Lagos State.
Can you tell us what LASEMA is all about?
LASEMA means Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and our mission is to institutionalise emergency management plan that will foster political commitment, community awareness and participation, sectoral and agency collaboration, including the protection of lives and properties and the environment. So, we are sort of an agency that is the umbrella of emergency in the state.
Since inception, what has been the achievement of LASEMA?
Firstly, we were able to have what we call emergency response plan in place where we identify critical problems and proffer solutions to them. We have been able to carry stakeholders along in managing emergencies in the state. All of them have been able to know their roles and responsibilities to the state. We ascribe roles and responsibility to all stakeholders. For example, in any form of emergency, the ambulance knows what they need to do, the fire service knows what they need to do. Also, apart from the emergency response plans we put in place, we have emergency number and the emergency number of Lagos State is 767 or 112. We will be right there because we manage the golden hour. We have been able to have Local Emergency Committees in all the Local Governments. Also, we have world class burns unit located at Gbagada General Hospital. By the time Fashola opens the burns unit, it will be able to put smiles on the faces of the people that are suffering from burns complications. Not only that, today, we are able to have special unit in place to respond to emergency anytime, any day. We have three groups of emergency respondents in the state. With these groups, we work hand in hand to achieve good results. We have emergency management committees in all our schools to disseminate information appropriately and adequately. With our ambulances positioned in strategic places in the state, we can coordinate emergency at any point within Lagos State.
What have been your challenges?
Our challenges are one, the culture and attitude of our people; secondly, we met a civil service structure on ground which cannot work. People want to start work at 8.00 am and close by 4.00 pm. This was a big problem because sometimes, emergency could occur at midnight, so, with this, we started training our people, exposing them to lots of skills and with this, we have been able to appreciate that emergency needs a lot of sacrifice and commitment, that the people need to work for 24 hours. They need to monitor the golden hour properly, which is the hour between life and death, this is what we are doing.
We have realised that we need to work since we don’t have closing time while managing emergency. You can be called at midnight or at 1.00am and you need to make some sacrifice, this is a major challenge.
Also, the attitude of our people is not helping matters. When a house is burning, some people in that area want to be looting. They will prevent us from getting there and they will be looting. These people are not working with us, instead of doing that, they are looting. Also, believing that they have millions of naira, they go and build houses to obstruct the canals, these are the things; they need to work hand in hand with us by not blocking the canals. Before you can build a house, you have to ensure that you have a proper approval and such approval should not be the one that when you are given approval to build a one storey building, you start building a three-storey building. These are our challenges.
Is Lagos ready for any major disaster?
Lagos State is very ready for any emergency disaster. Look at what happened at Ajegunle. The governor gave an immediate order that we should open the camp and the camp is opened. This is because we are prepared for it. Lagos State is very ready for a major disaster. We have the materials and sophisticated equipment in place for this. The key thing in management of emergency or disaster is communication; that is why we are praying in this aspect for the Federal Government to cooperate with us. Look at Ajegunle incident; it could have been averted if the Federal Government had answered the memos sent to it by the governor in the last three years that they should do something concerning that area.
How proactive is LASEMA?
LASEMA is so proactive, we have structure in place.
How have you been able to cope with major fire incidents in Lagos State?
Our firemen are vibrant and we are well positioned.
What are you doing at the grassroots to sensitise the people on disaster management?
The impact of disaster management in any area is in recognition of the community. We have Local Emergency Committees in place in all local governments of the state. With this, they started developing their own ways of disaster management; they are on top of it. In Lagos State of today, we normally kick-start our emergency management from the grassroots.
What is the key to effective disaster management?
The key to effective disaster management are one, communication, two, commitment, three, you must have the resources; if you don’t have resources, you cannot do anything, you cannot buy equipment. Look at what happened in Lagos State, if we don’t have Agbowa Relief Camp, where are we going to put all these people displaced? So, these are the key things I know that are very crucial to disaster management.
Do you have the means to fight fire in high rise buildings?
We have sophisticated equipment to fight fire in high rise buildings.
Can you tell us about your relief camp?
We have a relief camp that is built to accommodate 1, 000 displaced people. We have world class equipment there and we have camp commandants there. They monitor the camp and work hand in hand with our stakeholders. Right now, we have 300 people from Ajegunle there and the evacuation is a continuous one.
As an expert, will you advise the communities in Ajegunle to relocate from where they are now?
Definitely, I will advise them to leave the area because it is flood-prone. About 99.9 percent of them don’t have approval, they are illegal occupants.
What are they doing there?
It is just that Fashola is being compassionate; they are not supposed to be there in the first place because they don’t have certificates. This flood is destroying their property. These people are prone to be victims of flood disaster.
What do you say about the Ecological Fund Lagos State has been asking the Federal Government for?
We need it now to handle this ecological problem we are facing. The Federal Government should partner with us; we don’t need their foodstuff and materials; we need a permanent solution to the problem in that area.
What is the future of LASEMA?
LASEMA is growing and we concentrate more on preparation to mitigate emergencies. LASEMA is like FERMA and is growing. We have been able to meet people’s demands. Lagosians should partner with us, let us work hand in hand together since communication is the key to effective disaster management.
