24th July, 2019
Lagos State Government is entering into partnership with the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), United kingdom to train 500,000 people on workplace safety and health in the country.
The Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Hakeem Dickson said this on Tuesday when officials of the institute paid him a visit.
According to Dickson, his agency had since taken over the mantle of leadership of Safety agency, made every effort to promote occupational health and safety, especially by giving it a positive enlightenment in the state and ensuring that there was the right capacity to ensure competency within the state.
“Our aim is to develop safety culture through the leaders where every sector would be compelled to set up safety department. We aim to save more lives and properties, hence our intention of moving the agency from its embryonic level to a more matured level. As such, we’ve decided to bridge this gap by providing tools to enhance competency within the State hence, our collaboration with IOSH UK to help train about 500, 0000 people on safety and health in Nigeria,” he said.
Dickson stated that the partnership is believed to strengthen relationship and build capacity of significant number of practitioners, managers, graduates and more from any discipline in IOSH courses to become esteemed members of the institution and boost the economy.
Head of Global Engagement and Partnership, IOSH, Alan Stevens, said his agency was keen to share best practice and learn from others best practice so as make everyone goes home safely, adding that they were in the country to partner Lagos because “we respect and admire the vision and determination of Hon. Hakeem Dickson and the Lagos State Safety Commission and we are determine to support in every way we possibly can to ensure that the vision becomes reality’’
According to him, “IOSH, as the largest health and safety body in the world, has a very clear strategy through 2022 and beyond which is focused on collaboration to enhance and influence professionals globally.”
Speaking, IOSH ‘s consultant for the project, Mrs Funmi Adegbola, said they were working on partnering with different investors to fund the project.
In her words: “We are working on partnership with different investors who would provide some funding towards the project to support individuals who meet the subsidy eligibility criteria.”
Lagos State Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola said the issue of safety was very paramount and germane and emphasized that it was an issue that should be priotised by every government.
Muri-Okunola, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Mr Samson Ajibade, commended IOSH UK for their collaboration with the state government on transfer of knowledge but appealed that the safety training should be extended to more than 500,000 and should not be limited to Lagos State alone but spread to other nooks and crannies of the country.
He also appealed that the training be spread across other sectors like education, health, schools, churches, mosques and various technical centres.
“Your visit and collaboration is most welcome. But I would suggest you don’t limit the collaboration with Lagos alone but ensure it goes round the whole Nigeria and not only to companies alone. If we concentrate on a state alone, other states that know Lagos is safe would encroach and overcrowd the state and we have no right to drive then away because we have freedom of movement and can so decide to live in any state of the federation we so desire, hence my appeal to let it go round the whole country, so that every nooks and crannies of the country would be safe for all and sundry.
“Also when making the choice of those to be trained, let it spread to every sectors like education, health, schools, churches, mosques and factories. This is a welcome development and in tandem with the focus of the present administration. One can not do it in isolation, when you have safety all over the world, that is when you can travel to any part of the world and I wish everyone should see security as a concern,“ Muri-Okunola said.
Permanent Secretary, Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Dr. Jimoh Yusuf said Lagos State had set the standard being the foremost state in the nation to set up an agency called safety commission to prevent and manage occupational health and disaster.
He stressed the need to advocate safety consciousness down to Local Government, schools, institutions, industries and private organisations.