A Don at the University of Ilorin, Professor Gordon Kayode Osagbemi has called for the decentralisation of activities of National Emergency Management Agency, (NEMA).
Osagbemi, a professor of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Community Health made the call while delivering his innaugural lecture titled: ‘Disasters and Public Health Emergencies; Proper Prior preparations prevent poor performance, held in the University of Ilorin auditorium, last Thursday.
He said the agency should make its presnece felt at the state, local governments areas and at community levels.
“The activities of NEMA should encompass all aspects of disaster management including disaster mapping, surveillance, preparation, response and mitigation and research.
The professor also advocated communal dialogue as a way of preventing disasters among the prone communities in the state.
He said, “embrace ethnic, religious and communal dialogue to ensure peaceful co-existence in Nigeria,”
According to him, local disaster in Kwara State include communal clashes, floods and rainstorms, armed robberies, epidemic, fire outbreaks among several others.
He said disaster is any event, natural or man-made, sudden or progressive, which impacts in such a magnitude that the affected individual, community or nation has to respond by taking exceptional measures outside the affected area.
The don noted that disaster whenever it occurs, increases mortality, morbidity, destruction of property and infrastructure, panic and confusion among residents and several others.
He added that those who suffer the brunt mostly are children aged below 15 years as well as the elderly who are above 60 years of age, adding that many of them die of exhaustion, hunger, starvation and diseases that are due to the effect of the disaster. Osagbemi therefore call on international agencies and organisations to ensure that mechanism and modalities are put in place for the sustenance of their activities after they may left programme intervention areas.
He added saying, “the Federal Government should take ownership through focused partnership of the various disaster management activities in the country in order to reduce ‘Donor Dependency Syndrome’
He then charged members of the public to be aware of the various hazards and disasters tonehich they are prone, saying this can be done by obtaining information from relevant ministries of health and agencies.
“Avoid hazardous lifestyle such as domestic storage of explosive materials l, I dangerous driving, substandard building constructions and heed tonalers when given by relevant authorities,” he further said.
