NEMA records 78 deaths in 3 months

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Monday said the agency recorded 78 deaths in the first quarter of the year in the South West Zone.

A statement by the agency’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, on Monday in Lagos, said that the deaths came from fire incidents, boat mishaps, building collapse and sundry incidents.

According to the statement, the Zonal Coordinator of NEMA, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, appealed to Nigerians to imbibe the culture of disaster risk reduction and personal safety as their means of survival.

Yakubu said in the statement that, “ It is imperative, considering the increasing fire and various disasters with attendant casualties this year which are getting worrisome compared with last year’’.

He said the appeal was imperative in view of human and material losses from disasters, mostly human-induced in the first three months of this year.

“The losses in fire incidents were very staggering.

“For instance, in Ogun State alone, the losses in January alone were N33million, while the Fire Service saved properties worth N229million in 92 fire responses.

“In February 2016, the losses by the state rose astronomically to over N241.7 million, while the fire service was able to save N2.15 billion worth properties with 82 fire incidents.

“These are very disturbing figures which effects will impact negatively on the immediate victims and the society at large.

“Nigerians as individuals and corporate organisations must understand that lukewarm attitude to personal safety and disaster risk must be taking with all seriousness,’’ Yakubu said.

The NEMA chief urged the government to enhance the capabilities and efficiency of the various state institutions with adequate budgetary allocations devoid of ad-hoc staffing of most of the State Emergency Management Agencies in the country.

He said that these would further strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the agencies to handle disasters.

The zonal coordinator advised Nigerians to look out for faulty electrical wiring as this could be a major cause of fire outbreak.

He said that using thin cables for house wiring, in order to save cost, where thicker cables ought to be used could cause heating, which could ignite the insulation and spark off a fire disaster.

Yakubu also revealed that falling asleep while cooking could cause a fire outbreak.

He advised Nigerians to avoid cooking when tired.