NSIB to raise the capacity of LASEMA’s workforce at Southern California Safety Institute, USA
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L-R: Engr. Akin Olateru, Director General, Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, and Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the synergy to enhance safety
The management of the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, has pledged to improve the capacity of the core personnel of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, to be more adroit in the management of all forms of emergencies especially, that of air mishap.
Engr. Akin Olateru, Director General, NSIB, made the pledge in Lagos at the office of LASEMA, in the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, over the weekend.
The occasion was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, between the federal, and state government agencies saddled with enhancing the safety of all modes of transportation, NSIB, and the state agency expected to mitigate, or nip in the bud any emergency it rears its ugly head in the state of aquatic splendor.
According to Olateru, the letter and the spirit as enshrined in the MoU, is to bring about a synergy that will further enhance the safety and preservation of critical evidence at crash sites in case of serious incidents and accidents in all the modes of transportation.
Olateru emphasized that it was important for agencies and organizations to partner in the interest of the country. He noted that NSIB was not the first responder in case of an accident, but said it was necessary for the agency to partner with first responders like LASEMA, police, the military, and other critical organizations.
He explained that the partnership with LASEMA would further aid the accuracy of accident investigation and prevent the recurrence of such.
He lamented that the bureau had in the past six years made attempts to partner with some government agencies, but failed to achieve this purpose and lauded the management of LASEMA for agreeing to the MoU within five months it was first proposed.
Although the circumstance that was instrumental to the talks on collaboration about five months ago, the public is yet to be fed with the findings which was the train that burrow through a Lagos State Government staff bus at a railway intersection in Bolade, along Ikeja-Oshodi express road.
The NSIB boss declared that the new NSIB Act 2022, empowers it to investigate serious incidents and accidents in all modes of transportation with the aim of boosting safety.
He said: “We had an initial meeting in March this year, which gave birth to this MoU that we are signing today. We have since been at the heels of some organizations in the last six years and nothing positive has come out of it. Whatever MoU we sign with organizations, it’s for the interest of the nation”, Olateru elucidated.
The NSIB helmsman also said that the technical staff of LASEMA would be trained by the Southern California Safety Institute, SCSI, of the United States of America (USA).
There are over 200 staff in LASEMA, but Olateru said the staff would be trained in batches. The first batch would be trained before the end of this month, he announced.
Earlier, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, said that the authority had signed MoUs with various organizations, including 25 United Nations agencies and a higher institution in the state.
Oke-Osanyintolu said that the MoU was to further assure Lagosians that the agency would always respond swiftly to any emergency management.
He explained that the State Government in recent years, had expended billions of naira to equip the agency with the procurement of state-of-the-art ambulance vehicles and engagement and training of qualified personnel to manage disasters in the state.
He added: “We also say that disaster management is the responsibility of everyone. We are signing this MoU with NSIB to take care of the airspace in case of an emergency or disaster.
“When the unfortunate aircraft accident happened earlier in the week, we worked together with the officials of NSIB at the crash site and our effort ensured that there was no mortality in the accident.”
The highlight of the event was the signing of the MoU by the chief executive officers of the two organizations.
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