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The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has launched a specialised emergency preparedness and fire prevention awareness programme aimed at equipping Nigerians with practical skills to respond effectively to fire outbreaks, workplace accidents, building collapses and other emergencies.
The initiative, designed to strengthen safety consciousness and improve emergency response capacity, was recently held in Lagos, where participants were trained on fire prevention, evacuation procedures, first aid and other critical emergency response techniques.
Speaking at the Lagos edition of the programme held at Lekki Grandview Hotel, the Managing Director of Matosi Nigeria Limited, consultant for the training, Mr Tosan Bolorunfe, described emergency preparedness as a critical national issue that requires deliberate attention from both the public and private sectors.
Bolorunfe said the rising incidence of fire outbreaks, workplace accidents, building collapses and other emergencies had underscored the urgent need for individuals, organisations and communities to acquire the knowledge and practical skills required to respond effectively when disasters occur.
He said poor coordination during emergencies, panic and inadequate safety awareness continued to contribute to avoidable deaths and destruction of property in homes, offices, hotels, markets, public facilities and industrial establishments.
“Fire incidents, workplace accidents, panic during emergencies, poor response coordination and lack of basic safety awareness continue to cause avoidable losses across homes, offices, hotels, markets, public facilities and industrial sites,” he said.
According to him, the first few minutes following an emergency are often the most critical, stressing that many lives could be saved if people knew the appropriate steps to take before professional emergency responders arrive at the scene.
“A society that waits for disaster before discussing safety is already late.
“Many lives are not lost because help does not exist. Many lives are lost because people do not know what to do in the first few critical minutes,” Bolorunfe said.
He noted that effective emergency preparedness could help protect lives, businesses and productivity, adding that safety awareness must be regarded as an important component of national development.
“When people are safer, businesses are stronger. When workplaces are prepared, productivity is protected. When communities understand emergency response, lives are preserved,” he said.
Bolorunfe also expressed concern that many Nigerians panic during emergencies because they lack practical knowledge of what to do, rather than because they are indifferent to safety.
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He said while prayer remained important to many Nigerians during emergencies, it must be complemented with adequate preparation and practical response skills.
“In many emergency situations, people resort to prayer because they genuinely do not know the next practical step to take. Prayer is important, but preparedness is also responsibility.
“People need to know who should act, what to switch off, where to go, who to call and how to evacuate safely,” he said.
The consultant stressed that emergency preparedness training should go beyond classroom presentations, noting that practical demonstrations and simulations were essential to ensuring that participants could apply what they had learnt when confronted with real-life emergencies.
“Training adults, especially on emergency subjects, requires more than reading slides. It requires experience, clarity, discipline and the ability to connect knowledge to real-life situations,” he said.
Bolorunfe commended the NCDMB for supporting the initiative, describing the programme as a practical capacity-building intervention that aligned with the Board’s broader commitment to human capital development and safety awareness.
He urged government agencies, private-sector operators, community leaders and other institutions to make emergency preparedness a continuous priority instead of waiting for accidents or disasters before taking preventive measures.
“To government agencies, private sector operators and community leaders, safety training should not be optional. It should be deliberate, repeated and practical.
“All stakeholders must begin to treat emergency preparedness as a national productivity issue, a community protection issue and a human responsibility,” he said.
The Lagos training combined classroom sessions with interactive discussions and practical exercises. Participants were exposed to controlled fire-response exercises, fire-extinguisher handling, first-aid awareness, evacuation procedures and other emergency-response techniques.
The programme is expected to strengthen the capacity of participants to respond appropriately to emergencies and, in turn, promote a stronger culture of safety across workplaces, institutions and communities.
