Nigeria loses 30bn to Fire outbreak annually

Charles Nwaoguji

Nigeria loses over N30 billion to fire outbreak annually, the Managing Director of General  Safety  Service Limited, Dr, Lateef Alebiosu, has said.

Alebiosu, who stated this at the Nigeria Safety Award for Excellence  Hall of Fame 2019 (9JASAFE) held recently in Lagos, said accidents, sometimes, are inevitable in Nigeria and every other place in the world.

He noted that it could happen, resulting to a minor cut from a fall over a spilled water on the tiles in the office or at home, and to a razed organization complex from a fire outbreak.

However,  he said “accidents could be reduced through strong safety policy formation and continuously applying ourselves to core professional ethics of our different industry.”

Alebiosu, who was former President of Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPN), said that safety in Nigeria is still evolving , despite her peculiar challenges as a developing nation.

He stated that this is because there is no current national legislation that mandates stakeholders and regulators alike.

According to him, the closest thing to a national law is the factory Act 1987 and the CAP 126 in 1990 and the recent factory Act 2004.

He explained that in the absence of strict regulations, health and safety is approached and seen as actions relegated to use of common-sense practice by most  employers and businesses that pay little or no attention  to its practice except adopted world best practices.

Speaking on the Nigeria safety award, the Chairman Lagos Branch,  Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPN ), Timothy Iwuagwu,  said that the award was set up to recognise outstanding commitment of individuals, corporate organisations and professional institutions towards promoting and raising safety consciousness.

Iwuagwu noted that the annual award, a brain child of safety Record Newspaper, Nigeria’s premier HSE publication was instituted in 2015.

“It is our belief that adherence to proper corporate safety process, enhanced government regulations and enforcement, and aggressive safety advocacy, are the required panacea to check the unwholesome trend of work-related accidents and ailments in the country,” he said.