‘New Strategies Needed To Confront Disaster Management Challenges’ – Isah Chonoko
The Oasis Reporters
September 28, 2018
The National Emergency Management Agency has stressed the need to re-assess, re-strategize and identify the strengths and challenges in terms of disaster preparedness and response in the country, due to the recent floods that resulted in casualties and destruction of property in Nigeria.
In a critical stakeholders meeting organized by NEMA in Kaduna, the North West Zonal Coordinator, Ishaya Isah Chonoko said there was the need for the stakeholders in disaster management to work together to build a culture of preparedness, prevention, response and resilience to disasters in the communities.
” It is therefore against this background that NEMA/SEMA as agencies saddled with the responsibility of coordinating disasters in the country, has found it expedient to organize this forum to assess the state of preparedness of all Organizations or Agencies that are stakeholders in disaster management in this Zone.”
He said, “the use of the Agency’s proactive approach to disasters as part of our Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategy needs to be imbibed by all stakeholders in order to reduce the risks and mitigate impact of disasters in our communities.”
According to the North West Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Isah Chonoko, NEMA’s mandates are to manage disasters in all its ramifications, compelled to ascertain the capacity of all its critical stakeholders and monitor their state of preparedness with a view to proffering solutions towards efficient and effective disaster management in the Zone.
Isah Chonoko further explained that the meeting involved all stakeholders to develop preparedness, mitigation and response strategies which cannot be over emphasized and further added that recent floods in Kaduna made it necessary for the agency to call stakeholders to ensure proper drills and sensitization campaigns are carried out in respect to the disaster management cycle.
“There is need for frequent interaction of stakeholders, to enable us all keep abreast of any development within the circle. The need therefore for collaboration, planning and commitment to deal with disaster issues timely by all the tiers of government particularly the LGAs cannot be over emphasized.”
He used the forum to warn that unless disaster management and risk reduction are effectively driven at all levels, their impacts will be extremely difficult and costly to address.
Speakers at the meeting frowned at the poor response to disasters and urged those saddled with the responsibilities to intensify more efforts in order to achieve set goals.
