By Dipo Olowookere
Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations in Lagos State, Mr Seye Oladejo, has assured business owners in the metropolis that their investments were in safe hands.
Mr Oladejo gave this assurance during the simulation exercise carried out by officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) alongside other emergency stakeholders code named ‘Operation Oko Jasosa’ at the early hours of Sunday, April 29, 2018, as a way of reassuring investors and entire residents of Lagos of the preparedness of the State emergency responders to swiftly respond to emergency situations in a very coordinated manner.
The Commissioner, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Jemilade Longe, disclosed that the exercise shows the capability of the various emergency responders in the state and should further convince Lagosians beyond mere promises that Lagos state government places high premium on protection of life and property.
He added that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, since inception of his tenure three years ago, made a commitment to deploy a sizable chunk of the resource of the state towards protecting Lagosians as well as foreigners residing in the state.
“Disasters and accidents are thing that you cannot predict but for our investors, what the state government is saying is that if for whatever reason there is an accident, they should be rest assured that we have skilled officials, the needed synergy and equipment to combat surmount such situations. The implication of this is that our people can now go to sleep without any fear because there is a government that cares for them,” the Commissioner stated.
Giving an overview of the operation, General Manager of LASEMA, Mr Tiamiyu Adeshina, explained that the main rationale behinde the entire simulation process was the display of synergy that exists among all those involved in attending to emergency situations.
He added that exercise was intended to sharpen synergy, foster collaboration, improve the level of preparedness and increase the response capability of relevant stakeholders in the management of multiple casualty incident especially along the 3rd Mainland Bridge known do such multiple accident cases.
“There is nothing to panic about, this simulation exercise is delibrately planned to prepare our men, that is all emergency responders for a situation like this.
“After this exercise now, LASEMA and other stakeholders involved in this simulation process will go back to the drawing board to reappraise our performances, evaluate the entire rescue operation and design a better way to handle this type of scenario whenever it happens.
“It is part of the proactive measures we decided to carry out so that we won’t start learning how to combat real accident scenes when very precious lives would be involved,” the General Manager averred.
He described the entire synergy among the responders as perfect, saying that the equipment and professional skills of the rescuers have been put to test and can successfully handle real-life situations similar to the simulated accident scene.
He reassured Lagosians that wherever they are and at whatever time of the day, LASEMA with the support of other relevant stakeholders will do all within their power to make sure that they are safe.
Mr Tiamiyu disclosed that the simulation exercise that was concluded within an hour on the 3rd Mainland Bridge was a result of meticulous paper work, planning and several round table meetings that lasted for over 4 months.
The General Manager urged residents of the state to always remember the free-toll emergency line of 767 and 112.
He said, “Dont leave anything to chance, take advantage of this free lines and activate the call immediately an emergency is perceived so that swift assistance can come and the degree of injuries or casualities will be very minimal.”
He said that throughout the period of the rescue operation there was adequate traffic traffic control on the bridge, live update on television stations where motorists and Lagosians at large were advised not to panic.
The nickname given to the rescue operation ‘Oko Jasosa’ derived its name from the vehicle that plunged into the Lagos lagoon from the simulated accident that involved a luxurious bus and five other vehicles.
The exercise involves men of the LASEMA Response Unit (LRU), Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS) State Environmental Health and Monitoring Unit (SEHMU ), Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps, Lagos State Waterway Authority (LASWA), Rapid Response Squard (RRS), Marine Police National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corp and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Adedapo Adesanya