By Adedapo Adesanya
As Nigeria enters full rainy season mode, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Air Force have strengthened existing partnerships between them in the areas of disaster management.
This was the crux of the Director General (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s visit to the Chief of Air Staff at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) headquarters in Abuja.
The NEMA DG, who led a team of some directors of the agency, including the Director of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr Alhassan Nuhu; the Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr Daniel Obot; the Special Assistant to the DG, Mr Idris Abubakar Mohammed; and the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Bashir Idris Garga, was received by the new Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar, along with some his management team.
In his remarks, Mr Ahmed said it has become necessary to strengthen the existing relationship between NEMA and NAF, especially in view of the increasing occurrence of disasters, including the forecast of floods that may affect some parts of the country this year.
“With the current increasing level of severity of disasters in Nigeria and across the world, it has become necessary for NEMA to strengthen its partnership with the Nigerian Air Force to save lives in times of emergency and to promote Disaster Risk Reduction,” he said.
He reviewed the present situation of the rainy season and noted that it has started to confirm the predicted flood, which has started to wreak havoc in some states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“The time has come when NEMA will require the support of the Nigerian Air Force in the areas of search and rescue and transportation of personnel, equipment and other life-saving relief items,” he said.
Reaffirming confidence in the existing partnership between the two organizations, he noted that, “NEMA and the Nigerian Air Force have conducted a series of real-life simulation exercises to test the level of preparedness of emergency responders and develop a common language of communication to foster a better understanding of life-saving roles and responsibilities of frontline actors in times of emergency.”
He restated that NEMA will always count on the support of the Nigerian Air Force as a critical partner, especially in the areas of search and rescue operations, medical evacuation and the airdrop of relief materials to inaccessible locations during sudden onset disasters and emergencies.
Responding, the Chief of Airforce Air Vice Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar assured that the Nigerian Air Force will continue to discharge its responsibilities in the areas of providing support to civil authorities whenever required.
He recalled the participation of NEMA and the Nigerian Air Force in some past joint simulation training exercises on emergency response and announced that NAF will avail its 22 Disaster Response Units located across the country for deployment to support disaster management activities of NEMA in furtherance to the existing collaboration between the two organizations.
He, therefore, assured the sustenance and further strengthening of the existing partnership between the Nigerian Air Force and NEMA.
Modupe Gbadeyanka