Tunji Wusu –
Mustapha Ahmed, the director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has asked for a tightening of the current relationship with the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) in the area of disaster management in a new effort to prevent calamities brought on by floods around the nation.
Yesterday, the DG led a delegation to the office of Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, Chief of the Air Staff, at the NAF headquarters in Abuja. He said recent events, including flooding, as well as the weather forecast, made it essential for both agencies to strengthen their current partnership to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
The DG stated that the time has come for NEMA to need 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 in a statement signed by the agency’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ezekiel Manzo. The DG also noted that in light of the increasing frequency of disasters, including the weather forecast which may affect some parts of the country this year.
In order to save lives in emergencies and advance disaster risk reduction, NEMA must expand its relationship with the Nigerian Air Force given the current rising frequency and severity of catastrophes in Nigeria and around the world.
Ahmed further stated that the devastation caused by the current rainy season in various states, particularly the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has started to corroborate the earlier projected floods.
“NEMA and the Nigeria air force have conducted series of life-saving simulation exercises to test the level of preparedness of emergency response and develop a common language of communication to foster better understanding of life-saving roles and responsibilities of frontline actors in times of emergency,” he said, reiterating his confidence in the existing partnership between the two organizations.
The DG reaffirmed NEMA’s commitment to supporting the NAF as a crucial ally, particularly in the areas of search and rescue operations, medical evacuation, and the air delivery of relief supplies to inaccessible locations during catastrophes.
NAF representative Abubakar responded by saying that his organization would keep up with its obligations to support civil authorities as needed.
He recalled that NEMA and the Nigerian Air force had participated in some previous joint simulation training exercises on emergency response. He added that NAF would make available its 22 Disaster Response Units, which are spread out across the nation, for deployment to support NEMA’s disaster management efforts, furthering the two organizations’ already-existing cooperation.
Therefore, he guaranteed the continuation and further development of the current alliance between the Nigerian Air Force and NEMA.
