LASG, WORLD BANK COLLABORATE ON EMERGENCY, RISK MANAGEMENT
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday stated that it is collaborating with the World Bank to significantly enhance emergency and risk management in the state.
The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab made this known during a strategic business meeting with a team on Nigeria Disaster Risk Management from the World Bank held at Alausa, adding that the collaboration underscores the government's commitment to building resilience and reducing vulnerability to disasters and risks.
According to him, Lagos State Government is continually taking concrete steps to put infrastructures in place; both physical infrastructure and human resource with the hindsight that Lagos is a coastal state prone to flash flooding.
He said the State is bounded in the south by 486 kilometres of the Atlantic and about 25 per cent of Lagos land is water, stressing that these are natural realities that expose the state to flash flooding.
He said from the beginning of every year, the government usually sends out early warning signals regarding some risk issues in the state, adding that these warning signs help the state flag ahead of time the issue of sea level rise, and communicate to the neighbouring communities that may be affected.
He said later this month, with respect to the NIMET's rainfall forecast, the government will communicate the early warning signs to the residents and the same to some other agencies, stressing that one of the agencies is LASEMA as well as the State Command and Control Centre.
Wahab said that in the past couple of years what the Ministry had done differently is not just to ramp up the infrastructure but also to ensure the continuous cleaning/dredging of the primary, secondary, tertiary, and manholes across the state all year round.
He explained that there are also incidents where human elements interfere with nature's ecosystem, for instance, people choose to build on the floodplain or choose to destroy the mangrove, knowing that these are nature's protective gears against flooding or flash flooding.
He said as a result of these bad behaviours, the government decided to enforce its laws to restore order, saying that realistically, Lagos can't run away from flooding being a coastal state.
He added that science has clearly proven that when it rains heavily, there will be a tidal lock and when the tidal lock happens, storm water cannot discharge no matter the resilience infrastructure the state has in place nor the early warning signs that had been put in place.
He added that the state chose to ban single-use plastics some time ago even when some countries in Europe had not banned it but Lagos had to do it because of the state's peculiarities, saying that the state is willing, ready and open to work with the World Bank.
He stressed that the State took the decisions to find a way to make waste a resource, either for wealth or for energy, adding that the government is thinking outside the box by turning the challenges around and seeing the positives in those things.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Economy Planning and Budget, Mr. Mosope George expressed appreciation to the World Bank for the partnership, noting that the partnership is expected to bring together experts from both organisations to identify areas of high risk and develop strategies to mitigate them.
He added that the initiative would involve the development of early warning systems, emergency response plans, and public awareness campaigns to educate residents on disaster risk reduction and management.
Speaking earlier, the Team Lead and Senior Disaster Management Specialist, World Bank, Mr. Francis Nkonka said part of the engagement of the World Bank is on emergency preparedness and response, adding that the World Bank seeks to understand the gaps and challenges in Lagos State.
He said his organisation is set to effectively align with the state through technical and investment support from the World Bank on Risk Management.
He said the team had earlier visited Agencies of Government in the fire and rescue unit, where their needs in terms of facilities, equipment, personnel information systems, and data collection, amongst other things, were highlighted, adding that the World Bank wishes to support Lagos State to be a beacon of best practices for other states in the Country.
Also present at the meeting were the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environment Services, Omobolaji Tajudeen Gaji; Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services, Engr. Mahamood Olakunle Adegbite;
Permanent Secretary, Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs. Olayinka Modupe Ojo; Lagos State Chief Resilience Officer, Dr. Folayinka Dania and other top officials from the State Public Service.
More photos below.
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