The Federal Government of Nigeria has made a call to state and local governments to invest in fire and emergency management in their respective jurisdictions. Speaking during the unveiling of the firehouse and a Metropolitan Fire Station in Abuja, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, expressed concern that the responsibilities bordering on fire service and disaster management had been left to the federal government alone.
Aregbesola lamented that the Federal Fire Service had become the main fire service provider in many parts of the country. He urged the state and local governments to pay more attention to fire service and emergency management, and not abandon the service to the Federal Government. He stressed that state and local governments should invest, no matter how little.
Reflecting on the sorry state of affairs that existed when the Buhari administration took over in 2015, Aregbesola revealed that the Federal Fire Service had only two functional fire engines. He, however, pointed out that the situation had since changed for the better as the Federal Government had provided 106 modern firefighting trucks, upgraded 44 firefighting engines, provided 15 water tankers, 15 rapid intervention fire engines, and 20 basic life support ambulances, among others for the service.
Despite the improvements recorded so far, Aregbesola maintained that curtailing large-scale fires remains a challenge for the service. He, therefore, urged his successor to conclude the arrangement that was entered with the Nigerian Air Force in that regard. The aim of the arrangement is to use the Air Force’s planes to waterbomb wildfires, bushfires and other large-scale fires that require aerial attacks.
The Controller General of the Federal Fire Service, Abdulganiyu Jaji, has expressed delight with the new projects, saying the infrastructure provided will help service personnel to respond quickly to incidents, thus providing an enabling environment for firefighting and rescue operations in the community.
In conclusion, it is hoped that the call by the Federal Government for state and local governments to invest more in fire and emergency management will be well received. Disaster management requires a collective effort by all tiers of government and the private sector to ensure effective and efficient service delivery.
