LASEMA deploys response unit on waterways

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has stressed the need for active collaboration, increased synergy and information sharing, as well as regular meetings among stakeholders for proper coordination during emergencies in the state. Our correspondent reports that lack of proper coordination often impedes effective response to emergencies, with several agencies trying to out-perform one […]

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has stressed the need for active collaboration, increased synergy and information sharing, as well as regular meetings among stakeholders for proper coordination during emergencies in the state.

Our correspondent reports that lack of proper coordination often impedes effective response to emergencies, with several agencies trying to out-perform one another.

But the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, yesterday advocated, when he visited the headquarters of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command in Alausa, for more collaboration among relevant agencies to coordinate emergencies.

Oke-Osanyintolu also disclosed that the agency had established an Aquatic Response unit at the Lekki Response Unit, by the Lekki/Ikorodu Linked Bridge, to further enhance the presence of the agency on the waterways.

The unit, he said, would reduce response time to scene of emergencies on water on the Lekki corridor and its environs.

A statement by the Public Affairs Officer of the agency, Adebayo Kehinde, quoted the DG as noting that lack of coordination and cooperation among stakeholders could hinder the success of emergency management and intervention in the state.

Oke-Osanyintolu said, “Effective preparedness requires close coordination among stakeholders, while effective coordination itself implies the understanding of stakeholders regarding each other’s roles before an emergency occurs, elements of command and control, communication, dispatches/deployment and a clear-cut incident command structure.