Rescue workers searching for survivors
Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that the lingering acrimony between the federal and Lagos State emergency management agencies has serious implications for victims of emergency situations
If you are unfortunate to be involved in a sudden accident or natural catastrophe in Lagos State, this may not be the best of times. Those who are responsible for disaster management are currently locked in a battle of supremacy, at the expense of lives.
In recent times, the rivalry between the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and its counterpart at the state level, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), has reached its crescendo with humiliation and embarrassment visited on one by another because of
Besides, the agencies nowadays give contradicting figures from the scene of same emergency situation which has again made public the disagreement on emergency operations between the two agencies.
Although many would say that the feud between both agencies have been in existence since last year, but it was like a festering boil which ruptured and was brought to public glare right from the scene of the Dana Air crash of June 3, 2013.
This continuous face-off creates the illusion that the federal agency is not welcome in emergency situations.
THISDAY gathered that the Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Wale Ahmed, through the LASEMA boss, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, has expressed open dissatisfaction with the work of NEMA in Lagos by officially writing to the agency’s director, asking him to instruct his men not to report to emergency scenes in Lagos unless invited.
In the Beginning
NEMA was established in 1999 as the federal agency responsible for emergency situations and was expected to act as a parent body for the State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA).
The agency was saddled with the responsibility of formulating policies on all activities relating to disaster management, coordinate the plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disasters, promote research and monitor the state of preparedness of all organisations and agencies which may contribute to disaster management across the nation.
Others include educating and informing the public on disaster prevention and control measures, coordinating the activities of all voluntary organisations engaged in emergency relief operations in any part of the federation, receive financial and technical aid from international organisations and non-governmental organisations as well as distribute relief materials to victims.
The NEMA ACT also specify the functions of the state committee to include notifying the federal agency of any natural or human-made disasters in the state, carrying out disaster management activities in the state as recommended by the federal agency as well as being accountable to the federal agency for all funds accruing to it for the purposes of discharging its functions under this Act.
For its part, LASEMA was established by Law 16 of 2008 in pursuance of Decree 12 of 1999 as amended by Act 50 of 1999 which established NEMA and under the establishment of state committees in NEMA ACT, which is headed by the deputy governor with a representative from the state ministry's of Women and Social Welfare, Health and Works as well as the state Fire Service.
Others include the Nigerian Red Cross, National Maritime Authority in coastal states, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Nigeria Police, the State Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the state agency.
The law that sets up LASEMA did empower the agency to coordinate the activities of all its stakeholders and NGOs who are categorised into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary responders.
However, contrary to LASEMA's recent claim that NEMA is a secondary responder, their ACT which was made available to THISDAY categorically listed NEMA, the state Fire Service, Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA), Rapid Response Squad (RRS), NSCDC, Ministry of Environment, State Health Monitoring Unit (SEMHU), Lagos State Ambulance Unit (LASAMBUS), Red Cross, LASEPA, Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) and PHCN as primary responders.
Again, when the secondary responders which include emergency service departments of General Hospitals, Julius Berger Nigeria Limited, NAMA, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Nigeria Army (NA), Nigerian Navy ( NN) and the police were listed, NEMA was not found there.
Rather, the LASEMA ACT went on to list NEMA again as the tertiary responders alongside UNICEF and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Therefore, the lingering crisis according to LASEMA boils down to the fact that the ACT setting it up empowered the agency to coordinate activities of stakeholders and not NEMA in incidences of disasters in Lagos.
However, with NEMA’s presence at virtually all rescue sites in the state, LASEMA authorities are of the opinion that the federal agency should only be visible if their help is asked for in extreme circumstances.
Battle Royale
The climax of the lingering feud was on June 12, 2013, when the Rapid Response Squad Commander, CSP Akeem Odumosu, arrested the NEMA Spokesperson, Southwest Zone, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye and locked him in detention for disrespect to order.
The incident occurred at the scene of the building collapse at Ebute Meta area of Lagos, where NEMA was coordinating frantic efforts to rescue people buried under the rubbles of the collapsed building. THISDAY gathered that the policemen had manhandled and then bundled Farinloye into one of the squad patrol vehicles, and that single action of humiliation nearly marred the rescue operation as other officials of the agency threatened to abandon the rescue operation.
According to eyewitness account, Farinloye had incurred the wrath of the RRS Commander by attempting to dissuade him from sending away the local rescue operators who had supported the rescue operation before LASEMA officials arrived on the scene.
When Odumosu arrived at the scene with other LASEMA officials, he made straight for the local emergency workers, including the youths of the area, to chase them out and that caught Farinloye's attention.
Farinloye was said to have walked up to the commander and advised him against his actions explaining that it was the same local operators who had saved the day even before NEMA and other emergency rescue operators arrived.
Eyewitness account said Farinloye's action angered Odumosu who then ordered his men to bundle the spokesperson into a waiting vehicle and wheeled away for detention at Denton Police Station with explicit instructions from Odumosu that he should be arraigned in court.
It was gathered that concerted efforts by people including the Chairman of Lagos Mainland Local Government, Oladele Olakanye, to help release the NEMA spokesperson proved abortive as the commander had sworn to deal with him.
Olakanye was said to have even promised Odumosu that the NEMA official would write a letter of apology, a promise that was rejected by the commander who insisted that Farinloye must appear in court.
Odumosu was said to have boasted,"he threatened to write a petition. Let him go and write it but he cannot send me away from here but I have sent him away."
However, hours later when the NEMA headquarters were contacted, they mediated in the crisis and Farinloye was released.
Catalogue of Crisis
However, the bad blood between the federal and state agencies deepened after that fracas and was again brought to the fore on Sunday, June 21, 2013 at the scene of the building collapse at Ishaga, Surulere, where five people were killed and about 10 injured.
It was drama galore when the state Commissioner for Special Duties, Wale Ahmed, stormed the scene for an on-the-spot assessment and allegedly asked NEMA personnel to leave the rescue operations for the primary responders which according to him is the state emergency committee.
However, when asked by THISDAY as regards the situation, the Commissioner debunked the allegations, stressing that NEMA would always be a secondary responder while the state government owned emergency agency will be the primary responder.
He said: "I did not chase them out and I am not even aware if anyone did. But to put the facts straight, NEMA is a secondary responder. In any state where you have state emergency management committee, it is that committee that is primary responder.
"It is the state that will call NEMA if we need their assistance or if the situation is beyond our control. We did not ask NEMA to leave. We are all working together but they are secondary responders unlike the state emergency committee which is the primary responder in the state."
But despite his denial, NEMA through its spokesperson, Farinloye, maintained that they were chased out of the rescue operation after NEMA had successfully rescued three persons alive and brought out the corpse of four people from the rubble.
Farinloye claimed that his men have been assaulted many times by LASEMA. He said: "We have always faced this challenge. At the Surulere disaster scene where we were on ground for rescue operation, the commissioner ordered us out and threatened that he would ask his people to deal with us if we are not careful so we left the site peacefully as their equipment arrived. We alongside some volunteers had already executed majority of the rescue operation before they came to the site and asked us to leave.”
LASEMA’s Stand
Corroborating the commissioner's stance, LASEMA General Manager Osanyintolu, said NEMA can only be a secondary responder during emergency situations and not a primary responder because the state and local emergency agencies are closer to the people and can be quickly deployed to the emergency scene to save lives.
He argued that NEMA can only be the first responders in a situation where the state and local emergency agencies are not readily available or created, stressing that the otherwise is the case in Lagos where a vibrant state emergency body is in place.
He said: "We will call NEMA when we need them (NEMA). We are not competing because our functions are different. NEMA can function efficiently where there is no LASEMA."
NEMA Reacts
Following the clash between the commissioner and NEMA personnel at Surulere during rescue operation, THISDAY spoke with the NEMA Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Iyiola Akande.
While lamenting the unnecessary rivalry, he however flayed the statement from the commissioner which classified NEMA as secondary responder.
Akande lamented that personnel of his agency have been repeatedly chased away from emergency scenes in Lagos by LASEMA officials even as the state continues to battle the increasing building collapses.
He said: "Before now, we have had useful collaborations with LASEMA but the attacks started off recently. And I need to clear the air on the issue of NEMA being a secondary responder during emergency situations. NEMA is not a secondary responder as portrayed by the commissioner and Osanyintolu because LASEMA ACT empowers us to be primary responders.
"To say otherwise now is misleading. It is on record that during the state emergency stakeholders meeting two years ago, we were called upon and we contributed immensely and I do not see the need to change the status quo.
"It should not be a question of ego as the important thing is to achieve a common goal, which is to mitigate effects of disasters. We are supposed to work together not against each other."
He added: "When minor disasters happen, the appropriate agencies step in but when major disasters like plane crash, pipeline vandalism that leads to fire outbreak, flooding and building collapse occurs, there is need for a major collaboration of all stakeholders."
Implications for Emergency Situations
Undoubtedly, the NEMA ACT provided for the functions of the state committee that allows SEMA to respond to any disaster within the state and may seek assistance from the federal agency if it deems fit in each circumstances, but the implication of the lingering feud between both agencies undoubtedly is worrisome for victims of disaster and emergency situations.
Many argued that if LASEMA insists that NEMA should hands off rescue operations in the state, then there is need to sit up and be able to respond to emergency situations in quick time like NEMA does.
Citing several instances like the Dana Air crash, the Ebute Metta fire disaster, Surulere building collapse, Jakande building collapse and Ajangbadi building collapse and several others where NEMA responded in quick time and had carried out rescue operations before LASEMA came in, they called for collaboration between both agencies.
Corroborating, one of the local volunteers at the scene of the Ishaga building collapse, Prince Tony Anslem, a Rotary Club member, told THISDAY that they were already carrying out rescue operations with NEMA before LASEMA came and NEMA personnel were asked to leave.
He said: "There is something that both agencies need to remember, it is their responsibilities to first save lives before their ego problems come in. What was expected of them that day was for LASEMA to thank NEMA for a job well done before taking over operations.
"Rather what we saw was a shoddy handover where the federal agency personnel were rudely asked to leave. Even our efforts as local operators were not acknowledged and it was not as if LASEMA came on time. Imagine if both the federal agency and local operators had waited for the state agency to come, we wouldn't have been able to rescue five persons alive."
Buttressing the implications of the feud for victims, NEMA coordinator, made reference to the recent plane crash in a San Francisco Airport where the US national and state emergency agencies combined efforts to rescue passengers on board the Asian Airlines flight 214 aircraft.
He stressed that such collaboration is what both agencies should be doing to address emergency situations speedily and save lives and properties, adding that anything short of that would spell doom for victims.
He said: "Ordinarily, the ACT for emergency situation and rescue operations stipulates that a total of 34 equipment should be deployed to the scene of a collapsed building but how many agencies will have all the 34 in this country and that is why we must collaborate.
"Again, we can't fold our arms and watch while victims suffer because we are waiting for LASEMA when disaster happens. At the Ebute Meta building collapse, I deployed my men who are on duty 24 hours and around 3.am we were at the site and when the manpower wasn't enough, I called in more men.
"But, LASEMA came in at about 9am, while my men have been on ground since 3am. can you imagine the difference in response time?
That was a clear six hours after we had arrived and seven hours after the crash. Let’s join hands to save lives."
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