Press Releases

Attitudinal Change, Only Means To Ensure Safety - Fashola

May 5, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Tuesday asserted that attitudinal change of the mindset by the citizenry represents the only means by which safety of life and property could be enhanced in the society.

Governor Fashola who stated this while addressing a Stakeholder’s Forum on the establishment of the Lagos State Safety Commission held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Secretariat, Ikeja added that most of the incidents that endanger the society are man-made.

The Lagos State Governor explained that the society should hold itself responsible for where it is today, because some of the values which were imbibed in children about safety consciousness are no more being imparted in our young ones thus making them susceptible to various dangers.

The Governor noted that as a people we have been lucky because nature has not placed us in areas susceptible to natural disasters like earthquakes, cyclones or Katrina as usually experienced in Europe.

“Most of the unfortunate incidents like fire accident, collapsed buildings, pipeline explosion, road accidents are man made and can be avoided through attitudinal change by all,’’ he said.

The Governor recalled the Odogunyan –Ikorodu explosion and fire disaster that claimed 300 lives in 2003 and the Ikeja Military cantonment explosions in 2002 that claimed thousands of lives to buttress his point.

“Safety means pro-activeness because accidents are unplanned and uncontrolled events that may cause varying degrees of injury or death,’’ he said

He explained that such accidents could be curbed if “we consider safety issues holistically as a people with the government taking leadership role by setting standard”.

“We must ensure that these standards are met through law enforcement, regular inspections of public highways, construction sites, work places, leisure places, school and maintaining regular public enlightenment on safety issues,’’ he said.

The Governor added that as part of the measures to ensure a culture of safety, the present administration in Lagos is developing a set of roads that would protect pedestrians unlike the old system which have roads that do not have pedestrian walkways separately.

He called for the collaboration of the Petroleum Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority with the State Government to ensure that only heavy duty vehicles and trailers that make safety passmarks are allowed to lift containers or crude oil from the ports or the depots.

The Governor advised that as a people Nigerians must insist always that if any service is not safe, it would not be patronized by the people, adding that since the service providers are earning a profit for most business undertakings, they must always put the people and safety first.

He disclosed that several health workers and those working with various safety agencies were undergoing training at present to become first responders that would save lives during outbreak of accidents at all levels in the State.

“Myself and my colleagues on the state executive council would be trained also in safety issues and through that, we will be able to create an army of first responders on the streets of Lagos that can quickly respond during accidents to safe life and property,’’ he said.

Speaking earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of Safety Plus, Mr. Tokunbo Odebunmi said safety represents a major issue that needs to be addressed and congratulated Governor Fashola for taking the initiative to put in place a viable public protection strategy that would guarantee the health and safety of the teeming population.

He said it was regrettable that a number of avoidable accidents that had occurred either due to breakdown or inadequacy of safety measures put in place by employers of labour or more importantly due to ignorance on the part of the public.

While contributing, one of the stakeholders, Mr Adelusi Patrick called for legislation on safety laws as a means of ensuring the success of safety policies adding that it is only when safety laws are strengthened with legislations that success would be achieved with implementation.

Majority of the stakeholders congratulated the State Government for taking the bold initiative of setting up a safety commission as a one stop agency to coordinate the activities of all agencies involved in ensuring safety in and out of work.