Stories by Sarah NEGEDU
FCT Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has appealed to residents of the territory to adhere to weather information, in order to avert flooding and other environmental disaster.
Director General of the agency, Abbas Idriss, noted that proper adherence to early warnings and predictions by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, particularly by farming communities will advert floods and ensure food security.
Idriss, who stated this while delivering his remarks at the 2023 Seasonal Climate Prediction, SCP, organised by NIMET, noted that one of the sector that relies heavily on weather information is the agriculture and transportation sector.
He said the FCT was able to manage the socio-economic impact of last year’s bad weather in the FCT after it considered the 2022 Seasonal Climate Prediction with early preparedness approach.
According to him, about 24,714 residents were severely affected by floods in 2022. He therefore assured that with the 2023 seasonal climate prediction at hand, the agency will utilise the information analysis to plan farmers planting season for food sufficiency.
Earlier at a strategic Executive Seminar for Nigeria Emergency Management Stakeholders organize by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, the FEMA boss emphasised the need for capacity building for drivers of disaster management.
Idriss stressed that when the drivers of disaster management do not update their skills or not knowledgeable enough, then they will continue to do the wrong thing in a wrong direction.
He commended the Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Habib, for having keen interest in building the capacities of State Emergency Management Agencies.
In his words, “You will agree with me that capacity building is a very vital aspect of disaster management, if the drivers of disaster management cannot update it and are not knowledgeable enough then we will continue to do the wrong thing in a wrong direction.
“All of us seated here are the drivers of disaster management at our different levels. We take disaster management from bottom up, and that is how it should be. From the Local Emergency Management Committees to State Emergency Management Agencies then to National Emergency Management Agency. But if we are not educated and we are not properly trained, then definitely we will be left with nothing but serious disaster affecting multiple number of people in our communities,” he added.
