BEYOND THE LAGOS OFFICE FLAMES

 Our workplaces are a ticking time bomb, argues KENE NWANKWO

The smoke has cleared from the recent fire at the UBA corporate office in Lagos, but the tragedy’s most chilling lesson lingers in the air. Reports suggest many of the lives lost were claimed not by the fire itself, but by asphyxiation—suffocation from the toxic fumes of an electrical fire. This horrifying detail is a damning indictment of our nation’s approach to workplace safety. We are not just failing to fight fires; we are failing to anticipate the real dangers of the modern work environment, and our outdated laws are, quite literally, suffocating us.

This incident was not a freak accident; it was a symptom of a systemic crisis rooted in a legal framework completely unfit for purpose. While a welcome step, the National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Policy of 2020 has yet to translate into meaningful change on the ground. In practice, our safety culture remains governed by the principles of the outdated Factories Act of 1987—a law conceived for industrial warehouses, not for the glass-and-steel high-rises that define our 21st-century cities. It fails to adequately address the specific risks of modern corporate buildings, from complex electrical systems to high-density office layouts.

But even the best laws are useless without enforcement. The deeper problem is a pervasive culture of superficial compliance. We see “pencil-whipped” safety reports, where boxes are ticked without any meaningful checks. We see fire extinguishers that haven’t been serviced in years and emergency exits that are blocked or locked. Ask yourself: when was the last time your office conducted a realistic, mandatory evacuation drill that wasn’t just a brief interruption? For most Nigerian employees, the answer is never. This isn’t just negligence; it’s a catastrophic failure of implementation that leaves millions of workers exposed every single day.

We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we just need the will to adopt global best practices. Look at the United Kingdom’s Building Safety Act, a robust framework established in the wake of its own tragedies. It enforces clear lines of accountability and mandates a “golden thread” of digital information—a live, transparent record of a building’s safety features and history. It proves that a culture of rigorous, data-driven compliance is not only possible but essential.

This is where Nigeria’s challenge becomes its greatest opportunity. Our vibrant, world-class tech ecosystem holds the key to leapfrogging decades of regulatory failure. The same ingenuity that built our FinTech unicorns can be unleashed to save lives and build a new industry in SafetyTech.

Imagine our buildings equipped with IoT-enabled smart sensors that don’t just detect smoke but monitor air for toxic gases in real-time, sending instant alerts to every occupant’s phone. Picture AI-powered compliance platforms that replace dusty logbooks, automatically tracking safety certifications, scheduling mandatory drills, and flagging risks before they become disasters. We can use Virtual Reality (VR) to train employees in immersive, realistic evacuation simulations that build life-saving muscle memory. We can even create Digital Twins—virtual replicas of our buildings—to model and perfect emergency response plans.

This is not science fiction; this technology exists today. Deploying it would transform workplace safety from a matter of guesswork into a science of prevention.

The path forward requires a two-pronged attack. First, we issue a clear call to action to our government and lawmakers: The time for amending the 1987 Factories Act is over, we also need to have a second look at National Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Policy of 2020. We need a new, comprehensive “Workplace Safety and Health Act,” drafted in collaboration with tech leaders, urban planners, and safety professionals, that is fit for the Nigeria of today and tomorrow.

Second, we challenge our nation’s tech innovators: This is your moment. Look beyond the next payment app and see the multi-billion Naira opportunity in protecting our most valuable asset—our people. By building these solutions, you can create thousands of high-value jobs in the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) sector and position Nigeria as the undisputed leader in African SafetyTech.

The victims of the Lagos fire deserved to go to work and come home safely. Let their memory be the catalyst that finally forces us to move beyond the flames and build a safer future for all Nigerians.

 . Nwankwo is Founder/CEO of Pro Serve Integrated Services Ltd., and a NEBOSH-certified health and safety expert