NCDMB Embarks on Emergency Preparedness Awareness Campaign

Following the rising cases of fire incidents, building collapses and accidents across the country, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commenced a specialised Emergency Preparedness and Fire Prevention Awareness programme aimed at sensitising Nigerians on practical response to such incidents.

Speaking during the Lagos State edition of the training, Managing Director of Matosi Nigeria Limited, Mr. Tosan Bolorunfe,  the consultant for the programme, said emergency preparedness had become a serious national issue requiring deliberate attention from both public and private sector stakeholders.

According to him, “Fire incidents, workplace accidents, panic during emergencies, poor response coordination and lack of basic safety awareness continue to cause avoidable losses across homes, offices, hotels, markets, public facilities and industrial sites.”

Bolorunfe stressed that a society that waits for disaster before discussing safety is already late, noting that the first few minutes of an emergency are often the most critical.

“Many lives are not lost because help does not exist. Many lives are lost because people do not know what to do in the first few critical minutes,” he said.

“When people are safer, businesses are stronger. When workplaces are prepared, productivity is protected. When communities understand emergency response, lives are preserved.”

He observed that many Nigerians are often forced into panic and prayer during emergencies, not because they do not care about safety, but because they have not been adequately exposed to practical emergency response training.

“In many emergency situations, people resort to prayer because they genuinely do not know the next practical step to take. Prayer is important, but preparedness is also responsibility. People need to know who should act, what to switch off, where to go, who to call, and how to evacuate safely,” he said.

Bolorunfe added that emergency preparedness training must go beyond classroom presentations, stressing that practical demonstrations and real-life scenarios are essential to effective learning.

“Training adults, especially on emergency subjects, requires more than reading slides. It requires experience, clarity, discipline and the ability to connect knowledge to real-life situations,” he said.

He commended NCDMB for supporting the initiative, describing the programme as a practical capacity-building intervention that aligns with the Board’s broader commitment to human capital development and safety awareness.

He also advised organisations and institutions not to wait for accidents before investing in emergency readiness.

“To government agencies, private sector operators and community leaders, safety training should not be optional. It should be deliberate, repeated and practical. All stakeholders must begin to treat emergency preparedness as a national productivity issue, a community protection issue, and a human responsibility,” Bolorunfe said.

The Lagos training featured classroom sessions, interactive discussions, practical demonstrations, controlled fire response exercises, fire extinguisher handling, first aid awareness and emergency response sensitisation for nominated participants.