Over the weekend, 2 major safety incidents occurred. A Church building collapse in Uyo which killed and injured people and a fire incident at Hallmark, the biggest mall in Benin City leading to destruction of goods and property worth millions of Naira. These are really unfortunate incidents for our country, could they have been avoided? To a large extent, Yes!
We find ourselves in a country where we would rather say God forbid or it’s not my portion than put practical measures in place. We can no longer operate like this, the Nigerian life is valuable and should not be lost to avoidable accidents.

The major cause of most accidents is the human factor. This means that no matter how well things function, if the human beings involved make the wrong or unsafe choice, an accident will eventually happen.
Going by this, whether we are government officials, staff of regulatory agencies, members of professional bodies, church members or even employees, the onus is now on us to create the change we want. You might think this is not your business but lives have been lost and you might find yourself in a public place during an emergency. Anything can happen so won’t you prefer a system that works?

What then can we do?
Practical Safety Systems
We need to determine upfront that we want to be safe in the home, workplace and public spaces. Lip service can no longer help us. This means we need practical safety systems that work. A safety system is beyond purchasing fire extinguishers. You would need an assessment of the environment, you need procedures of how things should be done, you need safety equipment commensurate to your operations e.g. a sprinkler system would be more effective for a big building than a single extinguisher.
Integrity Check
We need to conduct an integrity check on ourselves. What is the value of a Nigerian life to us? Why are we willing to cut corners when no one is watching? Why can’t we say NO to unrealistic and unsafe demands of clients? Why do we allow profit derail us from complying with set safety standards? If we keep thinking of ourselves alone then we as a Nation are in trouble.
Get Safety Knowledge
We need to get safety knowledge either formally through training or informally through conversation. We should educate ourselves on how these incidents happen and how to protect ourselves. We also need to share this new knowledge with friends, colleagues, children, employees and employers because whether we like it or not we would be affected by other people’s choices directly or indirectly. We share jokes, how much more something that could save our lives. Imagine business owners losing their businesses to fire, that leads to unemployment, absence of provision for dependants, loss of revenue, destruction of property, environmental pollution and eventually increase in societal vices.

Reporting
If we are in a position to correct an error that could lead to an accident, we should do so immediately. If we are not, we need to report to the necessary influencers who can act. Reporting may be as simple as just speaking up when we see potential sources of harm either to ourselves or others. Or writing an email or article to call attention to the situation. We cannot keep on with the “It’s not my business mentality”. We need to be deliberate about making the safe choice because accidents are a product of a chain of errors.

Stop the error before it stops you!