By Odo Ogenyi,Uyo
The National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (NISafetyE), Engr. Akaninyene Ekong has called on the States’ Houses of Assembly to enact a law for the establishment of Safety Commissions across all states in Nigeria.
Ekong made this call in Warri, during the 2022 Annual Public Lecture on “Advancing Safety Engineering for Sustainable Development” organized for the Investiture of Engr. Isaac Aruya Aikoroje as the new Chairman of the Delta State Chapter of NISafetyE.
The chairman tasked Safety practitioners and professional bodies to woo and lobby the political class in order to engender a robust and better safety culture in Nigeria through legislation in line wiith ILO guidelines.
He expressed discontent over the various engineering failures in Nigeria due to the use of quacks pointing out that NISafetyE as a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) was established to foster safety in engineering systems / practice with enforceable ‘codes’ and ‘standards’ for all workplaces in Nigeria.
He also called on government as a matter of urgent public safety to place a ban on the use of cell phones in gas /petrol stations by the attendants as this could lead to fire/ explosion in these facilities.
Ekong however appealed to all Engineers to put all hands on deck to ensure that only NSE/COREN registered Engineers are engaged and involved in projects based on their professional disciplines so as to advert engineering failures which led to major disasters with loss of lives, assets and damage to the environment .
The chairman called for synergy with the practitioners and developers in the building and environment industry, the political class and particularly, the legislators for the rebirth of a serene safety culture in Nigeria through the use of qualified Engineers in projects and the establishment of a safety regulatory agency, otherwise known as Safety Commission.
Ekong further stated that the theme of the November 3-4 2022 National Conference in Lagos : Safety in Engineered Systems;Ensuring Sustainability through Engineering Codes and Standards was deliberate with the aim of preventing further engineering related failures such as in construction, process safety, manufacturing, transportation amongst others.
