“This high-level forum will equip business leaders and investors with the tools needed to navigate today’s complex financial and regulatory landscape. Top-tier executives can engage with industry experts, thought leaders and seasoned advisors on securing business values in a rapidly evolving landscape. Through keynote addresses, panel discussions, and technical workshops, participants will gain actionable strategies to enhance financial security.”

Above are the words of Antonia Beri, American-trained safety and security expert and the Lead Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Safety Consultants and Solution Providers Limited, one of the nation’s leading fire safety solution providers.

She was speaking with newsmen on preparations towards the 2025 summit on safety and securing business interests and investments being organised by her company. The theme of this year’s summit is “Securing Business Value, Investments and Assets.”

Beri believes this summit could not have come at a better time going by the barrage of safety issues the nation has been grappling with lately. About two weeks ago, there was another tanker fire at the famous Otedola bridge in the outskirts of Lagos outwards Ibadan. The latest disaster claimed lives and properties worth hundreds of millions of naira. This was apart from other similar disasters that have been recorded and some of which were outrightly avoidable.

Besides fire outbreaks, there are also building collapses which have also claimed lives and losses to the tune of billions of naira. Strong is Beri’s belief that these disasters could have been avoided if those involved had taken the necessary precautions and engaged safety professionals ab initio. According to her, it is not enough to believe these things would not happen. Rather, measures should be taken to ensure they are mitigated if eventually, they happened.

Referencing the fire outbreak that claimed lives and properties in Karu, Abuja, the nation’s federal capital, Beri said a summit like this could not have come at a better time. She explained that these tragedies are also partly to due carelessness and greed on the part of regulators and officials.

Her words: “The critical importance of getting stakeholders together has never been more important going by the carelessness and greed of regulators where mandate and rules of outfits like the DPR are not respected. There is an urgent call to save the populace from these incessant fire incidents. First it was the Otedola bridge incident. And now, another one in Karu, in Abuja.”

According to her, the summit would be for stakeholders to look into these things. She explained further: “We also have to bring in government agencies like the Lagos Fire Safety Regulatory Commission to ensure that these issues are mitigated, these accidents that have become prevalent and jeopardising the lives and safety of the people. We are looking at critical stakeholders like architects, engineers and implementers. This is an urgent call to come together and find a solution to these things.”

It has often been suggested that fire safety and prevention should never be an after-thought but something that should be integrated into construction from the scratch.

Beri said this should be the case: “Let’s look at the issue of involving fire and safety professionals from when a building is being constructed from the scratch. That is one of the purposes of this summit. We are starting from architects, financiers and even donor agencies. We are also bringing together safety professionals as well as regulators to change the narratives in mitigating these incidents.”

One of the reasons Nigerians don’t take the issue of safety serious is the issue of fatalism. There is this belief, even among the educated and enlightened, that certain negative happenstances are not their portion or that such could never happen to them. Beri said while the aim would not be to target individuals but calling professionals to action.

“On changing the mindset of our people on fatalism, I would say it is not about individuals but calling professionals to best practices and actions. That is why we are looking at professionals because they are there to enlighten and educate and guide the populace. We need to bring in the importance and values of these risk mitigants. Yes, it might not happen every day but whenever it happens, it is equal to a suicide,” Beri said.

On the summit proper, Beri said there would be expert sessions that are expected to offer strategies that could be worked upon to achieve financial security, compliance, and supporting Africa’s green economy transition.

She said as businesses around the world try to go round the challenges of increasing financial, operational and environmental risks, it was time to have a roundtable discussion that provides invaluable opportunity on insights and strategies that would help grow business resilience and secure long-term growth.

“With an emphasis on innovation, technical safety, and regulatory compliance, the event seeks to highlight the importance of collaboration between underwriters, financiers, and donor agencies to address emerging challenges and drive sustainable development,” she stated.

Speaking further, she said the “summit was designed to address the growing importance of advanced risk management strategies, engineering safety solutions, and compliance with industry codes and standards to protect critical business assets, investments and critical liabilities. The summit will bring together a distinguished panel of industry leaders in key economic sectors from leading global firms, key stakeholders from major donor agencies and expert consultants and implementers.”

Expected participants, it is learnt, will include chief executive officers, chief operation officers, chief finance officers as well as other C-level executives. These are officers responsible for day-to-day over-all strategic direction of the company as they are investment decision makers. There are also Risk Management Professionals who are directly involved in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks across a business.

“They will find the summit’s focus on technical risk advisory and safety system engineering highly relevant. These professionals are responsible for developing risk management strategies that align with business objectives and would benefit from learning new tools and techniques,” Beri explained.

Another set of professionals expected to leverage on the summit is Financial Advisors as well as Investment Managers. This is because they are responsible for developing risk management strategies that align with business objectives and would benefit from learning new tools and techniques. Beri said they would find the summit’s focus on technical risk advisory and safety system engineering highly relevant.

She also averred that the summit is one which Financial Advisors and Investment Managers cannot afford to miss since they are always looking for ways to optimise investments and protect assets. She said they would value insights on risk management practices that can safeguard investments while driving growth and understanding how engineering-driven safety solutions contribute to investment security will be valuable for their clients.

There are Legal and Compliance Officers as well as Consultants who specialise in Risk Management, Engineering and Safety Systems. As for legal and compliance officers, they will be interested in understanding compliance-driven strategies and regulatory requirements for asset protection and business resilience. Beri said they are key in ensuring that risk management strategies meet legal standards while risk consultants, especially those in the fields of risk management, engineering, and safety systems, will be drawn to the summit for networking opportunities, as well as the chance to stay updated on industry best practices and innovative solutions. The expectation is high as organisers perfect their plans for the summit billed to hold on April 3, 2025 at Black Diamond Hotel in Lekki, Lagos.