Bank tasks Nigerians on health safety at workplace

Worried by increase in occupational hazards such as fire incidents in the country, safety experts have called on Nigerians to be conscious even as they advise industries and organisations to train their workers effectively.

The however, they explained that there is need for organizations to provide healthy workplace saying that Lagos is an industrial hub, therefore healthy workplace should start from Lagos and spread to other part of the country. They further stated that healthy workplace makes lives of workers better.

Speaking at the World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2015 in Lagos organized by Sterling Bank PLC, Chairman, Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, Commander, Timothy Nwaogu, said Nigerians should try to overcome human factors, by always be on alert, he stated that if the culture of safety and health are imbibed a lot lost would be prevented.

Nwaogu said: “The reason why we always have fire incident is because a lot of organizations are not sensitizing their workers including government agencies are not training their workers effectively about safety of fire incident. We have multiplicity of training consultants but most of them are not qualified”.

“Now we have lost a lot in fire incidents especially in Lagos but we should not continue to lose our property. We need good building code and enforcement team with out good building code and enforcement team buildings would continue to collapse”.

Nwaogu continued: “Institute of safety organization of Nigeria is read to be in the forefront of the training we are regulatory body in terms of fire safety. Fire incident is our profession and we are ready to serve Nigerians better. There is need for organizations to provide healthy workplace for workers, and we are ready to partner with any organization to train workers on fire safety.

“Sterling bank has taken good step supporting this programme and we need more organizations to contribute their own quota to ensure effective awareness for all Nigerians to be conscious of safety”

Group Head Consumer Experience Services, Sterling Bank PLC, Mrs. Titi Ogundipe, said the programme was to create awareness for Nigerians on healthy workplace to keep their workplace clean and once their workplace is clean it becomes a culture.

Ogundipe said: “Safety and health cannot be over emphasized as a worker, parent, family man even children whatever they learn cannot be easily forgotten. This programme is not for only this year we pray that more years to come we would create more awareness about safety and health.

“It all about educating people to know more about safety because in this month of April we have had different cases of fire incident in Nigeria and we believe that through this awareness the fire incidents would be reduced.

“World Day for Safety is a day dedicated by International Labour Organization for enlightenments and advocacy for people all over the world in terms of safety and health. Nigerians should be safety conscious to make sure they obey all the rules and regulations, make sure that candles are not used again especially at night.”