As the world marked the 2024 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction,( IDDRR), the FCT Emergency Management Department (FEMD) has appealed for the establishment of disaster management clubs, to secondary schools in Abuja, the nation’s capital territory.
FEMD’s Acting Director General, Engr. Abdulrahman Mohammed, made the appeal during an event to commemorate the day at the Model Secondary School, in Maitama.
According to a statement form Head, Public Affairs, Nkechi Isa, yesterday, Abdulrahman, who was represented by the Head of Forecasting, Response, and Mitigation of FEMD, Mr. Mark Nyam, said the clubs when established would equip the students with the basic skills needed to mitigate the impact of disasters in their schools and communities.
He attributed flooding, drought, and epidemics ravaging parts of the country to the impact of climate change.
He appealed to the students not to dump waste indiscriminately, particularly on water channels, to switch off electrical appliances when not in use, not to farm along the river banks and to cascade the message to their communities.
In a remark, the Principal of Model Secondary School, Maitama, Mrs. Olure Irewole Judith, said the school would establish a disaster management club as soon as it gets approval from the FCT Secondary Education Board (SEB).
Also speaking, a student of the school, Agbo Ene, said she would shun the indiscriminate dumping of refuse and sensitize her community against the practice.
“The FEMD team also took the IDDRR campaign to the Government Secondary school, Gwarinpa.
“The theme of the 2024 IDDRR campaign is, “Empowering the next generation for a resilient future”. And the target is disaster in the classroom”, the statement added.
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