By Egena Sunday Ode
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, has reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to strengthening collaboration with Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, in disaster risk management, research, capacity building and institutional resilience.
Mrs. Zubaida Umar gave the assurance on Monday, July 13, while receiving the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, who led the university’s management team on a courtesy visit to NEMA Headquarters in Abuja.
Welcoming the delegation, the Director General assured the university of NEMA’s commitment to scaling up the existing partnership between the two organizations. She said that partnerships with academic institutions are critical to strengthening evidence-based disaster management, advancing research and innovation, and building national resilience.
Mrs. Zubaida Umar said that NEMA has continued to reposition disaster management in Nigeria by placing greater emphasis on disaster risk reduction, early warning dissemination, public awareness, preparedness and resilience-building, rather than relying solely on emergency response.
She explained that the Agency has also sustained nationwide sensitisation campaigns, strengthened collaboration with State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs), and promoted the establishment and effective functioning of Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) to enhance community-based disaster risk management.
She emphasized that disaster management begins at the community level and underscored the importance of collaboration with tertiary institutions in promoting disaster risk education, climate resilience, environmental sustainability, emergency preparedness, research and institutional capacity development.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, commended the Director General NEMA Mrs Zubaida Umar for her exemplary leadership and the remarkable progress recorded by NEMA in disaster management and humanitarian coordination.
He described Mrs. Zubaida Umar as one of the university’s distinguished alumni whose professionalism, integrity and dedication to public service continue to bring pride to the institution.
Prof. Ahmed explained that the visit was also to appreciate NEMA’s longstanding support for the ABU Centre for Disaster Risk Management and Development Studies, which has trained professionals serving in disaster management institutions across Nigeria.
He said the university was seeking to deepen its collaboration with NEMA in research, capacity building and disaster risk reduction to address the growing complexity of disasters associated with climate change, rapid urbanisation and other emerging risks.
He also appealed for the Agency’s support in strengthening emergency preparedness within the university, particularly in addressing risks associated with ageing infrastructure, erosion, fire incidents and other hazards.
