By Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele
It was Leon Batista Alberti who once said, “A man can do all things if he but wills them”. There is also a saying that some were born great, some have greatness thrust upon them”. Engr. Garba Joseph Anebi was born great and that is the way that the Federal Fire Service under his able leadership as the Comptroller General has been repositioned and placed on the pedestal for growth.
There is a wind of change currently blowing at the federal fire service from the old to the new order of doing things where staff salaries, allowances, human capacity development and the welfare of staff have become the cardinal focus of management, where fire safety equipment are now available for usage, where staff morale is very high compared to what was in the past and the espirit- de- corps amongst the officers and men is at the highest level. Indeed, there is a paradigm shift from the old order of doing things to the new, all spurred by the dynamic and energetic CG.
When Engr. Anebi took over leadership barely two years ago, he warned that it was not going to be business as usual and he immediately drew his road map and marshaled out his template to involve a new mission, vision and statement or the federal fire service which included the upgrade of equipment, enhanced manpower development (training and re-training), punctuality to work, inter agencies ntelligence sharing and dissemination and a road map for a national policy fire disaster framework, all in a bid to take the moribund infrastructure met on ground and the low morale amongst men and officers to the next level and this has been achieved within two years by re-defining the office and making the federal fire service a delight comparable with any African sub region and global acceptable standards.
The CG has also established core values of integrity, discipline and service delivery in line with the resolve to make Nigeria safe and secure against fire disaster; he has put in place new firefighting measures and management so as to curb ncessant fire outbreaks and disasters and has also built intelligence fire based response system that has reduced the incidence of fire disaster across he nation with particular reference to fire safety tips for homes, prevention campaigns nd improved fire control knowledge across the country, through public enlightenment, talk shows, information dissemination, and other media tiers.
Howbeit, the rapid response and improvement in fire disaster management/control has helped Nigeria to curb high incidences of fire disasters and as such, the CG is appealing to corporate organizations, individuals and public spirited Nigerians to partner and collaborate with the Federal Fire Service to bring these malaise to a full stop once and for all and to also assist the service to provide for some of its teething challenges as government alone cannot provide all the needful.
He has re-enacted the federal fire summit tagged Fire Service National Conference in Kano with the theme; The menace of market fire in Nigeria, which was just concluded last week with other stakeholders on the way forward to reduce the incidence of emergency and disasters in our markets. Happily, a lot of policy statements and national fire policy framework have been discussed including challenges and solutions proffered on the way forward and the issuing of a communiqué on a joint effort to prevent fire disasters across the country and in market places also. The forum also brought like minds and stakeholders together to improve on existing policies so as to ensure maximum and efficient service delivery to the public.
The Honourable Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazua, has given the CG all necessary support and assistance needed to lead by example and take the fire service to greater heights. In fact, the Hon. Minister’s model market specification is driven by the federal fire service, an initiative where the states are required to build, equip and provide FFS personnel, market fire stations aimed at curbing incessant fire outbreaks in our markets, enjoining states saddled with safety matters to adopt this model.
Nevertheless within two years in office, as a key asset in this administration’s fight against fire disaster, he has modernized, repositioned and revolutionized the federal fire service for professionalism and effective service delivery in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s change agenda through holistic, dynamic and innovative policy framework based on intelligent and aggressive fire prevention campaigns, infrastructure upgrading and the expansion of critical requirements and enhanced collaboration with sister agencies to compete favourably in the West African sub region.
Just recently, the Coalition of Civil Societies and Media Executives for Good Governance (COCMEGG) bestowed on the selfless CG, “The Most Distinguished Fire Safety Officer Of The Millennium” for his avowed determination to change the moribund service to a robust organization that can compete globally.
Aigbegbele is of Citizens Watch Nigeria (CWN)
The CG has also established core values of integrity, discipline and service delivery in line with the resolve to make Nigeria safe and secure against fire disaster;
