The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has charged Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel to adhere strictly to safety procedures in all its operations.
The CAS said by doing so, personnel will be able to break accident chain sometimes experienced in the course of NAF activities or operations.
Air Marshal Abubakar stated this Tuesday in his remarks when he chaired the 2024 NAF Safety Review Board (SRB) meeting held at NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
“We will intensify our efforts to enhance safety in the Nigerian Air Force as we continue our Journey of ‘transforming the NAF into an agile and resilient force that effectively meets the airpower demands of national security in all operational environments’.
“ Therefore, I enjoin you all to put in your utmost best to ensure that we do not compromise safety in all aspects of our operations,” he said.
The CAS charged members of the Safety Review Board to thoroughly examine all the safety issues arising from the meeting and come up with objective and innovative ideas that would enhance safety in the NAF.
While noting that accidents are the results of a sequence of events, beginning with deliberate decisions taken, he also stated that the NAF cannot afford to pay lip service to issues relating to safety and called for determination of all personnel to improve safety in the various areas units.
Speaking on the importance of the meeting, Air Marshal Abubakar stated that the NAF regards safety as one of its core functions and is committed to developing, implementing, and reviewing policies to ensure that all activities are conducted in a safe and conducive environment.
The CAS also stated that more interesting and auspicious days lie ahead for the NAF in view of the government’s commitment to equipping the NAF with modern platforms.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief of Standards and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Micheal Onyebashi revealed that the SRB is the apex body of the NAF Safety Management Structure, designed as a biannual meeting that deliberates on major policy, resource allocation and regulatory issues relating to safety.
He the Board is required to give direction and guidelines that would ensure the entrenchment of a healthy safety culture in the NAF.
He noted that the NAF has since commenced the introduction of safety education at all NAF entry points and training institutions as directed in the last SRB, as well as leveraging the online learning infrastructure at the Air Warfare Centre, Abuja, to sustain an appreciable level of safety education across the NAF.
Speaking further, he noted that with the reactivation of NAF platforms as well as the induction of additional platforms, the need for the SRB, commands and units to work assiduously to ensure that safety standards are maintained in all NAF activities is imperative.
Delivering a paper at the meeting titled, “Senior Managers’ Role in Organizational Safety Management System’, Dr Iteke Ifeanyichukwu Chukwunonso of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, stated that managing safety entails managing risks and reactively, proactively and predicatively controlling risks to an acceptable level.
He also noted that safety management should have a business-like approach and be woven into the fabrics of an organization until it becomes a part of their culture.
While commending the NAF for its exceptional safety standards, he called on its leadership to continue to retain the responsibility and accountability for safety.
Engr. Chukwunonso also emphasized the need for NAF leadership to promote open reporting through non-punitive disciplinary policies while encouraging incentives for promoting safety.
He noted that senior management remains the core for safety management in any organization.
