Health, Safety and Environment experts have said that the Federal government of Nigeria is not maximizing the potentials of the HSE industry to stimulate a buoyant economy.
The experts made this assertion during a panel discussion on “Operational Health and Safety Industry: A necessity for Economic Empowerment and Development” at the 10th anniversary of Hybrid Group held on Thursday.
One of the panelists, Engineer Jamiu Badmos, the Executive Director of Strategy, Safety Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation, rued the losses incurred in HSE related incidents.
According to him, Nigeria has lost several billions to preventable fire accidents and related occurrences.
He said if the losses were to be summed up with the level of economic prosperity that the nation has today, the country would have recorded rapid economic growth.
Engineer Jamiu noted that the HSE industry can make major impact on the development of Nigeria’s economy if the federal government does not leave the job to few stakeholders who have been ruggedly championing the cause.
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Another panelist, Mrs Aderonke Odeneye, Permanent Secretary of Lagos State Ministry of Environment, noted that the cause HSE promotes is crucial to the development of the nation.
She said that the current state of the country, amidst the prevalent consequences of the Coronavirus Pandemic makes for no better time to start focusing on the Operational and Safety industry.
The President of OSHAfrica, Ehi Iden, who also spoke at the event said that “there is no organization that can profit without sustaining their human capital”. He urged the government and all individuals to attach import values to lives of people.
According to him, “When we keep our people safe and healthy, when we keep them out of accident and keep them protected, the country remains productive, organization remains productive and able to pull out dividend”.
Ehi added that the health cost incurred when damages occur will be saved if Safety industry thrives in the country, maintaining that health and safety contribute massively to the GDP of the nation.
Meanwhile, Engineer Jamiu warned health and safety professionals not to limit themselves to safety, but also understand the quality and processes aspects of the companies they work for.
He advised professionals to tell human interest story to show their company’s management that Health and Safety is also about wellbeing, as stated in safety regulations.
The CEO of Hybrid Group, Dapo Omolade, in his opening remark at the physical and virtual event, said that in the past decade Hybrid group have “weathered through various storms, fears of the unknown, being a young business”.
While thanking God, he mentioned that the business faced “anxiety, unpredictable business landscape changing fortunes of economy instability in Government and Economic policies, inadequate infrastructures and our unique but very barely yet unknown product and services and many more”.
“We are indeed very grateful to God for his leadership and authority over all of us and the business and enabling us to continuously navigate and subdue the past and the present challenges which are convictions that the future challenges will also be conquered, as we journey into the milestone of decades”, he said.
Dapo added that the panel discussion was part of the company’s contribution to the economic prosperity of Nigeria.
