Dr Wilson Arikpo, a licensed safety professional, has called for collaboration of the public and private sector in tackling the spate of accidents on roads and work places in Nigeria.
Quoting available statistics, he said that 41,709 Nigerians were killed in road crashes in seven years, while several die daily in work place accidents.
Aripko spoke during an event in Alausa to commemorate the 2022 World Day for Safety and Health at Work on Friday, organised by Safety and Security Watch Magazine.
He said adequate Health Safety and Environment (HSE) management plans were important for safety logistics planning.
Arikpo said that the theme of the 2022 Nigeria Safety and Security Awards and Lecture (NSAS) “Act Together to Build a Positive Safety and Health Culture in Nigeria” was apt.
He said 2.02 million people die annually from work-related diseases with additional 321,000 people dying from occupational accidents globally.
The expert said that, every 15 seconds, a worker dies from a work-related accident or disease.
“Data from the Federal Road Safety Corps and the National Bureau of Statistics says between 2013 and 2020, at least 41,709 persons have lost their lives to road crashes in Nigeria.
“Road crashes are identified as one of the leading causes of death in Nigeria, especially among age groups 5 to 29.
“A report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals that a total of 2,927 males were involved in road traffic crashes in the fourth quarter of 2020,” he said.
He said all that in every organisation focus should be on management of people, assets and the environment to remove occupational hazards that could lead to death or injury.
Arikpo called for caution on the part of leadership in organisations to reduce risks through adequate Health Safety and Environment (HSE) planning, to ensure adequate safety and security.
Mr Nonso Kachi, a safety ambassador, during panel discussions, called for Occupational Safety and Health awareness for Nigerians.
He said that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Police officers needed more emergency training on first aids.
Kachi said that Nigerians were ignorant on how to perform simple Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.
He said that several victims helplessly died because of lack of knowledge of the simple first aid usually taught in primary schools in developed countries.
Assistant Corps Commander, Mrs Akpobome Efetie, who represented the Lagos Sector Commander of the FRSC, said that “road safety is a shared responsibility”.
Efetie appealled to Nigerians to show more compassion at accident scenes.
She urged them to take action to save lives or remove the danger that caused the accidents where possible instead of the trend of filming victims for sake of social media hypes.
The Chairperson of the Lagos chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs Adeola Ekini, reeled out statistics of occupational hazards on roads that claimed the lives of journalists.
Ekini explained that journalists were daily confronted with various hazards and should be accorded frontline workers recognition and renumeration by both government and employers.
Representatives of the Police, Power Holding Company of Nigeria and other safety experts in the panel took turns to profer solutions to safety and security issues in various fields.
Various categories of awards were given to deserving safety ambassadors with Mrs Chioma Obinna, multiple award winning journalist from Vanguard Newspaper, emerging Safety Personality of the Year.