DG NEMA honours gallant staff, advocates for hazard allowances

As part of the continuation of the 2022 World Humanitarian Day celebration which Nigeria celebrated last week in Maiduguri, Borno State, National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA) honoured gallant NEMA staff.

This universal event which is celebrated in August every year has been set aside by the United Nations General Assembly since 2008 to celebrate the gallantry of humanitarian service providers.

Speaking at the event, the DG NEMA, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, said that the gallant NEMA staff that were awarded are heroes.

“These are people who have lost their lives, suffered traumatic experiences or survived different threats to life while providing humanitarian service to persons in need.

They are the real heroes of persons caught in the web of natural or human induced disasters and violent conflict across the world

The 19th of August coincided with the 2003 anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Canal Hotel Bagdad, Iraq where 22 people lost their lives. His Excellency, Sergio Viera de Mello, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Representative of the Secretary General to Iraq also lost his life in the attack.”

For NEMA, the event commemorated a period, during which the heroes who lost their lives or suffered tragic experiences while on active duty are remembered and in Retrospect think of means and ways of recognising their service to the nation and humanity at large.

One of the awardees who sustained injuries in the course of duty, Bilyanminu Yahya,was excited by the award and gave a brief of his experience.

“I am excited by the award. I have seen the bad and ugly and this award will make me do more because I feel honored.” he said.

The DG NEMA further assured the staff that going forward, his administration would work towards achieving a hazard allowance for them.