By Miriam Humbe
The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, has taken significant steps to enhance the Agency’s effectiveness by equipping Directors and Operation Heads with essential skills for improved leadership and service delivery.
In line with efforts to also realign and strengthen the Agency’s leadership strategies amidst rising disaster occurrences in the country, a management retreat was organized for Directors and Operational Heads over the weekend.
During the retreat, Mrs. Zubaida Umar urged participants to intensify their efforts to reduce response times to disasters.
She acknowledged challenges such as limited resources and the reluctance of some stakeholders to fulfill their roles, but emphasized the Agency’s commitment to revitalizing its responsibilities in proactive disaster coordination and timely incident response.
In a presentation by a foremost leadership expert, the Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, encouraged NEMA to strive to become a model organization for disaster management in Africa.
He highlighted the importance of strengthening leadership collaboration, prioritizing funding, leveraging digital technology, engaging communities, and incorporating climate change considerations into the Agency’s strategies.
The Director of Human Resources Management at NEMA, Dr. Umesi Emenike, explained that the retreat, themed: “Catalyzing Institutional Excellence through Strategic Visioning and Performance Optimization,” was aimed to align the Agency with modern global trends in disaster management.
