The Lagos State Government has charged students and teachers to adopt responsible waste management and fire prevention practices.
Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, gave the charge during a sensitisation programme on waste management sustainability and fire prevention for students and teachers in public secondary schools in Ikeja.
Alli-Balogun urged participants to assess their immediate environments and explore innovative ways to reuse waste materials.
He said that reuse of waste materials would help address societal challenges, promote sustainability and minimise hazards that often led to destructive fire outbreaks across the state.
“Look into your environment to see how you can make good use of wastes to solve our societal problems, especially in tackling fire incidents in Lagos State and beyond,” Alli-Balogun said.
He said that there was need for collaboration among schools, families and government agencies, toward tackling waste materials and fire incidents.
According to him, simple safety precautions, proper electrical checks and careful handling of flammable materials can significantly prevent avoidable fire disasters.
“Simple actions like switching off appliances, checking wiring and removing flammable materials can save lives and properties, and your collaboration is needed to curb the waste trend,” he said.
Alli-Balogun said that the training would empower students as safety marshals, and encouraged participants to share knowledge to promote cleaner, safer and more resilient communities.
In her presentation, Mrs Bola Adewunmi Deputy Director/ Head LAWMA Academy, who spoke extensively on management of wastes, said that both students and teachers had significant roles to play in the mission of ensuring resilient communities.
Adewunmi said that effective waste management would promote a clean environment, reduce pollution, limit the spread of diseases such as cholera, typhoid and malaria.
She said that effective waste management would support a healthy, conducive atmosphere for focused learning in schools.
Olawunmi said that waste management had shifted from a linear to a circular economy, enabling recycling into useful products, wealth creation and business opportunities.
She, therefore, urged students and teachers to embrace proper disposal and sanitation practices.
Earlier, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs Abisola Dokunmu-Adegbite, urged students to take the lessons seriously and work together to sustain clean, safe and supportive school environments that promote effective learning and overall development.
“Let us work together towards sustaining a clean school environment and ensuring that our schools remain safe, providing a secure atmosphere for learning, development and positive growth,” Dokunmu-Adegbite said.
Similarly, Mr Babatunde Oluwarotimi, Assistant Fire Officer, told students that the best way to avoid fire incidents was prevention.
“Why wait for emergencies when simple safety measures can stop fires before they start?
“Fire is useful, it is a friend to all, used for cooking and daily activities, but becomes dangerous when mishandled. Fire is our friend when used properly, but it becomes our enemy when we are careless,” Oluwarotimi said.
According to him, most fire incidents are caused by overloading sockets, poor storage of flammable liquids, children playing with matches, smoking, refuelling generators or vehicles with engines running, and wrong gas cylinder installation.
He, therefore, advised placing cylinders outside, keeping unexpired extinguishers, clearing escape routes and knowing emergency numbers – 112 or 767.
