GOODWILL MESSAGE TO THE SYPOSIUM TO MARK THE WORLD SAFETY DAY- 28TH APRIL 2014 ORGANISED BY NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SAFETY COUNCIL OF NIGERIA

GOODWILL MESSAGE TO THE SYPOSIUM TO MARK

THE WORLD SAFETY DAY- 28^TH APRIL 2014

ORGANISED BY NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SAFETY COUNCIL OF NIGERIA

PRESENTED BY,

DR. B.F. Oluwagbemi PhD, MPH, FNISP, CMIOSH, Cert. Med. Education

Chairman Occupational Health and Safety Empowerment Centre,

Mokola, Ibadan

I bring you greetings on the occasion of the World Safety Day celebration with the theme “Safety and Health in the Use of Chemicals at Work “According to ILO, the main aim of this year’s theme is to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases caused by handling and use of chemicals and at the same time create a global preventative safety and health culture involving all stakeholders through awareness and publicity. I therefore congratulate and thank National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria, Oyo State Branch, for bringing us together to celebrate and promote this noble aim through a symposium. .

The description of the conditions of workers in eighteen-century Europe by Bernardino Rammazzini (1700) reads as follows:, “Manifold is the harvest of diseases reaped by certain workers from the crafts and trades that they pursue; all the profits they get is injury to their health. That stems mostly, I think from two causes. The first and most potent is the harmful character of materials that they handle, noxious vapours and fine particles, inimical to human beings, inducing specific diseases. As the second cause I assign certain violet (sic) and irregular motions and unnatural postures of the body, by reason of which are natural structure of the living machine is so impaired that serious disease gradually develop." It is unfortunate that this description mirrors the condition of Nigeria workers in 21^st century.

This is promoted by ignorance and a strong urge to advance our economy by ignoring the health and safety of the main asset that is the workforce by employers and employees.. There is failure to realize that the general well being of the workers and productivity are two sides of the same coin and that ill health jeopardizes whole cycle of production.” A long standing apathy towards the health and safety of workers by trade union leaders does not help matters as well.

The following admission by a Senior Labour Leader in a safety conference organized in Lagos in 1990 by NISCN confirms my observations. He said, "Yet I must admit that as a labour movement Nigerian Trade Unions have not demonstrated sufficient awareness on the importance of health and safety. This is why more than 80 per cent of our time is devoted to the pursuit of better wages and other working conditions. Unfortunately, the traditional concept of the phase ‘working condition’ does not often include physical environment."

Unfortunately, the picture is still the same after over two decades of presentation of this paper. The apathy towards promotion of health and safety in workplaces in Nigeria has become endemic. The general awareness of safety either at work or at home is very poor. More attention is focused on eradication of poverty and diseases engendered by mass unemployment, poor governing and unfocused leadership. But this picture should change because workers are the main asset since we all believe that working in a safe and healthy workplace will definitely enhance productivity.

Then how do we change this picture? First, efforts should be made in Nigeria to build a coherent chemical safety policy by the Federal Ministry of Environment. The Ministry needs to develop an update classification and labeling for new and existing chemicals. These should include those for export and import. The overriding objectives should be focused on the reduction of health and safety risks and protection of the environment by chemical substances at the stages of production and handling. Federal Ministry of Environment should not work in isolation but should work together with other ministries such as Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Labour (Factory Inspectorate Division) and Federal Ministry of Agriculture. They should link with International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), an international body responsible for pivoting and promoting chemical management.

Nigerian industries should play a role in the safe manufacturing, handling, use and disposal of chemicals. I agree with Muchiri (1998) who stated, 'the challenge to industry is to discover chemicals to meet current and future needs that will not only meet their intended purpose but also preserve our complex and vital ecosystems.’ However, industries should not stop here, but should also ensure that their products are manufactured in a very safe and healthy manner, with high commitment to the protection and promotion of the health of workers and community they reside.. The chemical handlers especially in agriculture and allied industries should be provided with detailed information about potential hazards, safe handling, control and specific first-aid measures in case of chemical disaster. All chemicals should also have relevant information card that the handlers should refer to before commencing work. The most obvious implication of all these efforts is that reduction of exposure of workers to occupational health and safety risks such as chemicals can have enormous pay off in terms of benefit-costs. It is therefore worthy to note here that prevention of occupational diseases and injuries resulting from exposure to chemicals is good business.

Finally, the situation  can only change  when all stakeholders most especially the trade unions, employers, government, employees,  and occupational health and safety professionals embrace and appreciate  what Agricola (1494-1555) said “….for we should always devote more care to maintain our health, that we may freely perform our bodily functions, than making profits.”

I am much convinced, looking at the presenters and audience in this forum, that justice will be done to all the papers that will be presented and discussed. And at the end of the programme I hope our knowledge of safe use and handling of chemicals should have been enriched and information obtained should also help us to be advocates of promotion of safe handling of chemicals at home and at work. Lastly, I must thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this gathering and I wish you a very successful deliberation.

Reference

1.     Oluwagbemi B.F. Basic Occupational Health  pp. 5-7, Vertext Media Limited,                

              Ibadan. 3^rd Edition, January 2010.

2.     Oluwagbemi B.F,

          Themes and Issues in Occupational Health and Safety, Vertext Media    

          Limited, , 2003, Second Edition.

3.     Oluwagbemi B.F.  Attitudes of Trade Union Leaders to Health and Safety at  

          Work in  West Africa Health Safety & Environment (HSE) Practitioners,   

           LinkedIn 18th December 2013