The Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) says Nigeria’s proposed emergency number 112 will only be effective if the government adequately funds and strengthens the agencies responsible for responding to emergencies.

Mohamed Rudman, the Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, said this in an interview with journalists in Lagos on Monday.

According to him, a central emergency response system is achievable with advancements in communication technology, but its success will depend largely on collaboration among relevant government agencies.

The National Economic Council had recently approved 112 as a single unified national emergency number to eliminate confusion caused by multiple agency lines and remove bureaucratic delays.

It also aims to provide a fast, coordinated response to security, disaster and medical emergencies across the country.

Mr Rudman said that the idea was commendable and the right way to go.

He, however, noted that this required agencies such as the National Ambulance Service, hospitals, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the fire service and the Nigeria Police Force to be integrated into the centralised system.

He said that integration into the centralised system would ensure that emergency calls were quickly directed to the appropriate responders.

“A centralised system will enable Nigerians to contact the appropriate agency during different emergencies, whether medical, security, fire or disaster-related incidents.

“Simply establishing an emergency call number without improving the capacity of response agencies will amount to a waste of resources,” he said.

The IXPN boss explained that personnel of the Nigeria Police Force could be one of the major challenges that would affect the effectiveness of the emergency number.

He explained further that some local government areas had very few police officers, which might affect their ability to respond promptly to emergencies.

“In some local government areas, the entire police formation sometimes have only a small number of officers who are deployed across different locations,” Mr Rudman said.

He also argued that reducing the number of police officers assigned to provide escorts for VIPs could help increase the number of officers available for regular policing and emergency response.

Beyond security agencies, Mr Rudman urged the government to also address weaknesses in the health sector if the emergency number was to deliver meaningful results.

He said that ambulances, medical personnel, hospital infrastructure and medicines must be readily available, particularly in underserved parts of the country.

In his opinion, an emergency call relating to a medical situation would have little impact if there were no ambulances to transport patients or adequate medical personnel and facilities to attend to them.

Mr Rudman described emergency response as a “multidimensional problem requiring a multidimensional solution.”

He warned that if Nigerians repeatedly called the emergency number without receiving timely assistance, they could eventually lose confidence in the system and stop using it.

“It’s not only the number that matters. When you call, you must be able to receive solution to the problem,” he said.

Mr Rudman also stressed that sustainability would be critical to the success of the initiative, noting that the system would require consistent year-by-year government funding and institutional support.

He said that the government must ensure that the relevant agencies had the personnel, equipment and infrastructure required to respond effectively to calls received through the emergency number.

According to him, the effectiveness of the 112 emergency number would ultimately depend not just on the technology behind the system.

Mr Rudman added that effectiveness also depended on government’s investment in the institutions and services that citizens would rely on when they made emergency calls. 

(NAN)