After working tirelessly since Wednesday, 13th March to Thursday 14th March when they reached ground zero in the search and rescue mission of trapped victims of a three storey building that collapsed on Massey Street, Ita Faaji, Lagos Island killing no fewer than 10 persons including school pupils while 50 others were rescued alive with the combined effort of members of the local community, Lagos state emergency management agency, LASEMA led by the General Manager, Adeshina Tiamiyu who coordinated other agencies such as LASAMBUS, RRS, FRSC, LNSC, Firefighters, Civil Defence corps, NEMA, Red Cross, the Military and the Police during the emergency situation. The LASEMA boss shared his appreciation in a post on his Facebook dated 15th March:
Dear Lagosians,
I write to you this day with a deep sense of gratitude, mindful of your grief over the fallen souls in the unfortunate Building collapse on Ita Faji area. I add my faith to yours that the living victims of this tragedy will pull through.
Wednesday 13th March was in many ways a day like any other. The sun rose and I set out for work in my usual manner. Little did I know the next few hours will be a defining moment in my career as an Emergency Worker. While performing certain Administrative functions, a call came in to report the incident of a collapsed building with over 100 pupils trapped. I must confess, this was frightening and it occurred to me that Lagos was facing its biggest Emergency challenge in 4 years. It dawned on me that how we respond as the State’s Emergency service provider shall eventually serve as a reference point for this Administration.
With this heavy weight of expectation, I assembled a team of top operational staff and with support from sister agencies, we swiftly moved to the scene and worked continuously for 24 hours. We knew failure would be costly and we rose up to the occasion and saved Lagos state from an embarrassment of International dimension.
I have received commendation, prayers and applause in my capacity as the Incident Commander but I will be selfish if I fail to pass this on to the individuals and organizations who through their commitment and dedication ensured the success of the recovery exercise.
I like to first of all thank His Excellency Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his consistent show of support for the Agency. We also took note of words of encouragement from the President and other National leaders, we are immensely grateful.
I commend the efforts of stakeholders in the Emergency sectors for the co-operation you showed throughout this process, Agencies like LASAMBUS, RRS, FRSC, LNSC, Firefighters, Civil Defence corps, NEMA, Red Cross, the Military and many more. God will reward each and everyone of us. We also thank private Individuals who offered various supports to us in form of welfare packages. Thank you for lending a helping hand, your efforts are deeply appreciated.
I gladly appreciate the staff of our technical partners Avantgarde Management Services (AMS) who despite challenges they face still made themselves available. God will surely reward you in multiple folds.
To the superhero staff of LASEMA, you’ve consistently proven your love for humanity with extraordinary efforts you show whenever the need arises. Again, you have given yourself to helping others even at great discomfort to your body. Most of you only had a meal in 24 hours but you never relented until we concluded the process. My debt to you all is beyond measure and you’ll have my lifelong appreciation. Thank you for earning us all these accolades, I’m grateful.
May God keep the departed in restful eternal peace, may God’s grace be available to keep the living victims.
God bless Lagos state.