Nigeria: Risk Managers Task Govt. on Risk Adoption to Mitigate Covid-19

• The Risk Managers Society of Nigeria (RIMSON) has urged the government at all levels to take risk management measures to manage COVID-19 and mitigate its negative impacts on the country’s economy.
• According to the Society, the harsh realities of the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic have revealed the vulnerability and relative lack of preparedness of nations, including Nigeria.
• The president of RIMSON stated that there is the need for adequate infrastructure for driving an improved and accelerated testing capacity which should be guided by the population of Nigeria in comparison to the tests carried out so far.

The Risk Managers Society of Nigeria (RIMSON) has urged the government at all levels to take risk management measures to manage COVID-19 and mitigate its negative impacts on the country’s economy.

According to the Society, the harsh realities of the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic have revealed the vulnerability and relative lack of preparedness of nations, including Nigeria, which has led to periodic reviews of policies and current mechanisms to make appropriate changes in the processes to tackle worst-case scenarios.

Speaking over the weekend, the president, RIMSON, Raymond Akalonu, said government efforts so far are highly commendable in addressing the pandemic through protocol deployment, medical and health staff, personal protective equipment ( PPE) and medical facilities.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that it was important to identify areas that needed optimisation in order to eventually win the war and also to be ready for any potential challenge.

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He said: “We believe there is still great room for improvement, both in strategy and policy formulation, as well as implementation. This is more so as the curve across the nation continues to trend upwards in spite of measures that have been taken so far.

“We recognise that the COVID-19 war requires the cooperation of all and sundry and that it is within our mandate as professional risk managers to contribute our quota towards reinforcing the efforts of government and its agencies.

“Our recommendations comprise additional risk management measures for containing the disease and for mitigating its debilitating impacts on the country across all fronts – economy, social, security and education etc. We have, therefore, identified a few focal areas which require closer scrutiny in the ongoing COVID-19 war.

“COVID-19 is a serious reminder of the need for capacity and development of all essential institutions and professions in Nigeria.

Thus, the need for adequate infrastructure for driving an improved and accelerated testing capacity which should be guided by the population of Nigeria in comparison to the tests carried out so far. There is also a compelling need to beam the searchlight on States with less than optimal compliance with the NCDC established protocols.”