Minister Advises Against Future Stampedes, Deaths During Palliative Distribution

Following the recent stampedes in Abuja, Ibadan, and Anambra last week, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has listed some of the protocols event organizers need to follow when organising future palliative distribution in the country to avoid future stampedes and deaths.

Yilwatda’s advice came following deaths recorded during palliative distribution in Abuja, Ibadan and Anambra last week.

The minister, who was a guest on a media program, said protocols such as registration of the event, involvement of police operatives, risk assessment, and vulnerability checks, among others, need to be adhered to.

He said, “First, I want to sympathise with the families and the country for the lives we lost. As a government, we are so depressed by what happened.

“However, despite the empathy, we still have to talk about the safety measures that are supposed to be taken at this moment.

“Mark you, we distribute food more than any organisation, and you would never hear of a stampede.

“We even distribute more than what these people are giving, even in harsher conditions, but you won’t hear of any hazard. We go to areas where people are more desperate, IDP centres.

“So what are the protocols involved in such distribution of food? Whenever an event is not properly organised, then we have these kinds of situations we have right now—stampedes and loss of lives. We have challenges of protocol in this country. And these stampedes happen globally, even in countries that are developed.

“You can’t just throw open distribution of palliatives. For instance, in Ibadan, they have a population of over 2 million, and you are saying you want 5000 people to come and collect.

“Or in Abuja, where you have a population of between 2-3 million, and you say anybody can come and receive—maybe like 2000 people. The ratio is too small, and you are going to have. And you know social media doesn’t even help the matter because you put the information there and many people show up.

“However, when you have such a programme, you ask people to come and register, and then you select those that will benefit.

“Then you pick distribution points if there are too many. You mount police officers there.

“You do vulnerability checks and risk assessments—these will prevent the stampede and deaths.”

The minister asserts that the government, the nation, churches, and organizations with good intent towards the populace must all implement such security measures.

He suggested that state and municipal governments follow the procedures that the federal government is now doing.

Since these protocols are still at the federal level, it is crucial that state governments domesticate them. Since events are planned at the local and state government levels, even the local governments must embrace it.

“We have very few events under our control at the federal level. Therefore, they must follow the federal government’s procedures. The police have procedures, once more.

So, police need to enforce the protocols, such as asking people to register for the events and then penalising those who fail to follow those protocols,” he said.

When asked to list more of the protocols that needed to be put in place, he said:

“If we are organising food distribution, we write to the police and inform security agencies.

“We tell them our location and how many people we are expecting. We list our beneficiaries, then we pick venues together with the police.

“We do vulnerability checks and risk assessments of the venue.

“Then we set up a crowd management team.

“Before the crowd start arriving, the protocol team will be there first so that they can check in the people. If we discover that the crowd will be too much, we can postpone the event.”

Additionally, he encouraged those who plan to distribute food but lack the means to implement all the procedures to seek help from the federal government team.