The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) have agreed to strengthen collaboration on technology-driven disaster management and border security to enhance resilience in Nigeria’s frontier communities.
The partnership, discussed during a strategic meeting at NEMA Headquarters in Abuja, seeks to deploy modern technologies for early-warning systems, improve cross-border coordination, and build local response capacity in vulnerable border areas.
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The meeting was attended by NEMA’s Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, and the Executive Secretary of BCDA, Dr. George Alabo Kelly, alongside a delegation from Beijing Global Safety Technology Company Ltd (G-Safety), a China-based firm specializing in emergency technology systems.
Mrs. Umar described border communities as “critically important” to national security and disaster management, emphasizing the need to integrate advanced technology into Nigeria’s emergency response framework.
“We are ready to explore pilot projects that combine operational expertise with data-driven systems to strengthen early warning, response, and coordination at both the state and local levels,” she said.
She also stressed the importance of empowering State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and community-based responders as first-line actors in disaster management.
In his remarks, Dr. Kelly highlighted the strategic role of border communities as Nigeria’s first line of defence and called for an integrated approach that combines infrastructure, intelligence, and social development to boost resilience and stability.
The Managing Director of G-Safety, Dr. Maolei Zhang, shared the company’s experience in establishing national emergency management systems, including control-room solutions, forecasting tools, and capacity-building programs. He invited NEMA to participate in study visits and technical exchanges to adapt such innovations to Nigeria’s context.
The renewed partnership is expected to pave the way for joint pilot projects aimed at improving data sharing, early-warning capabilities, and disaster preparedness in border communities across the country.
