Following the recent spate of stampedes recorded in parts of Nigeria, including Ibadan in Oyo State, Okija in Anambra State and Abuja, it has become imperative to share some useful tips on how to avoid further tragedies.
These tips are borne out of our experience, having successfully organised and conducted many welfare and medical outreaches within and around Abuja, FCT involving communities of 1,000 to 5,000 persons, the most recent being Saturday, December 7, 2024 at the People Living with Disabilities Community Karonmajigi, Abuja.
Based on our experiences and lessons, the following are some useful tips and advice:
1. Strategic Planning and Preparation: Ensure adequate planning and preparation is done months ahead of the scheduled date for the welfare exercise.
This should include holding consultations and meetings with the community leaders of the area or locality where the distribution will take place.
It affords a better understanding of the terrain, the disposition of the people living in the area, ease of access, etc.
2. Mapping: Based on our experience, a data-driven exercise is always the best for any community welfare or medical outreach. This involves sending out an advance team of demographic and data collection professionals to map out the community and gather the personal information and data of the intended beneficiaries. The data collected will then be used for needs assessment and effective planning.
3. Security: Adequate security must be put in place. Planning for security of lives is an indispensable safety measure that must never be taken for granted, having regard for the peculiarities of the economic conditions of the people.
This must cut across engaging with the Nigerian Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the local vigilante or security apparatus within the chosen community or locality.
4. Use of Access Card or Tickets: Design and give out access card to the beneficiaries in advance – at least two days before the actual distribution. To avoid cloning, ensure that the access cards or tickets bear some unique security code or feature that will make it difficult, if not impossible for people to forge.
5. Open Space versus Gated Environment: When dealing with a crowd of 1,000 and above, it is advisable to use an open field/space like a community school than a gated community or space because the chances of a stampede occurrence is minimal in an open environment than a restricted one. However, if you are using a gated space, please keep the gate open for ease of movement in and out of the place.
6. Teams and Volunteers: Organising an outreach or welfare for a large crowd of people require adequate manpower and staffing.
It is always helpful to have a league of volunteers and teams that will man the planning, organisation and distribution of foods and other supplies to your chosen community of people or needy.
7. Training and Pre-distribution Briefing: Put in place some training for the teams or personnel that will be involved in all the distribution exercise. It is crucial that they are properly briefed on safety measures and crowd control. The security operatives should be part of this training and briefing.
8. Sending Your Advance Team: it is important to put together an advance team and send them out ahead before the arrival of welfare materials particularly if it is food, clothing or other consumables.
This is to enhance good organisation and have a pre-distribution assessment before the actual distribution takes place. It also ensures the safety of the welfare materials and will prevent looting or scramble.
If you observe that the people are far more than the those you projected or provisioned for, it is advisable to halt or stop the exercise immediately; either postpone it or re-organise the people into families or clusters rather than individuals.
9. First Aid/Medical Team: Always put in place a medical team with first aid medical supplies as part of your organisers and personnel on the ground—in case of any injury or accident which requires urgent medical attention.
10. Prayers: for faith-based organisations that are organising welfare or other medical outreaches, prayer is indispensable.
Okenla, Pastor-in-charge of RCCG City of David, Abuja, wrote from the FCT