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Major General Martin Chukudi Osahor (RTD) FNSE CON CEM
MD/CEO CREWS PROJECTS LIMITED
P.O. Box 8626, Kaduna
Kaduna State, Nigeria
Phone: (+234) 803 330 6272
Email: mco.crews@yahoo.com
Background in Emergency Management
I am an engineer by profession and I have a professional military background. I joined the Nigerian Army as a boy soldier in 1965, served for 40 years and retired in December 2004 as a Major General and the Director General of Nigeria’s National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies. I got involved in the study of Emergency Management early in 1995 when as a Participant of the National War College, I was required to choose a subject of Research as part of the requirements for earning a fellowship of the National War College. I decided to do my Research on the subject “National Disaster Management: Defining A Role for the Nigerian Armed Forces”. I was drawn to this subject because I had experienced first hand the colossal loss of 151 military officers, victims of the C-130 Air crash which occurred in Nigeria on September 26, 1992. It was a widely held opinion that many of the victims of that crash would have survived if emergency response was efficiently conducted. The product of that research earned me presidential award and the document became a framework document on which the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria (NEMA) was established.
I was introduced to the IAEM in 2006. I became a full member and attended my first Annual Conference in Reno Nevada in 2007. That conference was an eye opener and I returned home determined to actively propagate the Emergency Management profession in Nigeria. My first step was to train and become a Certified Emergency Manager which I achieved in March 2008. My Company, Crews Projects Limited is a Consultancy on Emergency and Safety Management and we are currently focused on Capacity Building. Our Vision is to “To Professionalize Emergency Management Practice in Nigeria” while our Mission is “To deliver consultancy services which will develop professional emergency managers, change the spirit of response and help emergency services and organizations save more lives."
Why I Wish To Serve
The IAEM is reasonably well established in the United States. The same cannot be said of countries within the International Region in spite of the obvious fact that these countries are least prepared for disasters as a result of their economic constraints. The IAEM has taken giant steps to make the Association truly international but while countries in Europe, Asia and Canada have exploited this and grown their Regions, members of the international region, especially countries in Africa have not taken advantage of this. This became clearer to me during my one year service as a member of the IAEM Scholarship committee when I realized that members from the International Region could not qualify or benefit from the scholarship scheme. It is my intention, if elected Vice President, to support my President in the drive to grow the membership of the IAEM with the ultimate aim of having an African Region within the next two years.
My Qualifications For The Job
In the two and half years I have run my Consultancy I have realized that there is ample enthusiasm and appreciation for the emergency management profession in Nigeria but lack of awareness, poor education and poverty are the major constraints to the development of the profession. There is therefore a need for advocacy if the profession is to grow in the International Region. I have in the past two years exploited the channel of my capacity building workshops to spread the news of the benefits of membership of IAEM and as at today I have provided emergency management awareness training to over 1500 participants. In the past 2 years I have personally registered more than 35 new members for the IAEM and with the growth of the newly registered ‘Association of Emergency Managers- Nigeria’, there is now an official platform to engage both the public and private sectors in developing EM practice as the basis for growth in membership.
My Priorities
If elected Vice President, my first responsibility will be to execute the programs of the Region as determined by the Council. I will encourage the Council President to develop policies that would engage partners in the private sector to obtain concessions that will encourage professional scholarship in Emergency Management education and to network with other countries in Africa to grow their country chapters. Most importantly, I would work towards improving the outreach to members and retaining current membership which is dwindling because members are not renewing their memberships. I am widely travelled and have the ability and the experience to reach out to several countries within the region.
RESUME
Summary of Emergency Management Activities:
- Joined IAEM, 2007
- Attended 55th IAEM Annual Conference Reno Nevada, 2007
- Attended 56th IAEM Annual Conference Overland Park Kansas, 2008
- Attended 7th and 8th IDER Conferences in UK in 2007 and 2008
- Served as Member IAEM Scholarship Committee (rep International Region), 2009
- Hosted IAEM Global Chairman Arthur Rabjohn in Nigeria, 2009.
- Registered over 25 New IAEM Members between 2007 and 2009
- Conducted 10 Emergency Management Workshops between 2008 and 2010, training over 1,500 participants
- Published two Volumes of Newsletters “The Lifesaver” 2009-2010
- Drafted Constitution for the Association of Emergency Managers-Nigeria
- Incorporated “Association of Emergency Managers-Nigeria,” March 2010
- Current Chairman Governing Board Association of Emergency Managers-Nigeria
Higher Education:
- University of Nebraska Lincoln: Masters in Community and Regional Planning (MCRP), Masters in Water Resource Engineering and Management
- Royal Military College of Science Shrivenham (UK): BSc (Highway and Bridge) Engineering
- US Army Engineer School Fort Belvoir Virginia: Diploma in Military Engineering
- Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering Makurdi: Diploma in Combat Engineering.
- Command and Staff College, Jaji: Passed Staff College (psc)
- National War College Abuja: Fellow of the War College (fwc)
- Nasser Higher Military Academy Cairo Egypt: Diploma in Strategic Studies
Gen Osahor has earned over 250 Contact Hours credits in 25 subjects on Disaster and Emergency Management Courses from the FEMA sponsored Emergency Management Institute Independent study program. He has also attended the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) Training of Trainers Course in 2010.
Military Command, Staff and Instructor Experience:
- Command
Commanding Officer, 13 Field (combat) Engineer Regiment - 1984
Commanding Officer, Engineer Construction Regiment in 1990
Commander 42 Division Engineers 1996-98,
Deputy Commandant, National War College (NWC) 1999-2001.
Commander Corps of Nigerian Army Engineers 2001-2002
- Staff
Military Assistant to the Chief of Defence Staff 1981-1982
Colonel Operations, Nigerian Army Headquarters 1993.
General Staff Officer Grade One (Coordination) CSC 1989-1990
Instructor
Directing Staff (Senior Division) Command and Staff College 1987-1989
Chief Instructor (Senior Division) Command and Staff College 1993-1995;
Directing Staff, National War College 1998-1999;
Director of Studies, National War College 1999-2001
APPOINTMENT AS DIRECTOR GENERAL NIPSS
Gen Osahor was appointed Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, by the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 15 July 2002 to 13 May 2005. As the CEO of the highest National training institution in Nigeria, he was charged with the training of the elites of the Nigerian society drawn from the military, paramilitary, civil service, organized Labour, the organized private sector
Other Professional Workshops and Seminars:
WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
Life Cycle Costing Workshop, -Nigeria Institute of Quantity Surveyors.
International Humanitarian Law -- ICRC
Nigerian Civil War Seminar; Senior Leader Seminars -- MPRI,
National Grassroots Awareness Policy Seminar on Nigeria SAT-1 Project
National Conference of Chief Executives and Heads of Disaster Management Organizations in Nigeria
SEMINAR PAPERS
• Disaster Planning and Management in Nigeria: The Role of the Armed Forces, Abuja(1997),
• Disaster Management and The Role of the Media, Ibadan (2000),
• Disaster Management and The Role of the Engineers – NASME, Makurdi (2000), The Nigerian Army Engineers in Peace and War – CSC Jaji (2001);
• The Foundations for Nigeria’s Security and Defence Policies in the 21st Century-Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji (2003);
• Unionism and the Future of Education in a Democratic Nigeria: The Challenges Before College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Pankshin, (2003);
• The National Institute and Nigeria Strategic Challenges in the New Millennium, Inaugural Lecture to SEC 25, NIPSS, Kuru- Jos (2003);
• Resolving Nigeria’s National Security Dilemma : Towards A Strategic Agenda; Inaugural Lecture to SEC 26, NIPSS, Kuru – Jos, (2004)
• National Values and the Challenges of Nation Building in a Democratic Nigeria, Inaugural Lecture to SEC27, NIPSS, Kuru – Jos, (2005);
• Value Creation in Public Service: The Role of Chartered Accountants. A workshop paper presented at the 36th Annual Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Abuja (2006).
• Challenges Confronting the Nigeria Army Engineers and School in Disaster Response Situations - 43 Division Engineer Study Period, Jos (2006).
• Remembering The Ikeja Military Cantonment Ammunition Depot Explosions—What Lessons For Disaster Managers In Nigeria. (Cava Publications, UK, 2008).
• Emergency Response Planning – The Responsibilities of Chief Executives, Makurdi (2009).
• Challenges confronting Disaster Response Units of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, (2009).
• The Nigerian Army Engineers in National Security- A Case Study of USA, India and Ghana Army Engineers, NASME Makurdi (2009).
Professional Affiliations:
Fellow Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE)
Chartered Engineer – Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN)
Fellow of the National War College (fwc)
Certified Emergency Manager (CEM)
Member International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)
Associate Member Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators
Publications/Editorial/Review Experience:
General Osahor is a contributor to both national and foreign Magazines (Cava Publications). He is the Publisher of ‘The Lifesaver’ magazine (Quarterly) and ‘The Emergency Management Workshops’ Notes’ (Quarterly).
Honors & Awards:
National Award: Commander Order of the Niger (CON)
International Award: Kwame Nkrumah African Leadership Award for Excellence (Ghana)
Military Honours: Grand Service Star (GSS),
Distinguished Service Star (DSS),
Meritorious Service Star (MSS),
Force Service Star (FSS),
Defence Service Medal (DSM),
General Service Medal (GSM)
Silver Jubilee Medal (SJM) and
Corps Medal of Honour (CMH).
Military qualifications: Pass Staff College Dagger (psc (+));
Fellow of the National War College Dagger (fwc (+)).
Traditional Titles: Odozi Ani II of Egbudu Akah
Patron of the Egbudu Elite Club
President General, Egbudu-Akah Development Union (EDU)
General Osahor has the distinction of being the first Certified Emergency Manager in Nigeria. He received the IAEM International Council Executive Citation (2008).
Present Engagements in Executive Capacity:
MD/CEO CREWS PROJECTS LTD
MD/CEO SUPER M PETROLEUM AND GAS LTD
CHAIRMAN DATALINE BUSINESS SERVICES LTD
CHAIRMAN BOARD OF TRUSTEES EGBUDU AKAN DEVELOPMENT UNION
CHAIRMAN BOARD OF GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION OF EMERGENCY MANAGERS-NIGERIA
Travels:
General Osahor has travelled to the following countries for studies, training and holidays: United Kingdom, France, United States, Benin Republic, Tanzania, Philippines, Egypt, Zambia, Morocco, Ghana, Libya, Ethiopia, China, Poland, Austria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Trinidad & Tobago, Germany and Holland.
Areas of Competence:
Through his academic qualification, extensive military training and deployments both nationally and internationally, General Osahor has acquired competence in the following areas:
• Disaster and Safety Management
• Defense and Security Planning
• Conflict Resolution, Mediation and Conciliation
• Civil Engineering and Construction Management
• Strategic Planning (State Infrastructure)
• Community (Urban and Regional) Planning
• Water resource Planning and Management
• Capacity Building /Training Skills
Martial Status and Hobbies:
He is happily married to Mrs. Patricia Osahor and they are blessed with 4 sons Chukudi, Leonard, Patrick, Nnalue and a grandson Joshua. General Osahor’s hobbies are; reading, learning French, home computing, singing gospel music and community service. He is also an ardent golfer with a respectable handicap of 16.
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