Permanent Secretary,LASEMA,Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu
“We are always on top of the situation”
Over the years the stability and the peace of mind enjoyed by Lagosian in the area of Emergency response can not be overemphasized because of the unrelenting,unparalleled, dogmatic, pragmatic and above all workaholic tendencies of Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu professionally known as the “Dr who never sleeps”
Lagos state today remains the benchmark and the mirror for other states in Nigeria, West Africa and Sub-Sahara Africa because of the unmatched effort of Dr Osanyintolu. Only recently the agency signed an MOU with SMIL the operator of the newly commissioned Lagos Red line rail.
Like the usual practice of the agency many states in Nigeria still sends in their representatives to the headquarter of the agency to understudy the activities of the agency in order to replicate such in their respective states. Recently the Nigerian Army were not left out as their men recently visited LASEMA to assess and understudy the agency’s unprecedented activities under the supervision of the agency’s “great team leader” who has a daring heart towards any kind of emergency the state might encounter come shine or rain.
“I am a Doctor,Emergency and disaster management is my duty and responsibility as I am always on top of the situation no matter how dangerous it seems, ” Osanyintolu the Ekiti State born Permanent Sectary of the agency said.
In the LASEMA’s compendium chronicles the uncommon dedication, bravery and expertise exhibited by this trained medical doctor turned emergency responder, in the course of rendering selfless service to the good people of Lagos State.
Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke- Osanyintolu’s trajectory in the service of the Lagos State Government is a remarkable one.
He has been involved in quite a few pioneering responsibilities.
Currently the pioneer Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, (LASEMA), Dr. OkeOsanyintolu has a great many “firsts” -pioneer medical doctor of Ifako Primary Health Care, founding member of
Lagos State Emergency Services, the Head of Lagos State Ambulance Services and eventually, pioneer General
Manager when the enabling laws for a coordinating agency christened LASEMA were passed.
No doubt, his track record of diligence and dedication as Chief Emergency Responder, Lagos State, have paved the
way for him in his public service trajectory. This, of course, explains the many firsts and accolades he has recorded and received in the course of his illustrious public service career.
This publication, which contains print news reports, digital content, photo gallery, and lots more, documents some
of the career highlights of this achiever and administrator par excellence. It is hoped that the contents of this
publication will inspire a deeper appreciation of the crucial roles of emergency responders in safeguarding lives at the nation’s ‘ Centre of Excellence’.
Welcome to the world of Dr. Oke- Osanyintolu, the Swift, Prompt, Efficient and Effective Emergency Responder!
Dr. Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu is a self-motivated, digital-technology savvy, confident, experienced and
hardworking medic with unique and great accomplishments in the management of emergencies and disasters.
He is endowed with soft skills of good listening and long- span attention, he is a good team player regardless of the
diversity or intensity of pressure.
He has special skills in Effective Communication, Leadership and Management / Administration Strategy
Formulation, Operational and Service Improvement as well as Recruitment/ Mentoring Skills.
Dr Oke-Osanyintolu, a well-trained Emergency Manager had his primary, secondary and university education in
Nigeria where he obtained MBBS from the University of Ilorin 1984 – 1991. He had the privilege of attending various
Professional and Management Courses locally and internationally traversing medicine, Environment, Disaster/Emergency management and Human Capacity/Resources Management with numerous Honours. Known for outstanding accomplishments, Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu was the pioneer Medical Doctor of Ifako Primary Health Care, a founding member of Lagos State Emergency Services, the Head of Lagos State Ambulance Services, pioneer General Manager LASEMA and the first and only Permanent Secretary of LASEMA till date.
Oke-Osanyintolu is a member of numerous professional bodies including Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria,
Member of Executive Secretaries of State Emergency Management Agency Forum, Member, International
Association Emergency Managers, Member Emergency Planning Society, UK. He is happily married and blessed with children.
the course of his duty as permanent Secretary at the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu Damilola
Oke-Osanyitolu, has become an expert to be reckoned with in emergency management in Lagos.
This is a man who works late into the night almost on a daily basis, and also ensuring that LASEMA Staff work hard to find lasting solutions to emergencies.
Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu puts LASEMA in the media more often than any other agency in the state, especially with the recent statewide engagement with local
government authorities that are experiencing devastating floods in order to find a holistic solution to floodings in the state.
His passion for emergency management and prevention, coupled with sensitization, is awesome. always making sure he works in line with Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES Agenda.
The way and manner he works, gives me the impression that the governor must have given him a target in emergency management in Lagos.
In all, Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu supports the media such that the job becomes easier for journalists. He is a media delight.
This is my candid opinion about him. He didn’t pay me to appraise him. This much i have told my fellow journalists before during candid discussions, not
knowing I will be opportuned to give a birds eye view on his job and excellent relationship with the media.
Who is Dr Oke-Osanyintolu to journalists;
Mr. Godfrey Agba Gabriel
Senior Correspondent at Megalectrics Limited, Owners of the Beat FM, Classic FM, Lagos Talks and Naija FM
My coverage of LASEMA activities in the last four years made me know how humble the Permanent Secretary LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Damilola OkeOsanyintolu is, to people around him.
He is so passionate about tackling emergencies in Lagos State, and he knows his onions in Disaster Management to the core. His dress sense is top notch.
As the real “Idan” himself, he is very articulate and commands respect from his counterparts in other states of the federation, due to his knowledge about
the job. However, just like his Agency in Emergency Management, his media invitation mostly come as “an Emergency” too.
Keep the flag of Disaster Management flying.
Yemsi Dada
Senior Correspondent at Radio One 103.5FM, member, Lagos State Governor’s Press Crew and multiple Award Winner.
I have been working closely with Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu since 2011, and one thing has been clear over the years, his consistency and passion
for his job, at any hour, any day, anytime, the man is always ready, and adequately prepared, he is usually the first to get to emergency scenes and would be
the last to leave, to borrow his own words whenever he is asked to describe LASEMA’s response, He is *”Swift, Prompt, Efficient and effective”.
Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu does not shy away from media interviews, whether live or via telephone, unlike some government officials who will be running away or
tell journalists to call them and then switch off their phones or leave the calls unanswered.
If he misses your calls, Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu will always call back.
Humility is another endearing traits the PS LASEMA possesses, despite his exalted position in the Civil Service, whenever and wherever he sees you, once he knows your face, he will always greet and interact with you, he doesn’t snub people, and he is ever ready to apologise if you tell him you feel slighted.
Another outstanding leadership quality he possess is his genuine care for the wellbeing of those around him, I remembered one day that I wasn’t feeling quite well, while covering one of the emergency incidents, he saw me and asked why I wasn’t looking my usual self, I told him I was a bit indisposed, few
days later when we had cause to meet again, he didn’t forget that I was under the weather the last time, he took time to enquire about my health status
and asked if I took very good care of myself. That “Health is Wealth”. This singular action endeared him to me that, it made me start referring to him as
“egbon”, meaning big brother in the Yoruba language.
To sum it all up, Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu is a thoroughbred professional, a force to be reckoned with on the job. He is one of a kind. “Iru eyan
bi tiwon sowon Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu is passionate about his job and that is evident in his media engagement. His media managers complement him very well in media engagement, especially in making information available at all times.
Mr. Gbenga Salau of the Guardian Newspaper
A member of the Lagos State Governor’s Press Crew and multiple Award Winner.
Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu in the course of performing his duty, is so passionate about his job that engaging him is more of a discussion and
lecture backes with scientific facts and relevant data, rather than a media engagement.
He is a media delight who provides necessary information as at when due, without much probing or problems. Infact, Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu can be regarded as “Mr. Emergency Response Management” himself considering the bundle of knowledge and experience he has packed into his many years in Emergency Response and Management at the state, national and even regional levels, all the while I’ve been interacting with him since about 2010-2011.
Mr. Emmanuel Odesola
Senior Correspondent at Megalectrics Limited, Owners of the Beat FM, Classic FM, Lagos Talks, and Naija FM
THE MAN; OLUFEMI OKE – OSANYINTOLU.
Not many may know Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu as a medical personnel. This may not be far- fetched. His foray into the Disaster Management
sector, however easily gives him out to the public; not only to Lagos residents and Nigerians, but at the global space.
Once emergency situations occur, be sure that LASEMA and the first responders will be there; even if it is not escalated through the Toll Free Lines – 767 or 112, it will be through other social media platforms @followlasema and it’s 07025004985 WhatsApp line.
Over the years, successive governments in Lagos, have invested heavily in Emergency/Disaster Management – Kudos to them.
Standing out to consolidate these laudable feat, is Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu who thought it wise to bring back, Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu, who until then was in Abuja at the Vice President’s Office as S.S.A on Disaster Risk Management.
I can go on and on about his carrier, interactions with people at incident scenes and the media … but he is back in Lagos to be “On Top of the Situation” as fondly said by him.
Industrial Relations is key to any Organisational Development. His relationship with the media may not be unconnected with the milestone he gets. there is still room for improvement, as he cannot afford to lower the laid standards. Kudos.
Omololu Rosanwo
News Editor /Presenter, Lagos Television.
I like quoting the PS LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu. He is the Disaster Manager Extraordinaire.
When journalists at the incident scene are seeing PS LASEMA, “koro – koro laidis”, they won’t want to wait. They will move close to him to get updates. Trust
him, he will grant you audience.
No matter how many times journalists go to ask for clarification or exclusive interviews, he will grant them audience.
The man is trying. I swear!
Am sure that if Dr. Osanyintolu had not been a serving civil servant, he would have been among the recently nominated for higher responsibilities.
Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu is a Gem.
I like the PS of LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu.
He is very committed to his job and he is always punctual to emergency scenes.
He and his team are always the first to arrive at incident scenes amongst all other emergency response agencies no matter the time of day.
No matter how terrible the emergency/disaster is, he is always calm, and his updates are always accurate and factual.
There is always the rush and competition to give report between the PS LASEMA and NEMA Information Director to update the Press. The competition is
always healthy and helpful to us journalists.
I usually wait to quote the PS LASEMA because he is actually “on top” when he says “We are on top of the situation”. He is always “Fully” on the ground at
incident scenes.
The LASEMA PS has a strong and responsive media team that rolls out information about incidents with pictures and videos immediately it occurs.
This system of his, also tackled the excesses of “cut and paste journalists” who will never be at emergency scenes, but will always want to break the news by publishing false news.
I was almost attacked when I refuted the lies of a well-known National Newspaper that published ‘four people dead’ in a collapsed building, when nobody
died.
The PS LASEMA should continue with the good work and maintain his excellent relationship with journalists.
My humble opinion of long time observation.
……
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