The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has tasked all Nigerian Air Force safety officers (NAF) to ensure an enhanced safety culture in all NAF activities or operations.

Mr Abubakar gave the charge at the NAF Safety Review Board Meeting on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the actions or inactions of all NAF personnel could either help propel or break the accident chain sometimes experienced during NAF activities or operations.

The CAS also called for the emplacement of appropriate actions to break the accident chain and enshrine a good safety culture that transcends all levels in the NAF.

According to him, it is vital that they thoroughly examine all the safety issues arising from this meeting and come up with objective and innovative ideas that would enhance safety in the NAF.

He said, “While we all know that safety is a collective responsibility, this board is primarily accountable for safety administration in the NAF. Accidents are the results of a sequence of events, beginning with deliberate decisions taken and NAF cannot afford to pay lip service to issues relating to safety.”

Mr Abubakar said that the NAF regarded safety as one of its core functions and reiterated its commitment to developing, implementing, and reviewing policies to ensure that all activities were conducted in a safe and conducive environment.

According to him, NAF will intensify efforts to enhance safety as it continues to transform into “an agile and resilient force that effectively meets the airpower demands of national security in all operational environments.”

He assured that the NAF’s future would be more interesting and auspicious, given the federal government’s commitment to equipping it with modern platforms.

According to him, a proactive and enhanced safety culture is thus critical to ensuring that their usage is maximised.

The Chief of Standards and Evaluation, AVM Micheal Onyebashi, said the board organised the biannual meeting as the apex body of the NAF Safety Management Structure.

He explained that the biannual meeting was to deliberate on major policy, resource allocation and regulatory issues relating to safety.

Mr Onyebashi said the board was required to give direction and guidelines to ensure the entrenchment of a healthy safety culture in the NAF.

According to him, the NAF has since commenced introducing safety education at all NAF entry points and training institutions, as directed in the last safety board review.

He said the board also leveraged the online learning infrastructure at the Air Warfare Centre to sustain an appreciable safety education across the NAF.

Mr Onyebashi said the board, commands, and units needed to work assiduously to ensure that safety standards were maintained in all NAF activities, especially with the induction of additional platforms.

He urged the board to proffer strategies and ideas that would enable the NAF to experience continuous improvement in safety in all its operations.

Iteke Chukwunonso of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) delivered a paper titled ‘Senior Managers’ Role in Organisational Safety Management System’.

Mr Chukwunonso said that managing safety entailed managing risks and controlling them reactively, proactively, and predictively to an acceptable level.

He added that safety management should take a business-like approach and be woven into the fabric of an organisation until it becomes a part of its culture.

He commended the NAF for its exceptional safety standards and called on its leadership to retain the responsibility and accountability for safety.

Mr Chukwunonso also emphasised the need for NAF leadership to promote open reporting through non-punitive disciplinary policies while encouraging incentives for promoting safety.