Speeches

The 2007 Safety Week Celebration of The Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers, Ikeja

Nov 7, 2007 - Health is wealth and safety is everybody’s concern. The relationship between health and safety within the hospitality industry underscores the vital role of this sector to human society at large. The state of our environment and the depletion of the ozone layer should be a cause of concern to every individual, especially with the effects of global warming on the earth’s surface and a general melt down in the arctic region which has increased the water level and attendant flooding in some Asian countries leading to avoidable deaths and destruction of property.

The theme for the Year 2007 Safety Week Celebration of the Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers is rather instructive “The Way It Should Be Done“. The Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers is a leading provider of hospitality services for the tourism sector in Lagos State and their safety record matches international standards. The celebration of the Annual Safety Week is a clear testimony of the commitment of the management of Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers to Safety Standards in the workplace.

It is given that every workplace has its own safety challenges. For instance, our attitude to the use of certain equipment or machinery may impact on our individual health or the environment that we live in. We are all aware of the global alert that was raised on the danger posed to the environment by the continued use of Chloro–Fluoro–Carbon gas for refrigeration purposes.

There is overwhelming evidence that most of the global warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities which have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases–primarily carbon monoxide, methane and nitrous oxide. From available research, it is understood that fossil fuels burned to run cars, trucks and to power businesses and factories are responsible for about 98% of carbon dioxide emissions and by Year 2100 without adequate emissions control policies, carbon dioxide concentrations are projected to be 30% - 150% higher than today’s levels. In Lagos State, we are concerned about the environmental health of our people and the Lagos State Environmental Agency (LASEPA) is adequately equipped to monitor and control industrial emissions that may pollute our environment.

Therefore, I wish to commend the Management of the Sheraton Lagos Hotel & Towers for maintaining Industrial Safety
Standards in the workplace. I would encourage staff and personnel here and in other workplaces to be more conscious of safety rules that guide the operations of all equipment in use. Your safety and that of numerous clients that patronize your business must be paramount. The safer, healthier your environment is the more patronage you attract, and by implication, the more prosperous, your company becomes.

Ultimately, you become the beneficiaries of safety compliant attitude as the company’s prosperity flows into your own enhanced welfare package. I urge the participants at this programme to avail themselves of the opportunities provided to upgrade their knowledge and compliance with Industrial Safety Techniques in the workplace.

Thank you all for your attention and God bless.

“Eko o ni baje o!”

Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)
Governor of Lagos State