At the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), world leaders and policymakers converged in New York to deliberate on strategies for global cooperation and sustainable development. Among the voices that resonated at a high-level side event was that of Mrs. Zubaida Umar, the Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who articulated Nigeria’s vision for building stronger communities through inclusive partnerships and proactive disaster management.
The event, themed “Global Partnerships, Local Prosperity: Unlocking Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Blueprint for Sustainable Growth,” provided a platform for government officials, international partners, and development experts to engage in dialogue on Nigeria’s development trajectory. Mrs. Umar’s intervention stood out for its clarity of vision and focus on how effective collaboration can transform humanitarian response and disaster preparedness in Nigeria.
Speaking to a distinguished audience, Mrs. Umar emphasized that partnerships must transcend handouts or one-off interventions. “At NEMA, where our mandate is centred on humanitarian needs and emergency management, we are pursuing strategic partnerships that go beyond donations or handouts. Our goal is to foster collaborations that guarantee empowerment, sustainability, and preparedness, ensuring that communities are not only supported in times of crisis but are also better equipped to withstand future shocks,” she stated.
Her remarks underscored a broader policy shift in Nigeria’s emergency management architecture: a deliberate transition from reactive response to proactive preparedness. She explained that while disasters often capture national attention at their peak, effective management begins at the grassroots. “Disasters are local and must first be managed locally before escalating to the federal level,” she stressed, adding that NEMA continues to encourage State Governments to strengthen their State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs).
To illustrate this, she cited the example of Kaduna State, which in recent months has taken deliberate steps to prepare ahead of the flood season. From identifying higher grounds and setting up camps to implementing early-warning measures, the state has demonstrated the benefits of proactive planning. According to Mrs. Umar, this model shows what is possible when local actors embrace responsibility, supported by federal coordination and international partnerships.
Her intervention aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which emphasizes resilience, inclusivity, and growth. By placing partnerships at the heart of her remarks, she positioned NEMA as not merely a response agency but as a catalyst for sustainable development. In doing so, she reminded the global audience that humanitarian action is not separate from development—it is a building block for it.
Beyond Nigeria, Mrs. Umar’s message carried relevance for the international community. In a world where climate change, conflicts, and health crises continue to strain governments, her call for “partnerships that empower rather than merely relieve” echoed the UN’s own push for locally driven solutions. It was a subtle but powerful reminder that global progress is best secured when international cooperation directly strengthens local capacity.
As the side event drew to a close, it was clear that Mrs. Umar’s contribution had added depth to the dialogue. By combining Nigeria’s national priorities with global concerns, she reaffirmed NEMA’s role as a central player in both domestic emergency management and international humanitarian discourse.
For Nigeria, her message was simple yet profound: the future of disaster management lies not in waiting for crises to happen, but in building systems that anticipate, absorb, and adapt to them. For the world, it was a call to view partnerships not as charity, but as shared responsibility.
Abdulhamid Abdullahi Aliyu
Information Officer II
