Lagos State has received fresh international recognition as the General Manager of the Lagos State Command and Control Centre, Femi Kennedy Giwa, was named Public Safety Personality of the Year at the 6th Africa Safety Congress/Africa Safety Award for Excellence (AfriSAFE) 2025.
The award ceremony, held on Friday, 14 November at the Prideinn Paradise Beach Resort & Spa in Mombasa, Kenya, brought together more than 35,000 professionals, government institutions and industry leaders. This year’s event focused on “United for a Safer Africa: Building Strategic Alliances & Leveraging Technology for Sustainable Development.”
Giwa, an environmental and emergency management expert and one of only four Certified Emergency Managers in Africa under the International Association of Emergency Managers, was honoured for his leadership in strengthening Lagos State’s emergency response system, public safety coordination and disaster management capacity.
Chief Executive Officer of AfriSAFE, Femi Da-Silva, said Giwa’s contributions align with the organisation’s mission to celebrate individuals who advance safety across the continent. He noted that Lagos has earned a reputation as one of Nigeria’s safest and best-coordinated urban centres due to technology-driven emergency management and improved response times.
Responding to the honour, Giwa attributed the achievement to the strategic investment and visionary leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whose administration has prioritised public safety, technology and capacity development across emergency response operations.
He said Sanwo-Olu’s support enabled the Command and Control Centre to achieve significant milestones including major infrastructural upgrades, stronger inter-agency collaboration, improved governance structures and greater public awareness on the proper use of the State’s toll-free emergency lines 767 and 112.
“Mr Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has consistently demonstrated unwavering commitment to building a safer, smarter and more resilient Lagos. This award is a direct reflection of his investment in technology, human capital and emergency response capability,” Giwa said. He added that Lagos’ Command and Control Centre has evolved into a state-of-the-art hub powered by advanced systems comparable to global standards, enabling real-time monitoring, coordinated responses and enhanced city-wide safety management.
The AfriSAFE honour adds to the growing number of accolades Lagos State has received for innovative public safety reforms and its push towards developing a modern, technology-driven smart city under Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration.
