SOJI AJIBOLA, OLAWALE OLANIYAN and ADEREMI OGUNDARE share accounts from traders and shop owners who fell victim to Tuesday’s fire outbreak at the popular Aleshinloye market, located in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Authorities say about 500 shops were affected even as they look to government authorities for economic salvation.
It was one tale of woe to another as traders watched helplessly as fire gutted over 70 shops loaded with plastics and other household essentials at the popular Aleshinloye market in Ibadan Southwest Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The affected traders, who remained unconsolable, valued the goods and properties lost to the incident at millions of naira.
The incident which has been described as unlike the others in the history of the market interestingly started from two shops located directly opposite the Fire Service station at the market. The fire later spread rapidly to other affected shops.
The intense inferno which started at 10pm on Tuesday seems to have compounded the woes of the affected traders who are still battling with the quit notice from the authorities of the Ibadan Southwest Local Government Area.
The enraged traders submitted that if the men of the State Fire Service were alive to their responsibilities, the losses recorded would not have been much.
“We don’t have a Fire Service station at Aleshinloye but a car park. Their officers failed us when we needed their service most.
“Imagine, a Fire Service station without water trucks. They are collecting salary every month doing nothing,” said one of the affected shop owners.
In their various submissions, the victims and sympathisers attributed the impact of the incident to the ineptitude of the State Fire services.
One of the victims who identified herself as Alhaja Balikis submitted that the incident was a God’s doing that cannot be queried.
“Who are we to query the Almighty Allah who gives as takes as it pleases Him? He is the one who makes the rich and the poor. If God didn’t allow it, it will not happen.
“I have lost 10 shops loaded with assorted goods to the incident, but there is nothing I can do.
“As regards the efforts of the men of the Fire services, they tried their best, especially those that came from Sumal Foods and SweetCo. The Hausas and Igbos need to be commended for their efforts.
“The Fire Service station at Aleshinloye is nothing but a paper tiger. This one should not be called a Fire Service station but a car park,” she said.
Also, Alfa Sadiq Oloriaje, a fashion designer who is yet to come to terms with the incident, disclosed that he has lost a fortune to the incident.
“All my sewing machines valued at N450,000 have been lost to the inferno. I don’t know where to start again. My life has been ruined.
“I got the wind of the incident at home. I abandoned what I was doing and left for Aleshinloye. However, before, I got to this place, the damage had been done.”
A middle aged woman, who craved anonymity, disclosed that nine of her shops have reduced to a heap of ashes and rubble.
“This is the first time that we will record this kind of incident at Aleshinloye market. But the most painful aspect of it is that it started at the front of the State Fire Service.
“We looked to them for help but they failed us. The Hausas and Igbos who are living in the market and the neighborhood rose to the occasion, but there was little they could do.
“It still looks like dream. I got delivery of goods worth millions of naira yesterday, but it has been turned to ashes. Ten of my shops loaded with goods were razed completely. There was nothing to salvage.
“I couldn’t withstand the situation. I had to tell my husband that it is high time we left the scene of the incident to prevent another unexpected occurrence.”
Speaking further, she said: “As I am talking to you, three of the affected traders are on admission at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
“We are battling with the quit notice order issued by the local government to vacate some sections of the market by this March 27. Another incident has happened now. Where do we turn to?”
Also in her account of the incident, another trader from the market who preferred anonymity, attributed the severity of the incident to negligence on the part of the State Fire Service.
She queried, “Is it now that they realize that they don’t have work tools? They have been drawing salaries all this while for doing nothing.
“The affected traders have been of help to them. But now that they needed their help, they failed them.
“The Fire Service department of Sumal Foods and SweetCo tried their best but the situation was beyond them.
“Now that it has happened, there is nothing we can do than wait for the government to come to our aid.”
Speaking during his visit to the market, the Babaloja of Oyo State, Alhaji Yekeen Abass, assured the affected traders of the government’s support.
“The incident is devastating. It is a huge loss. The affected traders have lost several millions of naira to the incident.
“I have moved round the market on an on the spot assessment. I will make my observation known to the governor, Engr Seyi Makinde. He is a listening governor. I am assuming you that he will rise to the occasion,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State governor has commiserated with traders who lost properties to the Aleshinloye fire outbreak.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal, expressed the government’s sympathy towards the victims of the fire outbreak during an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.
The governor said the government would assess the level of damage and provide immediate support to victims once it gets a full report of the incident.
He directed the Ibadan South-West Local Government and the LCDA to ensure that adequate security is put in place at the market and to prepare a comprehensive report on the cause of the fire, just as he called on the market leaders to enumerate the number of shops affected by the incident.
He said in a statement: “On behalf of His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, I have come here today to commiserate with you over the sad incident. We thank God that no life was lost.
“This is a big and popular market. It is so painful. Please, rest assured that the government will do the needful in terms of immediate support. It is our prayer that such will not happen again.
“This fire incident is sad, because this market has been in existence for quite some time and our men and women have been plying their trades peacefully here.
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“As the government, we have come to empathise and to assess the level of damage that has been done as a result of the inferno.
“We have come and seen and we have also met with market men and women. The fire was aggravated because of the kind of trade (plastic business). So, you can expect that it would spread like a wildfire. Nevertheless, we thank God Almighty that no life was lost.
“As a government, we will do the needful in terms of immediate support through the Oyo State Emergency Management Agency (Oyo SEMA). We will also work with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as public-spirited people to give immediate support to the victims of this incident.
“We will be waiting for a comprehensive report on the cause of the fire and the level of losses. This is a market that is central to commercial activities in Oyo State. People come all the way from Benin Republic, Ivory Coast and Niger Republic to trade here. So, the state government will do something.”
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