Wednesday, July 27 was a day occupants of CWH 66, Bola Ige Market were low-spirited. It was a day that fire engulfed the entire market. Traders, their families and dependants are still in shock as they had lost their means of livelihood. What is baffling is that the cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be identified.
The building housed six warehouses, each of which contained a minimum of 100 bales of clothing fabrics of various types. Though they lost millions of naira in cash and stock worth hundreds of millions of naira, it is gratifying that no life was lost. The incident was even more heartrending because Oyo State is a civil service one where traders depend on workers’ patronage, even though civil servants have not received their salaries since January.
The security personnel on duty alleged that “some minutes after 10:00 p.m. that night, he heard sounds emanating from the roof of the building from which an object dropped with a loud bang. Clouds of smoke billowed from one of the shops as a result of an explosion which resulted in fire outbreak that engulfed the entire building.” He said he proceeded to call the shop owners to intimate them of the occurrence.
Mr. Chinedu Michael, a shop owner who lost cash of N5 million and goods worth over N100 million said: “I was out of town that day when I received a call that my shop was on fire. I returned on Thursday evening. When I returned on Thursday evening, the security man told me that he was lying in front of the shop and saw no one. I, however, suspected that the fire was thrown in from the back of the building. It was a plan. “
However, Mr. Michael debunked the notion that the fire outbreak resulted from power surge, or a generator accident. He maintained that the incident was arson rooted in envy. He stated that they had not had power in the said area for over a year, and none of them used generators.
He said: “It could not have been caused by power surge or explosion from generating set as we have not had light in well over a year. Neither do we use generators in the building. And nobody cooks in the building. It was an intentional act borne out of envy. “
Another victim, Mr. Damian said they were often vilified for ‘using means’ to sell their wares, in addition to being accused of stopping people from making sales’.
“The incident was as a result of jealousy or envy because they claim that we use means to make sales. They claim that we are the only ones making sales. If my goods are not good, they will not buy.”
“The fire incident was not accidental; someone set the building on fire. But I hand it all over to God to pass judgment. The affected shops were owned by Igbo.”
Nothing could be saved as the Federal Fire Service was unable to respond immediately as they claimed that their truck was faulty.
Continuing, Michael said: “When the personnel got to the building, the fire had already consumed the entire building. I could not pick a single pin from my shop. I sell wholesale Ankara fabrics, i.e. in bales, and had goods worth close to N100 million.”
Unfortunately, Mr. Michael regretted not having insured the goods in his shop, adding that “I have a transaction with one of the banks, and insured some of my goods to the tune of N6 million.”
He, however, said the insurance company had agreed to pay him over N1 million.
Continuing he said. “I am an agent to Amtex Textiles in Lagos, and they supply goods to me on credit. I offloaded three containers of goods on Sunday. Each container is worth N38 million. With the stock already in the shop, it comes to over N100 million.”
A forensic investigation would have been carried out to ascertain the cause of the fire. Reconstruction work is ongoing at the site as the shop owners are rebuilding their shops, as they are unwilling to wait for the government.
One of the traders said:, “I cannot wait for government or the landlords because I did not get a good answer from them.”
Mr. Daniel alleged that the fire outbreak occurred after a misunderstanding between the traders and the management
“That afternoon, we had a misunderstanding with the management that asked us to take in all the wares we displayed outside our shops. Consequently, they took four bundles from Chinedu’s shop and three rolls from Mr. Kingsley’s shop. We took in our wares, even though there was an exchange of words.
“It was a few minutes to 11:00 p.m. when my pastor called me to know where I was. He told me to leave everything I was doing and go to the market; that my shop was on fire. I had to leave for the market. I was unable to get a bike at that time, so I ran a long distance before getting a bike.
“By the time I reached the market, all the shops had been burnt; my cash, wares; everything. I had withdrawn over N1 million, Chinedu withdrew about N5 million that day, another neighbour had a little over N500, 000 cash in our respective saves; all burnt. Also, my share certificates, business registration certificate, and other documents were burnt,” he said.
Giving an estimate of his loss, Mr. Daniel Damian said: “Chinedu’s stock was estimated at over N100 million, mine is a little over N80 million.” He, however, admitted that neither he nor his colleagues had insurance cover. “We don’t have Insurance cover,” he said.
Pleading for assistance, Daniel said: “We appeal to the government for help, as most of the goods are not even ours, but bought on credit. There is nothing I am doing now; I have only N500 on me.”
Speaking on behalf of the authorities of the market, the Iyaloja of the market; whose shop is a stone throw from the affected building, stated that the cause of the fire was “a mystery, and only God knows what happened.”
The Oyo State Commissioner for Trade and Investment; Princess Taibat Adeyemi -Agaba said: “I heard about the fire outbreak and sent my Personal Assistant (PA) to visit the place the next morning to see what happened.
“Early this week, I sent my Special Adviser (SA) there to get feedback so that we know how to come in in terms of help. I have also spoken to the Facilities Manager, with a view to seeing how we can intervene in the matter, even though the affected people have not made any formal request to the government. We are currently looking at how government can intervene although there are no specifics yet.”
Daniel appealed to the government and public-spirited individuals for help to enable them survive.
He said: “I don’t even know where to start from, because even government is finding it difficult to pay salaries. I am appealing to government and well-meaning Nigerians to help us. I am 47 years old, who will employ me now?”
