OLA AJAYI, IBADAN

The fire that gutted some parts of Bodija International market in Ibadan understandably left most traders in the big market very devastated. For them, it was a fire disaster too many.

They were done with the day’s sales and had gone home only to have an emergency call that their shops were on fire, a development that left in its trail tears of sorrow and losses of unimaginable proportion.

Some have even attributed the incessant fire outbreaks at the market to the gods being angry with the traders. Within eight months, fire has wreaked havoc in different places within the market.

Each time a mysterious fire breaks out, goods worth millions of naira are lost. No year has passed without a part of the market getting burnt. If it is not the foodstuff section, it would be the sawmill section. Sometime last year, foodstuff sellers were the victims, followed by plank sellers.

Though, no life was lost in the latest fire outbreak which, as usual, destroyed goods worth millions of naira at Daleko area of the market, the owners of the shops and goods that were consumed by the fire are still counting their losses. This time the fire burnt the yam flour section of the market.  It started around 4am and before it could be put out about three hours later, many heavy engines, several bags of yam flour and other valuables were in ashes.

According to the Chairman, Corn Miller Association, Ibadan North Local Government, Mr. Musa Olapade, he got a call in the early hours of the fateful day that their shops were on fire, adding that before help came their way, the ravaging inferno had done its worst.

He said: “The fire started around 4am. All of us had gone home. I got a call some minutes past four that our shops were on fire. When firemen came, they complained that they had no water and we don’t have any borehole in this market.

“This is the third time between last year and now that there would be fire outbreak. We lost goods worth N1 billion. Items like big engines with each costing as much as N300,000, bags of yam flour, yam cracker, grinding machines, electric motor and many other things were destroyed by the fire”. Though the fire fighters eventually put out the fire, their response, according to him, was a bit delayed, noting if there was a fire station in the market, the fire could not have caused much havoc.

Not knowing what to do, Olapade ran to the Caretaker Chairman of the local government, Mr. Lapade Idris Babatunde, for assistance but was told he had travelled out of the town. The lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Mr. Abiodun Awoleye, had reportedly sent one of his aides to come assess the damage caused by the fire with a promise that he would do something to help them.

Olapade, however, complained bitterly that as big as the market is, there is no fire station or borehole unlike Gbagi and Aleshinloye. He pleaded with Governor Abiola Ajimobi to help them construct a fire station and a borehole to solve the problem of scarcity of water in the market.

When asked if his members did not benefit from the soft loans that the state government gave to traders in the state, he answered in the negative, adding: “That is why we are pleading with Governor Ajimobi to please help us”.

One of the victims who lost valuables to the fire, Mr. Adebowale Aderibigbe who spoke with Vanguard Metro, VM, estimated the loss he incurred at N2 million. Another victim, Mrs. Mulikat Shittu, said she lost her freezer, bottles of beer, generators and chairs all valued at N600, 000.

Aderibigbe said: “We don’t know the actual cause of the fire. It was a call that I got that alerted me and before I got here, everything, I mean everything, was in ruins. Where would I start from. This is where I earn my living. It is my entire life. There’s nothing more left. It seems the whole world has collapsed on me,” she said tearfully.

In her own words, Mrs. Shittu who initially felt reluctant to talk said: “You can see everything for yourself. When I left the shop yesterday(Tuesday), the whole shop was filled up with goods. Scores of bags of yam flour; each costs between N13,000 and N14,000. See everything is now in ashes. Oh! My God. Who should I turn to for help?”

Other victims Mr. Abass Mudashiru, Abass Mustafa, Akanbi Rilwan, Nasiru Lawal, Samuel Adesokan, Baliqs Olalekan, Idowu Saliu and Mrs. Funke Ayangade lost goods ranging from N700,000 to N3 million.

Mrs. Ayangade in her own account said all she could say was to ask the government to provide necessary facilities in the market to avert future occurrence.

As for Saliu who looked so depressed, he managed to say he lost everything to the fire but thank God that there was no casualty. He was hopeful that help would come their way through the state government which he said had shown much understanding in situations like this in the past.

None of them could say the actual cause of the fire. VM was told that it could not have been caused by high voltage because at the time started, there was power outage. They are still wondering what could have triggered the fire.

They have called on the state government for help to alleviate the pain of their losses and also ensure that there is fire station to check future occurrence.

Several phone calls made to the State Fire Department were not picked. But an official, who claimed he was not authorised to speak, said they responded promptly to the distress call. He added that if not for timely arrival of the firemen at the scene, a larger portion of the market would have been consumed by the inferno.

“You know how congested the market is. You hardly find space in-between the shops. They should be eternally grateful that we got there on time and that there was no casualty. Their call for a fire station is not out of place. It would only make our work easier,” he said.