Though Nigeria has no record of major natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or wildfire which are regular occurrences in other countries of the world, the country has seen unfortunate and devastating incidents caused mainly by human error or negligence.
One of such incidents is firefire which has affected markets more than other places in the country. The frequency of market fires is such that between January 2022 and March 2023, which is about 15 months, 54 market fire incidents were recorded across the country.
Read also: Properties worth millions lost as fire breaks out at Mandilas
By reason of its complex nature and also for being the country’s commercial nerve centre, Lagos tops the list of affected states with eight incidents. It is followed by Anambra five, Kano five, while Kwara, Osun, Yobe, and Rivers States recorded three incidents each.
Ebonyi, Taraba, Federal Capital Territory, Cross River, Delta, and Abia, had two incidents each while Ekiti, Borno, Adamawa, Edo, Ibadan, Imo, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Jigawa, Kebbi, Niger, and Enugu had one incident each.
The latest of these fire incidents happened in Lagos just a week ago when the 14-floor Mandilas building on Broad Street, Lagos Island, went up in flames, leaving about 6,700 traders who lost their goods to the fire empty and confused as to where to go and what to do next.
Ibrahim Farinloye, the Lagos State Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), who disclosed this to newsmen, added that 450 shops, 30 offices, two hotels, and five restaurants were destroyed by the impact of the fire.
To avert losses of this magnitude in future, experts have put forward a number of measures that both the government and traders in the markets across the country need to put in place.
Build fire stations: According to the experts, government should build fire stations in the market. Expectation here is that response in case of any emergency will be swift and timely, leading to the safety of life and property.
“We have seen cases where fire men come several hours after calling them and this is because they are not always near the scene of the incident or they are held up in traffic as in the case of Lagos. These men are supposed to be the first responders but more often than not, they are not,” Francis Oledibe, a public affairs commentator, said.
Fire extinguishers in every shop: Oledibe added that market associations should enforce a law that mandates every shop to have fire-extinguisher that should be deployed immediately there is an incident. This will serve as first aid to such incidents.
Accessible roads to markets: Most times, the reason losses to market fire are of great magnitude is because roads to the markets are not accessible. Government should build roads that could allow for free vehicular movements in case of emergency.
In Lagos, most roads are clogged and made impassable by trading activities which are done in defiance to extant laws that prohibit street trading. Government finds it difficult to enforce this law because street trading is a major source of revenue. It is also given out as “job for the boys.”
In some cases, buildings cannot be accessed because of other buildings which have been developed without regard to physical planning laws and regulation of developments.
Incidents like the Mandilas building fire make it necessary for the government to take physical planning and building regulations seriously. Regulation, according to Hakeem Oguniran, CEO, Eximia Realty Company, is very important in real estate investment, transaction and development.
He explained that it creates the framework for aligning the interests of the primary and secondary participants in the real estate value chain, and also sets the standards for compliance and instituting the penal regime for infractions and breaches.
“Regulation is important for establishing the institutional framework for the implementation of extant laws and subsequent reviews and amendments. It enforces compliance with ethical, professional and other industry standards and eliminates sharp practices and misconduct,” he explained further.
CCTV for every shop: This is to track whatever happens in and around the market. The fire in the Mandilas building has been traced to welding activities around the building. With CCTV, this could have been detected early enough before it spread as it did, destroying many shops and offices.
Punishment for culprits: To avert more market fire incidents, it has been suggested that anyone found guilty of perpetrating acts that lead to such incidents must be punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
Just because of fire coming from a welding point where construction was going on to attach a new structure to the building, many people’s lives will not remain the same again as that incident has destroyed all they have been labouring for in so many years.
“I sell clothes in this building and my goods were affected. I can’t even quantify the loss that I have incurred from this incident. I am devastated at this moment. Do you know how many goods have been lost to this fire?” one of the traders was quoted as saying.
Continuing, the trader disclosed that, “by the time they were able to contain the fire, it had spread to the 7th floor with several goods destroyed, mine inclusive. I cannot even be talking about the loss. One of us, Agu, lost goods worth almost a billion naira. He owns an entire floor in this building.”
