Thousands of residents of Oko Baba Community,
Ebute Meta, Lagos have been displaced after fire gutted over 50 shanties in the
area on Tuesday.
Our correspondent, who visited the area on
Wednesday, learnt that sawmill equipment worth millions of naira were also
destroyed in the fire which lasted over two hours.
The cause of the inferno could not be ascertained
but it was learnt that the fire spread rapidly because the shanties and shops
in the area were built with wood.
It was also learnt that some residents were
involved in selling of petrol and might have stored the product in area.
A member of the Agbajowo Community Development
Association, Mr. Abiodun Ajimuda, said he and his family had resorted to
sleeping in the open since there was nowhere else to go.
“I have eight children and two wives and we
lost all our belongings to the fire. In fact, the only thing that we could
salvage were the clothes on our backs,” he said.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the state
government had during the administration of former Governor Bola Tinubu resolved
to re-develop the area in line with the Lagos Mega City project.
Ajimuda urged the state government to help them
in erecting concrete buildings or relocate them.
“If the government can even give us loans, we
will build standard houses with cement or even relocate,” Ajimuda said.
Sawmill operators seemed to be the most affected
as they lost equipment and planks worth millions of naira.
A sawmill owner, Mrs. Mercy Williams, said she
lost a big generator and other machines.
She said, “On February 6, 2010, there was a fire
outbreak and I lost my generator. I bought another 230KVA generator at the
price of N2.5m and that has been destroyed as well. I also lost sharpening
machine and over 500 pieces of wood as well as many other machines, sadly they
were not insured.
“One of my workers fainted after sustaining an
electric shock but was revived later.”
Williams lamented that fire outbreak had become a
usual occurrence in the area and stressed the need to separate the residents
from the sawmills.
Another sawmill operator, Alhaji Saheed Bello,
said he lost about N7.2m worth of equipment and goods to the fire.
South-West Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency
Management Agency, Iyiola Akande, said about 50 shanties were consumed in the
fire, rendering about 3,500 people homeless.
He said, “There was a lot of damage done as 3,500
people have been displaced from their houses
“We have met with the representatives of the
victims, the landlords, we have also determined the extent which is about 3,000
square meters of land and 50 shanties that were before now home to people.
“We are now going back to wrap up our report and
make recommendations about the people’s needs for immediate rehabilitation. The
cause of the fire is neither here nor there as we are not sure 100 percent.
“However, we gathered that electricity was
available that time and that the fire started from a particular machine which
was completely burnt down. We were told that the fire sparked and it started
spreading instantly.”
Akande warned members of the public to be very
careful with fire especially during the harmattan season.
PUNCH
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