•Only those with genuine documents ‘ll return – Lagos govt
Disaster struck Thursday night, as fire razed down the entire
Ifelodun Plank Market located at Ketu, Lagos. No life was, however,
lost. The fire was said to have started hours after the market had
closed for the day. The fire, which started about 9pm, was said to have
spread quickly throughout the market, threatening surrounding
residential buildings. This happened before the fire service personnel
got to the scene. It is not clear as to what could have caused the
outbreak. According to an eyewitness and a resident who identified
himself as Ganiu Banire: “The fire started at about 9pm. We tried to
help out, but the market was under lock and key.
Even when the firefighters arrived, they had to forcefully break down
the door as the security men mysteriously disappeared. The fire raged
till about 5am when it was contained by the firefighters.” Meanwhile,
the chairman of Ifelodun Plank Market Association, Alhaji Aliyu Bello,
lamented that the mystery behind the fire could be traced to an age-long
tussle between the traders and the local government. “The fire started
around 9.30pm. We rushed down here but it was so much that the fire
service could not gain entry to the area on time. The way it escalated
makes the fire suspicious. I am not surprised that this happened because
there has been a tussle on the ownership of the land between the local
government and we the traders for some years now.”
Weeping profusely, one of the shop owners, who identified himself as
Salami, lamented that he was still recovering from a similar disaster
that happened two years ago. “I lost everything in 2010 and government
did nothing to help us. I had no choice but to borrow from the bank to
continue my business and I’m yet to offset my bill. The local government
has tried severally to take control of this market but we refused. They
have succeeded because they are aware that most of us do not have
Certificates of Occupany. I am finished,” he sobbed. On what could have
caused the fire, Salami alleged that it would not be put beyond the
government, saying that government must have conspired with the security
men to set the market on fire. “They were supposed to be around, but on
this very day, they were nowhere to be found. It was planned.”
Narrating his ordeal, Ismail Aliu, who sells building materials at
the market, said: “I was at home when I received a call that the market
was on fire. I thought it was a part of the market that was on fire, but
when I got here, I found out that it affected all the shops and there
was no way we could get our goods out because the place was under lock
and key.” Also accusing government, the Chief Imam of Ifelodun Central
Mosque, said Agboyi Ketu LCDA is a suspect in this matter. According to
him, the local government had approached the traders, informing them of
its intention to re-model the market, but the traders refused. “Now they
have burnt down the market so that they will do it by force and sell
the market,” he said.
The mosque was also burnt. He, however, maintained that the traders
would resist government take-over of the market. Another resident, who
identified himself as Peter Agbor, also blamed the government for the
inferno. “Why is it that in Lagos State any that market gets burnt, what
we see next is the government taking over the market? It is a question
we should ask ourselves? People are suffering. I know some people that
have more than eight shops here. What is their fate now? I repeat, why
is it that markets in Lagos State get burnt and the next thing we see is
the government taking over the market and start selling per-square
metre at N200,000 like what happened in Tejuosho market? The question
is, is this not planned, because when the fire broke out, the security
men were nowhere to be found?”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Wale Ahmed, who
visited the scene, said that the site would be cordoned off to prevent
collateral damage or secondary problem and prevent people from
endangering their lives. Dr Wale, who stated this while addressing the
marketers, also promised that government would return the land to those
who can produce documents of rightful ownership. “There is no discussion
on demolition or anything at the moment. The main concern is to put out
the fire. It would be cordoned off, fumigated, graded and levelled.
What would happen to the site is not an issue for now; we are just
concerned about putting the site in order for now. “We have instituted a
lot of regime of fire safety but sometimes, no matter what precaution
we put in place, accidents still happen.
We still don’t know what caused this fire. That would be revealed in
the investigation we would carry out,” he promised. Director of Lagos
State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, told reporters that it was their
timely intervention that prevented the fire from spreading to
residential buildings. “We got there few minutes after the fire started
and you know the rate at which planks burn. When we arrived there, we
discovered that the fire was seriously raging. I immediately dispatched
two vehicles, which they told me were not enough. I then sent another
three to help out. “I had to bring vehicles from other stations to
complement the efforts of the ones that were on ground. The challenge we
met here made it impossible for our men to reduce the extent of damage.
My men were manhandled by people who were struggling that their own
axis be attended to first. It was the timely intervention of our men
that stopped the fire from spreading to residential buildings.” It could
be recalled that the market witnessed a nasty fire outbreak in August
2010.
SUN
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