Outrageous! 600 killed, 11,000 shops destroyed following market fires
– About 600 people have been killed from market fires between December 2010 and March 26, 2016
– Authorities say 49 major markets have been burnt and over 11,000 shops destroyed within the same duration
– Nigerian traders have called on the government to take an active part in restoring destroyed markets
A report has revealed that 600 persons were killed, 49 major markets burnt and over 11, 000 shops were destroyed between December 1, 2010 and March 26, 2016.
The incidents recorded span between the fire at Minna shopping complex in Niger state in December 1, 2010 till the Birnin Kebbi central market which was burnt on March 26, 2016)
According to the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), there have been 16 fire incidents in 2016 so far, including three in Kano, two in Ibadan and another on Wednesday at the Ikom Main Market in Calabar.
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File photo: About 49 major markets have been destroyed in Nigeria between December 2010 and March 26, 2016.
President of the association, Barrister Kenneth Ukaoha, made this disclosure in Abuja, on Wednesday, March 30, at an emergency meeting of the association.
He noted that that “Apart from the loss of lives and property worth over N3tr, none of the affected markets had insurance coverage, about 85 percent of the fire incidents was said to have been caused by electricity surge and associated problems, only about 12 percent of the incidents attracted government sympathy and of the promises made by the visiting government officials, only about three percent was fulfilled.
“Yet traders in Nigeria contribute the nation’s second largest revenue earnings from import duties and sundry taxes/levies after oil,” Ukaoha said.
READ ALSO: May God restore your losses – Buhari consoles victims of Kano, Kebbi market fires
He added: “Most importantly is that many lives have been irretrievably lost in market infernos with no serious investigation carried out at least to forestall future occurrences. These leave us to question the presence, the existence and the role of government. NANTS conducted a census and analysis of market fires across the country spanning over 10 years.”
He said the most shameful and annoying finding was that Nigeria has had more market fires during civilian rule than under military regimes. Stressing that though the provisions of the 4th schedule of the 1999 constitution placed markets under the control of local government authorities, the federal government cannot watch the councils mismanage the opportunity as the nation lost over N5.3trillion to market fires between May 1999 and March 2016.
In the same vein, a mysterious wildfire has engulfed a major fruit market in Gombe state. Alhaji Suleiman Mai Kusa, the Chairman of Gombe Traders and Artisans Association said the inferno, started at about 2:15 am on Tuesday, March 29. Goods worth millions were lost in the fire, Mai Kusa stressed.
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