6 hours Ago By Collins Agwam
Following the recent fire outbreak at the Tailoring Section of the Modern Market, Lafia, which destroyed no fewer than 30 shops, some victims of the incident share their experiences with COLLINS AGWAM My father and I lost N20m to Nasarawa market fire – Tailor What were you selling in the shop before it was destroyed by fire? I am a tailor by profession. My name is Musa Abdullahi, and I am one of the victims of the fire incident at the tailoring section of the modern market here in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital. How old are you? I’m 29 years old.
Are you married? No, I am not. Do you know how many shops got burnt during the inferno? At least 30 shops were completely burnt down in the market as a result of the fire disaster. So, can you narrate what happened on that day? The fire suddenly began at about 9:30pm last week Thursday but nobody could figure out the remote cause of the incident.
I was already at home with my family. We were getting ready to sleep when I received phone calls that my shop had been gutted by fire. I was shocked about the situation.
At first, I did not know what to do but summoned courage and proceeded to the market where I saw things for myself. What was your observation when you got to the scene of the incident? I observed that some parts of the shops where the fire started were built with wood. The nature of the wood used in constructing the shops was why the inferno escalated to other shops in the market.
Seventy per cent of the shops gutted by fire are the ones with 40 new sewing machines that were brought to our tailoring section on Thursday morning before the incident that happened later that day. My shop was burnt down during the inferno and two other shops belonging to my father were also burnt down. Apart from the tailoring shops gutted by the fire, clothes, and shoes shops close to the area were involved in the fire incident as their shops were destroyed by the fire.
But what do you think ignited the fire? I think it is the refuse dump close to the shops. It is very close to the shops, there used to be a heap of refuse. Almost all shops around the area dump their refuse there.
The people responsible for packing the refuse came that very day to park it but they parked only a small quantity and left the rest. The refuse contributed to fuelling the fire during the incident. During the fire incident, did the state or Federal Fire Service come to put out the fire? Yes, they came but did so at a very late hour when everything was almost destroyed.
Our shops and goods were already burnt down when they arrived and started making efforts to put out the fire. If the firefighters had come to the scene of the incident on time, the inferno would have been brought under control. Their coming was of little or no effect on us because the fire had destroyed a lot of things when they arrived.
We waited for the firefighters for over an hour. It was after the damage had been done that they came with their tank water. When they came, they struggled for several hours in the night to put out the fire but all their efforts to ensure that they brought the situation under control proved abortive.
The fire continued until the following morning of Friday before they finally put it out between 8am and 9:15am. What is your message to the traders in the market? I will, therefore, call on all traders in the market to be extraordinarily careful with the way and manner they use their electrical appliances while in the market, especially during the current harmattan season because, until this moment, we are yet to be sure of the actual reason for the fire outbreak. How much are the items you lost to the fire disaster? I managed three shops in the market.
One is for me while two are for my father. For mine, I lost goods worth about N5m while my father lost goods of at least N15m. In total, we lost N20m worth of goods to the fire outbreak.
So, will the current situation affect you in any way? My father is of age, and I am the one taking full responsibility for the family now. My siblings, my elder ones, and the female ones; because of the fire incident, we sold one of our property to ensure that we have food to eat. Since the fire incident, has the government been able to intervene? Yes, the Nasarawa State Government is trying to assist us because a day after the incident, Governor Abdullahi Sule came to the place, and saw everything by himself.
So, he directed that we should make a list of the items we lost to the fire and submit it (list) to him for swift action, and we have done that through the Commissioner for Commerce. Now, we are waiting for their response. Our heartfelt prayer is that everything will come out the way we expect.
Even though we do not expect 100 per cent help from the state government, we are optimistic that the government under Governor Abdullahi Sule will help us with something tangible that will ease our losses. Market fire has left my 20 children, 35 grandchildren starving – 85-year-old tailor How old are you? I am Shehu Darda’u. I am 85 years old.
I’m a popular tailor in this modern market here in Lafia. What happened that fateful day? Related News FG converts Nasarawa forest reserve into national park Family accuses Army of detaining Miyetti Allah leader in Nasarawa Nasarawa lost N6.5bn property to fire in one year - Official I was at home with my family when I was informed that my shop was on fire.
I tried to come out to see things for myself, but my wife stopped me, saying that my children would go there to handle the situation and give me feedback. I was later informed by my children that the shop was completely burnt before they got there, and they could not rescue anything from the shop. How many children do you have? I have 20 children and 35 grandchildren.
I have been supporting them for many years now, especially those who do not have jobs. Now that this sad situation has happened, I do not know what to do because, for some days since the sad incident occurred, I have not been able to buy food items in my house. My children and grandchildren who are living with me are almost starving.
As I speak now, even my wives can no longer get the upkeep money that I regularly give to them. The situation I find myself at this moment is terrible. How much worth of items would you say you lost to the inferno? The goods in my shop that I lost to the fire incident are up to N2.
5m. I used all my savings to stock up the shop because of the Christmas and New Year season. I never knew that something tragic like this would happen to us in this tailoring section of the market.
Apart from the tailoring business, are you into any other kind of business? No, I am not. When I was much younger, I used to farm a lot as a support for my business so that I would not have to spend much on buying food items. But now that I am old, I do not have much strength again for farming.
That explains why I decided to invest all my money in my shop by buying fabrics and other clothing materials I was selling, and now I am left with nothing. So, what is your call on the government? I am calling on the Nasarawa State Government and good-spirited individuals to come to our aid and support us in this trying time for us to be able to continue with our respective businesses. Fire incident rendered us helpless – Fabric seller What was your occupation at the Lafia modern market before it was razed by fire? I am a tailor; I also sell fabrics.
My name is Abubakar Salihu. Tell us your experience of the market fire incident. The fire started all of a sudden.
The painful part of it was that it started in the night when every one of us had already left the market for our homes. It was a sad development. I have been in this market for 10 years and I have never experienced such a thing where over 30 shops got burnt at the same during a fire outbreak.
The obvious thing that could have caused the fire outbreak is the refuse dump close to our shops. We do not have any other clue as to how the fire started. What did you lose in your shop to the fire incident? When I made the calculations, I observed that I lost goods worth N5m during the fire outbreak.
My father and my brothers, whose shops were also burnt down, lost about 15m to the sad incident. Since the day it happened, we have not been ourselves because we have been thinking of how we will survive the harsh realities of life without having any source of income. The shock of the fire incident that wrecked my father’s shop affected him to the point that he could no longer see well with his eyes.
We were told that it was because he was already getting old and was not supposed to experience such kind of incident. What is your call on the government? We are calling on the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, to help us out of this situation. As of now, we are helpless, so we need all the help that we can get from the government and good-spirited individuals in society.
I lost over N2m goods to inferno – Tailors’ union chair You are one of the leaders of the market union. How many shops were you operating at the market before fire razed the property? I’m Hassan Sidi. I am the Chairman of the Tailoring section of this market.
I have two wives and five children. I have three shops in this area which have been razed by fire. Tell us your experience of the fire incident.
What happened was that I was somewhere around town when I received a call that the tailoring shops were on fire. When I got the information, I immediately ran to the market to see how to control the situation, but the fire was already too much when I arrived. How did the fire outbreak start? We do not know how the fire started but we were told that the fire could have started from the refuse dump close to our shops.
What did you lose to the fire incident? The goods I lost to the fire are worth about N2.5m. I had several kinds of fabrics in the shop and even ordered some new ones recently before the fire incident.
All my investments got burnt in the shop. I could not rescue anything on that fateful day because of the intense heat from the fire. Do you have any other source of livelihood? Tailoring and selling fabrics are only what I do for a living.
All my investments are in the shop that got burnt. I have children in school who are dependent on me for their fees and other necessary things, but with what has happened, I do not know how I will be able to take care of my family any longer. I sincerely need the help of the government and good Nigerian citizens.
What is the government doing about the situation? Governor Abdullahi Sule was here to see the extent of destruction caused by the fire and he promised to help us out of the situation. Apart from financial support, we also hope that the government will help us rebuild the market as soon as possible so we can have a place to do our business when we receive financial support..
