Traders count losses as fire razes Aleshinloye market

It was a sorrowful sight yesterday as traders took stock of their losses following the Wednesday fire incident at the Aleshinloye Market, Ibadan. The fire, which broke out at midnight, left the trails of losses, wailing and anguish.

It was gathered that many traders lost multiple shops in the inferno, leaving traders and other people in the neighbourhood devastated. Traders at the popular Alesinloye market in Ibadan South West local government area lost goods worth millions to the fire.

The Guardian gathered that a woman lost 15 shops in the conflagration. Witnesses said the fire would have been contained if the fire service centre in the market was functional.

“See fire centre here but no water, no trucks. Nothing is working! We don’t have a government presence here, all they do is just to collect money and tax from us,” a witness lamented.

Also, some traders said the Oyo State Fire Service did not respond on time on account of lack of water in their vehicles. They expressed sadness and called for assistance while speaking with reporters in Ibadan on Wednesday. One of the victims, Rukayat AbdulLateef, said the fire consumed two shops with over N50 million worth of goods.

“I just bought about N5.4 million worth of goods in my two shops on Thursday last week, and I have some goods left there before restocking because we don’t normally finish selling the previous goods before restocking.

“I borrowed money to buy the goods in those shops, and I am yet to sell up to N1 million goods. I don’t know where to start now,” she said. Another victim, Toyeebat Bello, said the fire affected her 10 shops with goods worth over N70 million.

“We can’t lay our finger on the cause or the number of shops affected right now. Security operatives are on ground trying to figure out what happened. This will enable us to prepare for the future,” another victim said. Also, a victim, Mrs Juliana Atobatele said: “ I lost three shops and about N7 million naira. All my goods have gone.”

However, a witness, Muideen Azeez said the fire was caused by an electric spark in a shop where plastics are sold.

“The fire started in the shop and caught the goods that were offloaded off a trailer and spread to other shops,” Azeez said. He said first responders tried to contain the fire to no avail.

Another trader said: “Government should come to our aid and rescue us.” Speaking, the General Manager of Oyo State Fire Service, Mr Yemi Akinyinka said men of the agency were still working at the market. He said: “My men are currently working at Aleshinloye market. We thank the management of SWEETCO for releasing their truck and men. Very massive.

“We are grateful to Sumal for releasing their crew to the scene. We are eternally grateful to them and SWEETCO.

“The management cannot respond to the individual’s questions now due to logistics.” Speaking on the incident yesterday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said over 1000 shops were razed in the incident.

The Assistant Head of Operations, Ibadan Operations Office of NEMA, Mr Olanrewaju Kazeem Akinade disclosed this during the on-the-spot assessment at the market. Akinade said: “We are doing an on-the-spot assessment. The level of devastation is too much. Over one thousand shops were affected.

“We have mobilised stakeholders but people are angry and aggrieved. The traders have registered their names. The Federal Government will try its best to assist them.”