Traders lament lack of functional fire station at Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan

Traders at the Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan have expressed displeasure over the lack of a functional fire station at the market of about 2,000 shops.

The traders expressed their discontentment while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday following Tuesday’s fire incident.

NAN reports the incident affected parts of the market, destroying goods worth millions of naira.

The affected traders, mostly dealers in plastic materials, attributed the massive destruction to the lack of a functional fire station within the market premises.

A trader, Mr Lukman Balogun, alleged that the office of the Oyo State Fire Service within the market was now being used by the traders to store their wares.

“When the fire started around 9.00 p.m. on Tuesday, we called on the Oyo State Fire Service men at the station in the market, but they told us they didn’t have equipment and had to call their headquarters.

“Before the headquarters and other fire services could arrive, the damage had become massive.

“There are about 2,000 shops in this market, and it is disheartening that there is no functional fire station in the market.

“Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State should please provide a functional fire station at this market to prevent a future occurrence,” he said.

Another victim, Mr AbdulLateef Atobatele, described the situation of the market’s fire station not having water and vehicle as unfortunate.

Atobatele said if the fire station had been functional, the situation would have been brought under control before it escalated.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Dr Moroof Akinwande, sympathised with the victims of the fire incident.

Akinwande said the agency’s officials at the market station received a distress call and immediately contacted the headquarters.

Responding to the nonavailability of functional firefighting trucks, Akinwande said the trucks could not have been everywhere.

“Hoodlums had attacked and destroyed no fewer than four of our firefighting trucks within a space of one year due to their emotions whenever fire incidents occur.

“If not for the presence of security agents here now, you would have seen people attacking and destroying our equipment, and this is really depleting our equipment,” he said.