By Suleiman Shehu

Traders in Aleshinloye Market, Ibadan, whose shops were razed by Tuesday night’s fire incident, have started counting their losses and calling for government assistance.

The traders expressed their sadness and call for assistance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday.

One of the victims, Mrs Rukayat AbdulLateef, said that two of her shops, with over N50 million worth of goods, were consumed by the fire.

“I just bought about N5.4 million worth of goods in my two shops on Thursday, 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 from Thursday.

“I don’t know where to start now,” she said

Another victim, Alhaja Toyeebat Bello, said the fire affected her 10 shops with goods worth over N70 million.

“I got the information about the fire on Tuesday night but couldn’t come down at that time. On getting to the market, I discovered that all my 10 shops were affected.

“What we have been hearing before is that government wanted to demolish Aleshinloye Market, and we have been appealing to them, not knowing that this kind of thing will happen,” she said.

A father to one of the victims, Mr Joseph Abiodun, said that her daughter, Kudirat, had been hospitalised as a result of the incident.

Abiodun said that due to the late arrival of the state fire service, the fire, which started in one of the shops, spread to others.

“The Oyo State Fire Service, located in the market, could not come to our aid because they said they had no water and fire-fighting trucks.

“Firefighters from Foodco and Sumal companies later came to the rescue, although the state fire service later joined them,” he said.

He called on the government to assist the victims, adding that many of them may die without assistance.

One of the members of the market’s taskforce and also a victim, Sodiq Oloriade, said he lost all his goods to the fire.

“The destruction may not have been as massive had the state fire station in the market worked. I think that an electric surge caused the fire,” he said

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Dr Moroof Akinwande, sympathising with the affected traders, said they got information of the fire at about 10.00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Akinwande said the agency’s personnel swung immediately into action and had been able to put the fire under control by Wednesday morning.

Addressing the issue of the market’s fire station not having fire-fighting trucks and water, he said the trucks could not be everywhere.

Akinwande said most of the trucks had been vandalised by people who usually attack their personnel while on duty to extinguish fire incidents.

He, therefore, urged the public to control their emotions.

Akinwande said the incident, however, claimed no life.

NAN reports the presence of security agencies to prevent breakdown of law and order. (NAN)