Ife Market Inferno: Traders still groan, cry for assistance

Traders at Oja Tuntun (New Market) in Ile-ife Osun State are still groaning in pain barely a week after they lost their goods and shops to fire outbreak.

Most of them who still hang around the market without nothing to sell and are calling on government at all levels for assistance.

The traders lamented that they lost all they had including the loan they took recently to the inferno.

While narrating her ordeal, Mrs. Ololade Oyeleye, a textile dealer at Oja-tuntun, Odo-ogbe which caught fire on 1st of December, 2020 lamented that she has lost everything she had to the inferno

“I learnt about it on the second day, that is Wednesday, when I got there I was almost fainting. Because I didn’t see anything here again. Everything has perished. Nothing is left, everything has burnt to ashes. It was very scary. I m a textile dealer here. I sell in bulk. I had too two big shops here.

“In the two shops I lost nothing less than 16 million. When this Christmas was coming we went to borrow 5 million from our people. We have used it to buy wares. We bought different textile materials, laces, Ankara and so on just because Christmas is coming we had to have better material in the shop”, she groaned.

Mrs. Oyeleye blamed the extent of the damage on inability of fire service to quench the inferno just as she called on government at all levels to come to their aid.

“They said the fire started from on shop and don’t even know. All this fire brigade people when they came they couldn’t do anything. They said there was no water and other materials to quench the fire.

“My demand from all tiers of government. They should help us, have mercy on us. All the money is not ours, we may have small but we borrowed plenty of money to join what we had and to pay the money back is not easy for us. If we get somewhere to sell again, with time we know will recover. First thing they should help us rebuild this place to standard. If we have little things we will begin again. They should consider those of us that suffered the loss” Oyeleye appealed.

Another victim, Mrs. Chinyere keke who sells shoes and bag in her account of the fire outbreak said “It stated in the night at 11pm. With didn’t know how the fire broke out. We didn’t have water within the market. We need fire fighter around here.

“Government should please help us because we took loan to buy the goods. As we are, some took loan from LAPO. Like me now, I borrowed 4 million, some are more than that. Old women and old papa are here. I sell shoes, bag and wears. I just went to Lagos to buy the goods. Even pin I did take out of the fire”.

Meanwhile, Chairman, lfe Central local government, Hon. Yera Elugbaju in an interview with newsmen said, the state government had concluded plans to rebuild the market even before the fire outbreak.

“Immediately we reported to our Governor. The Governor swung into action because there was already a plan to rebuilt the market. The governor has assured us that the project will commence very soon.

“He has called those people that will build the market. The project consultant has come here from Abuja to look at the place. The architectural drawing and survey are already in place. The construction could have started if not because of the coronavirus pandemic”.

Hon. Elugbaju also assured the victims of government’s assistance, with the visit of the Commissioner for commerce and cooperative, Bode and officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

“The NEMA has inspected extent of the damage of the fire outbreak. They sympathise with the victims. The collated data data of property lost and assured the victims of Federal Government assistance. We thank God that no life was lost”, Hon. Elugbaju said.