With the current population expansion in Nigeria and Kano State in particular, issues around the safety of lives and property in crowded areas like markets have been a major source of concern.
Findings by Daily Trust on Sunday revealed that courses of fire incidents in major markets in Kano seem to be multifaceted. While many believe that the bulk of the blame lies with the state’s authorities, others are of the view that the business community has a strong portion of the blame.
For decades, lives and property worth billions of naira have been lost due to preventable calamities that have befell some markets in the state due to issues related with congestion and poor structural planning.
The recent fire that destroyed 42 temporary shops at the ancient Kurmi Market is one out of many in the history of market calamities that have occurred over the years.
The fire has been regarded as a litmus test that indicates the danger akin to all Kano markets linked to factors that range from laxity on the markets’ managements or to government.
Records have shown that since 2016 when the state witnessed the devastating Sabon Gari Market fire that destroyed goods estimated at over N2tn and burnt over 3,800 shops, not much has been learnt or done to prevent subsequent outbreaks.
The Sabon Gari Market fire which left the state’s business community devastated, was described as a sad commentary on the nation’s market administration and disaster prevention mechanism.
Though it was reported that the fire started in the night when there was nobody in the market, poor structure planning, as well as ineffective fire services have been pegged as the major reasons behind the fire’s long duration before it was put off.
Similarly, in February, 2019, the state recorded another incident when fire destroyed 70 temporary shops at the ‘Yan Katako Market in Rijayar Lemo area. 30 of the affected shops were razed down while 40 were slightly burnt.
For the recent Kurmi Market fire incident, 38 improvised shops were razed down and four permanent shops slightly affected.
The market is said to be the oldest market in the state with an old setting with slight structural modification.
A businessman at the market, Alhaji Umar Bello, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the fire affected the books-selling section of the market, adding that for decades the market had shown signs that needed restructuring.
Alhaji Umar said, “The market still maintains its original setting of hundreds of years, and with the population growth, especially that of Kano State, coupled with business diversification, the market has been showing signs that there is a need for restructuring of its structures.
“The market is in dire need of a spacious road network that will allow for easy access to all parts, especially during emergencies.”
Alhaji Umar also attributed the inability of the authorities to embark on any meaningful restructuring of the market to the conservative nature of the marketers, adding that authorities at different levels had tried to modify the market but failed.
The state government, it was gathered, had made several attempts to remodel the largest textile market in West Africa, popularly known as Kantin Kwari Textile Market, but along the line the traders felt that they were at the risk of losing their means of livelihood, hence that they protested in their hundreds against the move.
However, despite the protest that greeted the move by government, construction of new shops on the major access road in Kantin Kwari Textile Market continued.
This is even as the traders at the ever-busy textile market insist that the construction work is ill-conceived, illegal and a bad omen to business development in the market, as well as the safety of the marketers and their property, calling on the government and other stakeholders to wade in.
Investigations revealed that the construction of the stalls is being carried out by different individuals who have gotten approval from authorities in the state.
A visit to the market revealed several stalls under construction in the middle of the Umaru Ta’ambo Road, one of the access roads in the market, and this, according to the marketers, has made movement difficult because the space that remains for movement is very narrow.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman of the Small and Medium Scale Traders Association in the market, Alhaji Balarabe Tatari, said the construction of stalls on the Umaru Ta’ambo Road had generated much concern within the market community.
He said the construction would deny access to businesses and shops, adding that it would also make movement of vehicles and goods impossible around the area, as well as block emergency vehicles such as fire vehicles.
The chairman further said they consulted the fire service and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, and that both of them advised against the construction of the stalls on the access road in the market for safety of lives and property.
He explained that the association had also written to the Kano State Emirate Council, the House of Assembly, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Kwari Market, among other stakeholders on the issue.
Similarly, the spokesman of the Kantin Kwari Market Traders Association, Malam Aminu Garba, said traders were opposed to the constructions on the access road not because they were against the state’s authorities, but because they cared about the safety of their lives and property.
One of the traders, Malam Deeni Muhammad, pointed out that Layin Ta’ambo was designed to be one of the routes for the transportation of goods and services in and out of the market, as well as to serve as access to fire service in the event of fire outbreak.
It was also gathered that at a point, when the state government wanted to wade into the markets management affairs, the leadership of Kantin Kwari Market Trader’s Association alleged that the association was excluded in the process, and as such called on the authorities to consider members of the market before passing into law the “Kantin Kwari Market Cooperation Bill” sponsored by the state government.
The Chairman of the association, Ambassador Sharif Sagir Wada, revealed that the said bill, which was an executive bill, ought to have included the directly affected marketers operating in the market as was meant to address issues related to them.
Similarly, issues bordering serious congestion in almost all of the major markets have been viewed in some quarters of the state’s business community as a positive development for the state being the Centre for Commerce. However, the issue according to many businessmen and the perceived development lacks professional inputs and as such had no consideration for the safety of people and property.
According to a Kano-based international businessman, Alhaji Ibraheem Abdullahi Black, the Kano State business community is more or less operating like an informal sector without much regulation guiding it.
He explained that most of the business people had been travelling out of the country and that they must have seen how businesses were being operated.
He, therefore, advised that there was a need for a shift from the primitive manner in which businesses were being operated in the state’s major markets to more modern ways that would ensure growth and productivity, hence translating to more revenue for the state and more gain to operators.
Commenting on the development, the spokesperson of the state fire service, Saminu Abdullahi, said the fire service had been very instrumental in rendering professional advice to the markets, especially on issues related to safety amid population growth, adding that most of the markets had fire service offices.
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