Traders in Sokoto Central Market have been thrown into confusion and sadness as they lost their goods to fire. Some of them who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday recounted their losses and appealed to the state government to come to their aid.
When traders in Sokoto Central Market closed for the day on Monday, they did not anticipate any calamity, thus some of them kept the proceeds of the day in their shops, hoping to take them to the bank the following morning. But their hopes were dashed by a fire that gutted the market on Tuesday.
Although the cause of the fire is not yet known, a firefighter who spoke to Daily Trust on Sunday linked it to a generating set. It started around 7am and raged for over 10 hours despite the combined efforts of the federal and state fire service to put it off.
According to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, 60 per cent of the 16,000 shops were razed and an unascertained number of properties were destroyed.
It was learnt that those trading in jewellery, cosmetics, clothing materials, plastic items, secondhand cloths, shoes, agro-allied products, books, bicycles, spare parts and sewing materials were mostly affected.
Alhaji Kasimu Ruche, one of the leading dealers in clothing materials, said he lost everything, including an unspecified amount of money, as all his shops were burnt.
He said that before the incident, over 50 people worked for him, and many of them have families they cater for.
He noted that only God knew the number of people that were affected by the disaster, adding that many of them would not come back to the market unless they get support from government.
It was learnt that this is not the first time such an incident would be recorded in the market. In 2006, the entire market was razed by fire. It was, however, rebuilt during the administration of former Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko.
Ruche, who has been trading in the market for over 40 years, said the recent disaster was more devastating than the one recorded in 2006 because that year, most of the traders were able to salvage their goods, which was not the case this time.
The contract to build the market was awarded in the early 1970s by the then military governor of the state, Umaru Muhammad. It was completed by the first civilian governor of the state, Alhaji Shehu Kangiwa. The late President Shehu Shagari was said to be the chairman of the Sokoto Urban Development Agency, now Sokoto Urban and Regional Development Planning Board when the contract was awarded.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the market was built on land donated by Sultan Abubakar III.
Ruche called on the state government to allow the affected traders rebuild their shops, saying that closing the market would compound their situation.
“The market is the biggest in this region. It is serving the people of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger states. Even the people of the Niger Republic come to the market because we have international businessmen here.
Many people prefer here to Kano because we give them good prices,’’ he said.
Sufyanu Falalu, whose sewing materials shop was also burnt, said he had gone to Lagos to buy some goods when the incident happened.
“When I was told that the market was burnt and my shop razed, I became worried because some of the goods were not paid for.
“You know, if a businessman is succeeding, he would get a lot of dealers who would be willing to supply him goods on credit. This is common among our traders,’’ he said.
He reiterated the call on the state government to support the victims and help them to rebuild their shops.
“If they do that, the market will bounce back to life in a short time,’’ he said.
Another victim of the disaster, Jamilu Bawa, said he could not remove anything from his cosmetics shop.
“I tried to remove at least the N450,000 I kept inside the shop but to no avail because the fire was raging rapidly,’’ he said.
Bawa added that he and his brother who was selling Islamic medicines lost goods worth N7million to the fire.
Alhaji Inuwa, who also lost all his shops, said, “I cannot talk now because I am devastated. All my shops have gone.’’
Our correspondent gathered that since 2006, there is hardly any year without fire disaster in one of the major markets in the state.
The markets mostly gutted by fire include Kasuwan Yan Katako, old market and central markets; and properties worth millions of naira are usually lost.
The special adviser to Governor Tambuwal on Sokoto Urban and Regional Planning Board, Sidi Aliyu Lamido, blamed the management of various markets and traders for the recurring inferno.
“Their leaders allow traders to do as they wish, and this has resulted in the distortion of the master plans” as shops are erected indiscriminately. This is making it very difficult for firefighting machines to reach affected places.
Also, there is the indiscriminate use of generating sets, which is another factor causing fire incidents in our markets. I am sure the governor will do something about this to forestall future incidents,’’ he said.
Governor Tambuwal described the incident as devastating, saying the market was their most valuable asset.
“It is a very sad development. We appeal to the general public, particularly shop owners and those who had investments in the market to remain calm as government is doing everything humanly possible to bring the situation under control.
We must not do anything that will give hoodlums the opportunity to aggravate the situation or loot people’s assets,’’ he said.
Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State also described the inferno as a great loss to the people of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara as the market is a business nerve of the zone.
Also, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who visited Sokoto barely 24 hours after the disaster, said he was shocked when he learnt about it.
He said his administration would do everything possible to ensure that the market is reconstructed.
The leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, also sympathised with the traders.
A renowned Islamic scholar in the state, Sheikh Isa Talatan Mafara, however, advised the traders to desist from committing sins, saying their prayers and payment of zakkat when due could serve as protection against calamity in the market.
He also advised the management of the market to ensure compliance to its master plan.
The two leading political parties in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party and the APC, as well as the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), all symphatised with the state government and the affected traders over the inferno.
The NUJ urged the state government to provide good roads and firefighting equipment in all the markets across the state to forestall future occurrence.
Meanwhile, Governor Tambuwal has constituted an 18-member committee to ascertain the remote and immediate causes of the inferno.
The committee, led by Deputy Governor Manir Dan’iya, is to assess the extent of damage, recommend compensation for those who lost their properties and advise the state government on how to forestall future occurrence, among other duties.
The committee was charged to work diligently and submit their report within one week.
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