Sabon Gari market fire: One year after, victims struggle to recover
One year after an inferno claimed over two trillion naira worth of goods at the famous Sabon-Gari market in Kano State some times in July last year, the affected traders are yet to recover from the loss, Daily Trust on Sunday can report. Though the affected parts of the market have been re-built and business activities have already picked up in some sections, some of the shops are still yet to be stocked with goods due to lack of resources to re-establish the businesses by their respective owners.
When our reporters visited the market recently, most of the shops along the D-Line, C-Line to M and L-Lines that were worse hit by the disaster were still in convalescence as business activities are yet to pickup in full force.
The situation, Daily Trust on Sunday learnt, has left over five million businessmen and women in Kano and neighbouring states with investments in the market in a state of hopelessness, despair and great difficulty.
Some of the affected traders, who spoke to our reporters, expressed concerns over the incident, saying it has left them in a condition of vulnerability to social and psychological trauma.
Recounting his experiences after one year, Mallam Yusuf Bala Huseini, one of the victims said majority of the affected shop owners had not fared well, saying they are still finding it extremely difficult to re-establish their businesses as they await the assistance from government and other individuals.
“Alhamdullilahi, after one year and some days we are still waiting for the assistance the Kano State government and other prominent individuals have promised. The government promised N500m but up till now, we are yet to see it.
“At the moment we are in a very difficult situation, we have suffered a lot, as you can see, our shops that used to be full to the brim before the incident is almost empty now because of this monumental disaster,” he said.
He added that even the little wares currently in his shop were collected from friends and relatives, to whom he remits returns after sales and the little profit accrued is used to take care of his needs and those of his family.
In fact up till now we still owe some of our friends but they have been very patient with us considering that we don’t have anything. We are only hoping that the money the governor and other individuals donated would be shared otherwise we have nothing’’ he said.
Another shop owner, who pleaded for anonymity, said, “You see, because of that disaster many have contracted various kinds of sicknesses, many have had heart attacks, high blood pressure and many others, some have even ended in jail, some still in court because of their failure to remit the debts they owe their suppliers for the goods lost to the inferno.’’
Shop owners said out of their resources they re-built the market with the approval of the Kano state government while awaiting assistance from government and the appeal funds committee.
They however expressed disappointment that after a year nothing had come from the government as the fund raising committee has kept mute thus forcing them to continue to languish in hardship.
To add salt to injury, shop owners alleged that after using their resources to rebuild the market, they were compelled by the market management to pay one year tenement for the shops under serious threat to have their shops revoked for failure to pay.
Shop owners however blamed the Dangote led committee that was set up by Kano State government at the wake of the incident to explore ways to re-establish and resettle the victims of the disaster.
They alleged that since the committee was set up on April 4th lastyear with six weeks terms of reference, the renowned international business mogul, Aliko Dangote, who is the chairman of the committee has not opened up to update the affected persons nor the government about the mandate assigned him by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje saying the silence connotes danger to the prospects of re-establishing their businesses.
Allhaji Ali Bagadaza, the chairman of the committee on Sabon Gari market fire disaster, who has been at the forefront of pushing for the settlement of the traders said if Dangote had accepted the mandate he would have brought relief to his kinsmen who had suffered loss to the inferno.
‘’All that had happened we considered it as the will of God, but the only person we are blaming at the moment is Aliko Dangote, who was given the mandate by the Kano State Government to use his wider influence to seek for assistance from governments, corporate bodies and individuals from both within and outside the country for his people.
‘’If he had accepted that mandate he would have helped in addressing our problems up front. Kano is his home and this disaster affects his people directly. His children, brothers and kinsmen are affected instead of him to rise and help his people through that committee, up till now he has not uttered a word, leaving us in untold hardship’’.
This however, sound contrary to what Dangote was quoted to have said at the official inauguration of the committee at the government house in Kano April last year when he assured the government and the victims of different market fire incidences in the state of his unflinching commitment to mobilise funds to assist the victims.
He promised to use his wider influence to mobilise funds to help re-establish those who have suffered loss to the market fire in the state.
His words: “With the caliber of personalities as members of the committee, I can assure the governor, government and the people of Kano State that we will not fail in the assignment given to us. Despite the economic hardships, we will do our best to mobilize funds for the victims of the disasters.
“The disasters have touched our lives. We will use our connections to reach to whoever we believe can assist and collect donation for the victims of the disasters,” he had said.
Bagadaza further expressed sadness over the nonchalance of the Federal Government over the plight of the victims of the Sabon Gari market fire disaster.
He said, “It is very surprising that up till now federal government has not offered any assistance to us. Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo came here in tears he promised that Federal Government would assist the victims we are yet to see anything from the Federal Government, our representatives at the National Assembly, even those at the state house of assembly are still quiet.”
Alhaji Mikailu Gambo Sabonsara, a senior special assistant to governor Ganduje on market organisations appealed to the government to plead with Alhaji Dangote to update the shop owners on the operation of his committee so as to calm the tension generated by his prolonged silence.
However, Kano State commissioner for commerce Alh. Rabiu Bako, who is also the chairman of the resettlement committee, called on the shop owners to be calm, saying that the Dangote led committee is not relenting in its assigned duty and will soon launch the fund raising to help address the issue.
He added that apart from the N500m the state government has donated it is also planning on massive road constructions across the market to pave way for fire fighting vehicles to access various sections in times of any future fire outbreak.