Victims of Tuesday’s fire incident at Alesinloye Market, Ibadan, have clarified that about 90 people, and not 500 as reported in a section of the media, were affected by the incident.
This was just as the Oyo State Government directed the victims to cooperate with the State Emergency Management Agency (Oyo SEMA) for a full enumeration and verification of the victims.
Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Barrister Bayo Lawal, gave this directive on Friday, March 14, when he hosted the Plastic and Cooler Sellers from Alesinloye Market, who were mostly affected by the fire incident.
Barrister Lawal said that the government could only rely on the figure from the victims, because they know one another.
The Deputy Governor directed the Oyo SEMA to embark on a full enumeration and verification of victims with a view to getting a credible figure, warning them to be wary of who they speak with and how they present facts, so as not to confuse the system.
He reiterated that the state government would provide support to the victims, while also stating that bulldozers had already been deployed to the site to clear the rubble and ensure that the place is put in order.
Barrister Lawal maintained that the Governor ‘Seyi Makinde administration is a listening government and would cooperate with the victims to make life comfortable for them.
He warned those playing politics with the tragic loss of Alesinloye traders to have a rethink, noting that it is unreasonable and unethical to play politics with disaster.
He said: “Once again, the Oyo State Government sympathises with you. I said this three days ago that we are thankful that no life was lost. As a government, we commiserate with you.
“When something like this happens, people will begin to say a lot of things, many of which will not be true. It is already happening.
“What the Oyo State Government under Governor ‘Seyi Makinde focuses on is the wellbeing of the governed. The government exists to make life comfortable for everyone and not to cause hardship.
“I told you that this government is a listening government; if you bring any complaint to us, we would always look for a way of addressing it. So, what happened in Alesinloye is sad, but we will work with you to address it.
“If you see anyone saying rubbish about this incident, that person is unreasonable. No one prays for this kind of disaster. We cannot play politics with this kind of disaster. So, what some people have been saying in some quarters are not things that should have been said.
“The unofficial figure being bandied out there is that 500 people were affected and that the shops are over 700. But you have come here to say that the people affected are about 85. We cannot allow people to just throw untrue figures about. You know yourselves, so we will only rely on the figure from you, which is verified by our people.
“So, the Oyo SEMA will set up a place in the market; you will give them the list with you and the victims will go to the Oyo SEMA one by one for recording of their phone number, shop number, etc. With that one, the government will be able to target only victims of the fire incident.”
Responding to the plea of the victims that the market should not be demolished, the Deputy Governor maintained that the matter at hand is first about addressing the aftermath of the fire incident, and that other issues would be addressed accordingly.
He noted that the government would communicate with the traders in the market on further developments.
Speaking earlier, leaders of the Plastic and Cooler Section of the Alesinloye Market countered the claim that 500 shop owners were affected by the fire outbreak.
Chairperson of the Plastic and Cooler Sellers Association in Alesinloye Market, Mrs Taiwo Lawal, who visited the Governor’s Office in the company of the immediate past chairperson of the association, Mrs Julianah Ayoola and five others, said the victims appreciated the fact that the state government was concerned about their plight.
She said that the victims were calmed after the Deputy Governor’s visit, but that they would like to plead with the government not to demolish Alesinloye and if it intends to redevelop the market, it should allow the traders to rebuild their shops.
While addressing newsmen shortly after the meeting, Mrs Lawal said: “We are here to plead with the governor not to demolish our market.
“He already came to our market the day before yesterday and promised us; but then we saw bulldozers the same yesterday trying to demolish some parts.
“Most of us slept at the market yesterday because we saw the bulldozers.
“So, we are here to plead with our governor to keep supporting us and other traders, and to allow us to rebuild the shops by ourselves.
“Today alone, we have cleared more than half of the place affected by the fire. But the government has informed us that the bulldozers were deployed to clear the rubble and put the place in order and that it would undertake the clearing.
“The Deputy Governor has also told us that the government would engage with us on the issue of redevelopment of Alesinloye Market, noting that the state government, Ibadan South LCDA, Ibadan South-West Local Government and the traders would have a meeting.”
The meeting was attended by the Commissioner for Trades and Commerce, Hon. Adeniyi Adebisi; and Director of Oyo SEMA, Mrs Ojuolape Busari.
