Jankara fire: Matters arising

Jankara 

The victims of Tuesday morning fire that razed the famed Jankara Market are still counting their losses. Though the stockpiling of fire crackers in one of the shops (an alleged illegality) has been blamed for what has become the latest tragedy to have befallen the Centre of Excellence, it has emerged that this was not the only illegal activity the market was known for after all.

And there are other forms of ‘victims’ too who would not be able to publicly bemoan their loss.

Located in Idumota, on the Lagos Island, Jankara Market is the typical African market with clothing displayed on a nylon spread on bare floor, with a muscle-chested trader bearing a bell shouting as he tries his best to attract seemingly indifferent buyers.

At another corner, a ‘trader’ with a lone goat haggles with a potential buyer over the amount to be paid on his sole commodity.

Police raids are not uncommon as a victim of armed robbery or burglary leads detectives around as he tries to identify some of his/her stolen property in the bundle or the jumble. Used goods mix with stolen goods and most times, buyers who are only attracted by the rock bottom prices of the goods, risk being arrested by the police on surveillance.

Such markets abound in most cities in Nigeria. They include the Oranyan in Ibadan, West Africa’s largest city; Jankara in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve centre, and several others across the country.

However, there are people who would be willing to bet their right hand and leg to prove that Jankara market is more than those household materials, clothes and other essential items that change hands. It is believed that these legitimate business activities often shield other criminal activities from public gaze.

In 2009, it was reported in the media that this market was a sort of meeting place for ritualists/human part dealers and their clientele, among other sundry criminal activities.

According to the report, human parts such as fingers or limbs could be procured for as little as N2000, while fresh human head went for more than N10,000.

A top official of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) was quoted in that report to have confirmed this by saying that many LAWMA sweepers in charge of the market had always reported seeing human parts while cleaning the market.

But the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Lagos State command, Ngozi Braide, denied this claim on Thursday, saying that no such report had been brought to her notice.

“There is no such report of ritualists selling human parts at Jankara Market,” she told Saturday Tribune on telephone.

However, investigation has revealed that in fact crimes and legitimate businesses existed in perfect mix in Jankara, which was on Tuesday razed by fire.

But the victims of the inferno were not only those who had stocked their shops with various wares, also gone with those fire crackers and various other personal property were the vanities of many Lagos fashionistas who make the Lagos social scene tick.

It was gathered that these Lagos ‘chicks’ usually frequented the (Jankara) market to sell their fairly used clothes, add a little more money to buy the latest fad in order to keep up with the Joneses.

The Tuesday morning fire appeared to have ended all that; and it happened on a special day at a time residents of the city were still relishing the yuletide and some families were getting set to make their yearly visits to the various beaches and relaxation spots.

About 10 buildings which played host to a number of residential and commercial centres were destroyed and at least, one person was said to have died in the inferno.

While explosion of fire crackers was rumoured to have caused the fire, many residents of the area had also noted that the destruction would have been minimal if more fire-fighters had been mobilised to combat the fire.

But perhaps, more importantly, they noted that the slum-like nature of the affected community as well as the activities of traders also aided the spread of the fire.

Residents reasoned that because many of the houses were built with very little gap between a building and another, it was quite easy for the fire to spread.

Speaking with the Saturday Tribune, Mrs Funke Obadara, a banker whose office is on Lagos Island, noted that buildings on the Lagos Island were so poorly planned that whenever there was a problem with any of them, it would easily affect the others.

“Planning of many houses and shops at Jankara Market on Lagos Island, like many other places, was poorly done. This is evident in the roof-to-roof nature of the buildings. I believe this must have contributed to the number of buildings affected and losses incurred.

“There are some places on the Island that it is practically impossible for cars to access, let alone trucks. Jankara Market is one of such places. This poor accessibility must have made it very difficult for fire-fighting trucks to operate well in fighting the inferno,” she said.

Mr Jelili Balogun, an expert in the built environment, also said that a recurrence of such an incident could not be ruled out in the future, unless the government came up with a lasting solution to the poor state of many buildings, not just on the Island, but the nation as a whole.

He also noted that the lack of planning of many markets and communities in the country often makes those places susceptible to such bad occurrences, especially fire outbreaks.

Balogun said: “I am indeed sorry about the incident and the consequent losses it left in its wake. Yet, it provides an excellent opportunity for the government to enforce decent planning permits in the area, so that the layout of the area can meet acceptable standard; otherwise, more of such incidents should be expected sooner or later.

“The burnt houses, some of which were make-shift buildings, should not be rebuilt as they were before. Good planning and decent layout that befit the new look that Lagos deserves should be considered.

“Many houses in quite a number of places should have been destroyed a long time ago, if only the government truly cares about its citizens, especially the poor. Nigeria has enough land and resources to build thousands of well planned houses and markets, not these kinds of time bombs we have around us today.”

An eyewitness and resident of the area who identified himself simply as Jamiu, revealed that despite the intensity and severity of the inferno, only a handful of fire fighters and trucks were on the ground to combat it.

“Despite the severity of the incident, only two fire-fighting trucks were made available. And they were so ill-equipped that other residents and onlookers had to grab fire hoses to help put out the fire,” he lamented.

Saturday Tribune recalls that on Boxing Day, fire tore through a crowded neighbourhood of Nigeria’s largest city of Lagos, killing at least one person and injuring 30 others after a huge explosion, allegedly from fire crackers, had rocked a building stocked with fireworks.

Raining curses on those who had purportedly stocked fire crackers in a building which started the whole ugly episode, one of those who lost their valuables in the inferno, and who was indentified simply as Chidi, was heard saying , “I have lost it all. I have lost everything. Where do I go from here? Everything I have ever laboured for is gone.”

Speaking with Saturday Tribune on the telephone, the police spokesperson also spoke of efforts by the police, every year, to discourage the use of fire crackers, but noted that there is no law yet on the ground prohibiting the use of fireworks during celebrations.