A massive inferno which started Friday night razed over 500 shops in the famous Sabon Gari market in Kano in circumstances that witnesses described as strange.
The fire which was still raging after 20 hours at the time of filing this report, started at about 1am on Friday and subsided only a little at about 2pm on Saturday.
The entire surrounding of the market was covered in thick black smoke cloud visible several kilometres away.
Thousands of good Samaritans struggled throughout the day to save some of the goods in shops before the mysterious fire engulfed them.
Though some were saved, the fire wreaked enormous havoc to the bulk of items in the market.
Fire fighters responded too, but failed to redeem the shops and their wares from the conflagration.
The firefighting departments of various private companies in the state later joined in the fight to put out the raging fire to no avail initially.
They were ineffective due to inadequate water supply and the nature of the market which hindered free movement and made it difficult for the water tanks to be driven to the point where the inferno was raging.
The support of the firefighting helicopter belonging to the National Emergency and Management Agency (NEMA) was requested, but according to the Zonal Coordinator of NEMA Musa Ilallah, the helicopter wasn’t available.
Sabon Gari market covers several square kilometers and is divided strategically with each section selling specific goods. It was learnt that the fire started from the section where shoes and other leather products are sold.
Incessant Kano market fires’re worrisome, traders must be proactive – Dogara
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara has lamented Friday’s Kano market inferno, urging the citizens to be proactive in preventing such disasters.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Broadcast Media Yakubu Musa Fagge, Dogara called on the traders to cultivate self-preventive techniques which would complement the government’s efforts in combatting such disasters.
Dogara described the latest fire incident as the most dangerous disaster that has no territorial boundary, urging Kano residents to accept the inferno as an act of God.
Simultaneously, he urged people to be godly in all their affairs, adding that it is only through total submission to God that disasters are quenched with minimal damage and destruction.
The Speaker prayed for the quick recovery of the properties lost.
The Friday night fire had engulfed the popular Sabon-Gari market in Kano, destroying hundreds of shops and properties worth billions of naira.
-Leadership
