Preventing havoc before they happen

By : Jide Oyewusi

Date: 16 January 2026 4:11am WAT

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A typical Lagos open market

A typical Lagos open market

Sir: The way and manner fire outbreaks wreak havoc in all Nigeria’s major markets almost every time needs a very careful examination with a view to finding a lasting and workable formula for preventing them from happening at all.

Nigeria is a country where carelessness reigns supreme as an unwritten code since no measure is ever put in place to prevent havoc from taking place and most times, it is after our horse has bolted we often try to lock the stable’s door since the government is hardly alert to its responsibilities in the true sense of the word. All that are big statements of a government praising itself for achievements which are mostly only on papers.

Quite sadly, excessive individual and state corporate carelessness has led and it’s still leading to so many avoidable deaths in Nigeria.

To begin with, fire services are supposed to be stationed in every big market and they should not only to be adequately equipped but be at alert 24 hours a day to ensure that any fire outbreak anywhere around them receives a prompt attention.

Again, there also ought to be a central switching off place for every market so that at an agreed time every evening, it would be switched off to prevent sparks that often leads to fire outbreaks. Most times fire outbreaks occur, it is often because of the carelessness of a single trader who forgot to switch off all electrical appliances before locking up his shop. And a single person’s fault readily becomes everyone’s tragedy.

Lastly, market areas should be properly marked in such a way that the roads are free and easily accessible at any time. Whatever it would take the government, there must be enforcement of ban on goods display on roads because that is what often causes total congestion of markets environments and the usual difficulty of getting prompt assistance in moments of trouble.

There should be easy access to every section of markets so that in cases of emergency such as fire outbreaks, there would not be any hindrance or obstruction. These listed measures, if considered and implemented holistically will go a long way in addressing the menace of fire outbreaks and loss of lives and properties in Nigeria.

Jide Oyewusi is the coordinator of Ethics Watch International Nigeria.

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