ABUJA— THE Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mrs Mobolaji Osomo, has called for the inclusion of fire safety as part of the nation’s security services.
Speaking at the inaugural workshop on Market Fires in Abuja, yesterday, she observed that more attention should be paid to fire safety than currently paid to criminals as, according to her, fire is even more destructive than the activities of common thieves and armed robbers.
Her words, “in as much as serious attention needs to be paid to security, security is incomplete without fire safety. If our lives and property are secured against the criminal tendencies of the men of the underworld, and suddenly fire destroys such lives and / or property, our security becomes meaningless.
“When a thief attacks a house, he can only steal some of the moveable items. When fire visits, it can destroy everything to the foundation if unchecked, especially by professional firefighters.
“Fire remains the greatest safety problem in many countries of the world, including Nigeria. Every shade of our economy is exposed to the gulag of fire. The experiences and tales of woes occasioned by wanton fire destruction are gruesome. Fire disaster also promotes poverty.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Engr. Mustafa Bello, said that market fires which occurrence has been on the rise in recent times were threatening the economy which has been struggling to recover.
“The impact of such fires on investment capital and indeed, investors is enormous and unquantifiable. Unless appropriate and urgent measures are taken, the Nigerian economy which is on the path of recovery , may suffer serious setback.”
According to Engr. Bello who is also the Chairman of the organizing Committee, most of the market fire were caused by ignorance and carelessness and therefore could be prevented with proper education of the stakeholders.
“Unfortunately, very few traders, if any do insure their wares or stalls. The result is that when such fires occur, they leave their victims pauperized,” he said, adding that the situation made the sensitization national workshops compelling.
Engr. Bello said that the workshops being organised in four commercial cities of the nation, Lagos, Aba, Kano and Abuja, were aimed at sensitizing the public, particularly traders on fire prevention mechanisms; enlighten market users and owners on the need to insure their wares and warehouses in order to minimize losses where fire incidents could not be prevented.
They would also play an advocacy role on better funding of federal and state fire services to enable them respond rapidly and effectively to fire distress calls; and educate market owners on the need for fire fighting infrastructure in the markets.
Officials of the federal fire service would be expected to demonstrate to traders, how fire equipment is to be used when there is a fire, at the workshops to be attended by traders, states and local government officials in charge of markets and market planners from the geo-political zones of the host states.
