Faith Omo-Ohioze
According to a financial, software, data, and media company, Bloomberg, report released in August 2021, Nigeria’s unemployment rate rises to 33.3 percent.
The 33.3% makes Nigeria the third-highest of the 82 countries tracked. South Africa and Namibia came first and second with 34.4% and 33.4% sequentially.
While the Nigerian government has come up with several policies, programs, etc., to tackle the growing unemployment rate, their efforts seem to be fruitless, with the increased rate of fire disasters in the country destroying businesses and rendering thousands of people jobless.
For instance, in the Ladipo market in Lagos that burnt down in 2016, the Chairman of the Ladipo-Osoro Traders Union, Felix Okoro, during an interview with reporters, stated that “more than 50 shops were affected…” The owners, employees, and apprentices of that over 50 shops were left jobless, adding to the number of unemployed persons in the country.
The recent fire outbreak leaves Veevee Paper Products Limited’s warehouse located in Sango Ota, Ogun state in ashes as the owner counts losses while workers are left jobless.
On April 21, 2022, the Veevee Paper Products Limited’s warehouse was engulfed by a massive fire. The fire burnt to the next day even with several fire services trooping in and out of the scene of the disaster.
An eye witnessed said he could count 15 fire service vehicles but all efforts to quench the fire prove abortive.
The warehouse that spread to several acres of land contained flammable solids (paper) which made the fire spreads and burnt easily. The ashes fell on people’s doorsteps as far as the Abule Egba section of Lagos state.
The alarming fire disaster wreaks havoc on companies, markets, and other places. It shatters businesses, having adverse effects on the unemployment rate in Nigeria.
Year in, year out, many business owners count their losses which run into millions and billions of naira due to fire outbreaks.
Apart from the burnt down Veevee Paper Products Limited and Ladipo market, the fearful fire disaster has not spared other businesses. Amid the Christmas celebration on December 26, 2021 (Boxing Day), a fire engulfed the Next Cash and Carry Supermarket in the Jabi area of the Federal Capital Territory.
Also, on January 26, 2021, the fire destroyed 70 shops at Alade Market, Somolu, Lagos. In Sokoto State, a fire outbreak brought the Shehu Shari Modern market to nothing on January 19, 2021. But what are the causes of fire outbreaks?
One of the primary causes of fire disasters is the epileptic power supply in Nigeria. As fire incidents usually occur at night when people are not around, and it mostly begins with an electric spark.
In PROJECTS.ng, an online academic library in Nigeria, the following were highlighted as the causes of fire disasters: “Fire is caused by several factors.
Boateng (2013) posited that improper electrical fittings, use of substandard electrical materials, defective generators, power fluctuations resulting from frequent power outages, and illegal tapping from the national grid are some of the possible causes of fire outbreaks.
Anaglatey (2013) says the rise in fire outbreaks could be traced to intense harmattan, overloading of electrical appliances on the same fuse, and improper electrical installation in homes and workplaces.
He continues that illegal, improper, and old wiring system as well as cooking in the home and workplace with naked fire is some of the major causes of frequent fire outbreaks.
Abu (2013) reports that 75% of fire outbreaks in some West African countries including Ghana and Nigeria are caused by smoking, 15% out of ignorance, and 10% out of accidents.”
Also, Nigerians both home and abroad have expressed concern about the unemployment rate and its effect on the country, increasing with the constant fire disaster.
Nigerians in Diaspora Network, NDN, (United Kingdom Chapter), a group of Nigerian professionals advocating for good governance, stated that “the army of unemployed youths has the tendency of undermining our democracy…”. The statement was made in a meeting held in October 2021.
“That goes a long way to tell us that we are sitting on a time bomb that could explode anytime if holistic measures are not taken”, they added.
It was noted that “the problem has brought us to the era of banditry, cybercrime, child trafficking, prostitution, political thuggery, drug abuse, and the likes, among the youths”, they said.
In concordance to NDN, Abayomi Adebayo, the Founder and the Director of Drift Advancement Centre/Excelogy Academy in Ibadan, during an interview with the press in October 2021, stated that “it is no doubt that the increasing rate of unemployment among youths in Nigeria has increased the wave of social vices.”
The list of effects of the unemployment rate, currently fueled by consistent fire incidents is highly worrisome. The creation of employment opportunities should be a primary concern, but instead, the already few employments existing are scattered and shattered to dust by fire outbreaks. Despite numerous proposed ways to fight these menaces, it all seems to be words without actions.
With the United Nations, UN, speculation that the unemployment rate will continue to rise; as the country’s population increases from 200 million people to 300 million people by 2050, there is a need to back up words with stringent actions in other for fire incidents not to make more people jobless.
Apart from fire disasters leading to an increased unemployment rate, it also leads to loss of lives and properties. Many business owners are thrown into intense depression, and some business owners die of heart problems.
What are the solutions?
According to Health and Safety Authority (HSA), “the safest way to deal with fire is to prevent it’. HSA is an Ireland agency responsible for the administration and enforcement of health and safety at work.
In preventing fire outbreaks, a fire safety risk assessment that includes “fire prevention”, “fire detection and warning” and “emergency escape and fire fighting” should be conducted regularly, according to HSA.
Another proposed solution in Nigeria is the reduction of the over-dependability on the Federal Fire Service. FFS. The state and local governments need to join in the fight with policies and policy implementation to reduce, if not eradicate fire disasters.
“Our service as the Federal Fire Service is to complement the states, not to be the main and only firefighting organizations in the states. As a matter of fact, if we must go by the spirit and letters of the federal constitution, local governments too must have the capacity to fight fires.
They do not need to buy bogus firefighting trucks. There are smaller trucks which are more amenable to fighting fire incidents at the local level”, said Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior.
He made the statement in Abuja during the commissioning of 20 newly procured Basic Life Support Modern Ambulance Buses, seven Firefighting Trucks, and the Pull-Out Parade of three senior officers of the Service.
Speaking on the role of the government to avert frequent fire occurrences, Tepikor Godwin, South-South Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) urged the government to provide water that is used to quench the fire.
“…government should provide water in markets so that when the water used in fighting fire finishes, they don’t need to travel miles to get water, it’s just to connect their hose,” he said.
However, the government at all levels should not be left alone in the fight as all hands must be on deck to reduce the rate at which fire engulf businesses like a plaque. The market unions/fire services agencies should also play a role in the fight by sensitizing business owners on the need to be fire cautious and how to prevent fire outbreaks.
Wilson Esangbedo, co-founder and Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Institute for Industrial Security, NISS, advised that “market unions can partner with professionals who understand safety to organize safety awareness for those in markets; they must also get some safety gadgets because most fires happen in the night when no one is in the market”.
Also, Godwin advised that “the traders need to know that it is not safe to keep inflammable things around the market, there should be fire extinguishers in each store, and if traders imbibe the culture of safety, the fires will reduce”.
“The way some markets were constructed doesn’t give access to fire servicemen to penetrate while fighting fire”, he said.
“It is also critically important that an establishment like this or any other commercial or public building should put in place necessary arrangements to prevent disasters like this and also update their fire prevention drills,” he added.
Proper attention should be on plants and equipment, electrical/cooking appliances, hot works, oxygen, smoking, and all kinds of fuels as these are the major causes of fire outbreaks.
Also, raising awareness and continuous sensitization are key to fighting fire tragedies.
The growing fire incident needs to be tackled for it not to continually contribute to the heightening unemployment rate. With proper handling, both menaces ravaging Nigeria society will be brought to the barest minimum, if not eradicated for a better and safer Nigeria.
