Fakoya’s razed apartment
Residents of Agbara Industrial Estate in
the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State say their plea to
the state government to provide the area with a fire service station has
been ignored for years.
The residents told 9janewsworld
that the absence of a fire service station in the estate slowed down
responses to some fire disasters which happened recently in the area,
causing “preventable loss of valuables”.
Our correspondent gathered that the
latest fire incident, which occurred on Tuesday, April 21, affected a
private residence, damaging parts of the building and destroying a
Toyota Prado valued at N10m.
When 9janewsworld visited the
area, the victim, Mr. Adewale Fakoya, said the fire was caused by an
electric surge in his garage, which made his vehicle the first casualty.
He added that while the fire raged, the
household had to wait for firefighters from the Bagadry Fire Station,
which was a long distance from the industrial area.
He said, “The incident occurred at about
5.30pm on Tuesday. We were not at home. My wife was called on the phone
that there was fire in our apartment. By the time she rushed back home,
the fire had become uncontrollable.
“I have stayed for about 15 years in
this estate, and there is no single fire service station. We are at the
mercy of fire disasters. My vehicle is brand new and it is worth about
N10m. If there were firefighters who had responded promptly to the fire,
probably the damage would have been minimised.”
Fakoya, who is a chartered accountant,
took our correspondent round the rooms affected by the fire. Our
correspondent observed that most of the walls were cracked from the
inferno, while the ceilings had also been damaged.
Speaking with 9janewsworld, the
Chairman, Agbara Estate Residents Association, Prof. Tunde Fatunde, said
the executives had written several letters to the government on the
matter, adding that it was only promises that the estate got.
He said the Commissioner for
Environment, Ayo Olubori, and other officials had also visited and been
briefed on the need for a fire service station, but nothing had been
done.
He said, “Agbara is an area where about
95 per cent of the state government’s revenue comes from. The tax from
industries in the area runs into billions of naira. We have written
several letters to the government on the need for a fire station.
Nothing has come forth yet.
“Last year, the commissioner was invited
to inspect this area. It is the responsibility of the government to
provide a fire service station for an industrial estate like this. The
government must be able to undertake its responsibility, which is the
security of lives and property.
“The commissioner came and gave us a
‘yes’, but we are still waiting for the implementation. In an industrial
estate like this, a disaster worse than this can happen at any time.
Technology has advanced, such that we can have a mobile firefighting
service. In case of emergencies, it can move at a very fast pace.”
Our correspondent gathered that apart
from the state commissioner, a Special Adviser to the Governor and
Managing Director of the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation,
Babajide Odusolu, had also visited the area, and called for a
stakeholders’ meeting with the executives, which had yet to yield any
result.
Another resident in the estate, who declined to be identified, said there had been four fire incidents since January 2015.
He said, “There are lots of anomalies
that need to be corrected here. One of them is this lack of a fire
service station, which can respond to fire disasters promptly. In 2015,
we have had four fire incidents.
“A woman’s house got burnt in the estate. She was a widow. The closest fire stations to this place are in Ota and Badagry.”
The Ogun State Commissioner for
Environment, Olubori, could not be reached, as calls made to his phone
on Monday and Tuesday did not connect. Also, a text message sent to his
line had not been replied to.
When the OPIC’s official line was
called, a worker, who responded, said the OPIC spokesperson could not
talk to our correspondent on the telephone.
