We Lost Everything To Fire Disaster —Kara Cow Dealers

The victims of Wednesday night’s fire disaster in Kara Village, Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, have continued to count their losses. Over 5,000 residents of the affected settlement lost everything, as the entire place was burnt to ashes.

Yomi Olugbodi, a site engineer, who has three shops in the village said he lost everything to the fire. One of the shops was filled with crates of eggs and soft drinks, while his wife sells food at the other two shops.

Olugbodi, who is still in shock, told P.M.NEWS that he just bought a new deep freezer a few days ago and stocked the shops with goods.

He also said about N450,000 he kept in one of the shops was burnt.

“Honestly, I can’t quantify the loss. I bought the portion of land that I built the shops on. Everything I have laboured for in life is gone. I and my wife were not even around when the incident happened. I only came back to see everything burnt to ashes. Where do I start from now?” Olugbodi told our reporter.

When P.M.NEWS visited the scene of the fire incident Thursday morning, victims were seen in groups counting their losses.

A resident who craved anonymity, hinted that the total value of cash and properties lost to the fire worth billions of naira.

“The truth is that virtually all the Hausa people staying here don’t keep their money in the bank. Their money is mostly kept somewhere in their rooms. It is a very big loss,” the resident said.

Mrs. Fatimah Jabah who has one of the biggest shops in the village where she sells clothes said she lost all her wares and a cash of N400,000. “I’m even confused now. I don’t know what to say. All my wares and money are gone,” she cried.

Abibat Sule, a herbal medicine seller, lost all her belongings and N35,000, while her sister, Rabi Sule, a food seller, also lost all her possessions.

One of the victims identified as Mr. Yellow, lost his mother-in-law last week. He went to the bank early yesterday to withdraw N170,000. The money got burnt in his room as well as other belongings. He had planned to travel today for the mother-in-law’s burial.

Another victim, who wept uncontrollably, was said to have lost N200,000 to the fire disaster.

The fire started on Wednesday some minutes after 7p.m. It was said to have started from a charcoal fire being used to fry fish by an Egbira lady, who resides in the village.

According to Rabi Sule, “I noticed that the groundnut oil she was using to fry the fish was too small, while the charcoal fire was raging. I called her attention to it but she wouldn’t listen. That was where the fire eventually started from.”

P.M.NEWS gathered that the fire spread quite quickly because all the makeshift structures in the village were built with planks. Even when men of the fire brigade arrived at the scene, they could not douse the raging inferno that eventually razed the entire settlement.

—Bayo Adetu