The compelling need for traders to insure their shops and goods has come to the fore once again after many shops at a plaza located along Kano Street, beside Onitsha Main Market, were razed down by an early morning fire last Monday, November 28, 2022.
No life was lost in the fire which started just after midnight but goods worth millions of naira perished.
It has somewhat become a common phenomenon for fire incidents to occur during festive seasons. The coming Christmas season is a period that people should be on guard against infernal fires.
The sad dimension is that the traders almost always leave their shops and goods uninsured. Without any insurance, the victims resort to appealing to the government for some measure of assistance to get back on their feet. But that is not the modern way to safeguard any commercial asset.
It is crucial that the businessmen and women, importers and exporters should imbibe the culture of insurance. Modern commercial activities can hardly ever survive without insurance. It is insurance covers that protect against all manner of risks.
The Anambra State Amalgamated Market Traders Association (ASMATA) has a pivotal role to play in enlightening their members on the importance of insurance. The associations role should not just be the collection of dues from the members. ASMATA should set up the mechanism to reach out to their members and agree on minimum contributions they would be making to have a common policy. It is the
duty of ASMATA to make it compulsory that all the members must have fire extinguishers in their shops the way they have in their cars. Water hydrants must also be in the market master-plan.
There is no gainsaying that the businessmen and women – even as resourceful as they are – need to up the ante on modern business practices such as insurance instead of relying on superstitious religious posturing. The truth, of course, is in the saying that: Heaven helps those who help themselves.
The traders should remove illegal structures in the market that obstruct movement and make it impossible for fire trucks to gain access to fire locations. Illegal structures obstructing entrances and exits in the master-plan of the markets must be removed to avoid demolition and prosecution. It will be unfair to allow the reckless actions of a few unconscionable men to jeopardize the interests of the vast majority. The Chief Fire Fighter in Anambra State, Martin Agbili, is always available with his men to quench the fires once the information of a fire outbreak is received. The emplacement of water hydrants in strategic places in the market will go a long way in aiding the fire-fighting duties.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo has, while expressing sadness over the unfortunate Onitsha fire incident that left many shops and goods razed with attendant huge losses, stressed that as a responsive government his administration is already on top of the situation as investigation is ongoing into the remote and immediate causes of the fire, with a view to averting a future recurrence of the disaster.
Governor Soludo reiterated the need for citizens to adhere to fire safety measures particularly in this season of the year. He restated the crucial need for the traders to embrace the goodies of insurance as the way forward in modern business activities in this day and age.
Written by SIR PAUL NWOSU/
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