Oba Market Risks Collapse Three Years 104 Days After Inferno
Hendrix Oliomogbe
Shell shocked at the sordid sight, one's heart almost skips a beat. Blown off roof, creaking staircases, heaps of refuse, gaping holes from with water dripping down every time it rains and shit smelling floor with over grown grasses. Welcome to the popular Oba Market in downtown Benin City, Edo State.
It's been three years and 104 days since a midnight inferno razed down a section of the market on June 22, 2020. Still, nothing has been done to repair the market ever since the incident despite assurances and promises by Governor Godwin Obaseki.
In fact, the magnificent modern edifice, which was completed by former Governor John Odigie-Oyegun during his stint as governor in the '90s, risked collapsing unless urgent renovation work is done.
Sitting on a total retail floor area of approximately 20 acres, historical Oba Market dates back to 15th century and has over 5,000 tenants.
Merchandising right under and on top of the massive structure, oblivious of the unsanitary condition of the environment and the risk to lives, should anything untoward happens, traders and buyers daily haggle over prices of commodities.
Dilapidated: Oba Market
From fishmongers to goat, livestock, meat and basic foodstuffs sellers, business goes on, on the waterlogged ground floor. One has to wade through the pool of water and hop his way across the cracks on the decking to avoid being drenched in the water dripping from the decking.
It was weeping and wailing by the traders who lost goods worth several millions of Naira on that fateful night in June of 2020.
The cause of the inferno at the market which burnt the ground and top floor of section of the market has still not been ascertained, three years after, but the then Chairman of Oredo Local Government Area, where the market is located, Mr. Jenkins Evbareke Osunde seemed to have echoed Governor Obaseki when he visited for an on-the-spot assessment to the market the following day in the morning.
Collapsing: Oba Market
Just like Governor Obaseki who pointedly accused his political opponents of having hands in the incessant fire outbreaks in the state in order to discredit his administration, ex-Chairman Osunde was quick to engage in finger pointing, blaming suspected arsonists.
The traders had just returned to the market after three months closure during which they were relocated to selected public schools compounds within the metropolis to pave way for fumigation and decontamination by the state government in a determined bid to prevent the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Sighing, a fish monger, Madam Esohe wailed:"There's nothing we can do. We have cried to the government. It's on record that the governor promised to repair the market when it got burnt three years ago but nothing has happened."
Tucked into a small corner of the market, with water dripping on him, another trader, an Hausa man, Mallam Hakim who peddles onions in a wheel barrow explained that he has to cough out N200 daily as tax to some toughs or risked having his good seized.
"What do I do? The government is not ready. We were very optimistic that the market will be repaired when it got burnt. The governor promised but three years after, we are still waiting," he said, frowning.
For those upstairs, it's another word as they are on their own and have to struggle to get by under critical condition. They are directly left to the elements as they get soaked from the rain and their goods
Sounding serious, Mrs. Joy Osazuwa, 32 and a mother of three who deals in children's clothes said that she daily has a raw deal as her shop is just right at the edge of the burnt section which is overgrown with weeds.
Lamenting, Mrs. Osazuwa said that she has to cope with an invasion of rodents, mosquitoes, cockroaches and the offensive odour emanating from the refuse, urine and excreta at the burnt space.
She bemoaned: "I have just one option: close my shop and sit at home. Nobody comes here to buy anything. The foul odour oozing from the burnt empty section and the grass scare potential customers away. I come here just because of the boredom at home. Even then, I still pay for the shop and my tax.
"I am just keeping the shop with the hope that the government will one day repair the burnt section. The governor should keep his promise. We are still waiting."
Persistent attempts to schedule an interview with the Commissioner of Communication and Orientation, Mr. Chris Nehikhare proved futile as he was serially unavailable.
