Onitsha inferno: Tankers of death, Institutional failure and Conspiracy Theories - Ik Muo, PhD

Fire disaster is the worst evil that can befall any human being or community. Flood will destroy some items, wet others and leave the rest for you.  Even the 40-day rain still left  Noah and his diverse co-travelers. Armed robbers and kidnappers can take some cash and  valuables and at times take some lives. But they cannot go away with your house, certificates, pictures, clothes brooms plates and cooking utensils. Fire on the other hand, is very voracious, avaricious and gluttonous. It is never satisfied unless it finishes EVERYTHING on its path or unless it is stopped by force. It did not start today because that was the case in Sodom Gomorrah! I am still short of words on how to describe what happened at Onisha last week (16/7/19). People came out that morning with their plans for the day, the week and even for the Xmas season. Some were just passing by and were on their way to the rowdy Lagos Park.  Some were hawking this and that while some might have sneaked out of school and were on their way to visit this or that person. Some had even gone to Upper Iweka to engage in major and minor criminal enterprise.

And then, the tanker of death came calling and that was it.  For me, the most harrowing memories  were of that young lady who even at death was still clutching her child, an evidence of that inexplicable bond between mother and child; that young man who had borrowed to restock his shop that morning and who looked totally lost in that viral picture, and the woman who lost his house and two warehouses to the insatiable inferno and who was still wondering whether it was  a dream or a real-life experience.

Perhaps, this was our own version of the famous Chicago fire of 1871 in which about $200m was lost or an encore of the Arriaria market disaster, for which Oliver De-Coque waxed a record about 30 years ago. 

And it appeared that the ‘spirit’ of fire had escaped from wherever. While that of  Upper Iweka lasted for two days, and while it was still smoldering, another one happened at Omagba Phase2, less than 2 minutes away from Upper Iweka(17/10/19).   While that was a ‘small’ one and was readily contained, it reportedly consumed 8 houses and 22 cars.

Within that period, another fiery spirit visited a  hotel at Nnewi, claiming three lives while about 300 shops were destroyed at the famous Santana market in Benin.

Back to the Upper-Iweka inferno. It was caused by the tanker of death. Suddenly fuel tankers have become agents of death, wrecking havoc on people and properties all over the country. The most fiery of late was that of Otedola Bridge.

We have had fuel-laden tankers over the years but the rate at which they cause fire outbreaks has become alarming. What has suddenly gone wrong? Are the tankers no longer road-worthy( even though our roads are not vehicle worthy!)?

What type of drivers are in charge of these ferocious agents of death? An increasing number of teenager-drivers have suddenly  become the favourites of  haulage companies, unlike the days of yore when oldies, who have seen enough Christmases’ were in charge. What happened to the owner-drivers of earlier fire-spitting tankers? To what extent were they insured and to what extent have the insurers fulfilled their responsibilities? Sometimes ago, all independent fuel-stations in Ekiti State went  on ‘akshion’(strike) because Gov Fayose had insisted that all of them MUST be insured!  Why were the  state and federal fire outfits missing in action on that day? What arrangements did the traders make for their self-preservation? What did their leaders or dealers do with the humongous amounts they collect as levies from their members?  Must it take this level of disaster for the State to ‘do something’ and what has the Federal Fire Service said or done about this disaster? These question  touch on sundry issues  surrounding the Onitsha Inferno but it is obvious that there was unpardonable institutional failure.

Already the politics of solidarity visits have started but my concern for now is the conspiracy theory of what would happen after the dust has settled. It is obvious that the market will be reconstructed and the question is: what is the fate of the current shop-owners? There was a time market fires became so rampant in Lagos that people became suspicious  because fire incidents were usually followed by  change of ownership of the markets. A very typical case was that of Tejuosho Market which I commented on as follows: ‘After the last fire incidence(2007 or thereabout), the Government decided to modernize the market and probably deal decisively with the ‘spirit’ of fire outbreak. The government also promised to protect the interests of the displaced traders. Now the market is ready for lease and the cheapest shops have been priced at N7.56m by TPDC Limited. Before the fire, the rent in the market ranged from N60000-N120,000, depending on size and location while outright purchases went for N1.2m-2m. Traders, most of whom were not able to pay N1.2m for outright purchases in 2007 are now being asked to pay N7.5m for 25 year rent! And what value of window blinds and accessories will somebody display and sell in a N7.5m shop in order to make his efforts meaningful? ( Ik Muo(2009) Lagos: The Social Cost of Transformation, BusinessDay, 30/11/09).  I learnt the same scenario is playing out in two markets in Port-Harcourt. I hope nobody tries that ‘nonsense’ at Onitsha or even at the Santana Market, Benin. If the government involvement in reconstruction is a strategy to dispossess the current traders, let the government just  set the standards and let the shop owners and landlords rebuild their stalls.

Other matters: Feed back on Fela & CSW

Last week, I did a major on Fela and a minor on the Customer Service Week.  As usual, I received several feedbacks, for which I am sincerely grateful. Here are few of them.

Dear "Muoigbo",

I have been an avid reader of your weekly essays... I vividly remember a visit to Fela's republic - and my firsthand observation of the strict order and discipline always maintained within the republic and the precincts. No one dared molest any visitor or passer-by for any reason…  Stories abounded of how he drew a roaster for his wives for ze ozar room. Our visit did not really serve to confirm or dissipate the tales. We, however, observed that a few ruffians freely came in from time to time to share the weed fellowship that was freely available. We observed his security men dealing with a deviant who was thereafter banned from ever setting foot on the republic. It then became clear to an impartial observer that Fela was not just a loud-mouthed critic as most of Nigeria are wont to be, but practiced what he preached. It was, therefore, no surprise that Fela had a very large following in Lagos when he floated his Movement of the People (MOP) political party to contest elections. Well, at the end of the day na something killam. On customer service, one can hardly find any service provider conducting customer satisfaction surveys in our environment. What I have observed from my dealings with many organizations in Nigeria is that most of the workers do not even understand the nexus between their jobs and the achievement of the corporate objectives. The service providers on their own sometimes behave as if they were one a favour. There is a huge gap there and trainers should design appropriate programmes to address them. 

Keep telling them, and if they don't hear you can invoke a benevolent spirit. Sir Chudi Illoh, Lagos.

Your ‘other matters’ is always very SCINTILLATING TO ME. Your gist on a Customer worth only a piece of TOMTOM is very HILARIOUS but you really passed a STRONG message that BANKS PROGRAMME and services should not be limited at the HEADQUARTERS more so that Branches are the places where things are HAPPENING. INTERESTING EULOGY for Fela I must say more so coming from a man who haven't visited the SHRINE for the first time, not sure most regulars at the shrine can pen down all of these for Fela. From Ikenna Okonkwo, Abuja.

Fine one on Customer Service Week. Customers are docile as we do not ask questions on our rights. Our accounts are deducted at will without reasonable explanations. One may think that N20 is insignificant but consider the millions of depositors. Think of what is going on in the electricity supply industry, how the crazy billings have been going on. So is meter reading at the fuel pumps. May God help the poor consumers. John  Ibeano, Abuja

Gone are the days when banks consider their customers. I remember when Christmas presents such as cows, goats, rice, rams, diaries and calendars were sent to our company just to say thank you for trusting us with your money. Nowadays you beg for your bank statement (Anonymous)

Thanks for this piece on a great legend and his prophetic attributes. I believe those attributes were traceable to genetic factors as shown in other members of the family. Their father was a ranking Anglican priest and educationist who founded the NUT. Their mother gave real meaning to the currently easily misused cause called feminism. She was the harbinger of women rights and the first woman to drive a car in the country. On CSW, only the service industry still managed to remember that in this part of the world. Other industries do not even remember such days. Mr Fayose, Doctoral student, OOU

Ik Muo, PhD Department of Business Administration, OOU

08033026625; muoigbo@yahoo.com, muo.ik@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng