|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Some of the burnt shops
By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
Tragedy struck on Wednesday when strange fire gutted and burnt not less than 42 lock-up shops at the business center of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi.
As it is now, all the Shop owners are counting their losses following the fire outbreak that affected shops on block D of the center comprising mainly destroyed computer business centers, barbing salons and provision stores.
It was gathered from multiple sources within the university which is presently deserted due to the ongoing ASUU strike that no fire service was available to help save the situation.
A source told our Correspondent that the School’s Fire Service situated close to the main gate of the institution could not salvage the situation because none of their firefighting trucks was not in good shape.
The source said that: “I learnt that when the fire started, they alerted the University fire service but they said that the battery of the truck is faulty. They said they’ve reported to the management for a release of money for it to be fixed or for a new one to be bought but nothing was done”.
He added that, “They said they kept writing to the management to release money for the purchase of a new battery, but they allegedly said that there was no money” .
According to him, “They also contacted the Federal Fire Service but they said that they don’t have tyres in their truck, but I cannot verify how true that is. But it’s unfortunate that because of the ineffectiveness of the fire service, this great damage happened. I believe that if there were fire fighters, the fire would have been put out these shops and properties would have been saved.”
One of the shop owners, Prince Hosea Mathias, said that he got a call at about 4am on Wednesday from someone informing him that shops on the complex were on fire.
He said he was informed that the fire was caused by an electrical fault, “and I was also told that all efforts to get the fire service to come proved abortive; by the time I got there later in the morning, I discovered that all the shops were burnt down.”
Hosea Mathias added that, “I run a computer business center and IT solution. I lost everything I have in my shop, computers, printers, furniture, generator, stationeries, POS machines and a lot of things” .
According to him, “I graduated in 2016 from the Civil Engineering Department but since I didn’t get any work to do, I decided to start this business, although I’ve been doing this while I was in school in the hostel. So, when I graduated, I expanded the business so I can use it to support myself and people around me”.
He lamented that, “I honestly don’t know how I feel about this incident and in fact, I have not even started thinking about it yet. I’m just trying to be strong because I don’t have any other work anywhere, this is all I have which has been destroyed by this fire.”
Another victim, Alfred Joseph, who owns a computer business center said that nothing was removed from his shop saying that he was called by a friend and was told that his shop was totally burnt down.
He explained that, “I am not currently in Bauchi, I traveled to Abuja and a friend called me this morning to inform me of the incident. He told me that everything in my shop has been burnt down. All my properties including photocopiers, computers, laptop, printers, stationeries, my generator and everything I have in that shop was all destroyed. It’s so unfortunate,”.
Alfred Joseph said losing a six-year old business is painful, pathetic and heart-breaking saying: “Losing a business that I have taken my time to build from the scratch for over six years is actually very painful and heartbreaking” .
According to him, “If school was on session, i know that this fire outbreak will not happen. But I thank God that I am strong and I believe that God can restore even more what I have lost in a very short time.”
Though the management of the University confirmed the development and sympathized with the shops owners, the officer contacted declined to make further comments on the issue of fire fighting trucks.
