Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced that many buildings with structural flaws near the scene of the fire and those that did not adhere to the state government’s building regulations would be demolished following the fire outbreak that destroyed over 14 buildings in Dosunmu Market on Lagos Island.
During the inspection and meeting with stakeholders yesterday in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu delivered the warning to those affected by the Dosunmu Market fire that occurred on Monday in the upscale Lagos Island.
The governor declared, “I am going to shut this place as long as it takes; there will be zero-tolerance all around here,” adding that the state government would not back down from its responsibilities to make sure that building regulations are met.
“You are not required to deal by force. Go find something different to do if your surroundings aren’t favorable,” he advised.
“We just finished on-the-spot assessment of the very unfortunate and preventable fire disaster here at Dosunmu Market,” declared the governor, denouncing the needless fire disaster.
As everyone knows, this fire occurred on Monday. Immediately after it started, first responders were called in, and we believed we could put it out in the first few hours.
However, as you can see, first responders were unable to approach the area for a few hours due to the highly careless actions of our people. The location is still active and operational 48 hours later. It is still a disaster site with an isolated burning area.
Sanwo-Olu went on, “This is a total catastrophe. It is very regrettable. About 14 dwellings were impacted in one way or another as of the most recent count, and a few more could yet be destroyed following the thorough fit-for-purpose test that will be carried out over the course of the next several days.
This is what I have observed that could have been avoided. I don’t want to make assumptions because we don’t yet have a complete report. However, the first complaint that was sent to us showed blatant negligence, and people don’t know what it means to maintain a safe environment.
We’ll carry out a thorough investigation to find out what caused this. However, as you can see from the preliminary evaluation, we have initiated an awareness campaign stating that, in fact, high flammable weather is expected to occur every year starting in December and continuing through May.
We have been promoting in the media that people should be aware that, in addition to the weather being severe during a harsh harmattan, you should also avoid combustible materials as they can cause a fire to spread quickly, as we have witnessed here today, Sanwo-Olu added.
He bemoaned the fact that flammable goods were being stored in people’s living rooms, turning many residential apartments into warehouses.