From Paul Orude, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Saturday evening sympathised with victims of a fire incident that occurred at Bababa Plaza in Wunti Market, Bauchi metropolis.
Addressing the affected victims during a visit to the scene of the incident, Governor Mohammed pledged the readiness of the state government to assist them with capital to continue with their businesses.
The governor promised that the victims would be the first to benefit from the state government’s financial assistance plans for traders in the state.
In a press release signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Muktar Gidado, the governor appealed to public-spirited individuals to support in providing the victims with other needed assistance.
‘On behalf of the Government and people of Bauchi state, we are here to commiserate with members of the market associations and traders that were affected and the owner of the plaza over the monumental lost of properties that happened yesterday night,’ he said
Governor Mohammed, who expressed concern about the level of damage caused by the fire incident, said the state government will take an estimate of the affected building for its immediate rehabilitation.
On the non-functional fire fighting equipment in the state, the governor described the fire disaster as a wakeup call for the state government to strengthen the operational capacity of firefighters for efficient and effective service delivery.
‘I regret all the inconveniences and the loss that occurred here; it has come as a wakeup call to us as government. The fire service agency is not working in tandem with my vision for the new Bauchi State, but I want to assure you that we will take proactive measures to overcome the challenges.
The owner of the plaza, Alhaji Nasiru Bababa, expressed confidence in the ability of Governor Mohammed to support the victims of the fire disaster to restore their businesses.
Can the financial assistance to the traders and rehabilitation of the building be called dividend of democracy? It is time to ask Nigerian’s democratically elected leaders especially those in an executive capacity, What is dividend of democracy?. The approach of some Governors as well as some legislators to disasters since 1999 had formed part and parcels of Nigerian barbaric political culture of which their gesture and contributions to victims of either man made disasters or Natural disasters was not only questionable to achieving justice and fair play but demonstrated senses of not knowing what is dividend of democracy from a democratic leaders because their questionable motives in the name of rendering assistance always encouraged more man made disasters. Apart from past records of market fire disasters, the beginning of 2021 the country had experience some embarrassing market fire disasters in just six weeks where some Governors openly turned themselves to insurance company while some turned the ugly situations to subject of political campaign so is that how to proffered knowledge based solutions to disasters in this 21st century? What the political culture created had encouraged more and more market fire disasters in many ways that increase negligence, increases carelessness and absolute not giving priorities to prevention moreover how many people been convicted for negligently caused fire disasters? How many victims of market fire disasters been payed back financially through court process that will teach others lesson?. These gesture of Governors was a cleared symptoms of a sickness of a society which run counter to building a society that are conscious of law and order and understanding that their negligence will be justify in court of law. Many Nigerian’s had developed unholy and foolished notion that they must pray for disasters to happened to them before government will come to their aid, which are now manifesting while some had choose to caused disasters in order to benefit from the outcome since the democratically elected leadership had turned themselves to insurance company, Father Christmas and possibly judge of the jungle therefore this are cleared characteristics of a sicked society which not really compatible with democracy.