I never thought I was going to experience a natural disaster. To me, Nigeria is totally safe from things of such so it never occurred to me that something of such may happen.
It was during one of the hottest moments in Nigeria where so many people prefer to wear something short or skimpy just to save their skins from burning out. I went to Eko market to shop some accessories. The entire place was clumsy even though it’s so big and can contain a lot of people at a time.
Suddenly, I heard some noise egbawa oh. I wondered what must have happened. I saw people running here and there and for someone like me who is quick to panic, I got scared as well and started running towards the direction where people went.
Within a few minutes, I saw some flames. Yes, it was fire. What could have caused the fire? Who could have lighted up something that ignited the fire? It was tons of question to ask but there was no one to ask. Everyone was running around.
The market women were trying to pack their goods and protect them from fire. For people in affected shops, they were trying to pack their goods as well but eventually ran from the fire.
Did I look back to watch? No! I ran for my dear life. It was chaotic in Eko market on that day. I forgot the items that I bought and the only thing I was able to hold on to was my phone.
Till now, no one knew what caused the fire but it was rumored that the extreme heat and the clumsiness was what caused the fire outbreak.
I never imagined myself experiencing such but that happened live and real in my presence. It’s an awful experience that I would never wish to have again.
Is there a solution? Yes, there can be but it will be a tough one. The market is big but too clumsy and you hardly get oxygen to breathe in. That’s how packed the whole place can be but the solution may be bringing down some buildings to make the place wider and spacious but no one will ever want his or her building to be brought down so it’s going to be a difficult solution.