{"id":52956,"date":"2024-09-29T20:30:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T18:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=52956"},"modified":"2024-09-30T12:03:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T10:03:18","slug":"another-devastating-setback-for-maiduguri-monday-market-traders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/another-devastating-setback-for-maiduguri-monday-market-traders\/","title":{"rendered":"Another devastating setback for Maiduguri Monday Market traders"},"content":{"rendered":"

Traders, who were just beginning to recover from last year\u2019s market inferno, say they will have to start from scratch for the second time after losing everything in the September 10 flood.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traders at Maiduguri Monday Market \u2013 who were just beginning to recover from last year\u2019s devastating inferno \u2013 have to start all over again after their shops and stalls were submerged in the September 10 flood.<\/p>\n

The nightmare of the February 2023 inferno came back to haunt Mahamadu Shagari when his market shop was again destroyed \u2013 this time by floodwater.<\/p>\n

Shagari told RNI that business was booming before the outbreak of the fire in February\u00a0 last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had five shops and stalls at the market. They were all burnt to ashes. I lost property worth more than \u20a619 million in the inferno.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the support of family and friends \u2013 as well as the government \u2013 I managed to get one shop up and running at the Umar Ali mini-business hub opposite Monday Market. That is where most of the traders who were affected by the fire have shops and stalls now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just beginning to recover from losing everything in the fire. Business was going well. The future was looking bright. I had local and international customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the flood came. My shop was submerged and destroyed. My property and all my stock were destroyed \u2013 all the material, clothing, wrappers, shoes and jewellery. It was another devastating blow. Now I do not know what the future holds. I do not know if I will be able to recover this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flood also destroyed my house. I am one of thousands of people who are now displaced. It has been a real nightmare. We managed to survive through the insurgency and then the fire. Just as everything was beginning to improve, I have lost it all again. I have no home, no business. It is unbearable.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly Almighty Allah can make us resilient and strong again. We believe it is a test from Allah and we just hope things will be better again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The massive fire engulfed Monday Market in the early hours of Sunday, February 26, the night after the Nigerian presidential elections, destroying property worth billions of naira.<\/p>\n

The Borno State government \u2013 with support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), philanthropists, individuals and organisations \u2013 reconstructed the market and it was officially reopened in October last year.<\/p>\n

Since then, traders have started picking up the pieces of their livelihoods \u2013 until September 10 when, once again, traders lost property worth billions.<\/p>\n

Many traders did not lose just their shops and stalls but their homes as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not even thinking of investing in Maiduguri again. In fact, I am thinking of moving to another country. I do not have much to invest but even if I did, I do not think it is safe to invest here again,\u201d said Hassan Mohammed, another victim of both the fire and flood.<\/p>\n

He said many traders had lost all they owned for the second time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy shop was submerged and destroyed. My home is gone. All the food was washed away. I have lost millions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, I lost my shop and property worth millions to the inferno. To be honest, I am in despair. I am seriously thinking of moving either to another state in Nigeria or maybe even abroad. I see no future. I feel hopeless. These two calamities have crippled me, financially and emotionally. I have lost everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cMay Allah help us in our struggles to stand on our feet again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umar Bolori, the immediate past chairman of the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and now a member of the 35-person flood relief disbursement committee, told journalists that plans were being formulated to support affected traders.<\/p>\n

However, despite the assurance, Usman Ngari, a caller on Ndarason 88.5 FM Maiduguri\u2019s \u201cMorning Show\u201d, questioned the method adopted by the Monday Markey fire disaster relief disbursement committee of giving a uniform amount to all affected persons without considering the impact on individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope this time around the flood disaster relief disbursement committee will not adopt the method used by the fire disaster committee which gave affected persons \u20a6100,000 each uniformly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that is repeated, most of us will go out of business forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

GOVERNMENT WARNING<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Borno State government has warned citizens who live on the riverbanks and in flood-prone areas that they may not reconstruct their homes.<\/p>\n

In an urgent notice, issued on Friday, September 27, the government said: \u201cThe Borno State Urban Planning and Development Board is warning the general public whose properties are along the riverbanks but have been destroyed by the flood that no form of any development\/renovation is allowed in order to protect future flooding of Maiduguri and its environs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe settlements are Fori, Galtimari, Gwange, Sabon Gari, Bulabulin, behind Forestry Quarters, Sakwari, behind Chad Basin to Khaddamari, among others.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was signed by the general manager, Liman Gana Mustapha.<\/p>\n

THE FLOOD<\/strong><\/p>\n

The flood began in the early hours of Tuesday, September 10 when the Alau Dam \u2013 16km from Maiduguri \u2013 started overflowing.<\/p>\n

About two million people have been affected and more than 400,000 displaced. Many are taking refuge in camps set up by the government. Others have makeshift tents and shelters on roadsides.<\/p>\n

More than 70% of Maiduguri and its environs were submerged.<\/p>\n

The official death toll has not been released. Many people are still missing and, nearly three weeks later, mopping up operations are continuing.<\/p>\n

HEALTH RISKS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Healthcare workers have warned citizens of the danger of contaminated water.<\/p>\n

Flood victims and rescuers reported seeing corpses in the floodwater. Dead animals were also spotted \u2013 the zoo in Maiduguri, which reported losing 80% of its dangerous wild animals, including snakes and crocodiles, was submerged.<\/p>\n

The cemetery reported that bodies had been dislodged.<\/p>\n

Hospitals said dangerous waste materials had seeped into the floodwater.<\/p>\n

Waste from blocked, flooded and overflowing sewerage systems was also a danger.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, September 19, the Borno State government confirmed that a case of Mpox had been detected in one of the camps housing people displaced by flood.<\/p>\n

Health officials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), successfully isolated the suspected patient and her mother, as well as others showing symptoms.<\/p>\n

Mpox is an infectious disease that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy. Most people recover, but some get very sick and there have been some cases of patients dying. Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV).<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, September 25, the Borno State government confirmed two cholera cases in a Maiduguri displacement camp.<\/p>\n

Health commissioner Professor Baba Malum Gana made the announcement at the launch of a joint vaccination and supplementation programme with the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF).<\/p>\n

Four suspected cases were evaluated, two of which were confirmed positive. The patients are being treated.<\/p>\n

The government said measures were in place to prevent further outbreaks.<\/p>\n

UNICEF\u2019s Christina Valderrama praised the state\u2019s swift response, emphasising the importance of vaccination and supplementation in protecting public health.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, September 26, the commissioner said more than 2,000 malaria cases had been treated in displaced camps in Maiduguri since the flood.<\/p>\n

He confirmed that there were urgent health challenges in the state as a result of the flood.<\/p>\n

Efforts to procure insecticide-treated mosquito nets were under way.<\/p>\n

The WHO, UNICEF and M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res (MSN, also known as Doctors Without Borders) \u2013 as well as other local and international medical and humanitarian aid agencies \u2013 have warned of an escalation of cholera, diarroea and other waterborne diseases.<\/p>\n

The number of malnutrition cases \u2013 already at record levels \u2013 is also expected to spike.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

SHETTIMA LAWAN MONGUNO<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Traders, who were just beginning to recover from last year\u2019s market inferno, say they will have to start from scratch for the second time after losing everything in the September […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":52957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52956"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52956"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52959,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52956\/revisions\/52959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}