The King of Dagbon, Ya Naa Abukari II, has said the thousands worth of goods lost in last Saturday’s inferno at the Aboaba cereal market in the northern regional capital, Tamale, is a lost to the entire Dagbon traditional kingdom and Ghana as a whole.
Therefore, he has appealed to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and for that matter government to take urgent steps to ameliorate the situation for the victims and forestall future occurrence of such incidents in the region.
The Ya Naa has urged the city authorities in Tamale to ensure the shops at the market are properly wired and also open the access roads in the market to allow free passage of vehicles in critical situations as this.
The Chief of Zangbaling, Naa Dr Jacob Mahama said this to journalists on behalf of the Ya Naa after a delegation from the Gbewa on Monday visited the market to ascertain the extent of devastation caused by the fire.
“We have come to see what the fire has destroyed here, the quantum of destruction and to express his concern over the loss – this is a loss to Dagbon, a loss for northern region and a loss for the country as a whole. Any reduction in the wealth for the people of Dagbon is a reduction in the wealth for the people of Ghana and he is very much concern and therefore he asked us to come the extent of the damage and to also appeal to the metro directorate to ameliorate the pain and the loss of the people involved” the Zangbaling Naa said.
The Chief further implored the Ghana Water Company Limited to supply water to the fire hydrants situated at the market or find alternative means for water supply to aid efficient firefighting , stating, “We all saw it, when they came here they had lost water and private people had to come to provide water for the fire service to continue its work and we think in a situation like this, not only the fire service but everybody especially those who are supposed to provide water for them to extinguish the fire.”
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Fire Service has said that about 15 shops have been affected and thousands worth of goods consumed by the fire.
However, in a media interview, the Northern Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Mr. Baba Hudu, said lackadaisical attitude of people sometimes result in these infernos. In spite of that, he indicated the GNFS will continue to sensitize the public to be responsible and adhere to safety practices particularly this dry season.
The Ya Naa delegation that visited the Aboabo market included the Nanton Naa Abdulai II, Chief of Diare, Sagnari Naa, a representative of Gukpe Naa and the Chief of Tugu.
