Two furniture makers in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, 45-year-old Bamidele Olasunkanmi and 53-year-old Ajibola Olagoke, have been counting their losses following a fire that consumed their workshop and store on Saturday.
The embattled artisans, who said they lost everything to the fire which affected their workplace at Irewolede Estate Second Gate along Ado-Ilawe Road in Ado Ekiti, added that they were at sea over where to start again.
One of them, Olasunkanmi, said, “Neither of us can say how the fire started or what caused it. We went to work at the site when we got a call alerting us to the fire incident at our workshop. It was around 2.30pm on Saturday. We rushed back only to see flames of fire.
“We made spirited efforts to call firefighters to come to our aid, but by the time they arrived there, the fire had ravished everything. The firefighters, on arrival, attempted to put out the fire, but we had lost everything. Even as I speak, you can still see billowing smoke.
“Where are we going to start from now? Our loss to this unfortunate incident in terms of our tools, equipment and products is enormous,” Olasunkanmi lamented.
His colleague, Olagoke, who corroborated him, said that they sourced loans from banks and other sources for their business, saying, “We are in deep trouble. Where are we to start? How do we repay our loans? How do we get our lives together?
Olagoke, who said he was still at sea seeing their lifetime investment gone up in flames, appealed for help, saying, “We call on the state government and well-meaning individuals to come to our aid to help us out of this situation.”
He highlighted what the duo lost to the fire incident, saying, “We were operating as a factory. We lost two industrial machines used for leather, two sewing machines, two electric circular machines, four screwing machines, drilling machines, two generators and other tools.
“As of the time of the incident, we had sets of chairs, six bedframes, wardrobes for customers, stools and tables which were all lost to the fire.”
A sympathiser, Oluwaseyi Ajayi, who said the duo were hiring his vehicle to convey their products to customers, said, “I cannot believe this fate that they have suffered. They need help. They need support. They have not been able to be themselves since the incident took place on Saturday.”
