What is going on in Onitsha Main Market these days: “At about 1.02 a.m. on Saturday [Dec 17, 2022], the Anambra State Fire Service received a distress call of a fire outbreak at No 4 Ajasa Street, Ose Main Market, Onitsha, where they sell chemicals”?

There is hardly a month that we do not have a fire outbreak in Africa’s largest open market. Just before the pandemic, I was with His Imperial Majesty, Ezeuzu of Awka, and we discussed extensively how to deepen knowledge in this market along with traders in Awka. It was on that strength that Tekedia Institute signed the strategic partnership we have with Nnamdi Azikiwe University.

In that market, many proudly wear our Tekedia Mini-MBA t-shirts because they come here to take a course we specifically created with them in mind – “Personal Finance and Wealth Management”. Yes, we want that paralysis where Eze Ego (the king of money) becomes a beggar, just years after retirement, because he did not plan ahead, to end. We also went ahead and developed the Igba BOI (Igbo apprenticeship system) course to deepen best practices and strengthen operations.

I like containers, trading and I am calling the federal and state governments to find a lasting solution to these incessant fire outbreaks in this market. Help these open markets; Kano is also having its dose of fire outbreaks.

• The statement reads, ‘’At about 1.02 a.m. on Saturday, the Anambra State Fire Service received a distress call of a fire outbreak at No 4 Ajasa Street, Ose Main Market, Onitsha, where they sell chemicals.
• “We immediately deployed our fire trucks and our ever-ready and fearless firefighters to the fire scene. We swift into action, battling the fire, controlled and fought it to a standstill.
• “The cause of the fire was unknown as nobody was there when it started. Although, the fire destroyed about three shops no life was lost during the heavy fire”, he said.
• ”A lot was saved as we prevented the fire from spreading to other shops around the fire incident scene.
• “It is important to know that we must always switch off of our electrical and electronic appliances especially when it is not in use.
• “We must also know that we are at the peak of the harmattan. Avoid anything which can cause fire outbreak at this season.” 

Director/Fire Chief of Anambra Fire Service, Mr. Martin Agbili

Comment on Feed

Comment 1: Poor electrical maintenance and installation with I don’t care attitude of chops owners are the major causes of fire ? outbreak 

My Response: I do not buy that argument. A market is owned by the state/LGA and there is no reason that the government cannot enforce standards. Do we need regular inspections then?

Comment 2: Most of the chemical traders are not aware of the reactivity of the chemicals when they are put together, they don’t understand it is not all chemicals that should be parked together, they need a good awareness, it breaks my heart anytime they loose money through avoidable fire outbreak. Safety must be put first.

Comment 3: Once we realize that anything can be a fuel, we must then take heed.

Fire needs three conditions

1. Fuel. A burning material (fuel, meaning anything can be a fuel. Some are more better than others. For example a bed mattress with foam is highly flammable more faster than some wood). Sure, in dry season the moist content is less, so easier to burn or get heat up.

2. Oxygen. (mostly in the air, but other material like water can easily or slowly by heat reaction produce more oxygen to add more flame).

3. Ignition/Heat . A single spark. A single increase in temperature. A single collision or pressure.
All of these go together in complex ways cause fire. (If not intentionally caused).

Firstly, periodic electrical systems check are needed, and rules must be complied by all users, from main to consumer point.

Second. A regulation or survey based on the inventories of different shop members is needed to sort the arrangement and organization of possible ignition and easily flammable material.

Thirdly, we don’t only need security guards, but also FIRE GUARDS (constantly to be stationed with technical knowledge of flames and it’s safety). For example, they might be always checking the quality of extinguishers, hose.. etc.?

In most spheres, some businesses become great, some break even, and some that barely manage to survive. Business owners define success. Differently, some describe it as a boom in their revenue while others may look at it more in terms of impact on their community and world. No matter what success means to you, there appears to be something familiar to great startups that others may be lacking.

Most of these things do not come up later in the business. They are applied from the first day the company hits the ground and sustains growth.

Delegating and outsourcing

As you well know, the entrepreneur always has a lot to do. Sometimes even after hiring staff to get the same thing done. It would help if you kept delegating on the front burner to build a great startup. When hiring, remember that you may someday have to trust your CEO duties to those staff, so make sure they are capable.

Outsourcing is the second face of delegating. Expertise and competence are things great startups take seriously. Feel free to outsource the task if you need more staff with the competency required in a particular area. The important thing is that you should have experts handling different functions at every point. This can be difficult for some CEOs and founders as they struggle with guilt over not supervising each task independently. At some point, you will have to step back from the business to scale; you might as well start preparing for it early enough.

They empower staff with precise functions and directions.

For great startups, there is a structure around hiring staff, so they are empowered to deliver the right results right from the resumption. Clear expectations are set, roles are defined, and instructions are given. With this kind of structure, you will hardly have underperforming staff, and when you do, it is pretty easy to spot them and address the issue.

The not-so-great startups hire staff even when they have yet to clearly define the expectation for that role and end up with the team wandering about the office, unsure exactly what they should be doing. They usually would have big titles without clearly spelled out duties and responsibilities. They would also have much underperforming staff, resulting in a bloated budget without corresponding results.

They maintain a two-way communication flow with staff.

As against the one-way communication flow among other businesses, great startups build two-way communication with staff. So, instead of firing staff for not meeting expectations, great startups have a process of finding out why and where they are struggling with their functions and empowering them to succeed. To build a great startup, be ready to teach your staff how your business operates. They may come to your company with their technical skills, but you have to teach them the peculiar operations of your business.

They take data security seriously.

Successful entrepreneurs run a tight ship in data security for their business, and they enforce all the necessary protocols to maintain it. Please be sure to protect the sensitive proprietary data that comes to your employees through their work email inboxes. You don’t want to find out later that data that should have been protected was being compromised, perhaps by employees who save, forward, or text them.

Suppose your employees lose control of their email accounts, forward emails to the wrong person, or intentionally share an attachment against your wishes. In that case, it can tremendously damage you, your customers, and your business partners.

This should be done from the first day because if you fail to define the data security protocols early enough, it gets easier to do so when the firm has scaled. It might require training existing staff on data security protocols and implementing specific security measures.

They maintain a work-life balance.

It is exciting to note that the startups that produce the best results are only sometimes the ones overworking their staff to the bones. A 2014 study by John Pencavel at Stanford University shows that a 55-hour workweek produces the same results as a 70-hour workweek. Overworking yourself and your staff may not result in more productivity, and more hours may translate to less productivity. Maintain a work-life balance and allow your team does the same.