'We Cannot Let This Continue': Tinubu Orders Full Investigation as Second Kano Market Fire in Two Weeks Wrecks Thousands of Businesses

President dispatches Shettima-led delegation with financial aid to Singa Market victims, demands answers on recurrent blazes destroying North's commercial hubs

President Bola Tinubu has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead a high-powered federal delegation to Kano State, conveying both condolences and financial relief to traders whose livelihoods were consumed by the second devastating fire at Singa Market in less than two weeks.

The inferno, which erupted Saturday evening and raged well into Sunday morning, inflicted catastrophic damage on Nigeria's largest food market, destroying goods estimated at billions of naira and plunging thousands of business owners into despair .

'Alarming and Unacceptable'

In a statement issued Sunday evening by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu revealed he had earlier telephoned Governor Abba Yusuf to express his personal condolences and concern.

"The President was particularly alarmed that the latest incident occurred less than two weeks after a previous fire destroyed dozens of shops and property at the same market," the statement read .

The timing has intensified scrutiny on market safety protocols, with the February 2 blaze having already left hundreds of traders counting losses before Saturday's far more destructive fire compounded the catastrophe.

The Delegation

The presidential team, scheduled to depart Abuja on Monday, comprises a cross-section of Nigeria's leadership:

- Vice President Kashim Shettima (head of delegation)

- Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas

- Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin

- Senator Kawu Ismaila

- Rep. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, Chairman of the House Appropriation Committee

- Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Bernard M. Doro

- NEMA Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar

The statement confirmed the delegation's dual mandate: "to convey President Tinubu's condolences to the traders who lost billions of Naira in the weekend fire that engulfed the market, marking the second incident in just two weeks" and "to pledge financial assistance to aid victims and support Kano State in facilitating the quick reopening of the market" .

Investigation Ordered

Beyond immediate relief, Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the root causes of recurrent market fires, which have become a devastating pattern across northern Nigeria's commercial centers.

The directive signals recognition that piecemeal responses to individual fires—however swift—cannot substitute for systemic prevention. Traders and market associations have long complained about inadequate fire safety infrastructure, poorly maintained electrical systems, and access routes that render fire trucks useless when emergencies strike.

Traders' Anguish

For the thousands of Singa Market traders, federal condolences and investigations offer cold comfort alongside mountains of charred inventory. Saturday's fire consumed not only goods but decades of accumulated capital, leaving families facing financial ruin with the new business week looming.

"I watched my life's work turn to smoke in hours," one wholesaler told journalists at the scene Sunday morning, his voice breaking. "They say they will investigate. They say they will help. But my shop is ash. My goods are ash. What investigation brings that back?"

The question—raw, desperate, and unanswerable—now hangs over the presidential delegation as it prepares to depart Abuja. For the traders of Singa Market, words and promises have become a currency that buys nothing. What they need is fire trucks that can reach fires, markets built to survive, and a government that prevents disaster rather than merely responding to it.

Tinubu's investigation may eventually provide answers. But for thousands of Kano's traders, the question is whether those answers come before the next fire—or after.