A legal practitioner, Nathaniel Olabode, has advised traders to embrace insurance policies in order to alleviate their losses in case of fire outbreaks and other natural disasters.
Olabode, who gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) in Usi-Ekiti, said the rate of fire outbreaks and the attendant huge losses across markets nationwide had become worrisome.
He said most of the victims of the fire outbreaks were oftentimes helpless in the face of absence of insurance policies and unavailable government intervention.
Olabode, who cited the recent fire outbreaks at Balogun market in Lagos and Akesan market in Oyo State, urged traders to always imbibe fire safety and precautionary measures to check fire outbreaks.
“Fire outbreaks are always unexpected occurrences which cannot be predicted.
“As the saying goes that prevention is better than cure, traders, particularly those with lockup shops, need to be very cautious and follow fire safety measures at all times.
“More importantly, traders and marketers should embrace various insurance policies as a way of recouping their losses in case of any fire outbreak or flooding.
“This becomes necessary since most government assistance and interventions don’t usually come immediately and may not even materialise afterall,”he said.
Olabode also advised traders to desist from keeping large amount of cash and other valuables inside their shops to minimise losses during fire outbreaks.
“Some traders are fond of keeping large chunk of cash inside their shops overnight, a practice that can spell doom in case of any disaster.
“Such proceeds of sales or valuables are better deposited in banks for safe keeping,” he said.
Olabode appealed to the three tiers of government to always prioritise rendering of support to victims of disasters in their programmes and policies. (NAN)
