I have lost 10 years of labour’

One of the affected traders, Chuka Nwaji, who sells electrical appliances, stood in front of his shop on 43, Ojo Giwa Street, with a Bible clutched in his right hand and repeatedly shook his head as he spoke with our correspondents. Excerpts:

Do you have a shop here?

Yes I do. Why are you asking?

We are journalists. What do you sell in your shop?

I sell electrical appliances.

Can you estimate the worth of the goods you lost here?

I have lost all I have worked for in about a decade I have been in Lagos. I stocked goods I bought on Christmas Eve on credit from my suppliers in the shop.

All I have were destroyed in this fire. All my life savings are gone. How do I repay the N990,000 worth of goods I just bought on credit?”