We should turn the tragedy of the Onitsha fire into an opportunity for unprecedented urban renewal

By Ayo Akinfe

(1) Like the rest of you, I have a heavy heart today as I agonise over the Onitsha tragedy. Once again, a petrol tanker caught fire and hundreds of innocent people are now either dead, homeless or without any means of livelihood. I look forward to seeing what madame minister for humanitarian relief does about this

(2) Were I in her shoes though, I would latch on to the African proverb which says: “Whenever the kings palace burns, it is an opportunity to make it more beautiful.” We should use this as an opportunity to rebuild Onitsha and turn it into a model city like say Dubai, Singapore or Taipei

(3) Onitsha market is the largest commercial centre in Africa based on geographical size and volume of goods. The average traders in the area are known to bring in at least six consignments of 40 tonnes containers of goods annually. Some of the major importers do more than 200 consignments of 40 tonnes of goods per year

(4) Onitsha has a population of about 270,000 but simply lacks the infrastructure for such a city. It has no urban metro, is not part of the Nigerian railway network and does not even have a deep sea inland port to accept all its goods traded at the market

(5) Those of you who are historians will know that Europe underwent a massive regeneration programme after World War Two. One example is the Isle of Dogs in London’s East End. It was flattened by German bombs but was built into what it is today with the gleaming Canary Wharf tower. We should do likewise in Onitsha

(6) First of all, I would create Anioma State and task the governor with rebuilding Onitsha. That should be his main job. He should relocate many of its citizens to neighbouring towns like Atani, Abatete, Asaba and Nzam and then rebuild Onitsha from scratch

(7) This governor should attract private investors and get them to build at least three River Niger crossings, with one rail crossing. As part of the project, Onitsha should have an urban metro and a rail link to Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja

(8) Dredging of the River Niger is something that should also be given ultimate priority. The goal should be to enable Onitsha to accept any cargo ship no matter how wide. I recently saw how the Panama Canal was widened, so it can be done. In Panama, they got the shipping companies to fund it, so we can do likewise. Relying on the government to carry out such an undertaking is just utopian

(9) When Onitsha market is rebuilt, we should go for the shopping mall approach. It is time to bring the Nigerian retail industry up to international standards. I want to see air conditioned malls with working escalators and lifts

(10) Whoever is the new Anioma State governor should woo retail chains with offers of tax holidays. I want to see all the major outlets like TK Max, Debenhams, Top Shop, River Island, etc with shops at Onitsha. There should also be a massive housing programme, kind of similar to what we have witnessed in Lekki. Onitsha is affluent enough to sustain such a scheme