Education
Fire devastates largest market for secondhand Nigerian-made clothing – EnviroNews
– Advertisement –
For decades, Jankara Market, Iso Arobo, popularly known as Oniparo Market, in Oranyan area of Ibadan, Oyo State, has quietly played a unique role in Nigeria’s circular economy.
While many Nigerians may not be familiar with the market, traders from across the country and even neighbouring West African countries know it as the largest hub for secondhand Nigerian-made clothing. Every day, thousands of garments that would otherwise end up as waste are sorted, repaired, resold and given a second life.
Unlike markets that primarily deal in imported secondhand clothing, Oniparo specialises in locally used Nigerian garments. Many of the clothes arrive through trade-in arrangements, where households exchange used clothing for household items such as plastic containers, kitchen utensils and gas cookers. The market has therefore become an important example of reuse, waste reduction and sustainable consumption within Nigeria’s textile sector.
That decades-old legacy is now under threat.
The Fire Outbreak
A devastating fire swept through the market late on the night of Sunday, August 23, 2026, destroying more than 500 shops and makeshift structures and wiping out goods and livelihoods worth millions of naira.
According to traders and market leaders, the fire started at about 10:00 p.m. from the far-right section of the market near a mosque. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown. However, traders insist there was no electricity supply in the market when the fire broke out.
Within hours, the flames spread rapidly through the tightly packed wooden stalls filled with clothing and other highly combustible materials. Local residents and traders made frantic attempts to control the fire, but the blaze quickly overwhelmed their efforts.
It reportedly took about two hours before firefighters arrived. Even then, emergency responders struggled to reach the affected area because there was no motorable access road into the market.
By daybreak, not fewer than 300 stalls, many owned by elderly women, had been completely destroyed.
Beyond clothing, the fire consumed plastic containers used for trade, wooden structures, sewing machines, generators, furniture, cash, and numerous personal belongings. Nearby electronics and gold shops were also affected.
Fortunately, no lives were lost.
The tragedy occurred only three days before the annual Jankara Market Day, one of the market’s biggest celebrations.
Tales of Loss and Resilience
Environmental advocacy organization, EcoSmart Club, which has been researching and documenting the Oniparo trade for the past eight months, visited the market to assess the extent of the damage and identify the traders’ most urgent needs.
Hannah Omokhaye, the Executive Director of EcoSmart club, said: “We were here just two weeks ago to conclude the documentary of the market and what was once a bustling market filled with activity, bargaining and laughter had become a landscape of charred timber, twisted roofing sheets and piles of ash. For many of the women, decades of hard work, their trading stocks and means of livelihood were gone in a single night.”
This trade is also more than a source of income. It is a family legacy passed down through generations.
Some inherited the business from their mothers and grandmothers. Many raised children through the proceeds from selling secondhand clothing and had hoped to pass the trade on to the next generation. Now, many have lost everything. Hannah said.
Mrs. Sobowale recalled receiving a phone call shortly after the fire started.
“I got a call around 10:10 p.m. on Sunday that the market was on fire. At first, I didn’t believe it until people started sending me videos. I couldn’t sleep all night. When I arrived the following morning, I couldn’t believe my eyes. My shop and four stores filled with clothes had all been destroyed. There was nothing left to salvage.”
Another trader, Ms. Taiwo, said she had only just returned from a sourcing trip.
Taiwo explained that she brought fresh bales of clothing into the market on Saturday evening and returned on Sunday to sort them ahead of Monday’s business.
Instead, she arrived to find her entire stall reduced to ashes.
“Not a single item was left.”
Her story mirrors those of hundreds of other traders whose businesses disappeared overnight.
Calls for Support
Market leaders and affected traders are appealing for urgent government intervention and public support to help them rebuild their lives.
Their immediate needs are simple but essential: timber, planks, roofing sheets, construction materials and modest financial assistance to rebuild their stalls and restart their businesses.
The market Chairman, Mr. Ayobami Sanusi, mentioned that political figures such as Remi Oseni and Sarafa Ali, an APC governorship aspirant in Oyo State, visited the market shortly after the incident to sympathise with the victims and reportedly pledged ₦50 million toward reconstruction. However, as of the time of filing this report, traders said they had not yet received the promised support.
Emphasising height of the incident, the market head of logistics, Mr. Ismalia Olalere, said the traders had lost not only their goods but also the capital on which their livelihoods depended.
During our visit, the governorship candidate of the APM in Oyo State also visited the market and assured traders of assistance.
Preventing Another Tragedy
The Vice Chairman of the market, Mr. Hammed Ajofoyinbo, said the incident has highlighted critical infrastructure deficiencies that must be addressed.
According to him, one of the market’s immediate priorities is the construction of an accessible road into the market, allowing emergency responders, particularly firefighters, to reach the area quickly in future emergencies.
He said market leaders are also considering additional safety measures aimed at reducing the risk of similar disasters.
More Than a Market
Beyond the physical destruction, the fire represents a significant setback for one of Nigeria’s most important informal reuse economies.
Every garment sold at Oniparo Market extends the life of a textile that might otherwise end up in a landfill. In doing so, the market supports thousands of livelihoods while quietly contributing to waste reduction and sustainable consumption.
For the hundreds of traders now left with nothing but ashes, rebuilding will require more than replacing wooden stalls. It will require restoring a community, reviving livelihoods and preserving a market that has served generations.
By Adebote Mayowa