Lagos burns while we watch: Afriland Towers tragedy and our collective failure

Ten people went to work on Tuesday morning at Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Lagos Island. They never returned home. Their families will never see them again. Their colleagues will forever carry the trauma of a preventable tragedy that should never have happened.

But here we are, once again, counting bodies instead of preventing disasters.

The fire at Afriland Towers is not just another news story—it is a damning indictment of our collective failure to prioritise human life over profit, proper regulation over expedience, and long-term safety over short-term gains.

Let’s confront the uncomfortable truth: Lagos recorded 1,011 fire incidents between January and August 2024 alone. Read that again—over 1,000 fires in eight months. Fire incidents constitute the third leading cause of emergencies and disasters in Lagos State. This is not a statistical anomaly; this is a crisis masquerading as normalcy.

We’ve normalised the abnormal. We’ve accepted that buildings will burn, people will die, and life will continue as if these tragedies are inevitable acts of nature rather than preventable consequences of systemic negligence.

Tony Elumelu’s decision to cut short his United Nations General Assembly trip to mourn with his colleagues is commendable. His words about the “irreplaceable value of people” ring true and heartfelt. But where is the same urgent response from those whose job it is to prevent such tragedies?

While corporate leaders issue statements and plan memorial services, where are the building inspectors? Where are the fire safety regulators? Where is the emergency management agency’s post-incident analysis that should be driving immediate policy changes?

The contrast is stark and telling. Private sector leaders demonstrate more accountability for tragedies they didn’t cause than public officials responsible for preventing them show for disasters that occurred on their watch.

Here’s what we know: the fire reportedly started in the inverter room in the basement before spreading to other parts of the building. This detail is crucial because it highlights a fundamental issue with how we approach building safety in Lagos.

Basements and inverter rooms are critical infrastructure points that require specialised fire safety measures. These are not afterthoughts or areas where we can cut corners on safety protocols. Yet how many commercial buildings in Lagos have been retrofitted with proper basement fire suppression systems? How many have regular inspections of their electrical infrastructure?

From markets to residential buildings to corporate towers, Lagos burns with predictable frequency. Each fire follows a familiar script: initial shock, promises of investigation, temporary increased vigilance, then back to business as usual until the next tragedy.

The victims change, but the story remains the same because we refuse to address the root causes:

Weak Regulatory Enforcement: Having fire safety regulations on paper means nothing if they’re not enforced. How often are commercial buildings inspected? When was the last comprehensive fire safety audit of Afriland Towers?

Inadequate Emergency Response Infrastructure: While we celebrate the courage of first responders, we must ask whether they have the equipment, training, and support needed to handle high-rise fires effectively.

Building Owner Accountability: Who is responsible when buildings don’t meet fire safety standards? Are there real consequences for non-compliance, or do we simply hope for the best?

Retrofitting Older Buildings: Many of Lagos’ commercial buildings were constructed before current fire safety standards. What systematic effort exists to upgrade these structures?

Beyond the moral imperative to protect human life, there’s a compelling economic case for comprehensive fire safety reform. The cost of prevention is always less than the cost of disaster response and recovery.

Consider the economic impact of the Afriland Towers fire: 10 productive members of society lost, families devastated, business operations disrupted, insurance claims, investigation costs, and the immeasurable cost of trauma and grief. Multiply this across Lagos’ 1,000+ annual fire incidents.

Compare this to the cost of mandatory fire safety retrofitting, regular inspections, upgraded emergency response capabilities, and strict enforcement of building codes. The economics of prevention versus disaster response is not even close.

What Must Change, Starting Now

1. Immediate Building Audits: Every commercial building in Lagos should undergo mandatory fire safety inspections within the next 90 days. Non-compliant buildings should be shuttered until they meet standards.

2. Retrofit Requirements: Older buildings must be given deadlines to install modern fire suppression systems, emergency exits, and fire-resistant materials. No exceptions.

3. Criminal Accountability: Building owners and managers who fail to maintain fire safety standards should face criminal charges when their negligence results in death or injury.

4. Emergency Response Upgrade: Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service needs massive investment in equipment, training, and personnel. This is not optional; it’s essential infrastructure.

5. Regular Monitoring: Fire safety compliance should be monitored continuously, not just after tragedies.

Every fire death in Lagos is preventable. Every family that loses a breadwinner to building fires is paying the price for our collective failure to prioritize safety over profit margins and political expediency.

The four FIRS officials and six United Capital employees who died at Afriland Towers were not sacrificial lambs on the altar of economic progress. They were human beings with the right to return home safely from work each day.

Corporate leaders like Tony Elumelu are right to mourn and support affected families. But mourning without action is meaningless. Memorial services without systemic change are empty gestures.

Lagos cannot continue to burn while we watch. We cannot keep counting bodies and issuing condolences without addressing the fundamental issues that make such tragedies inevitable.

The victims of Afriland Towers deserve more than our grief. They deserve justice in the form of comprehensive fire safety reform that ensures no other families suffer the same preventable loss.

The question is not whether Lagos can afford to implement comprehensive fire safety measures. The question is whether we can afford not to.

Ten families are asking that question today. Tomorrow, it might be ten more. Or fifty. Or a hundred.

How many more must die before we act?

Views expressed are personal and do not represent those of any organisation.