Kano residents switch to firewood due to shortage of charcoal

Since Kano’s alternative energy source, charcoal, has grown scarce, many city dwellers are now using firewood instead of charcoal for heating and cooking.

Many people in the town that used the commodity had previously been cooking with gas, but when the cost of cooking gas became unaffordable, they turned to charcoal.

Our correspondent’s inquiry in several areas of the state capital showed that the scarcity has driven up charcoal costs sharply.

It was discovered that the price of the commodity had increased by around 40%, with a 50 kilogramme sack previously selling for N3,200 now fetching N5,000.

Retailers of the commodity are now forced to sell average measures for N100 instead of the pitiful N70 they were selling before the price increase.

A few of the users who were interviewed stated that they had gone back to using firewood for cooking—”not necessarily because it is more affordable, but because it is more readily available now.”

Abraham Sule, one of them, claimed that the lack of charcoal forced him to use firewood for cooking in his home and that the cost of a bundle varies from N200 to N300, depending on its size.

“I used to use gas for cooking in my house, but after the prices of cooking gas went up, I had to switch to using charcoal, but charcoal is also getting harder to find and more expensive. So, I went back to using our regular firewood, which is more affordable and readily available,” the 50-year-old truck driver stated.

Another user, Talatu Sani, a housewife, stated that she was using cooking gas before it got too expensive and that she had already given up on charcoal due to the current scarcity of the product.

“I have to unwillingly go back to firewood that I used a long time ago because it’s hard to get charcoal these days.I can’t afford it again, so I can’t go back to using cooking gas.

Sani bemoaned further, “And we use charcoal to boil our bath water and heat our rooms, so I fear that they might increase the price as the current harmattan cold progresses.”

A charcoal vendor in Kano municipality named Malam Mohammed Saminu attributed the shortage to the nation’s high transportation costs, which are a result of rising fuel prices at the pump.

According to Saminu, the item, which is primarily obtained from Nasarawa State and other regions of the middle belt, costs roughly N1,500 per sack at the source. However, upon arrival in Kano, the price climbed to almost N5,000 due to high transportation expenses and other difficulties.

“Everyone is aware that the cost of petrol and diesel at the pump is extremely expensive right now, and this is the fuel used in all of these large trucks and trailers that deliver the charcoal to Kano.

The charcoal dealer clarified, “So, in order to break even and recover their other costs as well as transportation costs, they must sell the commodity at this high rate.”