In this concluding part of this special report, JULIANA FRANCIS looks at the health consequences of the use of firewood and charcoal on Nigerians and the environment
In Ondo State, a council worker in the Akure North
Local Government Area, Mrs. Ogedengbe, said: “How much is my salary that I will
be buying gas in this present situation? There was a time that I used to fill
my 12kg cylinder with about N3,500 to N4,000. Where will I see N8,400 to fill
it now? I've switched to a charcoal stove for close to two months now. Once I
buy N200 charcoal, it will take me a while, and it’s even faster. I used to
think that we were very few using charcoal, but I have now discovered almost all
my colleagues are using it.”
Another resident, who is a tailor in the Aule area of
the Akure metropolis, Mrs. Akinbamidele, disclosed that the moment that the
price of gas got to over N600 per kg, she immediately diverted to charcoal.
Akinbamidele, who took to tailoring because she couldn’t get a job after
graduating from a polytechnic, stated that her mother, who lives in the Akoko
area of the state, told her that a charcoal stove was more economical.
She said: “It was when my Mum came from Arigidi-Akoko
on a visit that she told me to get a charcoal pot, when I began to complain
about the amount I spent on gas. It was around N600 then. When I tried it out,
it worked out so well. And since then, that is what I've been using. How much
do I make from sewing that I will be buying gas at such an exorbitant price?”
A resident of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Umar, said
that for the last five years, he has been using gas for cooking, but now he
couldn’t afford it.
He said: “We resolved to be using charcoal, but we have
also discovered that it is causing serious health hazards because of the smoke
it causes in the house. Even the price of charcoal has continued to skyrocket
because the sellers realised that many people have turned to it.”
A retired member of the Delta State chapter of the
Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mrs. Veronica Ikenchukwu, in Asaba, said the
current rising cost of life in Nigeria has exposed the incompetence of the
incumbent national government, lamenting that the skyrocketing cost of gas has made
her to divert to the use of saw-dust from sawmills to cook for her household.
She initially took recourse in gathering firewood and
dry bamboo from uncompleted buildings, but had to stop when one of her
grandchildren stepped on a four-inch nail at a site at Okpaman in Oshimili
North Local Government Area.
She added: “The capitalist government of the day in
Nigeria has made the economic situation worse for the poor. To feed, pay school
fees and house rent is now ‘a tug of war’. The poorest of the poor can neither
buy kerosene nor gas. The fact that cooking with firewood, saw-dust or charcoal,
has suddenly become fashionable again, is a sign of a failed nation under
incompetent leaders. In Nigeria today, it’s the government of the rich, by the
rich and for the rich. We hear and read about billions and trillions of naira
being internally generated, borrowed and mismanaged on the pages of newspapers,
but so little is being heard of the cause of the poor.”
Mrs. Dupe Akindele is a primary school teacher. She
resides at Arowona area of Olorunsogo in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. She
complained that money now spent on a kilogram of gas was used to buy three
kilograms before.
She added: “It’s very pathetic. Apart from the fact
that the economy of the country is bad, with poverty staring everybody in the
face, we are back to the old system of cooking with firewood by going into the
bush and forests to fetch firewood. This is also because kerosene is not
affordable. Its price per litre is very high. Sometimes, we revert to using
charcoal pots. All of them are not even good for human health, but what do we
have to do? In fact, everything is just getting worse by the day. The present
leadership in the country is adding to people's sufferings on a daily basis.
Common essential commodities are no longer within the reach of the masses. What
do these rulers want the poor masses to enjoy in life for God's sake?”
In Kebbi State, a businessman, Mallam Usman, said that
he stopped using gas owing to the cost. He also stated that Nigerians are tired
of this present administration due to the inflation in the country. “There’s no
price control on anything in this country. People are dying and the government
is not doing anything about it,” he said.
Mrs. Victoria Yohanna, who resides with her family at
Romi community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, disclosed that
she stopped using gas when the last one she bought got finished.
She explained: “I’m using firewood as a temporary
measure, because anytime I have money, I will buy the gas.”
Yohanna noted that although firewood is not cheap, it
is cheaper than kerosene. “The monthly food allowance is not even enough for
food that will take us to the end of the month,” she added.
To limit the dirt caused by firewood, Yohanna
said that she cooks outside, which adds further stress to the preparation of a
meal.
In Edo State, a 12.5kg gas cylinder that was sold for
between N3,800 and N4,200 in March 2021 is now sold for between N8,500 and
N9,300.
It’s not only the users that the gas increment is
affecting. Gas sellers also have their stories of frustrations to narrate.
Mrs. Funmilayo Michael, who operates a local gas shop
on Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, said she could no longer continue with the
business as a result of the incessant hike in the price of the commodity.
She said: “People have stopped buying gas as they seek
alternatives. The price of gas keeps soaring and as a retailer, if you don’t
have money, you’ll not meet the demand of your customers. Most of our customers
are going for kerosene, firewood, charcoal, electric burners and others.
Personally, I use kerosene or electric stove when there is a power supply. The
way the price keeps increasing is annoying. I expect the government to look
into this problem.”
A mother of four, Mrs. Ikwo Etim, in Calabar, Cross
River State, said: “I cannot afford gas now because I have four children who
are in school. They are the ones that go into the bush to gather firewood which
we use for cooking. The deforestation programme will not work until the price
of gas slumps.”
Residents of Sokoto State are feeling the pinch more
as there is now scarcity of firewood because of the ban on vehicles from
carrying firewood from the forest by the state government.
Lamenting over the hike in the price of gas, Haruna
Mande, describes the situation as “worrisome.”
He added: “I have no option than to go for firewood
because it is available and affordable. But right now, firewood has also become
scarce and expensive.”
A resident of Plateau State, Mrs. Justina John, a
teacher, lamented the recent hike, which compelled her to seek alternatives.
She asked: “How can the average Nigerian cope, considering the rise in prices
of foodstuffs in the market?”
Mr. Davou Nyam, a baker, said the price hike has
affected his business negatively and forced him into settling for charcoal. He
said the increased price led to an increase in the prices of bread, pastries,
confectioneries and other bakery products.
He argued: “If government is serious about job
creation, it must consider a downward review of prices of some key commodities
because the hike has a ripple effect on the citizens and even on the economy in
general. The inability of the government to ensure proper price control has
enabled black marketers to take advantage of the situation to inflict more
pains on the people.”
To some residents of Rivers State, particularly Port
Harcourt and its environs, the increase in the price of gas has not in any way
affected the way they prepare their meals. Long before now, they had switched
to kerosene, which they buy at an affordable price from illegal refiners. What
appears to be the problem is that the number of people now seeking kerosene for
usage has drastically increased.
A Public Health Physician, Dr. Tuyi Mebanwondu, said
that even before the price of gas increased, at least 70 per cent of people in
the rural areas were using firewood and charcoal.
He added: “The impact on health and environment is
massive. For instance, to get firewood, you have to cut a tree in order to use
the wood to make a fire. Cutting of the wood can lead to increase of carbon dioxide
in the environment, deforestation and addition of pollutants to the
environment.
“For the users, there are a lot of issues. There is
indoor pollutant and some chemical release. When these chemicals are inhaled,
especially over a period of a long time, the person involved may develop an
acute lung respiratory problem.”
Mebanwondu said such users could be susceptible to
asthma, cough, acute respiratory illness, ballooning of the air sac of the
lungs, obstruction of pulmonary heart diseases and cancer in some instances.
He added: “Prolonged exposures to charcoal and
firewood have been linked to increase in blood pressure, low birth wealth of
offspring and cancer of the throat. Users also get tired easily and look
frail. They can even have problems with blood production. For some, it could
cause an allergic reaction of the skin because of soot. They can have
itching, dermatitis and eyes can become bloodshot.”
Mebanwondu also said in the environment, it can lead
to CO2 emission and global warming, and it can also lead to acid rain. He
added: “All attempts to cut down trees as a source of fuel should be
discouraged. Trees should be preserved.”
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Association of
Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPAMG), Bassey Essien, said that the
prices of gas will continue to increase as long as the Federal Government
refuses to proffer solutions to the problems in the sub-sector.
According to him, problems causing increase in the
prices of gas and its attendant scarcity in Nigeria are many and until the
government steps into the matter, the product is not going to be affordable.
Nigeria, he said, imports 65 per cent of gas that is
being consumed in the country, while the remaining 35 per cent is sourced
locally. He said the cost of importation is very high, as individuals and
companies importing the product spend a lot of money before they can bring gas
into the country.
According to him, the exchange rate is not favourable
as Nigerians are not getting dollars to buy at a rate that is beneficial to
them.
He added: “If the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) can
create a special window, through which Forex will be made available at an
affordable rate, importers will not find it difficult to bring gas into the
country. Once they are able to do so, they will flood the market with gas and
in the process, crash the price of the product.”
Essien also advised the Federal Government to suspend
Value Added Tax (VAT) and Customs Duties, adding that the government has
contributed immensely to the scarcity of gas. VAT, he said, was increased
to 7.5 per cent from five per cent. He said that the development is a problem
to those importing gas.
He accused the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas
(NLNG) of contributing to the problems in the gas sub-sector, by buying
gas, which it is producing, in foreign currency, not naira. He said that
as long as the price of gas produced in the country is denominated in dollar;
importers will do likewise in order to make more money.
The government, Essien said, should try and dialogue
with middle men in the distribution chain, who are capitalising on the
inadequate supply of gas in the country, to increase the prices of the product.
According to him, dialogue will help in solving many of the problems in the gas
distribution chain.
He added: “The prices, at which gas companies in the
country are buying metric tonnes of the product, have been increasing since
last year. People will definitely add their own gains, when they are selling it
to Nigerians.”
The NALPAMG boss noted that 20 metric tonnes of gas
was sold for N3.4 million in January 2020 and later N5.4 million in the same
year. The price of 20 metric tonnes of gas moved to N6 million mid 2021 and N11
million in October this year. According to him, the issue is having undesirable
consequences on the product in the country.
“This happens despite the decision of NLNG to increase
its supply from 250,000 metric tonnes to N450,0000 metric tonnes,” he added.
On his part, the National Coordinator, Coalition for
Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE), Mr. Chinedu Bosah, said that the
product is expensive because it is being sold to Nigerians at the international
market rates, not naira.
“The Federal Government pretends as if it does not
know anything about it, so far the interests of a few people are being
satisfied at the expense of over 200 million Nigerians,” said Bosah.
According to him, the few people and companies that
are being satisfied from the rising prices of gas are the International
Oil Companies (IOCs) also known as the oil majors.
Bosah said: “These companies are milking Nigerians by
importing and at the same time making gas available in the country at the
international market's prices. Why won't the price keep increasing? I think the
price of gas is over N10,000 now. This is true of gas cylinders with wider
capacity like 12.5 kg upwards. But the government is silent because its cronies
are laughing all the way to the bank. Imagine gas, which we have in abundance,
now costs a lot of money to buy. That is to tell you the kind of government we
have. We have a government which believes that the poor should suffer at the
expense of a few elite. Even prices of firewood and charcoal have gone up in
response to the increase in the prices of gas. Why? Nigerians are now shifting
to traditional means of cooking.
“If this situation is prevalent in 2022, it may cause
a whole lot of problems for the people.”
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