High cost of cooking gas: Saw dust now the alternative

Many Nigerian families are gradually returning to alternative cooking solutions such as charcoal and saw dust.

This is no thanks to the current cost of cooking gas which is not only prohibitive but also scaring the daylight out of the eyes of the average Nigerian family.

Economy&Lifestyle findings revealed that the long abandoned crude method of cooking using saw dust has resurfaced as average families can no longer afford the high cost of cooking gas.

A dive into the cost of cooking gas showed that it is as high as N1,600 to N2,000 per kilogram (1 kg).
Even at that, many gas stations do not even have enough for sale.

Unfortunately too, even the price of firewood has risen as a result. A bundle of firewood containing just four pieces, now goes for as much as N800 to N1,000 depending on the area.

Similarly, 50kg of wood charcoal is sold for N13,000 to N20,000. While a 50 kg of briquettes charcoal is sold for N50,000 and above.

The cost of kerosene is not also friendly for any average family because a litre of kerosene which was N80 per litre has increased to N2,000 per litre.

So, in all of these, Saw dust has come to the rescue.

According to Mrs. Racheal Durotimi, a herb seller, the situation has affected her business seriously.
“I have to go to the sawmill, get two big bags of sawdust which I bought for N500 and put it in a big container which I constructed like a stove.

“That’s what I am using now. How much do I make that I will spend all my profit on charcoal, gas or kerosene.

“Last weekend I was moving around looking for cooking gas everywhere to no avail.
“The queues in some places were very terrible.

“I bought charcoal. But charcoal of N2, 000 got finished within the blink of an eye. I had to finish the cooking using planks.

“It was as if the charcoal had air inside because it was very light.

“The other type that lasts longer is very very expensive.”

Mr. Innocent Ogbei, a bricklayer, said he searched for kerosene when he heard the price of gas had increased and the product was scarce but was surprised at what he saw.

“All the filling stations in my area don’t have kerosene.

“Some attendants even told me that a litre is now N2,000 to N2,500 depending on the area.
“I was shocked and tired. Then I remembered the saw dust cooking fuel.

“I called my friend at the saw mill and he sent a bag of sawdust.

“I filled it in a stove like container and that is what I will be using to cook till the government sorts this problem out.

“Look at kerosene, since the time of the Late former President Buhari when subsidy was removed from the product it became something many Nigerians couldn’t afford.

“Everyone moved to charcoal from there to cooking gas. Look at the problem they are causing us to live with it.

“It is only God that will help us in this country.

“I pity the food sellers and restaurants’ owners so much. I wonder how they are coping.”

The National President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Oladapo Olatunbosun, attributed the surge in the price of cooking gas to temporary supply disruptions and market exploitation by some operators while speaking on a Channels Television’s The Morning Brief few weeks ago.

Mrs. Hawa Monday, a small scale commercial snack seller said: “To get cooking gas now is by connection.

“The price from retail sellers is N2000 to N2,500 per kg. From the filling station, it is N1,800 per kg.

“I went to get a bag of saw dust for N2,000 to start frying my snacks. It is better than charcoal which doesn’t last anymore except you buy the briquettes which are very expensive.

How much do I gain from selling snacks to be able to afford such cooking fuel?
“Kerosene is the worst. You cannot even get it and when you see, it is very expensive.

“Saw dust was free to get before, butnow, it’s a high demand from dairy farmers, crop farmers among others.”