It
is no news that prices of kerosene have gone up; what may however be
news is how the common man, already bearing the brunt of high cost of
food commodities, is faring with this additional brunt. Gboyega Alaka
went to town to feel the pulse of the people.
WHO would have imagined that prices of
kerosene would one day become a thing of so much worry in Nigeria? Who
would have contemplated that a commodity, which went for as low as N50
per liter a couple of years ago would so soon sell for between N200 and
N250? (A respondent even said he bought it at N300 in his area in Lagos
not too long ago; arguing that what sold for N200 was the 60cl beer
bottle measurement.) Now that was the equivalent of a dollar just a few
months ago; and in a country where most people live below a dollar per
day, it leaves a lot of questions about the people’s chances of
survival.
By nature, man is hardly able to eat his
food raw, safe for some fruits. It is for this reason that he has
always had need for cooking fuel, be it firewood, charcoal, gas or
kerosene. In most third world countries, Nigeria inclusive, kerosene has
been the most preferred in the present modern day. More than 80% of
Nigeria’s population uses kerosene for their cooking; and that is
despite recent government campaigns for a switch to alternative fuel.
Perhaps the government foresaw an impending crisis, which the people
conveniently ignored, partly because prices (of kerosene) have for a
long time remained affordable. Even when the prices purportedly went up
under past government administrations, government’s subsidies kept it at
bay and ensured that it remained within the reach of the common man.
It is however a different story today.
First, an unending scam within the sector ensured that subsidies had to
be removed. Secondly, the increasing rise in the price of dollar, plus
an almost total deregulation of the sector has ensured that the price
continues to shoot up. To make matters worse, prices of food have also
risen astronomically, making cooking, something very basic for man’s
survival, extremely difficult.
Litany of complaints
When The Nation went out to various
parts of Lagos recently to feel the pulse of the people, especially how
they have been coping, the responses were not unsurprisingly a litany of
lamentations. What turned-out a bit of surprise however was the
magnitude, level of disillusionment and a sense of regret at the present
administration.
Mercy, Cynthia and Favour are petty
traders at Volkswagen Bus-stop along Badagry Expressway. Mercy sells
cigarettes and candies, while Cynthia and Favour operate a makeshift
food canteen by the roadside. They sat together this particular
afternoon, so they inevitably had to be interviewed together. Mercy said
the situation is really tough and that she has had to resort to using
charcoal and nylon to make fire to prepare her meals.
“My brother,” Mercy began, “a litre of
kerosene is now N230 in my neighbourhood, so I have resorted to using
charcoal and nylon. You know that even with charcoal, I still would need
a little kerosene to light the fire; so I now use dry nylon in place of
kerosene. I set fire to the nylon and place it on the charcoal until it
catches fire. That is how we have been managing to cook and put food on
the table for our children.”
Mercy said she no longer uses kerosene
as it is, since the price of the quantity to cook a meal is almost equal
to the cost of the food stuff itself. Imagine me cooking one derica of
rice at N250 with a litre of kerosene at N250. That does not make sense
to me at all.”
When asked if the price of charcoal has
not gone up due to the pressure of demand for it, Mercy said “Charcoal
is still far better. With N50 charcoal, you can cook a meal. You’ll even
have left-over that you can use for your next meal. But not so with
kerosene. A litre of kerosene can barely cook a meal. Maybe a pot of
soup and to boil water to make garri. And if you venture to use it to
cook beans, you can be sure that you will not have anything left in your
stove.”
Cynthia on her part said “the worst part
is that the kerosene even dries up quickly. I think it has to do with
the quality, but I can tell you that the kerosene we use now is
different from what we used to use in those days.”
Favour chipped in that the situation has
affected the cost of food that they sell. She said the young men who
patronise them at the bus park now complain perennially of the quantity
they dish out for them, but she said it is not their fault. “If we don’t
pass the cost to the customers, then we won’t be able to go to the
market the next day.”
On whether they have not tried gas as an
alternative, Mercy said “I use gas from time to time, but I stopped
when its price also went up. I use the medium size cylinder, but as we
speak, the price has gone up to N5,000, so for now, I am sticking with
my charcoal and nylon.
Not far from the trio is a group of men
under a large umbrella, where Fair Onyinyechi operates another makeshift
canteen. With this group, it was as if they had been waiting for
someone to unburden their hearts to, and they were all the more happy
when they discovered their guest was a newspaper reporter. Quickly, they
gathered and literally struggled to outwit each other in laying their
complaints.
A young man, who gave his name as Abdul
Rafiu Akorede, said “ I will not lie to you, things have gone really
crazy. It is as if the world is coming to an end. Is it that they have
deliberately dropped the quality of the kerosene? I ask this question
because the rate at which it dries up raises suspicion. I wasn’t born
yesterday, and I remember that when I was young and the stuff was cheap,
it usually lasted longer. You could use a litre to cook two to three
times; but that doesn’t happen again. Why should they reduce the quality
now that they have increased the price? Please help us tell the
government that we the masses are suffering. If they do not do anything
about our problems, especially this kerosene and foodstuff issue, we
will soon start rioting on the streets.”
At this point, another gentleman, Otunba
chipped in: “How much does this girl sell a plate of eba now? Before, a
plate of semo (semovita) was N150, now, it is N200, and yet the
quantity has been reduced. If we complain to Onyinyechi, the next thing
we hear is “I beg o things don cost o” And we know it too.”
Even Onyinyechi who had been silent all
the while jumped in at this point. “A derica (measurement tin) of rice
is now N300; add that to an expensive kerosene that now sells for N220
and you will understand that it is not my fault.”
Otunba added that many people now no
longer cook for their children at home, owing to the exorbitant prices
of kerosene. “Some people have resorted to only giving their children
money: N50, N70, N100 to buy food at the various mamaputs, rather than
cook at home; and they don’t bother asking if the food they bought
satisfies their hunger or not.”
He therefore said government should
bring down the price of the fuel, even if it is for the sake of the
masses, since “they (the elite) use gas.”
Akorede said even children now complain
that food sellers don’t want to sell food of N50 again. Where they do,
you would know that it is just to fulfill all righteousness. N50 beans
is not even enough to satisfy a chick.”
A woman who wouldn’t give her name said,
“ Frankly, this change has brought us more woes than we bargained for.
In fact, I regret going out to vote that day; we should just have left
Jonathan to continue in government; at least things weren’t as bad as
this then. the masses are suffering; the rich are enjoying because they
can afford gas.”
Otunba again chipped in: “What my wife
uses now is Abacha stove, sawdust (a makeshift sawdust-powered stove
that became popular when fuel scarcity hit the country briefly in the
late 1990s). The children go to sawmill and gather sawdust, which we now
stuff in a stove carcass and ignite with fire.”
He added that “For now, sawdust is free,
because we’re helping them to clear their waste; although I hear that
some people are already charging little money for it.”
By now, another man had joined the
group. He introduced himself as Chika and said at the moment, even N400
is not enough for him to eat at the local mamaput food sellers again.
The situation is so tough. Do you know that the staple lunch in my home
now is garri and groundnut? Gone are the days when children eat quality
meals for lunch.”
At a nearby auto spare-parts row, Agada,
who sells oils and other auto accessories said “With kerosene at N220
per litre, I don’t cook anymore. There is no money to buy expensive
kerosene to cook expensive food; so I just buy food from any of the
numerous mamaputs around – you can see that they’re all over the place.
Although the price of kerosene has affected the quality and quantity of
their food, I still find it more convenient as a bachelor.”
As a confirmation, Agada showed this
reporter the leftover bread he ate for breakfast. He implored the
government, as a panacea, to subsidise the price of kerosene, so that it
can become affordable again. People are suffering; even firewood is
getting more expensive now.”
His friend, Chukwuma said, the situation
is also breeding little criminals. “Nowadays, you see little children
engaging in petty stealing. Some of them, who have morals engage in
cheap labour to make quick money, and begging. This I believe is because
parents no longer bother if children are okay with their meals. They
just give them whatever money they can afford for food, not minding if
the money is enough. And don’t forget that hunger will not go away
simply because you ignored it. The result is that we now have children
who struggle to fend for themselves.”
Opeyemi Waheed, a soft drink seller,
summed it up, when she said she now spends as much as N1500 every
morning before setting out for her place of business. She said cooking
with kerosene at N220 a litre has become a hefty addition to the cost of
feeding at home. “In the past, we used to make do with N500 for
breakfast; but with the prices of food – whether rice, beans, yam or
even bread; along with kerosene, things are now nearly unbearable. And
what exactly is the size of my business?”
At a nearby Ibukun Olu Abdul Azeez
Filling Station, this reporter sought to confirm the price of the
commodity. A couple of women were seen on queue buying the product. The
attendant revealed that a litre currently sells for N200. He said they
sold at N150 not long ago and that the price fluctuates according to
price of supply. He also said he does not know anyone who sells at a
lesser price in the area.
Speaking to The Nation, one of the
customers on queue said she once bought at the station at N220 not too
long ago. And contrary to the attendant’s claim, she said she has not
bought the commodity at N150 per litre there this year.
In the Sango/Toll-Gate axis of
Lagos/Ogun border, the story is the same. Modinat Oguntimeyin, a
housewife, lamented the hike in the price of the cooking fuel. She said,
“The kerosene hike is really affecting us. At the moment, it is sold at
N200 per litre, and by the time you cook twice, it is finished. We
don’t even know what they now mix with it that makes it evaporate so
quickly.”
Romoke Olusola, a petty trader said the
price of the liquid is becoming unbearable, even though it is
indispensable to many families. She implored the present administration
to look into the issue if indeed they want the change mantra to have any
meaning to the people.
She said “Some people now stay a whole
day without cooking because of the price of kerosene. Many have diverted
to firewood and charcoal…. If you look at the kerosene we’re buying
these days, you’d see that it contains a mixture that changes its
original colour to orange-like colour. you would also notice that after
one round of cooking, what is left may not be enough for any significant
cooking.
Funmilayo Ajibade, a street hawker could
however not hide her anger against the government. He chided the
government for not doing enough to protect the interest of the common
man in the kerosene matter. “We have children at home to cater for and
since the price of everything including kerosene has gone up, I have no
option but to become a hawker overnight.
“Currently, we buy at N200 and before
you know it, a litre is gone. How does the government want us to survive
in this harsh condition?” She queried.
In his contribution, a sculptor and
father of three described the situation as unfortunate. He blasted the
government for “turning deaf ears to the groaning of the common man”
saying that “our leaders seem not to be ready to ameliorate the hardship
that stares the common man in the face.”
He added that the common man now cooks only once a day or not at all.
Outside Lagos, the situation is the same
or even worse. Samson Adekunle, who schools in Kwara State said the
product sold at between N215 and N230 per litre before he came on
holidays to Lagos. For this reason, he said, even as students, they have
resorted to cooking with charcoal. “You won’t believe it, but we cook
with charcoal in our hostels now. a good number of us have bought
coal-pots and we buy charcoal between N50 and N100. And the good thing
is that it lasts much longer than the kerosene you buy at over N200.
“Some students who live off campus even
use firewood. They forage nearby bushes for woods and use them to
prepare their meals. In the alternative, many students simply eat-out.”
The gas option
In June 2013, Lagos State government
under Governor Babatunde Fashola launched the Liquefied Petroleum Gas
(LPG) cylinder initiative for clean and green environment. It was a
campaign aimed at taking the people away from the old-fashioned way of
cooking with charcoal and firewood, which the government described as
‘harmful.’ it also sought to disabuse the people from their age-long
belief that cooking gas is only for the rich and upper-class. While the
campaign won a good number of people over, the larger population still
ignored, despite the lower cost and the affordable sized cylinder.
However, the current high price of
kerosene is forcing so many to make a switch, and quickly too. many
housewives have spoken of how they practically coerced their husbands to
fund the switch.
Blessing Baraka, a housewife in Ikotun
area of Lagos, is basking in her new found possession. Though she had
never used gas in cooking before, she confessed to this reporter that
she is relishing the new experience. She said she literally arm-twisted
her husband into letting them switch to cooking gas, since kerosene was
becoming unaffordable and electricity, which she normally used had
become scarce due to the drop in supply. She said the newly introduced
pre-paid metre being introduced in her area made matters worse, because
it suddenly became extremely expensive to cook with electricity. So now,
she said she does not have to buy kerosene at high prices nearly every
day anymore, saying it had even become embarrassing. But more
importantly, she is enjoying the convenience and the fact that her
cooking utensils no longer get black and messy.
About the risk of inflammability, she
said she is being careful enough, and that she has consistently warned
her children of the danger of fiddling with it.
She is however not too happy with the
fact that the price of gas is also going up. “When we took the decision
to switch to it, a cylinder was around N3,500; but as we speak, the
price is between N4,000 and N4,500. I even hear that even the price of
charcoal is gradually rising. I think the government should do something
to stem the situation, else the common man may not be able to eat
again.
Mrs Balogun, a petty trader in Ile-Iwe
area of Ikotun also said she had to switch to gas, when electricity,
which she had been used to became too epileptic. “When electricity
initially became too epileptic, I switched to kerosene, but that became
too expensive too and I had to embrace the gas option.”
She said though that too is not so
cheap, especially if you’re just starting out, but ultimately, it is a
lot better, faster, neater and more convenient. “To install the cylinder
and the cooker, I spent N11,000 on the cylinder, hose and regulator
N2,000 and gas N4,200. That totalled about N17,000. add that to the
price of the cooker itself, and you will understand why it is taking
many people too long to switch.”
She said subsequently, it hasn’t been
too difficult and a cylinder lasts her about two months, which she said
is cheap, compared to kerosene of N250 per day.
Hassan Adam, who lives in Apapa said
using kerosene to cook is a wasteful venture that any wise person should
have done away with a long time ago. He wondered why anyone would be
spending almost ten thousand naira on kerosene a month, when a cylinder
of gas that sold around N2,500 before the recent pipeline vandalism,
could last them up to two months and beyond.
He said he switched to cooking gas about
three months ago, when the Lagos State government embarked on a massive
campaign for a switch three years ago.
Adam also said most of the gas plants
now run home-delivery service, which takes away the inconvenience of
carrying the cylinder over long distance.
Charcoal prices on the rise too
According to Sango-based Romoke Olusola,
many have indeed switched to cooking with charcoal, even if it is for a
while, until kerosene prices come down. She however regretted the fact
that even the price of that is gradually climbing to the ceiling. “Many
have switched to charcoal and firewood, but even the price of that is
painfully on the rise. A bag of charcoal, which formally sold at N800
now sells at N1,800. Now that is over a hundred percent increase, and
automatically a hundred percent increase in the burden of the poor
masses.”
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