Residents stop cooking with gas, resort to coal stoves in Kano

Many households in Kano City previously using cooking gas, say they have now resorted to coal stoves due to the hike in the price of the commodity.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the prices of kerosene and cooking gas have jumped astronomically in recent times, resulting to many families falling back to cheaper alternatives, including firewood.

Malam Bello Abdullahi, a civil servant, who commented on the development, told NAN in Kano on Wednesday that he had been using gas for more than two decades but had to stop because he could no longer afford the cost.

“I can’t imagine buying a 12.5kg cylinder at the cost of N5,500 and who knows if it will stop at that price.”

Another user, Dattijo Alhaji, said that his family brought the idea of switching to coal stove because coal was affordable.

He said that as a pensioner, he needed to control his finances to survive the recession.

Similarly, Malama Bilkisu Usman, a housewife, also told NAN that she advised her husband to purchase coal stove in order to have funds for other needs.

She said that she had been purchasing 5kg cylinder of gas N1,500 for the past three years.

According to her, the price has shot up gradually to N2,100 within the past year alone.

Other residents, while decrying the increase in the price of cooking gas, told NAN that they had also migrated to using coal stoves until the situation improved.