Fatimah Otunsanya
Amid a sharp increment in the price of cooking gas nationwide, many Nigerians have returned to using charcoal and firewood for cooking, a development that raises health and environmental concerns.
Cooking gas, has surged from around N1,200 per kilogram in early 2025 to between N2,000 and N3,000 in several parts of the country.
A full 12 kg cylinder of cooking gas now costs between N20,000 and N27,000, depending on location, compared to an average of N15,000 to N16,000 just a month ago.
As a result, many households are turning to cheaper alternatives like charcoal and firewood, despite their known health and environmental risks.
Meanwhile, report have shown that cooking with firewood and charcoal is equivalent to smoking 20 packages of cigarettes, noting that this is what Nigerian women go through daily.
Moreover, annually, 98,000 Nigerian women reportedly die from the use of firewood and charcoal, while about 21,000 of the deaths are recorded in the Niger Delta. It also adds to the destruction of forests, natural sinks that trap carbon and help fight global warming.
Cooking with firewood generates high levels of harmful air pollutants, which are harmful to our health, especially to the growing lungs of children.