From panic buying of petrol to queues in fuelling stations, Nigerians never envisaged the current hardship meted on them due to the scarcity of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.
The two-phased hardship occasioned by the fuel scarcity and epileptic power supply has distressing effects on businesses. Businesses that trade in soft drinks and Ice blocks have decried the epileptic power supply and fuel scarcity in their companies.
Daily News24 gathered that specific traders had increased the prices of carbonated drinks and sachet by a small percentage, while Ice block sellers have outrightly increased the cost of the commodity due to unstable power supply and dwindling fuel scarcity.
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“It has not been easy doing business in the past weeks because of the fuel scarcity and the consistent power outage. To be sincere, the business has been prolonged,” said Ridwan Mohammed, a trader who sells carbonated drinks and sachet water.
“When the light comes on, it doesn’t stay for long, and it is quite frustrating, and from what some of the sachet water (pure water) sellers are saying, the prices of water could increase by either N5 or N10 in the coming weeks if the epileptic power supply lingers” Mohammed added.
He explains to Daily News24 that he now has to use ice blocks to cool his drinks since the blackout began.
He added that he used to, but a piece of ice block at N30 before the current situation, and he now buys it in the range of N80 and N100.
“A bag of sachet water we used to sell at N150 before is now N200 because of this hardship we are facing,” said Kasim Ibrahim, a Trader.
He told Daily News 24 that the sale of drinks and water in his shop had been a burden because of power supply challenges and difficulty getting petrol and diesel.
“A litre of diesel is now N700 and petrol is a far cry, and to that end, we cannot fully power our fridges to make the drinks cool for our customers.
“Because of the magnitude of the drinks and water we sell, we cannot use iceblocks, we have to power our generators, and if we are to sell the drinks and water at the usual rate, we are going to be at the losing end,, and we are in business to make a profit. Of recent, we cannot power our generators for long hours because of the high cost of diesel and scarcity of petrol. I hope the government fixes this as soon as possible.” He concluded.
Malam Yahaya Musa, an Ice block seller who spoke on behalf of his fellow traders in similar trade in the Bompai axis of Kano state, said the heating season is the only time they make money as the demand for the commodity is usually higher during the season.
He told Daily News 24 that the inconsistent power supply had made life difficult for him and his fellow traders in the state.
Malam Musa stated that he is frustrated as he pays his electricity bills when due but does not get the power supply his business needs to thrive. “Asides from paying my electricity bills, I have to pay my workers, and I also have to buy nylon and water to make the ice block, and the expenses keep accumulating. I don’t know how I am going to meet up with the accumulating costs, and it is so painful that I was notified of my electricity bills some days ago.
“Normally, it takes just two days to get ice blocks, but now, I have to wait for 15 days before I can get the blocks can get frozen and ready for sale. The job for two days now takes about half a month, and as you can see, the ice blocks are not fully frozen, but I have to sell them like that because I have a wife and five children to feed; the pressure is too much on me.
“Before I usually sell a piece of iced block for N20, but with the current reality, I now sell at N80 per piece. After investing so much money hoping that I would make a lot of profit during this heating season, I am just getting less than I expected, and it seems like all my effort is wasted. If the authorities fix this electricity let them do it because I am tired”! He exclaimed.
