Cheap but Deadly: Nigerians Compromise Their Health With Charcoal

As Nigeria makes a U-turn on subsidy on May 29, 2023, so many things have been affected, however, the most affected is how  unaffordable cooking gas has become.

Mass of Nigerians who have for once embraced clean energy, has now returned back to their traditional ways of cooking. Either clean or dirty, people just want something that puts food to the table.

Smoke from either charcoal or firewood exposes the human lungs to diseases varying from tuberculosis, asthma, lung cancer, high blood pressure and so on.

According to Dr Rahmat Odesesan, a Nigerian-based public health physician, indoor use of stoves and firewood (Charcoal) can expose children, especially those under the age of five to the risk of lung infection and respiratory diseases.

Scary Yet Factual

Nigeria holds 379 million tons (MMst) of proven coal reserves as of 2016, ranking 44th in the world and accounting for about 0% of the world’s total coal reserves of 1,139,471 million tons (MMst).

Nigeria has proven reserves equivalent to 1,961.4 times its annual consumption. This means it has about 1,961 years of Coal left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).

As of 2012, over 120 million Nigerians relied on firewood and charcoal for their cooking needs, said the International Energy Agency in the World Energy Outlook. A similar report by the World Health Organisation in 2017 put the figure at over 100 million, indicating no significant improvement.

Statistics show that dirty energy causes over 78,000 deaths annually in Nigeria. It as well adds to the loss of nearly 400,000 hectares of forests annually, while emissions from residential cooking represent about 55 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide and about 700,000 metric tonnes of harmful particulate matter emissions.

This constitutes a significant proportion of Nigeria’s total greenhouse gas emissions (which cause global warming and climate change), and its abatement represents a key national strategy in meeting the commitment to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Fall Trees, Fall ill

Nigeria’s total land area equates to 947,800 km2. Forest covers 10% of the total land area, with over 4,600 plant species identified, making Nigeria 11th most biodiverse country in Africa. These forested areas are on a sharp decline daily due largely to the illegal cutting of trees.

A former Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril disclosed in September 2016 at the International Environmental Roundtable for Africa organised by Green life Magazine noted that Nigeria loses 1.5 million trees daily due to logging, with a deforestation rate of 3.5 per cent annually considered the highest globally.

A 2017 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency stated that over 1.4 million illegal rosewood logs (popularly known as Koso) worth $300m were exported to China from Nigeria, in connivance with top government officials. This led to the placement of a ban on the exportation of the species used for manufacturing luxury furniture.

Research shows that the major cause of deforestation is logging which is second to shifting cultivation. This imposes a great number of negative impacts on species or the products produced from forests.

According to The Principal Consultant, Enviromax Global Resources Limited, Gboyega Olorunfemi, the effect of deforestation on the environment and people ranges from socio-economic impact to health hazards.