The harmattan cold coupled with dry and dusty winds are slowing down night activities in Jos, the Plateau State capital, Benue/Plateau Chronicle reports.
Our correspondent reports that many residents prefer to stay indoors in the evenings as a result of the biting cold.
Temperature in the city now fluctuates between 17 to 19 degrees centigrade at night.
Traders whose businesses is mostly at night say it is no longer the case as the cold weather provides an excuse for residents to stay indoors at night giving them no choice but to close up their shops earlier than usual.
Ado Musa, a provision retailer in Anguwan Rogo, told Benue/Plateau Chronicle that though his shop remained opened until midnight, the numer of his customes had dwindled as most people who often stay out in the night no longer do so.
“Even I have to wear layers of cloth and a jacket because it gets very chilly at night and the early hours of the morning. Because I stay at the shop till mid night and open early in the morning, I know that many people prefer to come out when it is a little sunny because sometimes the cold gets unbearable,” he said.
Hashimu Haruna, who sells suya (spicy meat) at the Liberty Boulevard, however, said he makes more money during the harmattan period as many customers prefer to hang around his suya stall to enjoy the heat from the fire.
“And you know when they hang around, they buy suya and enjoy the heat so despite the cold I stay till midnight because the harmattan season is usually the period for us to make brisk money,” he said.
But Amos Adamu, who sells provision under a large umbrella at the British America Junction said, “despite the jackets and stockings we wear, we still sometimes close before 9p.m. depending on how fierce the cold is. Most people now go home early so you don’t see a lot of customers at night.”
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