Power outage: Abuja, Niger ice-blocks to the rescue in Kano

Nineteen-year-old Sani, who usually sells sachet water at France Road junction, in Kano State has been struggling. “I usually sell several bags of water, but without ice blocks, I don’t know what to do anymore,” he told this reporter, while offering lukewarm sachets of water from the bag he was trying to sell.

The electricity outage in many states of the northern region exposed the vulnerabilities of many residents of Kano, particularly those whose livelihoods depended on electricity. As the power outage continued, households, local vendors and healthcare facilities asked for restoration of power to alleviate their hardship.

On October 22, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported a power outage across the North-east, North-west, and parts of North-central Nigeria, after the 330-kilovolt Ugwuaji–Apir transmission lines tripped. Two days later, TCN identified a snapped 330kV transmission line in the swampy forest of Igumale, Benue State, which further worsened the blackout. Before then, the TCN had reported that the Shiroro-Kaduna line had been vandalised, cutting off electricity supply to major northern cities like Kaduna and Kano. Though power was restored to some parts of the North on October 30, which was the ninth day of the outage, many Kano residents continue to grapple with lack of electricity. 

For many years, residents have come to depend on ice blocks to not only chill their drinks, but to preserve food and get refreshed amid the sunny weather. But the prolonged power outage led to scarcity of ice blocks, forcing many sellers in the northwestern state to find alternative supply chains in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory and Niger Republic, which shares a border with the northern part of the country.

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Nigeria supplies 24 hours electricity to Niger Republic, Togo, and Benin Republic through strategic bilateral agreements, the Managing Director and CEO of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Sule Abdulaziz had disclosed last month. Weekend Trust reports that about 70 per cent of Niger’s electricity typically comes from Nigeria, with Mainstream-NIGELEC; the Nigerian electricity company serving as the primary electric power utility. 

This is why some ice block traders said they had been relying on supply from the neighbouring country due to its close proximity to Kano State. While some of the ice block dealers said they got supply from Abuja, approximately 429.6 km away, others said although irregular, they sometimes sourced ice blocks from Niger Republic which is closer to Kano State than Abuja. 

Findings by this reporter revealed that due to the electricity blackout, ice blocks which used to sell at N50–N70 was sold at N1,800–N2,500. Ice block dealers confided in our reporter that the supply often came through Babura Local Government Area; the north of Jigawa State which borders Niger Republic. He further said that a Nigerien town of Magaria is close to Babura and ice blocks produced from Magaria find their way to Kano, where the demand is high.

Weekend Trust also observed vehicles from Abuja with ice blocks arriving at Post Office Road, a popular hub for ice sellers where ice production was halted. Suppliers explained that they transported the commodity in well-packed sacks and cartons, driving overnight to ensure airtight conditions and arrive in the morning for eager buyers in Kano.

Shaibu Umar, driving a Toyota Sharon loaded with up to 300 ice blocks, travelled overnight. He revealed, “We got the ice from Abuja, from places like Gwarinpa, Kaduna Road, Dei-Dei, Madala. My car was loaded at about 12:30 am, and I arrived here around 7:05 am.”

“When the long-type blocks arrive from Abuja, we sell them for over N2,000. But those from Niger Republic cost between N1,500 and N1,600,” explained another ice block supplier.

Nuhu Salisu Aliyu brings ice from Abuja to Kano once every two days. He explains, “We purchase ice from Wuse 2 in Abuja, charter a vehicle, and sometimes pay up to N160,000 for a Sharon vehicle carrying up to 250 blocks. We sell each block here for N1,800 to N2,000. We package it in cartons to keep it airtight. If we leave at 7 pm, we arrive Kano by morning, and it’s still dry when we arrive.”

Abubakar Auwal Inuwa, Vice-chairman of the Ice Sellers Association at Digga Ice Market, said the situation was unprecedented. “This street, off Post Office Road, used to be jam-packed with people, but when we stopped producing ice due to the power outage, even businesses relying on ice stopped,” Inuwa explained.

He added: “We used to sell ice here for N200. But blocks from Abuja, Niger Republic and elsewhere sell for as high as N2,000–N2,500.”

Favour Ogbonaya, who was there to buy ice later changed her mind when she was told the price. “Please, those in authority, help us. We widows can’t afford to eat anymore. How can we buy ice for N2,000?”

Elsewhere in Kano, the effects were equally dire. Muhammad, an ice vendor on Igbo Road by the market, attributed the price hike to fuel costs. “Due to the lack of electricity, we got ice from places using generators, and it was priced at N1,800,” he said. 

Small businesses also suffered. In Bompai industrial area, Nasarawa LGA, a cold room operator, Muhammad Tajudeen expressed despair over the outage. “All our sources of livelihood are gone”, he said. 

The situation did not affect only ice sellers and vendors but also local families who rely on affordable ice to preserve food. Sellers of cold drinks along Zoo Road said they initially bought ice at N400 to N500 when the blackout began but decided to stop when the price rose to N1,700 and above.

 “I tried to sell drinks to customers as they are, but many don’t buy because they are not cold. I had to stop buying ice when the price got to about N2,000, because I did not think I would make much profit,” Audu Labaran said.