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•Umbrella, fan sellers make brisk business as residents groan over low power voltage
From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, are groaning as a result of the blistering weather, leaving most of them to dress scantily. No time of the day is conducive, the environment is hot all through.
To compound the situation, power supply is erratic. While some areas contend with total blackout, others grapple with low voltage that cannot power air conditioners and, to a large extend, industrial fans.
Also, the fear of burglars, mosquito bites and other reptiles strolling into their houses, especially in suburbs, has prevented distraught residents from leaving their windows and doors ajar, mostly at night, for air to come in.
It is either they are inside murmuring and fanning themselves or they are outside with the doors and windows shut.
Equally, the number of sachet water hawkers has increased. Availability of extremely chilled water is limited. Those who are extremely dehydrated settle for what is relatively cold to quench their thirst and wet their heads and arms.
Even the cost of ice blocks has increased. It used to be sold for N300. Now it is N400, a situation that is expectedly attributed to the high cost of diesel and other miscellaneous expenses.
Fuel scarcity is another snag most people grapple with. They queue from morning to night, as the case may be, just to get the product so as to power their electricity generators.
Those who can afford it buy it, but not without going through the hurdle of poor network associated with mobile banking apps transactions. Some who cannot stomach the hassles, patronise roadside hawkers of petrol to power their generating sets.
Sadly, the sound of these generators poses another headache for phonophobia.
Meanwhile, the scorching sun has created an avenue for vendors of manual and rechargeable fans to smile to the bank. They are littered across the city centre.
It is either they are in their shops or positioned around busy traffic lights advertising their goods and signalling to passersby.
Not left out are face cap sellers, especially those brandishing used ones who come out at noon to do business.
The cash scarcity is not an impediment because they accept money transfers either through the point of sale (POS) machines or USSD code.
One would have thought that umbrella sellers would relax until during the rainy season, but they have come out to meet the demands of trekkers, especially women carrying children.
Car owners with serviceable air conditioners and beaten hard by the unfavourable weather conditions are trooping to mechanic shops to fix their systems.
Also, most people cool off at public swimming pools for a fee of between N1,000 and N2,000, especially during the weekends.
A 43-year-old farmer, Theophilus Adam, said: “The heat these days is discomfiting. I bathe about five times a day. Inside the house is hot, outside is even terrible. The trees are quiet, the leaves are not moving. It is not funny at all.
“The electricity situation is terrible. One cannot conveniently power his or her cooling system because of low voltage. Electricity tarrif is another problem.”
Okikiola Shittu, a cab driver, said if he was not conveying commuters, he took comfort under the popular Berger Bridge at Wuse, resting, because of the hot weather condition. He said his intake of water had increased.
“Abuja is terribly hot. I am always sweating, as if I engaged in a marathon race. The house is hot. In fact, everywhere is just too hot. The rain that fell last week compounded the problem.
“I sleep very late because I must battle with mosquitoes and the weather condition. Also, my neighbour’s generating set is deafening. It has not been easy at all,” he lamented.
The hotness of the weather is also taking a toll on birds as they die in droves, if not properly cared for.
A poultry owner, Innocent Okechukwu, at Dogongada, lamented that the climate has affected the growth of chickens and turkey.
“The extreme climate is not good for birds. They die easily, if the weather is unfavourable. I have lost about 14 of my birds. But a neighbour advised to expand my poultry house for space.
“But where is the land or space? It has not been easy. What I do now is to limit the number of chickens and turkey that I buy because it makes no sense to buy 50 to 60 birds and run at a loss because of the humid weather condition,” Okechukwu said.
A seamstress, Ibukun Abimiku, said, as a lady, she is forced to shower multiple times just to wade off sweat.
“As a lady, I try to bathe as many times as possible. The environment is too hot for me to compromise my health. It would not have been a problem, if there was constant electricity.
“All we are asking is for the government to improve on electricity supply. What is the point paying huge amounts of money without electricity? It makes no sense,” she said.
For Gadzama Jeremiah, a retired civil servant, instead of lamenting inside his house because of the hot weather, he sits with his grandchildren and tells them stories of yesteryear.
He said: “Since I cannot sleep at night, I gather my grandchildren and tell them stories of yesteryear. And before you know it, everyone will be ready to go to bed.
“The hot weather is temporary. It is not permanent. So, we just have to manage. Like the Bible says, this too shall pass away.”
