Lagos, – Some foodstuff grinders in major markets in Lagos on Wednesday urged the petroleum industry stakeholders to collaborate with the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, in resolving the nation’s energy crisis.
They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in interviews that the national energy crisis, if allowed to continue, would destroy micro-businesses that hedge the Nigerian economy.
According to them, the ongoing national energy crisis had in recent times made their micro-businesses unprofitable and further impoverished Nigerians, especially rural dwellers.
Alhaja Falilat Yahaya, a grinder at Ayangburen Market in Ikorodu, Lagos said that the absence of petroleum products, which serve as an alternative source of power for grinding machines during outages, has completely made them redundant.
“The ongoing petrol scarcity has affected us in this trade because of the exorbitant amount we are paying for petrol and the man hours wasted to get the product.
“We grind pepper at N70 but if we use fuel, we charge N80, depending on the quantity of the item the customer wants to grind.
“I bought five litres of petrol at N150 just to remain in service and satisfy my customers, but I was shocked because I was only able to grind five times when the fuel finished.
“After I deducted the sales proceeds from the expenses, I realised that my efforts were futile because I made a loss.
“There is no stable power supply in the market, which is why I have a lot of yam flour, corn and wheat to grind because I have resolved not to use fuel to grind again for now.”
Another grinder, Mr Yinusa Adamu, operating at the Mile 12 market in Lagos said that lack of petrol and the unstable power supply have made it difficult to offer services or be able to recoup returns on investments.
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“For some weeks, I have just been coming to the market to observe shoppers and sleep in my shop because the petrol and electricity situation have rendered me redundant.
“You met me asleep not because of lack of patronage from customers but I am incapacitated by the situation in the country.
“If we get an alternative and we are able to increase our charges, customers will complain that we are cheating them. Really, we are helpless about the present situation,” he said.
A customer, Mrs Iyabo Olayemi, said she had resorted to a hand grinder to blend her pepper since there was no electricity or petrol to power the generator.
“All those grinding pepper in my area have gone out of operation because of lack of power. The situation has caused most of us to improvise with hand blenders, while some households are now using the grinding stone.
“If I need to grind beans for `moi-moi’ which I cannot use my hand blender for, I will have to spend N200 on transport fare to the closest operator or market, before I can do it.
“An additional cost of grinding and transportation attached to the cost of preparing a pot of stew every time is rather unacceptable,” she said.
She also urged the Federal Government to quickly provide a lasting solution to the problem of petroleum product shortages and the shortfall in electricity generation in the country. (NAN)
