•Heat
Some residents of Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory have expressed their discomfort while grappling with intense heat as unstable electricity supply continues to worsen living conditions in their communities.
The residents spoke in separate interviews with our correspondent yesterday in Abuja.
Areas such as Kubwa, Bwari, Karu, Nyanya, Gwagwalada among others, have experienced frequent power outages for over a month, leaving many households unable to cope with the scorching weather, reports NAN.
While some were concerned about the effects of the situation on their households, others decried its impact on their businesses that depended on electricity for operations.
Mrs Esther Emoh, a resident of Bwari, said the situation had made daily life uncomfortable, especially at night when electricity was needed to power fans and cooling appliances.
She said: “Since February, our light here has been unstable. All we keep hearing are excuses upon excuses and to top it all, the weather has become too unfriendly, the heat is unbearable.
“I and my family cannot sleep at night even with the windows wide open because the little breeze outside does not even come into the rooms, everything I have stored in my freezer have melted.
“Even when they restore power supply, it hardly lasts up to an hour, not enough to freeze anything. Whatever the issue is with the light, please, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), should try and normalise the situation. We are tax payers and we need value for what we pay for, the heat is too much,” she said.
Similarly, Mrs Rose Bawa, a private school teacher in Bwari, said the situation had forced her to take lessons for her pupils outside the classroom where it is more conducive.
According to her, she teaches pre-school learners whom she said were “too young and sensitive to heat” to remain in a classroom with no fan and little cross ventilation.
“They are just 10 in the classroom but you know kids react quickly to weather.
“We cannot take chances so, since there’s hardly power supply, we just take their chairs outside and take our lessons on the veranda while enjoying the natural breeze,” Bawa said.
Another resident, Mr Auta Amos, said that the heat and power outage left him no choice than to sleep outside in his family compound.
While noting that although, others were too afraid to join him, he also could not bear to sleep indoors in the heat.
Amos said that in spite of sleeping outdoors to receive the natural breeze, he still baths more than twice before midnight to cool off his body and get comfortable.
Meanwhile, a trader in Dutse-Alhaji, Mr Ezra Bright, said that the heat had not only disrupted sleep but has increased reliance on generators, which he added had also raised the cost of living due to the hike in fuel price.
Bright who operates a frozen foods store, said that the cost of maintaining his products has been too demanding and in spite of all efforts, witnessed low patronage.
“It is because there is no light; not everyone can store foods in the freezers now without light except those with bigger generators and now, the cost of fuel has increased. Everywhere is just hot,” he said.
Similarly, Mr Abdul Farouk, a barber, said that the prolonged power outage forced him to spend more on fuel to keep his shop running, thereby reducing his daily earnings.
Farouk said that the situation had become more difficult especially with the ongoing fasting.
He appealed to relevant authorities and the electricity distribution company to improve power supply to help ease the hardship on Nigerians in the peak of the hot season.
