Residents of Kano, Jos, Yobe, and Maiduguri, Borno state have been forced into a house arrest following rather unfriendly cold weather.
With the temperature in Jos dropping to an average of 11 degrees Celsius in the evening but rising to about 19 degrees in the afternoon, residents of Jos are left to endure the biting cold that has enveloped the city.
Though many had predicted that the harmattan season would come in the month of December, it appears the harsh weather conditions have kick-started the year with Nigerians instead.
While many residents of Lagos State are forced to cope with the new lifestyle, residents of Jos and Kano cannot but lament as the cold in those regions is disrupting their routine activities as many tend to spend long hours indoors.
Speaking to pressmen, a student identified as Mr. John Emeka, said it was difficult for him to get out of bed and prepare for his outings.
“As you can see, I am wearing a sweater and a very thick jacket and also tying a scarf on my head, hand gloves and socks to keep myself warm, having stayed indoors for many hours, ‘’ Emeka said.
Similarly, Mrs. Annette Akpan said she resorted to wearing “cold breakers” to shield herself from the adverse weather and advised fellow residents to do likewise so as not to “break down.”
A trader at Terminus market, Mrs. Ngozi Peters, said the inclement weather had compelled her to open her shop late in the morning.
“This cold is too severe and that is why I stay indoors for many hours before setting out to the market; my health first before any other thing,” Peters said.
NAN reports that the cold weather had pushed up prices of second-hand sweaters and jackets with the materials selling for between N2000 and N2500, as against the former N500 and N600, respectively.
A dealer in second-hand sweaters, Musa Adamu, blamed the price increase on the high demand for the wears because of the cold.
The report said that the sudden change in the weather condition also forced a lot of the residents to wear warm clothes in order to protect themselves from the chilly weather.
NAN also reports that the chilly weather had also forced many families to resort to using charcoal and firewood to warm their bodies as the weather became colder.
In Kano, the early morning hours of yesterday had recorded the coldest temperature, thereby forcing commercial tricycle operators to suspend operation as most of the streets in the ancient city had been deserted.
A resident of the city, Malam Bello Sani, said he had not been able to come out in the morning as he used to due to the sudden cold weather in the city.
According to him, Kano metropolis recorded a low temperature of 7°C on Wednesday night, which is colder than London at 9°C on the same night.
“I have to go and buy charcoal at Sabon Gari market with which to use with my family to warm our bodies as the intensity of the weather is increasing,” he said.
Another resident, Alhaji Bashir Muhammad, told NAN that he had not been able to ride his motorcycle yesterday (Thursday) due to the chilly weather condition.
Muhammad, however, expressed optimism that the cold would subside before the schools reopen within the next week.
NAN also observed that tea sellers along the major roads were making brisk business as a result of the cold weather while residents continued to complain about the chilly weather which caught them unprepared.
