On Saturday, a Twitter user wittingly wrote that water pipes in Jos, Plateau state capital, may start spitting ice blocks as a result of the biting cold in the city.
While other users laughed it off, someone dropped a comment that resonated with others in the thread; the Twitter user had asked what could the internally displaced persons (IDPs) — with no roof over their head — be going through with the same situation in Maiduguri and other parts of the north where most of them numbering over two million stay.
For more than a week, the temperature in parts of Plateau and up north has continued to drop to as low as nine degree Celsius, especially in the morning hours. While the extreme temperature in these areas is nothing new, especially with the harmattan season, most of the residents lament this is worse than the usual experience for them over the years.
Most of the residents complained that they have been confined indoors since the turn of the new year, and have had to devise means of surviving the cold.
“I am currently putting on two sweaters,” a Jos resident who identified herself as Esther Tahite said over the phone on Sunday.
“Last night, we were all freezing at home even with the extra blankets … it is really crazy here.”
A resident of Kano said he has not bothered to go anywhere for “some days now.” The resident who identified himself as John Ozoemena said even though the cold is at freezing point in Kano metropolis, the situation is far worse in some other parts of the state.
“This is the first time I am spending this season outside the east and even though I was told of the cold here, I can tell you I was never ready for what was coming,” he said, adding: “Imagine where you have to boil the water before using them in most cases.”
Some Nigerians also took to Twitter to lament what the situation could be for the homeless and IDPs, in addition to calls for alms especially clothes for them to help survive the cold.
Meanwhile, the cold weather has pushed up prices of second hand sweaters and jackets. The materials now sell for N2000 and N2500, as against the former prices of 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.
He said 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 said the chilly weather has forced many families to resort to using charcoal and firewood to warm their bodies as the weather became colder.
