Emeka Okenwa (Gas distributor)
A lot of Nigerians are not using cooking gas because they are not enlightened, some are just afraid because of the dangers of fire. If government will come out and lecture them maybe in form of a seminar or do it by way of television advert so that people will be further enlightened because they do not know about the benefits. Currently the percentage of the people using gas is like 20 percent compare to those using other products. Gas is better and cheaper than kerosene, because if your gas should last for a month the money you would have expended on kerosene for that same period will be more, the only disadvantage in LPG is that you bring out a large amount to buy it at once.
Chukwuma Nnaji (Gaslink Ltd)
The major factor responsible for people not subscribing to gas usage is the cost. Secondly they are afraid because majority don’t know how to manage the gas. The price is not what it ought to be, if it can at least come down to about N1000 for a 12.5kg many Nigerians will want to use it, I have also observed that whenever the price of kerosene gets high the demand for gas increases. But in a nutshell, I think the main reason is the price and the risk of it.
When you go to places like Victoria Island, Festac Town and so on, you will see that the demand for gas is higher than in some other areas where people prefer the use of stove or charcoal. However when the price is lower, everybody will buy. I don’t think it has come down to how it is being reported or how it should be, presently depending on where you go; you can get a 12.5kg for between N2000 and N2, 300.
All the refineries should be in operation because that is the only thing that can bring the price down, as soon as the refineries are working, the competition will reduce the price and again if we continue to depend on importation, the price cannot go down.
Olanife Adeoye (Oil marketer)
I believe the awareness is not there for people to know, most people do not know the advantages of using the LPG and from inception many people believe that it is dangerous to use gas in the house. Again government should try and provide incentives to investors in order to hasten and realize its target of meeting the required volume of gas for industrial and domestic users because presently there are more oil depots than gas plants located in the country, more investors should come in and transform the market so that it can compete with kerosene.
Also, the LNG re-gasification facilities project that have been initiated to be operated by private investors in collaboration with relevant government agencies in the oil and gas industry should come to the fore, people must feel the impact of these projects.
Tunde Salami (Instructor)
I use gas in my house, however most people believe it is only the rich that can use the product. This is not true because the lowest cylinder now costs like N1800 or N2000. Some people prefer to get kerosene of N100 naira than to spend N2000 on gas and this price difference plus the poverty level in the country has affected the patronage and use of the product. Another common reason why LPG has not gained much patronage is the widely held believe that it is a dangerous product, majority are scared that havocs can be caused at anytime, well I can tell you that it is only those careless ones, for me it still remains the fastest means of cooking.
Alhaji Auwalu Ilu (C.E.O Ultimate Gas limited)
Less than 2 percent of Nigerians are using LPG, it is only the elites that uses it, majority of the people particularly in the rural areas use either firewood or kerosene, even in the cities, it is only people in the highbrow areas that uses it, if you go to some areas you will find that people are still using firewood and kerosene
What is the start up cost of LPG? For you to start using LPG you need a hose, a regulator, a burner and if you add all these together, for anybody to start using LPG you will require between N20, 000 and N30, 000, whereas with N300, you can buy a kerosene stove and with four litre gallon or with the 1.5 litre bottle, you can get kerosene anywhere. As for firewood, you don’t need any investment, all you need is energy, you can go to the village, cut the wood and allow it to dry and you are ready to use.
Ignatius Adimora (Teacher)
Majority of Nigerians are not using cooking gas because of the fear of likely explosion. For instance, families with kids are afraid that their children may likely tamper with it while they are away at work. Off course, it is on record that many houses have been engulfed in fire as a result of carelessness of the users. Even some landlord used to discourage people from using gas. In our rented apartment, before we moved to our own building, our former landlord specified in our agreement form that we must not use gas cooker. When we protested, he said if we are not satisfied we should take our money back. He told us that it is this gas thing that burnt one of his houses some years back. So we have to reason with him and we started using electric stove pending the time we finished our own building. To me, cooking gas is neater and faster despite its hazardous nature.
Johnson Erele(Auctioneer)
It is simple. The type of apartment you are residing will determine the type of equipment you will use there. When I was leaving in a one room apartment, there was no way I could use it there. But now that I’m staying in a three bedroom apartment, it is much easier for me to use. Again another factor is that the level of unemployment in the country is equally alarming. Poverty is another major hindrance. Some people cannot even afford a stove, not to talk of cooking gas. Here in Lagos State, you imagine a family of five leaving in a room apartment. Some houses don’t make provision for a kitchen. They cook at their corridors. Some people don’t even know how the cooking gas looks like. In Nigeria with a population of about 150million people, I doubt if up to 2million people are using gas. We still have a long way to go.
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