UDUS Students Struggle With ‘Difficult’ Charcoal After Gas, Electric Cooker Ban

It was 6:30 am in Kano Hall of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), but Kifayat Salmon was already out of bed, struggling to stay awake. Ms Salmon must be in the Faculty of Law to attend lectures for the day before 8:00 am. So, she bent over a small charcoal stove, fanning the stubborn charcoal that refused to burn. 

But the fire has its own timing. The temperature of the cold water placed on the stove remained the same, unmoved by her urgency for it to boil.

For the 200-level law student, cooking or boiling bathing water with charcoal is now a discomforting daily routine, thanks to the high cost of kerosene and the school regulations that made it illegal for her to use gas or electric cookers.

“Waking up by 6:00 am became the price to make sure I meet up with my everyday 8-4 lectures,” she told Campus Reporter. “I wouldn’t want to be late to class, so I have to wake up early.”

Cooking with charcoal, considered the last resort for students like Ms Salmon, has now become a popular cooking method among students at UDUS. The recent increase in the cost of the charcoal itself has compounded the students’ woes. A portion of charcoal in a small plastic bag, which used to cost N200, is now N400 on the campus.

What used to be the cheapest and most accessible cooking method has now become increasingly expensive, turning into a burden for the students who depend on it the most.

Gas, Electric Cooker Ban

“Even when you can afford to use gas, most students, including me, have no choice because the rules of the school… don’t permit the usage of clean energy like cooking gas, which is stress-free,” Ms Salmon said. 

UDUS management has prohibited students’ use of gas and electric cookers, following a 2021 fire outbreak at the students’ hostel caused by a gas cylinder. No lives were lost from the incident, but some students sustained injuries and lost properties to the inferno.

“Gas cookers, Air conditioners, refrigerators, hot plates/rings and other electrical appliances must not be used in hostel without approval of the Dean of Student Affairs,” a section of the Students Handbook revised in 2021, reads.

“Contravention of this regulation shall attract seizure and eventual forfeiture of the prohibited item. Cooking stoves and other acceptable cooking devices as approved by the University must not be used in rooms, toilets or stores.”

But for many students, the problem is not just the rising cost of charcoal and kerosene. It is the time, the stress, and the physical effort required to use charcoal, especially for students juggling tight lecture schedules. The faster and cleaner options have been restricted, and survival has now become more expensive. 

“Adapting to charcoal is not easy, but because there’s no other option, our choices are limited,” Ms Salmon added.

The Fire Incidents Stretching UDUS Students’ Current Struggles 

The university’s concern is not misplaced. In the last five years, the university has witnessed several fire outbreaks that have resulted in significant loss of property. 

Some of these incidents occurred in the school-owned hostels, private hostels, and the school mini-market. These have left deep scars on students, business owners, and staff. These fire outbreaks are mainly caused by illegal wire connections, electrical faults, hotplates, and gas cookers, and are worsened by a lack of emergency preparedness.

In 2021, a fire outbreak razed nearly six shops in the Jubril Aminu Hostel Mini-market. Waste burning was reported to be the cause of the fire outbreak. It destroyed valuable items belonging to students, including laptops, rugs, and clothing materials, among other things. The report added that the Federal Fire Service, Sokoto, responded promptly, but their efforts were hindered by interference from onlookers.

A year later in 2022, another fire outbreak caused by an insecure electrical connection affected four rooms in DV female hostel, destroying foodstuffs, clothes, gadgets, and credentials among others.

In March 2025, a similar incident occurred in Block A of Jubril Aminu Hostel. An illegal wire connection is said to have sparked the devastating fire outbreak. Students narrowly escaped, but lost valuable possessions, including clothes, books, mattresses, and many more.

Also, in June 2025, a fire broke out in the Porter office at Jubril Aminu Hostel. The incident was reported to have destroyed official documents, a refrigerator, chairs, and electrical components, among others. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Forced Adjustment

For Ismaila Maridiyah, a 100-level student, the shock came immediately when she was told she couldn’t use a gas cooker in the hostel. Before resuming school, her mother had purchased a gas cylinder to ease the new students’ cooking chores. This comfort never made it to her hostel room.

“My reaction when I found out that it’s charcoal I’m going to be using was so disheartening…hearing that a gas cylinder isn’t allowed really saddened my heart,” Ms Maridiyah lamented.

Like other students, she adjusted. However, the adjustment came with a price

“I starved a lot,” she admitted.

Aside from inconvenience, the challenge with charcoal is that it is unreliable, said Alabi Habeebullahi, a 200-level sociology student.

Mr Habeebullahi said he had lost count of the number of times he went to school on an empty stomach because he couldn’t use charcoal.

“I’m not comfortable using charcoal, but I have no choice,” he said. “The delay and the struggle to meet up for 8-10 classes is another thing too.”

The student also lamented the high cost of the charcoal and the struggle to make them burn.

“The complaints are justified”—UDUS charcoal vendors.

Charcoal sellers around the Jubril Aminu hostel acknowledged the students’ concerns but noted the high costs were not of their own doing.

One vendor, Badamosi Adamu, explained that charcoal is not only expensive, but the quality has also dropped, as many of the charcoal bags arrive half burnt, forcing the sellers to choose between making a loss or selling it to the buyers as it is.

“The students’ complaints are well justified, but it’s not our fault too; imagine buying 50 bags of charcoal and realising that most of them are bad, I have to sell them like that to make my money back,” Mr Adamu explained. 

A National Struggle

Beyond the UDUS campus, many households are continually relying on the use of charcoal over the rising cost of living.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s inflation rate increased to 15.38 per cent in March 2026, up from 15.06 per cent in February, ending an 11-month slowdown.

Food prices, which affect students’ daily survival, climbed to 14.31 per cent, while transport costs rose even more sharply to 16.9 per cent. 

Nigerian households, which have already spent a substantial part of their earnings on increasing food prices, now struggle to buy Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, which costs around N1,900 per kilogramme in June.

For a standard 12.5kg cylinder, households now pay between N20,000 and N23,000 for refills, while the cost of acquiring a cylinder has risen sharply and averages about N80,000, a figure higher than the Nigerian minimum wage.

Like students, they turn to charcoal, the affordable option. 

Meanwhile, this growing dependence on charcoal is quietly contributing to the country’s deforestation crisis.

It Drives Deforestation – Experts

Nigeria lost about 1.4 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2024, according to data from Global Forest Watch, a platform developed by the World Resources Institute in partnership with the University of Maryland.

Experts say one of the reasons for these tree cover losses is the felling of trees to produce fuelwood and charcoal.

In 2024 alone, 250,000 hectares of natural forest disappeared in the country, according to Global Forest Watch.

An environmental health expert, Yishau Rahman, explained that the felling of trees for charcoal production contributes to global warming, enables flooding and leads to the displacement of wildlife and the extinction of some species.

“Forests are home to countless plant and animal species. When trees are cut down, habitats are destroyed, which leads to extinction or displacement of wildlife,” Mr Rahman said.

“Trees absorb carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis. When forests are removed, carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.”

The Country Project Lead at the Africa Coalition for Sustainable Energy & Access, Pius Oko, warned that this heavy reliance on the use of fuelwood and charcoal for cooking also comes with serious health consequences.

Mr Oko explained that the continued use of firewood and charcoal contributes to respiratory diseases, environmental degradation, and long-term health complications, especially for those constantly exposed to smoke in poorly ventilated spaces.

“Over 70% of rural households rely on firewood for cooking, exposing women and children to serious health risks,” he said.

To reduce deforestation, Mr Rahman advocated for strict conservation laws, cheaper alternative energy sources and public awareness and education.

“Agroforestry and sustainable agriculture can be used. Instead of cutting down forests, there are smarter and more sustainable alternatives that meet human needs while protecting the environment,” he added.