With more than 17 million Nigerian households now relying on firewood for cooking, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has sent a wake-up call to the Federal Government, urging them to promote large-scale tree re-planting. The cause? An unbalanced energy landscape and millions left with few alternatives, turning Nigeria’s forests into their primary fuel source.
What They Are saying
According to the latest “Nigeria Residential Energy Demand-Side Survey Report 2024,” crafted by the NBS in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power, the Energy Commission of Nigeria, the European Union, and the International Energy Agency, Nigeria is in a tug-of-war between rising energy demand and dwindling forest reserves.
The report claims a whopping 40.7%—nearly 41%—of Nigerian households bought fuelwood in just the last 30 days alone. With Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan promising net-zero emissions by 2060, is anyone paying attention to this massive reliance on wood?
Why It Matters
While the government pushes cleaner fuels like LPG, CNG, and solar energy, many Nigerian households simply don’t have access or can’t afford these alternatives. And let’s face it, a quick switch to LPG or CNG isn’t as simple as it sounds for families scraping by. For many, firewood is still king, and that reality is burning through Nigeria’s forests one log at a time.
But the reliance on firewood isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s a socio-economic one. The survey analyzed a population of over 63 million Nigerians across six geopolitical zones, including states like Oyo, Kano, and Sokoto, highlighting that roughly one in five households still uses charcoal, and LPG use remains minimal at around 19.4%. Even for households with access to LPG, the average monthly expenditure reaches over N10,000—hardly affordable in a nation where so many struggle with daily expenses.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure isn’t helping matters. With over 58% of households connected to the national grid in nine surveyed states, 86.6% reported receiving electricity during the reference period. But don’t celebrate just yet—85.2% of these households are on estimated billing, making electricity as unpredictable as it is costly. The average monthly spend on electricity? Around N4,155. Hardly an incentive for households to ditch firewood in favor of electric stoves.
With the nation’s grid failing at a shocking rate, most recently plunging northern states into nine days of darkness. Nigeria’s energy strategy looks more like a short circuit than a sustainable plan. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s 2023 report notes that although 28 grids are connected to generating plants, the infrastructure is woefully inadequate for a population of over 200 million. The result? Around 92 million Nigerians remain unconnected to the grid.
The NBS report suggests the government should back the re-planting of trees and promote the use of cleaner fuels like LPG, wind, and solar. They also recommend setting up more LPG stations and manufacturing gas cylinders locally to make the shift more affordable for Nigerians. And let’s not overlook the plea for decentralizing the national grid with mini-grids to reduce the frequent power outages and stabilize supply.
Bottom Line
Without immediate, large-scale action, the consequences will be disastrous: deforestation, worsened climate change, increased pollution, and a rural populace with little hope of escaping energy poverty. This report doesn’t just reveal the current crisis, it lays bare a system that’s failed to adapt, leaving both people and the environment on the losing side.
