As the cost of cooking gas continues to skyrocket across Nigeria, many households are now abandoning gas cylinders for cheaper, traditional options like sawdust, firewood, and charcoal.

What used to be a thing of the past is quickly becoming the new normal for families struggling to keep up with rising energy costs. With a kilogram of cooking gas now selling between ₦1,600 and ₦2,000 — and as high as ₦2,500 in some retail outlets — residents say survival now depends on improvisation.

For Mrs. Racheal Durotimi, a Lagos-based herb seller, cooking with sawdust is no longer strange. “Gas and charcoal are just too expensive,” she said. “I now go to the sawmill to buy sawdust for ₦500 and use it to cook. That’s what keeps my business going.”

Even firewood, once a reliable alternative, is no longer affordable. A small bundle of four sticks now costs between ₦800 and ₦1,000, while a 50kg bag of charcoal sells for between ₦13,000 and ₦20,000. Briquette charcoal, known for lasting longer, goes for as much as ₦50,000.

The situation isn’t much better with kerosene. Once priced at ₦80 per litre, it now sells between ₦2,000 and ₦2,500 — if it’s available at all. Bricklayer Innocent Ogbei said he switched to sawdust after discovering that most filling stations in his area had no kerosene in stock.

“Everywhere I went, they said no supply,” he lamented. “So I called a friend at the sawmill who sent me a bag of sawdust. That’s what I’m using to cook now. Everything has become too expensive.”

The crisis is also hitting small businesses hard. Snack vendors and food sellers say they are struggling to stay afloat as fuel prices eat deep into their profits. Mrs. Hawa Monday, who sells puff-puff and buns, said she now relies entirely on sawdust.

“Charcoal finishes too fast and gas is out of reach. I bought a bag of sawdust for ₦2,000 — it’s cheaper and lasts longer,” she explained. “But even sawdust is getting expensive because farmers now buy it too.”

Industry experts blame the price surge on limited supply and market manipulation. The President of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, Oladapo Olatunbosun, recently said that temporary disruptions in supply and profiteering by some marketers have worsened the crisis.

Until the government steps in to stabilize supply and pricing, many Nigerians say they will continue to turn to sawdust — not out of choice, but necessity.