Maiduguri ice block mongers hit it big during this heat

Borno, like other states in the North-East part of country, has two major seasons; the dry and the rainy seasons.  But in Maiduguri, the dry season lasts longer than the rainy season because of its geographical location – the Sahel region – which exposes the environment to a lot of solar radiation. In densely populated […]

Borno, like other states in the North-East part of country, has two major seasons; the dry and the rainy seasons.  But in Maiduguri, the dry season lasts longer than the rainy season because of its geographical location – the Sahel region – which exposes the environment to a lot of solar radiation.

In densely populated areas like Hausari, Gwange, London Ciki, Abuja Talakawa and other locations with cluster of houses, it is very common to see people sleeping outside their houses in order to cushion the unpleasant condition.

The inability of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to supply electricity to these areas also adds to the problem. Most of the residents are low income earners who cannot afford generators and, in some cases, some of them who have generators cannot afford to fuel them.

This period, therefore, comes with mixed reactions. While many people wish the heat period never comes, some traders’ makes fortune out of the high temperatures.

Among them are the ice block (kankara in Hausa) merchants. Many of them make brisk business around the post office area in Maiduguri.

This is also the season for pure water traders because people consume too much water to ease the effect of the heat.

In the last three months, the  kankara traders’ shops witness much patronage because different categories of people besiege the place to buy the product.

The clients of the merchants are mostly sachet water vendors who buy few blocks of ice and put them on top of the sachet water as coolant.

Other clients include the Fura da nunu (fresh milk) sellers and operators of restaurants who buy the ice block to cool their products.

The ice merchants make the ice blocks in a specially fabricated refrigerators. “We normally construct the fridges after we get the frame of a condemned deep freezer and air conditioner,” an electrical engineer Mr Andrew Marcus said.

The ‘Kankara’ traders are mostly teenagers. “My boss normally gives me N200 on a good day,” Mustapha Babagana, a young Almajiri said.

According to Zaidu Haruna, one of the merchants who said he has been in the Kankara business for 10 years now: “The heat season is our harvest period because people rushed to us to buy Kankara for different purposes,” he said.

He said “During this period I sell more than 500 pieces of Kankara daily. A piece goes between N25 to N30. Most of my customers are big-time restaurant operators; they buy in bags and some of them buy three to four bags in a day. I make between N10,000 to N20,000 in a day.”

The traders get the products from areas like GRA, Bolori and Damboa road. According to them they buy them from other merchants in large quantities and, in turn, store in fridges before selling them to customers.

Nura Danbaiwa, another merchant, said “We buy a piece for N10 to N15 and, in turn, sell it between N25 to N30 per piece. In a day, I make between N15,000 to N25,000. In a month, I could save as much as N300,000 in bannk my account,” he said.

The kankara merchants operate in an open space opposite Borno State Specialist Hospital close to the post office in Maiduguri.

According to them they paid between N500 to N1,000 to the Maiduguri Metropolitan Council periodically for the space they use for their business.

“Our clients cut across the rich and the poor. All of them come here to buy Kankara for domestic use. Nobody is free from the heat, but the effect may just be different, depending on the resources at their  disposal.” Ba’ina Mohammed, another Kankara trader, said.

The business is, however, not without its own disadvantages.  According to merchants, rainy season is not the best of time for them, as they always witness low sales during this period.  “The rate at which people consume water during the rainy session is low and as such we make low sales,During the rainy session I engage in other businesses and when the hot season comes, I return to kankara business,” Tijjani Modu, another trader, said.