Some vendors of tea and akara in Jos-Bukuru metropolis say they receive high patronage and get more money since harmattan season started in the city.
The cold weather is common in Jos North, Jos South, Jos East, Barakin-Ladi Bassa, Riyom and Pankshin local government areas than any other parts of Plateau State.
The market is also booming for those selling charcoal as residents buy the products in spite of an increase in its price.
Tea sellers and some food vendors, who also enjoy the season, said they have more patronage during harmattan than other periods.
Some vendors, who spoke on Sunday in Jos said they sold thrice what they used to sell before the cold weather.
Miss Suzana Dung, a student and a pap vendor, said that before now it was difficult for her to sell a cooler of pap “but now I sells two coolers every morning”.
Also, Mrs Jillian Mancha, akara and pap seller said that the harmattan brought her huge sales and wished it to continue.
“Presently, I sell three times what I was selling before the season, the demand is high and sometimes I am unable to meet it,” Mancha said.
A tea vendor, Mr Rafiu Adamu, said that the patronage had increased significantly and as a result, his business had grown.
Another tea vendor, Malam Yusuf Ali, said that before now, most people were complaining about the cost of bread and quantity of tea but now they buy without complaining to warm up.
“Some customers take as much as three cups of tea in the morning and still come back in the evening to buy,” Ali explained.
Similarly, Malam Abdul Kabir, a tea vendor said that people would come in as early as 6:30 a.m. to take tea and sometimes, they wait for him to serve them without complaining.
Mr Ezekiel Freeman, a customer, said “it’s only natural for people to patronise these vendors as the temperature had dropped.
Mr Adams Dung, a driver, said that he bought pap and akara for the people in his office and, sometimes, he bought as much as N5,000.
“The season is the reason for this high patronage because before now people were not sending me to buy tea and bread or papa and akara but now I go daily to buy,” Dung said.
But some residents of Jos note that the negative effects of cold weather are more than the benefits on socio-economic activities.
While business people and traders, especially vendors of tea, akara and pap are happy selling their goods during the cold weather, others expressed concern about the effects of the weather.
Some residents of Jos note that the cold weather is affecting routine activities even as the temperature in Jos could drop to an average of 11 degrees Celsius.
Also, a pulmonologist, Dr Chung-Gyang Shedrack, has advised sickle cell patients to keep themselves warm during the harmattan cold.
Shedrack said that patients who suffered from sickle cell and were anaemic could experience worsened health condition during the unfriendly weather.
He observed that cold had harmful effects on the body, especially the respiratory system that could cause cough, asthma, upper airways infections from viruses, bacteria such as coryza — common cold.
Some residents, therefore, noted that no matter the advantages of cold weather in terms of commerce and farming, it affects the lifestyles and health condition of people.
