Blackout: Manufacturers Lose Over N500 Million in Kano

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Kano State chapter, has revealed that its members suffered losses exceeding N500 million during the over 10-day power outage that affected seven states in northern Nigeria

Sani Husseini Saleh, the MAN chairman disclosed this to newsmen in the ancient commercial City.

Saleh described the losses as a “conservative estimate,” noting that further assessments are ongoing to determine the full impact.

Saleh also described the outage as “devastating and horrendous,” emphasizing that the extended power cut posed an unprecedented challenge to manufacturers.

“Twelve days is a very long time for manufacturers. We have never experienced something of this magnitude.

“We’re consuming between N5 million to N20 million worth of diesel per day. When you calculate that across all affected industries, the total is enormous,” he said in an interview with Sunday Independent.

He added that the outage led to workforce reductions, with some factories laying off workers and others reducing pay to 25% for those they could afford to retain.

Many workers were simply instructed to wait until operations could resume, he said.

To mitigate the reliance on the unstable national grid, Saleh said the association is exploring alternatives such as hydro, renewable energy, and wind turbines.

He also appealed to the Federal Government to expedite work on the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, which he said could be critical to the survival of northern manufacturers.

“The AKK pipeline is our only hope for survival. Most of our counterparts in the South no longer depend on the national grid, instead relying on LNG and CNG for their energy needs.”

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, meanwhile, attributed the outage to vandalism on critical infrastructure along the Shiroro-Mando 330kV line, which he said has had a severe impact on lives and livelihoods across the region.

Meanwhile, Business owners, community leaders, and advocacy groups are urging the government to compensate those affected by the prolonged power outage in the region.

They argue that the significant economic damage—ranging from inflated diesel costs to layoffs—warrants reparations to ease the burden on struggling communities.

Babaji Usman

Babaji Usman Babaji is an investigative journalist with over four years of experience, renowned for his impactful reporting on corruption, human rights violations, and holding those in power accountable in Nigeria.

His career is distinguished by participation in numerous media training programs and conferences, which have honed his investigative and reporting skills. Babaji’s data-driven stories have made a significant impact, particularly in Northern Nigeria, shedding light on critical issues and driving meaningful change.

As a reporter under WikkiTimes’ Collaborative Media (CMEDIA) Project, Babaji has led several groundbreaking investigations. He was a 2022 fellow of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and a 2024 Media Foundation for West Africa DPI/DPG fellow. His contributions to accountability journalism earned him a Certificate of Recognition from Xchange Hama Media for impactful community work.