With less than N500, Musubahu Lawan, a resident of Gwagwarwa in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State could easily buy two liters of petrol to run his daily activities in Kano city.
However, after the fuel subsidy removal on 29 May 2023, a thousand naira was insufficient for a similar task. He opted for an electric motorcycle.
“Before now, N500 fuel was enough for my motorcycle, but after the subsidy was removed, N1,000 fuel was not enough for me, so I sold the motorcycle and I bought an electric one. I just charge it with electricity or solar,” he said.
Sadiq Saleh Adamu – a resident of Gyadi-Gyadi by Court Road in Tarauni – faced the same challenge as Lawan. He bought his electric motorcycle for N700,000 in January 2024.
Saleh revealed that when the motorcycle is fully charged, “it covers 50km before its battery runs down completely for another charge through electricity, solar or a generator set.”
With their considerable cost advantage, battery-powered motorbikes are becoming popular in Kano as you hardly go a day without seeing them on major roads.
The prices of the motorcycles as of the time of filing this report range from N800,000 to N1.1 million. They cover 50km to 100km on one charge, depending on their size and battery durability.
Sellers of Electric Motorcycles Cashing Out
A seller of the motorbikes at Niger Road, Mu’azu Usman says he sells no fewer than five electric motorbikes daily without selling a fuel motorcycle.
Another motorcycle seller at Kabuga, opposite BUK Newsite, Ahmad Tijjani, also disclosed selling a considerable amount daily.
Tijjani further revealed plans to import spare parts for the motorcycle.
The removal of petrol subsidies in the second half of 2023 jacked up the fuel price from a range of N189 to N190 per liter of petrol to as high as N700, forcing Nigerians to readjust their lifestyle.
Abubakar Balarabe, a resident of Kofar Ruwa in Dala LGA abandoned his motorcycle as he could no longer afford to fuel it.
“I kept my motorcycle at home cause I can no longer afford fuel. I’m using public transport because it is cheaper for me.”
Vehicle owners now dump their big cars for fuel-efficient vehicles to cope with the rising cost of petrol.
A civil servant at Kurna Asabe, Alhaji Umaru falls into this category. He abandoned his Carina 2 for a bicycle as the hardship hit harder.
“Everything is just difficult, so I kept my car at home and bought a bicycle. If you buy food for a thousand naira today, by tomorrow it will be a thousand and five hundred. They should fix this so everything will be good again,” he said.
Hard Times Hit Car Dealers as Vehicle Sales Drop
It’s trying times for vehicle dealers due to the high cost of import duties, taxes, and other fees imposed on imported vehicles as well as the foreign exchange crisis is also not helping matters.
The ambiance at the popular car dealers in Ikeja, Katsina Road is like that of a cemetery due to inactivity.
One of the car dealers, Yakubu Musa Mabo, under the Kano Motors Dealers Association laments the drop in patronage, saying he spends months “without getting a single customer.”
Kano State Government Sets Up Committee to Ease Suffering
The State Government recently constituted a committee to examine the possibility of using Compressed Natural Gas in the state.
However, with the advent of these electric motorbikes, the state Commissioner for Transportation, Engr. Muhammad Ibrahim Diggol, says the government is willing to tap the opportunity.
“The government is t trying to explore the use of CNG which we believe is cheaper and more effective than petrol and diesel. Governor Abba has already set a committee on that to take necessary measures,” he said.
“People have already started buying motorcycles that are electrically driven, that one too is an option that can be exploited to ease the burden of the people”, he added.
Amidst the development, an economist in Kano, Dr. Abdulsalam Muhammad Kani says the electric motorcycle and other technological advancements are timely to cushion the impact of the “current reality.”
Dr. Kani, however, charged the government to “consider the cost implication and maintenance before delving into its intervention.”
No doubt, the current situation has exposed the potential of electric motorcycles, hence the need for the government and other stakeholders to harness the benefits towards addressing the current endemic hardship in the country.
