Nigerians love their food, be it fried potato and plantain for breakfast, jollof rice for lunch or tuwo (rice balls) for supper – dishes often prepared on gas cookers.
But with the price of gas rising, cooks are now turning to charcoal, made from burning firewood.
A 3kg cylinder of gas, the smallest bottle available, now costs about $3 (£2.70).
This is almost twice the price it was last year, pushing it far beyond what middle-income earners can afford.
Habiba Abubakar, who runs a business selling cooking equipment online, says the demand for charcoal-fuelled stoves is on the increase.
But this has raised concern about the heath of people.
Dr Kwaifa Salihu, a consultant physician in the capital, Abuja, told the BBC that people who use charcoal are often more at risk of getting respiratory illnesses such as asthma.
Using charcoal-fuelled stoves indoors could also be life-threatening because of the carbon monoxide it gives off, he said.
This is in addition to the harm done to the environment as a result of tree-felling.
The authorities have over the years failed to implement a ban on illegal logging – a major issue, as parts of northern Nigeria are battling with desertification
