The ancient city of
Badagry is known for its tourist attraction and historic sites. The city has so
many landmarks and so many cultural artifacts that people troop to the place at
least to see the first storey building in Nigeria, missionary cemetery, relics
of slave chains and the slave port.
But then again, some
Nigerian ladies travel all the way to Badagry to make their hair. The popular
‘one million braids’ is one unique style that has drawn ladies from far and
near to the city of Badagry.
However, Badagry is yet
very popular for another trade… snakes! Yes, there is a market in the heart of
the city that is meant for buying and selling of snakes.
Popularly known as Snake
Market, and as incredible as it may sound to so many people, the market is
busy, if not busier than every other market where normal everyday stuff is
traded.
Perhaps because it
operates every nine days, it could account for the reason the market is so busy
as thousands of people from Nigeria and neighbouring countries come to trade in
nothing else but snakes.
From Benin Republic with love
The snake sellers in
particular are mostly non-Nigerians. Most of them are from neighbouring Benin
Republic and also Togo and because they find a huge market for their crawling
wares, they readily and eagerly look forward to every nine days to come and
make some money.
Hubert Boni, a Beninese
who has been in the business for over 10 years, said he rears snakes and brings
his stock to Badagry to sell every week.
“In my community in
Benin, we don’t even eat snakes. Snakes crawl freely in our compounds. So, when
I realised that there was a huge market for them here, I decided to make it my
business and since then, I have received a lot of patronage from people from Nigeria
in particular,” he said.
Roobert Ake is another
Beninese who comes all the way from Cotonou to sell snakes in the market in
Badagry. Ake said he took over the business from his late mother who was into
it for more than 15 years.
“My mother taught us
this business. She is Nigerian though we are not conversant with her family in
Nigeria, we don’t know them. We make an average of N20, 000 as profit on this
business every market day. We have a snake farm in Cotonou and we bring them
down for people who know the worth here in Nigeria,” he said.
Brisk business for buyers
Taiwo Osueke is one of
the people who travel all the way from her Igando, Lagos base to Badagry to
source and buy snakes.
Osueke, who runs a
restaurant, said she leaves her house as early as 4am in order to get to
Badagry around 6.30am so as to get a good buy.
“The market is filled
with so many people and as such, I have to come very early. I buy
different species of snakes from these men from Benin Republic. The prices
differ. It all depends on the size of the snake. If the snake is small, I could
get it for as cheap as N500 each but if it is the large sized one, I buy if for
N1,500,” she said.
Osueke said her
restaurant has become so popular and she doesn’t mind the stess she undergoes
in order to get her stock.
“Most of my customers
would rather go for snake meat than beef or fish. I use snakes to make soups to
serve food and I also use some to make pepper soup. It all depends on what my
customer wants,” she said.
Same could be said for
Basirat Akinlade who said she has been selling snake pepper soup for more than
12 years.
Based in Meiran, Lagos
State, Akinlade said she got into the business when she realised how lucrative
it is.
“I used to sell ponmo
(Cow hide), assorted meat before selling cow tail. But then, I realised
that everybody was doing that business. It was just too common. So I decided to
do snake business. I started selling snake pepper soup and people started
coming to patronise me.
“The business is more
lucrative than what I was doing before. We are just few in the business and we
can’t even cater for the number of people that eat it. Many people do not have
the heart to carry a snake, let alone killing it and cooking it. That has just
left the business to be run by few people. That is why I enjoy it because I
make a lot of money from it.
“For it to be edible, it
takes a lot of processes. But I love doing it and it is my job so I don’t mind
the process involved. I am known everywhere when it comes to snake business.
The business has taken me to Ibadan, Ogbomosho, Oshogbo, Port Harcourt and so
many other places. I am invited to parties. People request for snake pepper
soup and meat specially,” she said.
Akinlade who deals in
roasted and fresh snakes, said she also brings in live snakes but only on
request.
“I bring live snakes for
those that request them. They are more expensive than the dead ones. Some
people who order for snakes may decide to use them as pets, I wouldn’t know why
they would ask for live snakes but I do buy them for some people,” she said.
For these snake
merchants and others, there is nothing like having phobia for snakes. They are
not among the set of people who cringe or get repulsed at the sight of these
reptiles.
Akinlade said, “Snake
hasn’t bitten me before. I am not scared of snakes. There is no animal that is
not scared of human beings. If I am processing it and the scale pierces my
body, I just remove it. Some people will tell you that the scale is poisonous
but it is not true; it is all based on superstition, there is nothing like
that.”
Another buyer, Joseph
Ganiat, who lives in Badagry said he doesn’t believe in any cultural or
religious stigma associated with snakes.
“I have not seen snakes
in my dream before. I don’t have any reason to be scared of snakes. They even
know that when I see them, I would just kill them. The one that is very popular
is meno meno. People love to eat that one a lot. Cobra tastes like stock fish.
I ‘rush’ the snake any time I see it and it is tasty.”
In her own remarks,
Akinlade added, “I don’t know if God cursed snake but it doesn’t matter.
Christians and Muslims eat snakes. There is no way I will see a snake and run
away. In fact, no snake can even come here. Since the bones are usually thrown
away and they perceive the smell, they would crawl away. Snake meat is not
unusual. It is something I do all the time. My dream is that this business will
take me outside the shores of this country where I will be going to supply
snakes to people abroad.”
While agreeing that so
many people are scared of snakes, Akinlade says she uses it to her advantage
sometimes.
“At times, when I alight
from a bus, I will just bring out two of the snakes from my sack and I would
pretend as if I am a snake charmer and the conductor will just tell me to
please go with my money,” she said jocularly.
‘Snake meat freshens our skin’
Cow tail, goat meat,
turkey, fish and even snails are among the popular meat that take most guys and
ladies to joints to sit out and have a good time while drinking some bottles of
their choice drinks. Snake meat hasn’t always been part of the menu.
But at the moment, snake
meat is gradually taking the centre stage as some Nigerians are having a good
time while ‘downing’ plates of snake pepper soup over drinks. To most of them,
there is nothing as refreshing and tasty as snake meat.
Our correspondent
visited a snake pepper soup joint at Ejo Village, Meiran, Lagos and saw
so many men – young and old – devouring plates of pepper soup as if their
entire lives depended on it. According to most of them, snake meat freshens
their skin and cures their ailments.
A fashion designer who
gave his name as Obama said he enjoys snake meat more than any other meat.
He said, “Other meat
including fish or cow meat is something you can eat every other day. But snake
is not something you can see every day to eat. I am not scared of snake. If you
don’t try to harm it, it will not bite you. Snake is good. If you eat it all
the time, it will freshen your body and your face will be shining. I can eat
snake about three times in a week. My wife and children eat snake. Even my
colleagues also eat snake. If you eat fresh snake, I am not sure you would want
to eat any other thing. If you use it to cook soup and eat it with fufu or amala, then it is out of this world. Snake is
just too sweet and I enjoy it a lot. I don’t feel uncomfortable eating it. Is
it not meat?”
As for Segun Oladimeji,
who is also based in Lagos, there is nothing like snake meat as he also claimed
it freshens his skin.
“ I come here every day
to eat snake meat. The fresh one is just perfect. I have been eating snake meat
for six years and I come to Ejo village in all these years to eat snake. I
discovered this place one day when I came from Lagos Island to see a friend of
mine. Just as I got to his house, he said he would love to entertain me. He
suggested we go to a drinking joint. He brought me here and ordered snake
pepper soup. Since that day, I have remained hooked to snake meat. Snake is not
a bad animal. It is good for the body. It freshens my skin. I can attest to
that. Anytime I can’t make it here physically, my wife comes to get it for me,”
he said.
‘Snake is like every other meat’
Another snake eater,
Sesan Deinde, who spoke to our correspondent, said there is no day he doesn’t
eat snake meat regardless of the general perception about it.
Deinde believes
that snake meat is like every other meat and should not be perceived differently
or seen as something repulsive.
“If I don’t eat it, I
don’t know what will happen to me. It is true snake is dangerous but that is
only when it is alive. When it has been killed, it is like any other meat. Some
people may say they don’t eat rat but I tell you, if rat is prepared very well,
you will still see people rushing to eat it. So snake is edible and highly
nutritious. For me, it even cures certain sicknesses in my body. My grandfather
used to eat snake.
“I used to call snake panla. It tastes just like
stockfish. I eat both fresh and dried snake. Fresh snake is different from the
dry one. If my wife sees me eating snake, she snatches it from my hand and eats
it before her own is brought. She also cooks snake for me at home. All other
meat is rubbish; snake is the perfect meat to eat. You know it is different but
it is something everybody can eat. Some people said it is not in their culture
to eat snake. But for me and my family, there is no culture like that. We eat
our snake and nothing has happened or will happen to us. We enjoy it a lot. I
am not aware that it is associated with evil; some people just sit down to form
what is not true about snake. In the Old Testament in the bible, some things
were cursed and said it should not be eaten. But when Jesus came, He said
everything is good. That is why I am eating it,” he said.
Another lover of snake
meat, Rotimi Akeredolu, agreed that where he comes from, eating snake is not
popular but that hasn’t stopped him from enjoying it anytime he comes across
it.
“Oh, there is no
doubt about it, I love eating snake. I wouldn’t say snake is part of popular
meat in Yoruba land but some people eat it occasionally. Those who enjoy it so
much do not hesitate to settle down for a meal of their delicious meat at any
given joint where it is being sold.
Akeredolu said he
started eating snakes when he was very young and has not stopped and may likely
not stop eating the meat.
“We used to kill it in
our farm, take it home, cook it and eat it. It is true that it is not popular
in this part of the country as a staple; that is why you will not go to any
party and be served a plate of snake. But really, people misinterpret it. Some
people think it is a taboo to serve snake meat or even eat it. They may even
think you want to poison them. But that is not true. I am used to eating snake.
It is not strange to me.
“Anybody who says he or
she doesn’t eat snake would not have had anything to do with the farm. But I am
a son of a big farmer and we used to kill and eat snakes. If my father weren’t
a farmer, I may not have been used to snake. I may not have had the opportunity
of eating it. The first time I ate a snake was in 1969, I was in Modern 1. My
father had employed one man, Mr. Ayeni, to be in charge of his farm. Ayeni had
seen a snake entering a hole but he called me and deceived me that we should
kill a rabbit which he saw had entered the hole. I did not waste time at all
and I began to dig. I would dig and use my hand to scoop out the sand. I never
knew there was a snake inside. However, it was just God that saved my life. As
I was about to dip my hand inside the hole with the aim of dragging the rabbit
which I erroneously believed was there, lo and behold, the black cobra emerged
and I was scared because that was not what I expected to see. As it struggled
to escape, we were able to overpower it. We took it home and cooked it and we
ate it. That was my first time. I eat all edible snakes. There are some that
are not edible. Snake may not be my favourite meat but that doesn’t take away
the fact that I love and enjoy eating it.
From a nutritionist’s perspective
A Lagos-based
nutritionist, Mr. Okunola Oladimeji, said there is nothing wrong in eating
snakes. To him as well, snake is like every other meat but even healthier.
“Snake belongs to the
class of reptiles. I am very sure that snake is a very good source of calcium
and protein. There is nothing dangerous about consuming snakes. It is just that
there is this belief that snake is evil and that makes a lot of people not to
eat it. I don’t eat it but I have a lot of friends who eat it and they enjoy
it. I have eaten it before in any case and I know there is nothing wrong with
it. I would simply advise that if it is convenient for you and you find it
okay, you can continue eating it. It is a healthy meat to eat,” he said.
Reference:
PUNCHNG.
No comments:
Post a Comment