In as much as there have been several campaigns against street foods ranging from how unhygienic its preparation can be to how unhealthy it is. We still can't deny the fact that street food has come to stay. All around the world, there are street foods in every country. And I can tell that one thing they have in common is that it has a unique taste that bursts up your taste buds from the regular food.
In Nigeria, we have about 250 types of food from all tribes, and among these foods, I can count up to 35 street foods. With the popular ones being suya (grilled meat), roasted plantain and akara (bean cake) etc.
Some of these foods are mainly sold at night as a night snack or early in the morning. And if you ask me why?: honestly I have no answer to it. But It has been like a culture generally accepted by all tribes in Nigeria.
And for me, I've been a huge lover of street food. Not addicted, though, but from time to time, I always crave it. Especially the roasted plantain with a boiling pot of oil bean portage and fish like the one in the picture above. And in the evening it's either chicken or beef suya.
In all these, has anyone ever thought about how these street food vendors help to promote cultural unity and social life in the country? Okay, this doesn't apply only in Nigeria but in other parts of the world.
I've always thought about it and realised that these street food vendors are not just selling street food but selling opportunities to bond and socialize with others. As you stand in that tiny corner of the street waiting for your food, the conversation flows between you and other customers. Talking about the country, the government, your day and sometimes down to your personal lives.
Do you know that I've made several friends not from my tribe standing at that spot in my picture above trying to buy food? People I've never known all my life apart from meeting them severally at "Nwanyị Ohafia Food Stand" (the woman in the picture above).
I know of a couple who told me how they met at a Suya stand at night. And from tiny conversations flowing around, they ended up exchanging numbers, and today, they're married with a kid.
One time, in my sojourn to Port Harcourt, a City in Southeastern Nigeria known for its expertise in roasted plantain and fish. I had gone to this popular stand, and with conversations flowing, the food vendor talked about how a customer got a contract from another customer just from the tiny conversations they had standing at his shop.
I do not know what prompted me to write this, but as I said earlier, these street vendors are not just selling food but also social catalysts, connecting tribes and humans and should be protected at all costs.
