Yes, japa-ing is the latest thing. You wake up one day, pack your load and leave Nigeria and its many deficiencies alone. That’s commendable. But then, there’s one thing no one prepares you for, and that is the number of Nigerian foods you will miss when you are out of the country.
We made a list of some of those foods:
1. Ewa agoyin
Yes, you can cook it at home. But can you, really? Can you replicate the taste? The sauce, the soft yams that are sometimes paired with it?
Can you get this peculiar flavour?
2. Suya
LMAO. There’s no other way to say this. Suya comes with the Nigerian package. You see those TikTok videos of people making suya? Welp. If it is not suya, it cannot taste like suya.
3. Ofada rice
You know, you can easily cook this on your own. But can your neighbours withstand the smell? Sometimes being a good neighbour means that you have to let go of some of the things you enjoy eating.
4. Abacha
Can you find Abacha hawkers in Canada or New York?
5. Efo riro
There are a lot of plants in the abroad, but I’m sure none of those people have a farm for Efo soko or Efo tete. So, what’s going to happen?
6. Kilishi
This one can be managed by shipping. Your people in Nigeria can ship it over to you.
7. Agege bread
Sure, you can get proper (and better) American bread. But can it ever be like Agege bread?
8. Bole
Port Harcourt people will feel this the most. But even those who are not from Port Harcourt will also know what it feels like to be in a country where bole is not readily available.
9. Amala and abula
We know this can be cooked at home. But can anything beat the local abula in a local buka? The heat of the buka, the sweat, the… *whew*
10. Okpa
If you’re a foreigner visiting Nigeria for the first time, this one is for you: