There are many delicacies on the African continent most people, including African’s themselves, would find shocking. From the flesh of snakes to that of whales, crocodile, and termites, you name it or rather don’t name it and it's eaten as a delicacy.
Of course, the popularity of most of these so-called delicacies have foundations in hunger and starvation, the one I’m about to tell you of is no different.
Facts have emerged on how a brand new delicacy is taking root in poverty-stricken Northern Nigerian. Brace yourself now for the name …… frogs!
Yeah, you heard right – frogs. The delicacy has become popular in the northern parts of Nigeria but it is actually not limited to the region. Hundreds of traders from different parts of the country are heading north to buy frogs in Kano state.
Dorawaa Salau Kadawa is a very poor and little-known village in the Garun Mallama local government area of the state – Kano state. But it is in the center of a region that is blessed with an incredible population of frogs that brings to mind the plague of frogs that hit ancient Egypt in biblical times.
There is a bustling market at the village dedicated solely to the marketing of frogs and it is there that the traders go to meet with their suppliers.
Frogs have been a delicacy in parts of Nigeria for ages but never before has it been commercialized as it is being done now…. it’s obviously the harsh economy and hunger prevailing in the land.
From different parts of the country, people come, standing in line and bargaining endlessly in the market to purchase these frogs in large quantities (cartons) to take back to their regions and homes.
The business is now so hot that trade is not limited to the market alone. According to our source, camps have been set at different points in the village and there marketers and frog hunters meet the buyers for even better out-of-market deals.
According to those in the know, this trade in juicy frogs is by no means new and most traders have been in this line of business for years.
A certain Muslim lady, Ajiboye Sadikatu, 55, who allowed her photo be taken, claimed to have been in the frog business for over 15 years, which is no joke. Another trader, Halima, had been in the business for just two years.
While Sadikatu claims to be a former Kolanut seller until she saw the light in the form of the superior gains to be had in the trade of frog meat, Halima dealt in salt. Both would bring their goods up north to Kano to sell. Once they discovered the lucrative frog trade, they switched.
Today, both women claim to make tens of thousands of naira in profits, and it's not just them. This trade is huge.
Traders buy a small carton of these reptiles up north in Kano for as low as N2000 then take it down south and resell for as high as N5000 (this is N200 per frog).
Interestingly, to be found at the market are bulk buyers from every region of the south, some paying their suppliers in advance for goods. This indicates that the enjoyment of this delicacy of frogs is spreading like wide fire indeed.
The Hunters
The dwellers of the village are the hunters of the frogs which abound in the region but still need to be found and gathered up. They go out to the hunt in the mornings, and often times late in the evening as well.
One hunter who claimed to have been miserably poor until the expansion of the frog trade said he now made no less than N20,000 each week in sales.
Another interesting thing here is that while the whole country is embroiled in an endless tribal warfare, people of the region, indigenes, visiting traders and marketers alike seem to be doing business in one spirit of unity.