By Gloria Agugua
Did you know that Nigeria grows one of the best species of succulent, sweet, mouth-watering juicy fruits and vegetables? We have everything in terms of food value.
I can never forget the story my late uncle told me about their eating habits during the civil war between Nigerian and Biafra.
In his own words, I quote:
“the Nigerian Biafra war was a cruel one indeed especially for those of us who lived in the village.”
He went on to explain that they were starved to death.
“The first nine months of the war, we ate all our foods, yams, cassava; you name them, all gone! “There was no meat and poultry. A chicken cost about 30,000,000 Biafran pounds which was then a big sack of money! We were all dying until some of us had a kind of inspiration to start eating grasses and leaves including cassava leaves.”
“Early in the morning when there were no air raids, I would go out to find and cut the grass and leaves and boil them without salt because even salt was so expensive to buy then. I persuaded all my family members and friends to eat them. There were always heaps of them to last for two or three days. By eating those grasses and leaves, the health of all the members of our families wonderfully improved and we spread the news.”
My uncle’s story is a compelling one of how relevant our vegetables are till date. It is exciting to note that fresh organic fruits and vegetables are harvested every day in Nigeria and can be found everywhere. There are all you need to eat to achieve good health and long life.
Consider that it is much cheaper to buy green veggies, like Ugu, Waterleaf, Green leaves and Okro. These veggies are as cheap as N200 per bunch and can even be planted in our homes as well as used for soups and smoothies. It is sad that some Nigerians overlook the importance of these organic fruits and vegetables. Our country grows organic fruits and vegetables that are the envy of other nations, but we seem not to bother about eating them.
I can tell you with all sincerity that you can achieve good health by only eating fresh fruits and veg, and your skin will thank you for it. Your skin needs a simple diet not “Isi ewu and Nkwobi”
Finally, I would advise you not to wait until there is a war. You can now eat grasses and leaves, and live long and healthy!
