Today we will be talking about some of our favorite snacks in primary school. Lets say it is a throwback piece on a monday morning. #TBT (hashtag throwback Thursday) is used on Thursdays to bring back the memories of the past, but today we are using it on a monday anyways. With the hashtag, any post related to the throwbacks trends on the social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and so on. At this point, we will be reminiscing the snacks we enjoyed while in the primary school.
Snacks are small meal usually eaten in a hurry, especially inbetween main meals. Children are used to eating snacks and most parents make sure they buy them snacks along with the main food taken to school. They may also be given money to buy snacks in school. Snacks are sold in school even some teachers in the public schools make it a side hustle by selling in the school shops.
The rate at which we eat snacks back then is just as if we were in school for this purpose. Some of us even save our transport fares to buy our favorite snacks. I remembered walking several kilometers everyday just to buy my favorite puff-puff snacks back then. Those who sell these snacks don’t like it when it is holiday period as the sales will decrease. This is to tell you how children really like snacks.
Snacks eaten by children in this part of the world depends on the type of food that people in that particular area like to eat. For example, children that grew up in the northern part of the country have a peculiar snack to them while those in the south also have a particular snack that they like.
Many of us still take our favorite snacks till today while some have stopped taking the snacks as they age but it’s quite fun to bring back memories of the small meals that we kept in our bags and pockets.
I asked some friends about the kind of snacks they liked while they are in primary school, this is what they have to say:
Wow! I really like ‘gori-gori’. It is very common in the north. It is a very small size grain that is usually packed with groundnut. Groundnut hawkers do sell this grain-made snacks then.
Asekere Dammy, Akure.
I prefer ‘kuli-kuli’ and Okin biscuits (which is in extinction now).
_ Prince Victor, Lagos.
I like puff-puff, kunu and this particular candy called ‘baba dudu’_
Jamiu Norwitski, Abeokuta.
I’m crazy about ‘goody-goody’. It is like a chocolate that you lick although it’s more like a sweet than a snack.
_ Aisha Nana, Kano.
I like puff-puff
_ Taiwo Olowe, Ondo.
I always prefer not to pay for my lesson fees then. I use the money to buy fish pie and my favorite iced drink called ‘Ice kobi-kobi’.
_ Ken, Enugu.
I really like puff-puff back then. Its place has now been taken by pizza. You know now as a big girl.
_ Lola, Lagos.
I prefer to have cookies in my bag then than the main food itself. I don’t like to eat as much as other kids but prefer biscuits.
_ John, Jos.
Common Snacks We Enjoyed
Kuli-Kuli
This is a crunchy snack made from roasted peanuts/groundnuts. It is a popular snack in West African countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin, and Ghana. It is majorly made in the Northern part of Nigeria. Kuli-Kuli is often eaten alone or with a mixture of garri, sugar, and water popularly called ‘’garri soaking’’. It is very cheap so children easily buy this particular snack. It comes in different shapes which can be ball-shaped, ring-shaped, cuboid, and so on.
Puff-puff
This is a very popular snacks in Nigerian streets. It is made of dough containing flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, water and egg (which are optional), and deep fried in vegetable oil to a golden brown color. Variations can be made in the recipe by using baking powder in place of yeast but yeast is more common. It can also be rolled in sugar which gives it more sweetening taste. Puff-puff is commonly sold in school shops and on the streets. We can’t just stop buying and eating this oily snacks.
Fish Pie
This is also one of the most popular small chops we enjoyed back then. A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that completely contains a filling of various savory ingredients. It may contain fish, meat, nuts, brown sugar, or vegetables (carrots, green beans etc.). Just like puff-puff, pie is also sold in schools’ shops and it is well patronized. However, fish pie used to be my best back in the day. Have you ever tried the freshly fried ones?
Donkwa
If you have lived in the northern part of the country, then ‘donkwa’ must be one of your top snacks. It is a savory snacks made with corn meal and groundnuts. It is also referred to as ‘Tanfiri’. It is one of those snacks that does not require cooking. It is soft and melts in the mouth, and often confused with kuli-kuli.
Biscuits
This particular snack is not only popular in Nigeria but worldwide. Either you’re a rich or poor kid, you must have taken biscuit and it is top on your snacks list. Biscuit is a small baked product that is also referred to as ‘cookie’. There are different types of biscuits that we really like to eat back then. Among them is the short bread biscuit, small cookies, wheat and cream biscuits, and so on. Biscuits are very easy to get and are relatively cheap. Even if you bring a cooler of rice to school, cookies are a popular snack you’ll see during the lunch time.
These are some of lovely favorite the most popular small chops we really enjoyed while we were in the primary school. You can as well bring back the good memories by telling us about your favorite snacks in the comment section. thanks for reading this piece.
