Living on campus in a Nigerian university can be tough especially where the responsibility of making your own meals rests solely on students as is the case with most public universities. Nevertheless, over 90% of graduates from both private and public institutions have attested to getting by their higher education years on junk food.
This eating lifestyle is mostly fueled by the lack of time to cook, with a very demanding coursework that takes you out of your bed as early as five in the morning, stretches you thin throughout the day and brings you back by dusk tired, worn-out and fatigued and still need to get some assignments done. Mustering the strength to cook a healthy meal after such a day would be a herculean task. Then again, one can get a good meal from a nearby food vendor but how long can one keep this up?
Some other reasons for this dietary lifestyle could from a students inability to cook which is more common amongst male students and the lack of funds to prepare better quality meals altogether as such, the budgetary limitations, the low cost of preparation as well as the quick readiness makes these food choices preferable to most students.. Below are the five most common foods eaten by Nigerian university students.
Five Most Common Foods Eaten By Nigerian University Students
SOAKED GARRI
Every Nigerian student can relate to this food. It’s generally a life saver and a quick remedy to hunger (or SAPA as it is commonly called by the local community. It is comprised mostly of dried grounded cassava (garri) which is then complimented with some cubes of sugar and some groundnuts. Water is then added to the mixtures and then stirred. Occasionally, beverages are added to sweeten the mix. It is not unusual to see students arriving campus with their bags of garri at the beginning of the semester.
INSTANT NOODLES
Anyone who invented instant noodles really had Nigerian students in mind as thousands of Nigerian students consume them daily. Noodles are mostly favored by students because of its easy readiness and great taste. The most brand of instant noodles in Nigeria – indomie noodles typically takes only about 10 minutes to get ready. It is also cheap to prepare. Students sometimes love to add eggs and vegetables as extra garnishing.
PORRIDGE BEANS
Nigerian college students and beans are simply inseparable, especially when cooked like porridge. Asides the fancy meals you buy in all those fancy restaurants like MarketSquare, porridge beans is the next best thing for many. Well it sure is for me. The guys think they love it more but a trip to the female hostel would prove otherwise. Although this food could take a while to get ready, that’s’ something a little pressure pot can fix in 10 minutes. Asides the bean seeds themselves all other ingredients to make this into a tasty delicacy are quite cheap. Students other cook it into a beans-yam porridge, beans-potato porridge, beans-plantain porridge or a simple beans porridge with bread or with soaked garri. Its not also unusual to see students creatively make other funny food combinations. I should also note that when not cooked properly one could get a stomach upset after eating.
BREAD
Perhaps we should have led with bread. Bread is no doubt an essential food commodity to every Nigerian household but more especially to campus students. Being ready to eat at the time of purchase makes bread a top choice for a quick breakfast or any other meal. Bread can alone or taken with tea, butter, egg, beans, groundnut or any other thing than comes to mind.
CONCOCTION RICE
Concoction rice refers to the kind of cooked rice than can neither be classified as white, jellof nor fried so we assign it to a new category. It is pretty much a combination of anything you can get your hands on to make your rice edible. As a student on campus, its not uncommon to lack fund to purchase ingredients for a standard rice recipe hence one has to learn to make do with what one has especially when there has been much garri in the belly of recent. If you are a Jambite of a fresher in a public university, I suggest you work on your concoction rice cooking skills. They would really come in handy on campus.
What other food did you enjoy a lot in the university, do share with us in the comment section below.
