However, Badagry is yet very popular for another trade… snakes! Yes, there is a market in the heart of the city that is meant for buying and selling of snakes.
Popularly known as Snake Market, and as incredible as it may sound to so many people, the market is busy, if not busier than every other market where normal everyday stuff is traded.
Perhaps because it operates every nine days, it could account for the reason the market is so busy as thousands of people from Nigeria and neighbouring countries come to trade in nothing else but snakes.
From Benin Republic with love
The snake sellers in particular are mostly non-Nigerians. Most of them are from neighbouring Benin Republic and also Togo and because they find a huge market for their crawling wares, they readily and eagerly look forward to every nine days to come and make some money.
Hubert Boni, a Beninese who has been in the business for over 10 years, said he rears snakes and brings his stock to Badagry to sell every week.
“In my community in Benin, we don’t even eat snakes. Snakes crawl freely in our compounds. So, when I realised that there was a huge market for them here, I decided to make it my business and since then, I have received a lot of patronage from people from Nigeria in particular,” he said.
Roobert Ake is another Beninese who comes all the way from Cotonou to sell snakes in the market in Badagry. Ake said he took over the business from his late mother who was into it for more than 15 years.
“My mother taught us this business. She is Nigerian though we are not conversant with her family in Nigeria, we don’t know them. We make an average of N20, 000 as profit on this business every market day. We have a snake farm in Cotonou and we bring them down for people who know the worth here in Nigeria,” he said.


Akinlade who deals in roasted and fresh snakes, said she also brings in live snakes but only on request.
“I bring live snakes for those that request them. They are more expensive than the dead ones. Some people who order for snakes may decide to use them as pets, I wouldn’t know why they would ask for live snakes but I do buy them for some people,” she said.
For these snake merchants and others, there is nothing like having phobia for snakes. They are not among the set of people who cringe or get repulsed at the sight of these reptiles.
Akinlade said, “Snake hasn’t bitten me before. I am not scared of snakes. There is no animal that is not scared of human beings. If I am processing it and the scale pierces my body, I just remove it. Some people will tell you that the scale is poisonous but it is not true; it is all based on superstition, there is nothing like that.”
Another buyer, Joseph Ganiat, who lives in Badagry said he doesn’t believe in any cultural or religious stigma associated with snakes.
“I have not seen snakes in my dream before. I don’t have any reason to be scared of snakes. They even know that when I see them, I would just kill them. The one that is very popular is meno meno. People love to eat that one a lot. Cobra tastes like stock fish. I ‘rush’ the snake any time I see it and it is tasty.”
In her own remarks, Akinlade added, “I don’t know if God cursed snake but it doesn’t matter. Christians and Muslims eat snakes. There is no way I will see a snake and run away. In fact, no snake can even come here. Since the bones are usually thrown away and they perceive the smell, they would crawl away. Snake meat is not unusual. It is something I do all the time. My dream is that this business will take me outside the shores of this country where I will be going to supply snakes to people abroad.”
While agreeing that so many people are scared of snakes, Akinlade says she uses it to her advantage sometimes.
“At times, when I alight from a bus, I will just bring out two of the snakes from my sack and I would pretend as if I am a snake charmer and the conductor will just tell me to please go with my money,” she said jocularly.
‘Snake meat freshens our skin’



Do you think so??

ok

dedicate this post to LaLa ....... and my fellow Snake eaters

Lala food don ready oo

No thanks.

nawa

Cc: seun
Lalasticlala
Mynd44
Ishilove
Marpol
Semid4lyfe
Obinoscopy

Nigeria is really backward

Even if i must eat this thing i cant do it while looking at the skin talk more of eating it o:

Snake Eaters Association Of Nigeria