It will shock you what these Nigerians are eating with palm-wine

When the name Zimbabwe is mentioned, many Nigerians quickly flash back to the famous struggle of the Zimbabwe movement of independence against the defunct government of Rhodesia.

To others it is the infamous 89-year-old Zimbabwean leader, Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980 and a leader of the rebel groups against white minority rule.

But to the people of Nasarawa state, the name Zimbabwe is a tiny roadside settlement along the Abuja-Keffi expressway that is usually busy for 12hours a day and has preceded the present free Zimbabwe.

It is a place where the sweet taste of fresh palm wine comes in contact with spicy roasted fish and chicken in a village setting.

Recently, NAIJ.com visited Zimbabwe which is a tiny fraction of a village known as Uke, located on a sloppy landscape 25km from the city of Abuja and 15km before the ancient city of Keffi. It is a part of Uke chiefdom in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

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Zimbabwe is the lure of all city dwellers around it. Visiting patrons to this bubbling place are always welcome by things that would make them happy.

For one, there is always music blaring from the giant speakers. And those who could gyrate take to the dancing floor. Indeed, on a typical day in Zimbabwe, there is no dull moment.

Activities at the little hunts and canopies are always at their peak. People drink, eat and make merry. The location and setting Situated on a plain, grassy valley crisscrossed by a river and overlooking the highway on the Abuja/Keffi Road is a suburb called Uke, in Nasarawa State.

It consists of no more than a few thousand people who live in houses roofed with rusty corrugated iron sheets.

At the upper end of this suburb, just by the riverside is the famous Zimbabwe. Indeed, what started as a palm wine market in 1980 has now metamorphosed into a full-blown market, with such magnetic forces that pulls the small and mighty in the society to its fold.

The Zimbabwe market is always a beehive of activities at festive periods and weekends. At least, ten thousand holiday makers visit it at weekends alone. A handful of tourists also rest at it on a daily basis.

The presence of palm wine, roasted chicken, fish and other farm produce has attracted large crowd of people from Nasarawa, Abuja and other neighbouring states, the name Zimbabwe rings a bell. It is a bubbling place.

Indeed, Zimbabwe is so popular that any girl that has not been taken there by her lover would not be happy.

Aside from palm wine, there are other side attractions like fresh fish, chicken and fish barbecue, fish pepper soup and others. According to Jacinta Godwin a fish seller, “anything you want, you can get it at Zimbabwe at a relatively cheap price. For instance, you don’t need to go to fast food joints for fresh fish and chickens. That is why people come from Abuja and other places to this place.

Life at “Zimbabwe” is exhilarating. Its atmosphere is alive with adventurous spirit and resourceful people. Although it lacked the eye-pocking state-of- the-art edifices of the cities, it is a kind of heaven. Its serene and calm atmosphere is not only magnetic but also infectious.

The environment is in a cocoon of marina trees that provides a calm atmosphere needed to rewind after a hectic day. Investigations revealed that the main centre of attraction at Zimbabwe is the fresh palm wine that is cheaply available in large supply.

How it started

Narrating the historical background of the market and how it got its name to NAIJ.com, Mrs Mary Dauda whose late husband originated the name and also happens to be the first person who started the market with the sale of palm wine said:

“Years back when I and my husband moved to Uke; I was jobless so I decided to sell palm wine beside the road. The place was very bushy; I was always challenged by snakes from the bush.  I started with a gallon, travellers and some other people from Uke village will stop by to buy palm wine then gradually the patronage increased and I had to increase my sale also.

“Due to demand I started arranging stones on the floor where people will seat and drink palm wine until they get drunk and start fighting.

“Also at that time, there was war in the country called Zimbabwe and Nigeria military was involved in peace keeping over there so one day while my customer got into their usual fight my late husband who was with me tried separating them

He said to them, “why must you people fight like those in Zimbabwe, this is not Zimbabwe if you want to fight go over there and join the military not here in Nigeria”, again and again he will tell them the same thing whenever they fight.

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“After a while, my customers started referring to my palm wine spot as “Zimbabwe” they will tell themselves “let’s go to Zimbabwe and take some palm wine” and gradually it became a popular name and before I knew it other people began to join me there to sell and today we have a very large market.”

One major concern presently at Zimbabwe is the low turnout of people into the market which has affected the level of business in the market.

The challenge

A visit to the market by NAIJ.com reveals that the number of people trooping into the popular Zimbabwe market has drastically dropped.

Jessica Godwin a fish seller who has been into the business for more than five years said since the recent bombing in the FCT, the number of customers had reduced drastically.

“Before now I buy up to ten bowls of fish and finish selling them within two days but now I hardly sell a full bowl of fish in two days. That has affected me badly because I feed and send my children to school from this business,” she said.

Abigail John, a palm wine seller who also decried poor sales said the challenge has made her ventured into ho  e to home delivery of palm wine.

“Since the insurgency has made my customers stay away from the market, I have now devised a way to sell my product through house-to-house delivery.

Some of them call me to order while some don’t but when I take it to them they buy though we still make little sale here at the market,” Abigail said.

Vivian Ogbu a roasted chicken seller lamenting on the low patronage also told NAIJ.com that though the level of sale has reduced, she is still willing to go on with the business.

“This is what I have been doing for the past 15 years and it has helped me a lot so am not ready to abandon it, I will still go on even though the level of sales has dropped,” she said.

According to Audu Atama, the secretary of the market who spoke on behalf of Chido Danjuma the chairman said, though there has not been any reported incident of theft or security threat at the market, the community has taken steps to provide security at the market.

“The community supplies them with all their operational needs. Every month, they meet with the elders of the community to brief them on security matters and to update their operational methods,” Atama said.

Some people who despite the security challenge still made their way to Zimbabwe said they cannot but stay away from the spiced chicken and palm wine.

“I know it is not safe but one thing is that God is our safety, even though I try to avoid crowded places I can’t help staying away from the palm wine and fish,” James Adams said.

Maimuna Mohammed who came with her three children to the market said she prefers coming to Zimbabwe to purchase fish for cooking.

Though the insurgency has stopped a lot of people from coming to Zimbabwe, I am very conscious and will not stay here till night,” she said.

Zimbabwe indeed has attracted other artisans such as furniture designers, car washers, cobblers, hair dressers, tailors and others who are making brisk business as customers come to enjoy the freshness of nature.

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