I DO NOT WANT TO EAT FROGS.
One event people in Nigeria barely talk about or give an emphasis to is the Nigerian Civil War and its effects on those affected then, and even, till date. In fact, I daresay, for a lot of people born in the 2000s and upward, the first thing which comes to mind when Civil War is mentioned is Captain America vs Iron Man. History seems to be bent on burying the very mention of it while the ethnic divide which caused the friction back then seems to blaze on in a new generation. You know what they say about people who forget their history.
Anyway, what little I know about the war are the stories passed to me by my father. Prominent among them are the stories of starvation and how it threatened the lives of everyone around. You see, starvation was used a tool of warfare by the presiding government. Cut off a man's source of sustenance and he will readily surrender his weapons or will be too weak to fight, whichever way you choose to look at it. People had to find creative means to feed when there was nothing to eat. My dad told of a person who used corn kernels to lure chickens away from their coop, or the guy who put a hook into a piece of yam so he could use it to steal a goat.
One story I always found intrigued by was that people turned to alternative means of protein and one of those was frogs. Frogs??!! Akịrị??!! My father would often give me intricate details of how they would catch frogs for food. First, you had to know the difference between a frog and a toad. Frogs have smooth skin and longer legs; toads have lumpy skin and shorter legs. Frogs were considered edible, toads have poison and hence, were inedible. Now, catching a frog required three things: the perfect spot, a bucket with a long rope attached and patience.
The perfect spot is usually an old well with really low edges or a soak-away pit of a house still under construction, usually holding a small body of water. These should not be directly exposed to sunlight but should have enough sunlight to enter it at an angle. This would help illumination. You see frogs don't like prolonged exposure to sunlight but would come up frequently for some sunlight and air.
The bucket should be a metal bucket, if you can get one. It would sink faster than one made of plastic. The rope should be attached to the bucket handle and should be long and strong enough to pull out a bucket filled with water.
Frogs are around all year round but you find them teeming in numbers during the rainy season. As soon you hear those croaks, it's time to hunt. When you find a well with lots of frogs, toss in your bucket and wait. Initially, the frogs would all dive down as precaution. You have to be still and quiet to lull the frogs into a false sense of safety. After a while, the frogs would come back to the surface and this is when you make your move. With your bucket fully submerged and only your rope visible, move your bucket slowly and quietly until it is directly under the frog of your choice. Then, you pull up your bucket as fast as you can. The frog would dive back down when it senses the sudden movement but it's too late. It would only dive into your bucket. Once your bucket is up, you empty it and you have a juicy frog staring at you. Careful now! It can still jump away. So you quickly pop it into another bucket which you can close and repeat the process.
When you have acquired enough frogs, it's time to prepare them. You grab each individual frog by the legs and swing as hard as you can till the guts are spilled through its mouth. Then, you wash them to clean out their insides and the slime on their bodies. Season them and placed them to roast on a grate over an open fire. Roasted frogs became a sort of delicacy.
Each time I would hear the stories, I knew deep down inside me that this is one delicacy I do not want to try. Come on!!! Who wants to eat frogs???
We should be able to celebrate the idea that we are different but the same and not let it become a source of bitterness. Tribalism has become the bane of our existence as Nigerians and is eating deep into the fabric of our nation. In a way it already has. History is bound to repeat itself when we forget the road that was travelled before. And if we are not careful, we’d be eating frogs in no time.
