This is such a revelation to me. You know, one thing I really enjoy about finding new stories and articles to bring to you everyday is the stuff that I get to learn.
Since I started to do these daily stories, I’ve really learnt a lot more than I knew about so many people and so many things and today is yet another day where I’ve learnt something new.
And can I say – this is a very interesting story to me. I hope you find it as interesting as I do.
If you’re a Nigerian living in Nigeria, especially one who has travelled to another state by road, then you know that along the road, you will find all kinds of people selling all kinds of things.
One thing that I have always seen is this bag.
I never knew what was inside those bags but I always assumed perhaps it was some kind of dambunama or spiced meat or something.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that those spicy looking orange things in those bags were GRASSHOPPERS! Deep fried grasshoppers. Furthermore, I never would have imagined that people were making so much bank from it!
I’m so excited to delve into today’s story because it’s all so new and interesting to me. I hope you find this story as interesting as I do. Are you ready to dive in? Then let’s go!
Thanks to the people behind the KCity TV Youtube page, we are able to get a first-hand interview with people who actually sell these grasshoppers. To watch the full video, here it is below but if you don’t feel like using your data or you want a quick summary of the video, then continue reading.
So, in the video, the interviewer gets to ask one of these grasshopper (para) sellers the hard hitting questions we all want to know. Here is a breakdown of the conversation:
Question: Where do you get the grasshoppers?
Seller: We get it from Maiduguri. You can’t find it in Kaduna. They bring it to us from Maiduguri. They sell it for N50,000 per bag.
WHAT?! It costs N50,000 per bag for grasshoppers? 😱
Grasshoppers wey full for my backyard?! You guys, it might be time for me to enter this business oh. 😂
Question: How did they catch the grasshoppers?
Seller: They catch the grasshoppers from the bushes. In the night with the aid of light from a generator. If the grasshoppers see the brightness of the light they will come and gather so they will catch them and put them inside sack. After that they will prepare the grasshoppers and fry it.
Question: Are people patronizing you?
Seller: We sell N20,000 to N30,000 in a day.
If my calculator is telling me right, that means these sellers are making between N600,000 to N900,000 per month?
Oya oh. It’s time for me too to switch on my generator and bring sack bag because this big fish cannot pass me by this year! 😂
In all seriousness though, this is so fascinating to me. People see all these street sellers and are so quick to assume that they’re not making any money or that they’re broke but alas! It looks like these street sellers might actually be making even more money than people who wear suits and go into work everyday!
WOW.
Finally – before you bash anybody eating grasshoppers – I just googled it and grasshoppers are actually really rich in protein, fat, carbohydrates, and fiber. So don’t judge the people who consume these foods.
This has really been so eye-opening to me. Okay guys, I’m off to buy sack bag and generator!