ABUJA DOG PEPPER SOUP
JOINT
By HUMPHREY CHUKWUEDO, Abuja
Monday, January 8, 2007
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• Engr. Terhemba Nongo
Photo: Sun News
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Seeing a large of cars there, one is forced to think that
there is a crusade going on. On closer look at the caliber
of men who gathered there, it shows that they are all waiting
for a particular thing. They are all waiting in 'South Africa'
for some big pots which are on fire.
There are three dog meat pepper soup joints in Kubwa, a satellite
town of the FCT, but 'South Africa' is the most popular. It
is behind the Julius Berger junction, Kubwa Abuja.
The joint is run by an Akwa-Ibom man, who is known as Bassey.
He is seen making rounds at tables amid calls of Oga Bassey
from customers, attending to their needs as more cars keep
driving in.
He takes time off to talk with Daily Sun,
just when he is satisfied that the pepper soup is ready and
most of the customers have been served.
Oga Bassey explained to Daily Sun that he
has been running the dog pepper soup joint since 1996 ".
At first, we were at the Kubwa village market but it was not
spacious and neat as a deserving pepper soup joint. So, most
of my customers urged me to relocate to a better place.
That was why I moved to this place, although the first joint
at the Kubwa market is still on and now it is being run by
a Gwari women", Bassey stated He also told Daily
Sun that to keep the joint on, he has employed about
20 hands to help out in the butchering, dressing, cooking,
and serving of the pepper soup, adding that he is a household
name to all lovers of dog meat in Abuja and its environs.
His services are just like that of a five-star hotel, that
is why the customers keep coming back.
He further disclosed the caliber of people who patronize him:"You
will be surprised to know that it is not only calabar people
that come here.
Infact, the Igbos and Hausas make up most of the list of my
customers. Sometimes white men also patronize me. Top military
men, directors in the ministries, senators, top civil servants
always come here to eat. They were even the people that actually
disturbed me into relocating to a more secluded and spacious
place so they could park their cars and also feel secure.
"One thing with 404 is that it is not pork, although
it is quite oily. I don’t think any tribe in Nigeria
forbids it because Edo, Delta, Yoruba, Gwari, Igbira, Ibo
and Hausa all come to South Africa,"he noted.
Bassey, who stated that he makes more sales at weekends than
on week days also added that on week days, he cooks just two
dogs and he opens in the evenings but on weekends, he cooks
about five dogs and he makes provision for dog barbecue. 'South
Africa' opens from twelve o’clock at weekends.
The demands of his customers to garnish their meat themselves
had made him to get a barbecue. The meat is cut and placed
on wire mesh to sizzle and served along side pepper salt and
onions.
Mr Bassey explained that dogs are quite scarce in Abuja, so
he has to go all the way to Kaduna State to make his purchases.
"Now, a dog goes for between N1,000 and N1,500 while
a pickup full of dogs is worth about N30,000.
"I sell a plate for as cheap as N100, while the suya
cost N150, depending on the part of the dog. The telephone(dog’s
tail), headlight (parts of a dog’s head) and the gear
box (the intestines)are the main parts of the 404" Oga
Bassey explained.
He further disclosed that it is against his ethics to buy
stolen dogs."I don’t buy stolen dogs and moreover
I have many of dogs still remaining from the last purchase
but people willing to sell their dogs can approach us then
we negotiate.
"Mostly, we buy dogs that are up to five years and above.
Sometimes my customers bring their dogs or they buy for me
to cook. You know most of them don’t know how to cook
it, so they contact us", stated Bassey.
When asked the specie of dog that is better for eating, the
manager of 'South Africa’ explained "these German
shepherds and Alsatians are bad market. If you cook them,
the taste you get is like eating a fish that was killed with
Gamalin 20. This is because they have been stuffed with different
kinds of medication which are harmful to man. But the local
dogs especially the old ones are very delicious and will not
scatter even as you are warming it if there is left over from
the previous day."
He also revealed that apart from the taste of the local dog
meat, it provides man with nutrients just like every other
meat and more. "It is a very good source of protein and
calcium. But the water that is used to cook the meat, when
taken before the ingredients is added could cure rheumatism
and arthritis. When taken after the ingredients are added,
helps to improve the sex life of consumers".
The manager of 'South Africa' went further to enlighten on
the processes of killing a dog.
"We kill it with prestige. First, we put a loop made
of a very strong rope or wire around the dogs neck. Here,
we call it a crown because of the way it goes from the dog’s
head to the neck. Then the butcher lifts the dog up by the
loop "bringing it up above other animals". The dog
struggles and the loop gets tighter. The dog struggles until
it is lifeless.
Dogs are so strong that the struggle might continue for over
an hour, so we have a fork-shaped tree where it is hung by
the loop until the head is severed. Then, every other thing
follows just like a goat is being killed. We make sure that
the meat which is used for the barbecue has very little fat
because my customers don’t like barbecued 404 with fats."
Explaining the ways in which the meat is being cooked, Bassey
disclosed that different herbs are used to boil the meat,
such herbs like lemon grass help in bringing out the curative
powers being rendered by the dog pepper soup. A little quantity
of local gin could be added.
This joint, apart from the fair share of ladies in attendance,
has a most intriguing part to it. Daily Sun gathered that
what intrigues the customers most, both men and women alike
is the numerous desserts which are being sold in 'South Africa.'
Depending on the customers’ taste, 'South Africa' has
in its bar a collection of drinks ranging from beer, local
gin (ogogoro), palmwine to burukutu.
Mr Obillo Onyejuwa, a customer from Ebonyi State, who told
Daily Sun that he is a civil servant and stays in Area 1 Garki,
Abuja also disclosed that he has been eating 404 for about
a decade. He explained that he had come upon this Calabar
spot during his adventurous days as a youth corps member and
has been hooked on it ever since.
Onyejuwa revealed that owing to commitments, he does not make
it to 'South Africa' as regularly as he had been while he
was a corper, but he does not miss a chance at weekends, and
mostly he is there with his friends.
Although Onyejuwa’s dessert is a bottle of star, he
also added that whenever he is taking the barbecue, his best
drink is the palmwine.
He rated the dog meat pepper soup above other types of pepper
soup. "You see, in Nigeria, we have only two types of
pepper soup: The dog meat pepper soup and others. You need
to taste it to believe what I am saying" Onyejuwa enlightened.
Mr Shanu, a Yoruba contractor, who was sitting with his wife
at 'South Africa' disclosed that for him it is only palm wine
or nothing for dessert, but his wife prefers just soft drink.
He also told Daily Sun why he visits 'South
Africa': "I come here because 404 pepper soup is the
only soup that I cannot prepare on my own in my house and
the way Bassey prepares it... hmm!! Even if el-Rufai were
sent to demolish this place, the aroma from a distance would
disarm him.
"I have also noticed an improvement in my sexual life
since I started taking this pepper soup. I have also introduced
some of my friends to this place thereby improving their conjugal
relationship."
A military officer, who pleaded anonymity, simply identifying
himself as an Hausa man had an entirely different taste of
what his dessert is.
The officer stated: "I like the amalgamation of the Northern
and Southern protectorates. Whenever it has to do with 404,
it must go with burukutu. Anytime I take this combination,
I also get the feeling that Nigeria can never break up. Yes,
with 404 from the south and burukutu from the north, we can
go on with one Nigeria."
The army officer explained that he was moved into loving the
soup because of the nice way his regiment was received and
attended to in Bakassi when they had gone to settle land disputes
between Nigeria and Cameroun.
"Calabar people are very hospitable that is why we easily
adapted to their life style when we were in Bakassi and it
includes the 404", the officer said.
As it is normal with such places, women were not left out.
Catherine Jimbili is one of the numerous ladies that visit
'South Africa.' Miss Jimbili, from Benue State told Daily
Sun that God who created all things gave man dominion over
them.
"There are people who eat snakes, cats and rats, then
why not dogs. You can see that it is not out of lack of something
to eat or poverty that makes us eat 404. From the roll call
of the type of people here, you can agree with me that this
is just because we enjoy the meat."
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