Nigerian Lives: 4 People Tell Us What Its Like To Be Vegan  

For many Nigerians, meat is life and offering a meal without meat or pieces of meat that are considered too small to the average Nigerian means trouble. Commenting on the popular attitude towards meat, Hakeem Jimo, a vegetarian restaurant owner in Lagos, told The World; “Nigerians want to see some chunk [of meat] on top of their rice. They just want to see one big chunk. Or one or two or three. That makes the meal complete.”

Still, some people are choosing to go in the opposite direction which we imagine can be tough in a pro-meat society like Nigeria with a noticeable absence of vegan restaurants. For context, vegan means any food or meal prepared without components produced by or gotten from animals. For this week’s Nigerian Lives, we have four people tell us about their vegan experience:

Ifeoluwa Omai, 26

My diet changed after watching the What The Health documentary on Facebook. The video educated me on animal cruelty and the environmental and health impact vegan has. For most of my meals, I just have to remove the meat or use YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram to make my spice up my cooking. I make sure I don’t eat any animal products. There is a stigma around veganism. People think it’s funny, extremely, ridiculous and only for white people. They don’t know what it is and they confuse it for pescetarianism and vegetarianism. There is a lot of ignorance around it and no one is educated. Men think they need meat to feel like men. There is a lack of vegan options in stores and the vegan lifestyle is expensive. Places like Pinkberry has vegan options for yoghurt where they don’t have any milk and stores like Spar caters to veganism. They have a lot of vegan options. Ebeano, Shoprite and Benco try to cater for vegans but Spar is the best place to go to for vegan foodstuff. Some people have meal plans where they can provide vegans meals for the week but they are pricy.

Efemena, 23

It’s difficult coping with veganism in Nigeria. Once you tell people you are vegan, it’s a big deal because most of our meals come with meat or fish. I have been vegan since I was a child and it has been like that. My family has been okay with it and when my mum makes meals for the entire family, she makes mine separately and includes things that I can eat. Even in boarding school, I had to eat most of my provisions rather than school meals. My diet is restricted. I eat lots of vegetables, fruits and 3 or 4 staple meals, like yam, rice, potato, Indomie. I also drink lots of water. I don’t like going to restaurants because I can barely eat their food and it is ridiculously expensive. I have been told that there are vegan restaurants in Lagos, perhaps in Ikeja and on the island. They sell vegan dishes but their dishes are just cabbage and spinach. Veganism is not something I chose. My dad tried to make me eat protein I felt irritated. I can’t stand the smell of fish and eggs make me vomit. I have learnt to live with it and I know things I can have and what I can’t have.

Temitayo Obayomi, 23

I always eat plain food. I eat literally what everyone eats; rice and swallow but without protein. I have been this way since I was a child. Growing up, my mum made me understand that I refused to eat meat and fish. I always threw up after eating meat. At a point, my dad used to beat me and force me to eat it but as I grew up he stopped because he realized that I was not going to eat it regardless of the beating and the force. I have been to parties where I don’t eat meat. Someone once told me that my decision might be a spiritual thing. I have also been accused of being vegan because I am too poor to buy meat. As a result, I find myself always trying to convince people that being vegan is a choice that has nothing to do with my account balance. If I want something on top I eat plantain instead. I am a very selective eater. I don’t vegetables perhaps because they are made with meat or fish. Sometimes I cook, my roommate cooks spaghetti, rice, beans and when I buy food, I buy jollof rice and the like. I go to restaurants and people look at me like, “why is there no meat in your food.” I just buy food without meat. I don’t think there are any vegan restaurants in Lagos and I have not tried any proper vegan meal yet.

Sharon Jre, 21

I went vegan in 2016 because I wanted to be healthy and nourish my body. My diet has been completely plant-based with lots of fruits and vegetables. There is a lot of misconception about veganism. People believe because you are vegan, you are plant-based or because you are plant-based, you are vegan but they are two different things. I turned vegan at 16 and a lot of my friends didn’t understand veganism. They always teased me and wouldn’t miss an opportunity to take a jab at me. My friends would accuse me of always eating grass and when we go out, they would say that they aren’t sure grass is included in their menu. Sometimes, I would tell people I am vegan and they wouldn’t understand what it means or they would mistake it for vegetarianism. I believe Nigerians are highly misinformed about veganism. Though I eat everything, I am extremely picky with what I eat. I try to curate Nigerian dishes according to my vegan lifestyle and I am strict. Buying groceries is easy, it is not as expensive as people make it out to be. There are a lot of plants, fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates around us. I love cooking and YouTube and blogs are helpful when I want to make vegan dishes.

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