I can’t ever forget my stay in Ado Odo. By the way, I do have a weakness. That weakness is that if I stay in some place and discover the people are friendly, I might not leave the place in spirit.
In spirit, even though I might have to leave the place physically, it will still be my destination of choice.
Ado Odo is one such place!
I first had to go to the ancient city in the mid-eighties. The Ogun State Teaching Service Commission posted me there as a young teacher.
The astounding thing is that I was hardly older than some of my pupils. And some of them thought I was an easy crack. However, to their chagrin, they discovered that I was something else.
Back then, there was a gentleman to whom I was close. He would always invite me out. He had access to a Peugeot 404 pick-up. Actually, the car was his uncle’s. That uncle of his had a liquor parlour. They used the vehicle to fetch their products and sell them, especially to the interiors of the city.
My friend would always call me when they had a supply to do. And of course, whenever he had a party to attend, he wouldn’t fail to invite me.
We were so close that people who didn’t know us thought we were biological brothers. Others thought I was from Ado.
I especially loved the palm wine sold on Ere Road. The seller was an ingenious person who dug a pit and inserted a pot therein. When he brought the wine, he would pour it into the pot, thereby making it cooler than even that from a fridge.
That is especially great on sunny afternoons.
On our various trips, we would sometimes encounter a snake on the bushy path. However, the one we loved most was the viper, called Manumanu in Yoruba. The locals nicknamed it manueli.
My friend introduced me to snake meat. Before I went to live in Ado, I had never lived in a rural area. But I love nature. Possibly, my love for village life made me welcome to the people.
It reached a stage where hunters who had succeeded in trapping Manu Manu would come looking for me. They knew I would always buy.
Since I was not married, I would go shopping for soup ingredients in the marketplace. When I returned, I would set about preparing a snake meat stew.
When it was ready, the meat resembled fish. However, one distinguishing factor is the pattern on the snake’s skin.
It’s good if you want to have it on the same day. However, if you can leave it till the following day when the ingredients have settled into the meat, you’ll end up biting your tongue if you’re not careful!
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