Corn (Maize, Zea mays subsp. mays L).

Widely grown in Nigeria, both commercially and domestically, there are principally two varieties: white maize and yellow maize. The former tends to processed into flour or a stiff paste and used in making porridges such as akamu (ogi) or ‘swallows’ such as tuwo masara, nni oka and eko. Yellow corn is boiled, roasted or popped (guguru) and often sold by roadside vendors.

Other snacks and dishes include: elekute (dried roasted corn kernels ground into a fine powder and mixed with sugar); gwate (a couscous-like pottage made from coarsely ground corn cooked with meat, leafy greens and scent leaf); and akple (a mixture of cassava flour, corn flour, finely diced onion, chillies and palm oil formed into balls and deep-fried in palm oil). 

Traditional medicinal uses include the treatment of gonorrhoea, urinary infections, fever and malaria and in love charms – burying dried corn together with dried yam and some charms is said to ensure that a husband and wife remain together forever.

Roadside Corn, Abuja