Not Every Nigerian Eats Dogs

Being a Nigerian, I was shocked when I stumbled on a news headline that said “Thousands sign petition to stop Nigerians from eating dogs”.

I was chatting with my friends so, I asked them, “do you eat dogs? All of them said, No!

Then I clicked on the article and realized that it was about a petition calling for a ban in dog meat trade, even though the stunning headline generalized every Nigerian as a dog eater.

Unsatisfied with the headline, I went round the streets in search of people that eat dog meat.

When I arrived at one open air restaurant, I looked around and saw people eating the meat. There was one customer who told me that eating dog meat gives him special protection against charms, and another who claimed the meat improves sex life.

I also discovered from my little findings that many Nigerians do not eat dogs, contrary to the generalized belief that we prefer eating to treating dogs as pets. I find the headline very erroneous, it makes me think about many Nigerians who work so hard to treat every animal with respect and are still pushing to protect them from harm.

If you've ever been to Nigeria, you will understand how misleading the headline is and how it lumped all our citizens as dog meat eaters. If you haven't been here, I want to tell you the whole story, starting with the fact that not every Nigerian eats dogs.

Nigeria as a country is so diverse. Here, we have people of different religions, tribes and culture, who come together to make Nigeria what it is.

Throughout the country, there are some people who don't eat dog meat, as well as others who do.

Moving down south, people living in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ekiti and Ondo states actually enjoy eating dog meat, however, there are some who find the idea of eating dog meat so disgusting. I'm saying this from experience since I was raised in one of these states.

If you go a bit North, you'll also come across people in Plateau, Kaduna and Nasarawa states who eat dog meat, but again, not all of them.

Muslims in the core north do not eat dog meat since most of them consider the animal as unclean. In fact, some of the dogs eaten in Southern Nigeria are transported there from the north.

So, I wonder where the hasty over-generalisation comes from.

Natasha Choolun, the UK-based international animal rights activist even said: “Nigeria's positive new image is tainted by the existence of a cruel dog and cat meat trade which casts a negative shadow over Nigeria.”

I wonder what she would say if she comes across such a negative stereotyping of more than 180 million people.

So, as you sign the petition just remember, not everyone eats dogs in Nigeria.

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