Updated October 11, 2026 at 3:00 AM PDT
In Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, a savory, deep-fried bean breakfast snack called akara has stirred a national discussion about the state of the country.
Having time for breakfast can be a luxury in Lagos, where millions of people are on the move long before dawn to beat the city's notorious traffic. Street vendors weave through the gridlock, selling boiled eggs and sausage rolls or puff puff, a sweet and addictive, spongy snack made from fried dough. One of the most ubiquitous roadside breakfast staples, found all over the city, is akara.
Akara is a delicious, savory snack made from blended beans, chopped onions and spices, then deep-fried until crisp and golden on the outside while soft and fluffy in the middle.
Vivian Ozowar knows the process by heart. She makes a living running a roadside stall in Lagos with her husband, Jonathan.
"I add many things because I like people having healthy items into my own recipe," she says.
Sometimes, Vivian adds ginger. Other times, she makes it plain, in a sandwich, wrapped in bread or with ogi — a fermented porridge.
"I wake up by 4, 5 a.m. Do my cleaning, my beans and my preparation," Vivian said. "So by 6, I should be here."
Akara's origins are in Nigeria and West Africa, but its trail can be found around the world. In countries like Brazil, where more than 5 million enslaved Africans were taken during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Africans recreated and preserved the recipes they knew.
What is known as akara in Nigeria, is acaraje in parts of South America — often split open and filled with shrimp and other Afro-Brazilian flavors.
But akara isn't just part of Nigeria's history. In recent months, it's also become a political talking point in the country.
In May, comments by Nigeria's first lady Remi Tinubu sparked widespread outrage. A former senator, she was describing the government's efforts to tackle rising poverty in Africa's most populous country. She said the government had "encouraged" poorer Nigerians by offering grants to help them start small informal businesses, such as selling akara on the street.
"We're trying to give hope and to start akara business, doesn't take a lot of money," the first lady said.
Her comments sparked an instant backlash — and a wave of satire and song — with many accusing her of being out of touch as Nigerians grapple with inflation and unemployment. Across the country, akara became an unlikely symbol of the cost-of-living crisis.
While the government sees businesses like these as an opportunity, to Vivian Ozowar, it reflects the lack of it.
"'Do you know what it means to be a graduate?' See me, see me coming out this morning... I don't sleep," says Ozowar, who has run the akara stall with her husband for the past decade.
She says there are no jobs for college graduates, so like many others, she sells akara — barely able to scrape by.
Ozowar qualified as a teacher, but neither she nor her husband could find well-paid work.
"He's my life partner. I cannot do it alone. Him being there with me means I'm a success," she says.
So, her husband fries the akara and she makes the pap.
Like many things in Nigeria, akara tells a bigger story. A humble breakfast made from beans, onions and spices reveals centuries of history — and today's struggle to make ends meet.
Dhanika Pineda adapted this story for the web.
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