Do You The English Names For These Popular Nigerian Fruits?

[Yakub Oloyede]

Many a time, I’ve paid tribute to the inherent creativity and ingenuity of Nigerians.

Nigerians are so creative that rather than find out the English names of certain fruits, they have either stuck with the traditional name or invented a new name for said fruit. Here are common examples:

1. Tropical Almonds

The tropical almond can be found in many parts of Southern Nigeria. But Nigerians definitely don’t bother calling it tropical almond. This delicious fruit is referred to as “fruit”.



2. Tiger Nuts

The name “Tiger nut” is yet to stick to this sweet root from Northern Nigeria. Tiger nut is called its traditional name in various parts of the country; Ofio in the Southwest, Aki Hausa in the Southeast and Aya in the North.



3. Black Velvet Tamarind

To undertake a fruitless (in both senses) market search, you only have to keep asking for “black velvet tamarind”. If you’re interested in enjoying the sweet-tart goodness of this fruit, please forget your “shakara” and call it “lickie lickie” like everyone else.



4. African Star Apple/ Cherry

Try searching for African star apple on Google and watch the search engine struggle to come up with results. But search for “Agbalumo” and watch Google turn to superstar with numerous results. This is because Nigerians only know this fruit as Agbalumo, not as the African Star Apple.