Old Nigerian snacks were never just about filling your stomach. A bite of one could take you straight back to a school break, a roadside kiosk, a neighbourhood provision shop or an afternoon spent outside with friends.

They were simple, affordable treats, but somehow, they became part of our childhood memories. For many Nigerians, the taste of kokoro, Baba Dudu, Pako biscuits, coconut candy and donkwa still brings back a little piece of childhood.

Kokoro

There was no quiet way to eat kokoro. The hard, crunchy maize snack was a familiar sight around schools, markets and neighbourhood shops, particularly in southwestern Nigeria. Food research traces its origin to the Egbado people of present-day Ogun State, with traditional production associated with communities including Imashayi, Joga and Iboro. Kokoro is made from maize-based dough that is shaped and fried, with some traditional varieties involving fermentation.

Kokoro was less about its production process and more about the crunch. It was the snack you could buy with a little pocket money and eat slowly; one stick could last longer than expected, partly because it took some effort to chew.

Simple, crunchy and familiar, kokoro became one of those snacks that could instantly transport people back to childhood.

Baba Dudu

Dark, hard and intensely sweet, Baba Dudu was a small treat that demanded patience.

The traditional Yoruba sweet is made by cooking coconut milk or cream with sugar until the mixture becomes dark and caramelised before it is cooled and hardened. Its Yoruba name, Baba Dudu, translates roughly to “dark old man”.The fun was in making it last. You could slowly suck on it until the sweetness softened, or bite into it and discover just how hard it was. Either way, its distinctive dark colour and coconut flavour made it easy to recognise.

It was the kind of sweet commonly found in neighbourhood shops and among roadside treats, making it a familiar part of everyday Nigerian childhood.

Pako biscuits

Pako biscuits belonged to the mathematics of pocket money. The biscuit is remembered by many Nigerians as an inexpensive childhood snack, particularly among those who grew up in the 1990s. Its appeal was not necessarily that it was fancy. It was affordable, familiar and easy to find. You opened the pack, took a bite and probably reached for water afterwards.

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But childhood food memories are rarely about taste alone. Pako can bring back break time at school, walking home with friends, sitting outside after school or deciding what to buy with the little money in your pocket. There is a reason inexpensive snacks stay with us. They were part of everyday life.

Coconut candy

Coconut candy had its own kind of magic. Sweet, chewy and packed with grated coconut, it had a texture that made it different from the smooth sweets children were often given.

Traditional Nigerian coconut candy is made by grating fresh coconut and cooking it with sugar. Coconut-based sweets have long been sold in Nigerian markets, including Lagos Island’s Balogun Market, where locally made coconut candy and coconut candy flakes have been documented among traditional snacks.

The memory of buying a small portion from a roadside seller and the smell of fresh coconut being grated. Either way, it was proof that a few simple ingredients could become a proper childhood treat

Donkwa

Small, round, and full of flavour, donkwa is one of those snacks that anyone who grew up eating it can instantly recognise.

The maize-and-groundnut snack is associated with Hausa communities in Nigeria. Traditionally, roasted maize and groundnuts are ground together and combined with ingredients such as pepper, sugar and salt before the mixture is moulded into small pieces. Its flavour comes in layers: the nuttiness of groundnut, the taste of roasted maize, a little sweetness and, depending on the recipe, a touch of pepper.

Donkwa has also been documented as a street-vended snack in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.

A little snack, a lot of childhood 

What makes these snacks special is that they were never really about luxury. They belonged to school runs, roadside sellers, neighbourhood shops, family visits and the little decisions children made with whatever money they had in their pockets.

Kokoro gave us the crunch. Baba Dudu made us slow down. Pako biscuits were part of pocket-money mathematics. Coconut candy turned a simple ingredient into a treat. Donkwa brought maize, groundnuts and spice together in one small bite.

Today, there are more snacks to choose from than ever. But sometimes, all it takes is one familiar taste to take you back to a time when a few naira could make your entire afternoon.

Meiza Nigeria