Organisers of the International Akara Day Festival say the initiative aims to promote Nigerian food culture and women’s economic empowerment in local communities through akara, a traditional bean cake.
The maiden edition of the festival was held on Monday in Abuja, bringing together akara and other local food vendors, as well as lovers of indigenous cuisines.
The event featured cooking showcases, marketplace activities and programmes highlighting women’s and youth entrepreneurship.
According to the organisers, the initiative seeks to promote akara and other indigenous foods globally while empowering grassroots entrepreneurs as key contributors to community development.
Mr Abiodun Macaulay, a co-convener of the festival, said the initiative was designed to empower grassroots entrepreneurs and showcase Nigerian local food varieties to the world.
He said akara sellers and other petty traders were already contributing to the economy but often lacked adequate recognition and support.
“These people you’re seeing over there, they’re doing good selling akara, but people don’t know. That is why we’re trying to showcase and empower them, and to appreciate the value of akara,” he said.
Macaulay said the initiative was not limited to akara but was also intended to support petty traders, especially vendors of local delicacies.
He said the festival would be celebrated annually on September 21 to promote Nigerian food and cultural products, adding that the organisers hoped to develop it into an international event.
He added that they planned to establish franchises of the initiative in different parts of the world.
Another co-convener, Patrick Onazi, said the celebration was inspired by the need to promote indigenous foods at a time when foreign cuisines such as pizza and doughnuts were gaining wider recognition.
He said the initiative was designed to showcase akara as part of Nigeria’s rich culinary heritage while creating opportunities for small-scale entrepreneurs.
“We need to celebrate our own culture, our own culinary. That is why we created this opportunity to come together to launch the international akara day festival today,” he said.
Onazi said akara could serve as a profitable small business for people seeking to support themselves and their families while pursuing other economic opportunities.
He added that the festival would also accommodate other indigenous culinary products and reflect Nigeria’s diversity in language, culture and religion.
A participant, Mrs Mary Good, said the celebration was an opportunity to encourage women to engage in small-scale businesses and reconnect with indigenous food traditions.
Good said akara had traditionally been part of Nigerian households, adding that promoting it and other local foods could help preserve cultural heritage among younger generations.
An akara vendor, Mrs Mallam Habila, said the festival had brought greater recognition to the food, noting that many young Nigerians had little interest in indigenous delicacies and preferred modern fast food.
