Garri is not food; it is survival. Soak it in water. Add sugar or salt, depending on your tribe and trauma. Add groundnuts if you're feeling fancy. Add milk if you're rich. Drink it quickly before it swells and becomes concrete in your stomach. For Nigerian students, garri is currency. It is the meal between meals. The emergency dinner when the pocket is empty. The 11 PM snack when the cafeteria is closed. It doesn't require cooking. It doesn't require a fridge. It only requires water and hope. And the debates! Sugar garri versus salt garri. The "garri and ewa" combination. The "garri soakings" technique. Everyone has a preference. Everyone has a memory of garri saving their life during a broke semester. But garri is also humble. It doesn't pretend to be gourmet. It is honest food for honest hunger. It is the great equalizer on campus. Team sugar garri or team salt? And what's your most desperate garri moment from your student days?
