Economy: Owambe hosts now distribute garri souvenirs to guest

2026-03-02 - 07:27

By Elizabeth Adegbesan Attending most owambe (big parties) in Nigeria requires buying the asoebi from the host. The host in turn ensures his or her guest returns home with lots of souvenirs. In the 80s/90s items such as jotters, buckets, bowls, and ceramic plates were distributed as souvenirs to guests. Quality gifts like coolers, pots, flasks, umbrellas and the likes were shared as souvenirs to club members or guests who bought expensive asoebi. However, these items are mostly abandoned by most guests on arriving home, as some already have these items, mostly received at parties, littering their homes. Economy&Lifestyle discovered that most hosts have resolved to share food items like garri, rice, beans, and palm oil in small pouches as souvenirs to cut costs of organising owambes. Findings revealed that these pouches, mostly 1 kgs or 2 kgs and carrying the labels or pictures of description of the event, and distributed to guests who bought asoebi, are filled with garri or other food items. Mrs. Gbemi Omoeye, a business woman, said: “I bought asoebi for N25,000 for a burial ceremony recently. “It wasn’t funny when the time of receiving souvenirs approached. “Behold, the host was sharing garri. Not even 5kg but 1 kg for an asoebi of N25,000. “I just stood up and walked out of the party. “Since then, I vowed not to buy any asoebi again. “Who cannot afford 1 kg of garri?” Mr. Nurudeen Ashafa, a bricklayer narrated his experience at a recent party where he was given a package containing, garri, rice and a sachet of tomato paste in a bag as souvenir after buying asoebi lace material of N17,000. “I attended a relative’s birthday party a few weeks back. “I bought an asoebi of N17,000 as you cannot enter the hall without asoebi. “I was expecting a bourgeois souvenir to be shared. “But when I opened the bag, I was shocked by what I saw. “Rice, garri and sachet tomato paste. “When I saw her the following week, I inquired why such a souvenir was shared. “She told me people no longer value plastics. Instead food is preferred as they use it when they get home than abandon it like plastics. “She also told me that that was the trend in many parties as most guests can hardly afford a meal but are just covering up with clothes and make-up. “So it is thoughtful of any hosts to distribute food items as souvenirs.” Madam Flora Obazee, a caterer and event planner, confirmed the trend. “You know these food items are cheap when bought in bulk. “Most of my clients just send me money to buy rice or beans or garri or flour, and package them in colourful pouches as souvenirs. “Instead of buying plastics, which are now very expensive and not valued, as most people already have them littering their homes and left unused. “The food items are good souvenir packages in my opinion. “If a guest doesn’t want it, he or she can give it to someone else who is in need of the food item. “Though in some parties guests who bought expensive asoebi are given large quantities of this food stuff starting from 5kg and above, including cartons of noodles.”