People drink them as a poor excuse to consume cheap alcohol every morning and night
Have you ever seen Nigerian men camped on tiny benches behind a large bowl, placed on a small stool, containing several plastic bottles that are filled with a number of herbs, and funnily colored water, oozing some strong alcoholic or funny odours? You probably have, if you did not grow up ‘bougie.’
Even if you grew up bougie, you have probably seen this scene in a market or at a bus park, early in the morning or late in the night, or heard the name, ‘Iya onijedi.’
The ‘Iya Onijedi’ is the woman, usually sat before this bowl or counter of supposed heartwarming delicacies that soothe manly minds, surrounded by men, throwing bants and subs, while holding stainless (aluminum) cups, containing those herbal mixtures.
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What is ‘Jedi’?
This is basically an umbrella name for herbal mixtures like ‘ale’, ‘afato, ‘opa eyin’ and other types of strong herbal mixtures that seriously impact the human body.
The origin of ‘Jedi’ is rooted in the African belief in herbs and herbal mixtures as a remedy for any ailments, illnesses or sicknesses. We Africans historically believe that in the potency of herbal mixtures that Yoruba People call, ‘agbo’, is far greater than anything modern medicine would guarantee.
The serial consumption of ‘Jedi’ then became premised on this belief, but more as a prevention or management mechanism, OR for a cure to a certain major, but mostly minor ailments in the body.
‘Jedi’ is consumed on the pretext of cleaning the bile, strengthening the spine or increasing sexual potency to last longer in bed and please the woman of your dreams, by taking her to the moon and Valhalla 10 times through the night.
Honestly, do you have sex every day? Is your bile that problematic that it needs clearing through consumption of herbal mixtures garnished with alcohol day and night?
I guess the angle of exercise with not work for people who consume these mixtures. So if you want sexual prowess all day, to consume herbal mixture morning and night, should that nor be a problem?
It’s even crazier that these things are so cheap and accessible that one shot — a stainless cup — costs around N20 — N50 depending where it is being consumed. In honesty, it seems people just consume these things because they want a cheap excuse to consume cheap alcohol day and night.
They say, 'The road to hell is filled with good intentions' and the truth is, people who consume Iya Kasim’s herbal mixtures always have — or think they have — good intentions for consuming these mixtures, but in truth, they’re only consuming them to get high.
Admittedly, some of these men have telling problems and some of these herbal mixtures do work, but once you start consuming them regularly, the alcohol brings a potential for addiction that people easily get hooked. The truth is, people only consume these things as a cheap excuse to drink alcoholic beverages.
A lot of these mixtures are dipped spirits and liquor like Schnapps and Squadron. The funny part is, the ones who make herbal mixtures as a profession will tell you that the best herbal mixtures, also known as, ‘agbo’ are the ones mixed with water, not liquor, spirits or even Sprite or Seven Up.
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Do the mixtures actually work?
To an extent, but as Pelumi puts it, “What you believe works, will usually work for you — It’s about mental conditioning which goes a long way in certain circumstances.”
‘Jedi’ might actually work, but its potency has definitely been overrated. Back in University, a few friends trekked a few kilometers to go drink a different brand of ‘Jedi’ at a village close by. It was obvious that the draw was anything but clearing any bile or even sexual prowess — It was about the different level of intoxication and they duly got their desire.
The problem was when they came back after one almost walked into the bush after his brain couldn’t handle the intoxication, they met us playing football — we used blocks as goalposts and demarcation. One of them instantly picked up a block and broke it on his own head.
Another one walked straight to a communal tap, fetched a bucket of water, poured on his head with his clothes and phone on his and fell asleep on the porch to his room, a few blocks from mine. His roommate promptly took pictures of him so he’d learn his lesson.
Another one in the bunch basically just locked his room, on my block and beside mine and vomited on his rug. He almost passed out.
This is an extreme example, but the damage regular consumption of spirit and spirit with herbs can definitely not be good for the body. The concepts behind ‘Jedi’ has morphed into the ‘…bitters’ the phenomenon that kills people softly while a ton of preservatives has been added. We need to take heed.
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