Known as the Centre of Excellence, Lagos which translate to lakes in Portuguese, popularly called “Eko”, “Lasgidi” or “Lag” is located in the south-west part of Nigeria, with its significant influence on commerce, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion in Africa
The official motto of Lagos State is “Justice and Peace.” “Justice” represents the importance of treating every individual fairly and without bias, while “Progress” signifies the hopes and aspirations of the people of Lagos State.
Although the Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria in terms of landmass, it is among the fastest growing states in the world.
The city is known for its fast paced lives, where everyone seems to always be in a hurry and known for its famous traffic. Commuters are known to spend hours on the roads, if they don’t leave home early enough or left work late.
There are times that it look as if the residents of the city live on the road, as they leave home in the early hour and most likely don’t get back until late at night, and then it’s only to shower, sleep and have a little respite for the next day bustling. Reasons you will find most various kind of food sellers in every nook and cranny of the state, this has made life a little bit easy for those who does not have the time to spare for cooking.

      COMMON STREET FOOD TO FIND IN LAGOS 

Ewa Agoyin: The word “Agoyin” refers to the tribe hailing from the neighboring Benin Republic, known for their distinct culinary skill while ‘Ewa’ simply means bean. This staple which can either be eaten with fried plantain, yam or bread with its black fried pepper and palm oil, is one delicacy you can’t afford to miss if you by chance visit the city of Lagos. One good thing about the food is, if you can’t afford to buy fish, meat or ponmo on it, you are still god to go. The ‘Ewa Agoyin’ is best experienced with a chilled drink of choice. You can find the Agoyin hawkers mostly in bus stops or on the streets mostly in the morning.

Buns and puff puff: yet another street food usually sold hot at the bus stops. Puff puff is chewy and pillow soft, while buns are rich, crunchy outside and soft on the inside, both are balled-up pastry that is deep fried and also have very similar ingredients. Depending on customer’s preference, some puff puff has slices of pepper in it to make it spicy.

AKARA: made from peeled beans (black-eyed peas), washed and ground with pepper, and other preferred seasonings, then beaten to aerate them, and deep-fried in small balls. This delicious meal is usually sold in the morning for breakfast and can be gotten at night too. Best served hot with Pap or bread or can be eaten alongside fried yams

Mai Shayi’s treat (Noodles, fried eggs, bread and tea): Mai Shayi means the ‘the one who make tea’ however, most of them have gone beyond tea and bread stages, inclusive in their food canteen is cooked noodles and fried eggs alongside soft drinks.

The Mai Shayi majorly are the northerners who sell fried eggs, bread and tea or noodles, fried eggs and tea/soft drinks. You really cannot mention street food in Lagos without the treats from the “Mai Shayi”, though this business is no longer peculiar to the Hausas alone, as there people of other tribes who are into the business but then most of their customers are loyal to them because their eggs frying is topnotch and tea making is attention catching. Depending on your order, your food is prepare right in front of you, you can either eat in or take out.

Suya: a traditional smoked spiced meat skewer is a popular food item across West Africa. Suya is a large part of Hausa culture and food and is traditionally prepared and made by Hausa men, thus called ‘Mai tsire.
The smoked and grilled spicy meat is a popular delicacy sold at night, garnished with slices of cucumber, tomatoes and onions. And yes, it’s another street food/snacks that can only be found at the bus stops. It can be eaten with bread or with soaked garri, or just as snacks.