How Ogogoro Is Produced In Nigeria
The mysterious deaths caused by ogogoro consumption in Rivers state make the top headlines of Nigerian dailies but few know the process involved in making the local gin.
Ogogoro is called Sapele water, Kparaga, kai-kai, Sun gbalaja, Egun inu igo meaning The Masquerade in the Bottle and much more in different local languages.
A CNN reporter, Christian Purefoy, went to a distilling factory on the outskirts of Lagos and captured live pictures of the process of producing local gin.
The process of making ogogoro is simple and illegal says Purefoy. The reporter met with a young lad named Gabriel who described the process of making the local gin.
The main ingredient is the palm sap which he has to climb a palm tree to get. A bucket is then filled with palm sap and drowned fruit flies.
After extracting the sap, Gabriel replaces the full bucket with an empty one and climbs down the tree.
The FG was forced to ban the local gin after reports surfaced of the deaths of quite a number of people after consuming the alcoholic drink.