The many sides of the ‘burukutu' drink

Burukutu, a popular alcoholic drink among indigenes of the middle belt region of Nigeria, is a local brew made from fermented sorghum and other protein enriched grains.

The age long drink, also known as BKT, serves as a source of alcohol for those who lack the financial means to patronise refined brew like beer and other foreign or imported drinks.

In Plateau State, almost every village has a designated joint dedicated to the sale and drinking of the revered drink.

In Tudun Wada, a suburb in Jos metropolis, sites of burukutu joints dot the entire settlement, while hundreds of women eke a livelihood from cooking the local brew.

Gyel, a suburb of Bukuru, is acknowledged as one of the most popular burukutu joint on the Plateau, as drinkers gulp down the brew with dog meat amidst entertainment provided by local musicians and dancers.

At Jenta-Adamu and Gada-Biyu, in Jos metropolis, the joint opens as early as 6 a.m and lasts till midnight - with mostly men and women engaged in different kinds of games as the drinks flow.

Moral and health implications

In Kaduna State, however, the consumption of the brew, which is as popular as the history of man, has become controversial.

At Angwa Television, in Sabon Tasha within the Kaduna metropolis, also described as ‘Sodom and Gomorrah,' burukutu has changed the lives of the residents. Residents hide under the influence of the drink to indulge in all kinds of vices - including prostitution, gambling, and rape.

Reports say drinkers who come to the joint with their wives or girl friends usually enter into a drinking competition and the weaker drinker loses his wife to the winner till the following day.

If a competitor does not come to the joint with a companion, he has the option of going home naked if he failed in the competition.

Health officials are, however, increasingly alarmed at the impact of the drink on the health of hitherto able men who now waddle from shop to shop with swollen cheeks, stomach or legs.

Mama Isaku, who has been cooking the drink at one of the depots for over 15 years, said many of her customers look sick because they mix the drink with dry gin and the local gin, known as ‘ogogoro' or ‘gosogolo'.

Contentious issue of control

Joseph Ojobi, a consultant with Jos University Teaching Hospital, said there was nothing healthy about burukutu. "Rather, its consumption has left on its trail so much bad news - including unwanted pregnancies, rape, child molestation, wife battery and provided a veritable ground for HIV and AIDS to spread among the populace," he said.

No wonder, efforts to curtail the consumption of the drink have remained a contentious issue.

The late Gbong Gwom Jos, Victor Pam, was among advocates for the regulation of the joints. The stand of the traditional head of the town earned him a nickname among the BKT drinkers in the state, as it is popular to hear people demanding for one rubber of VP (Victor Pam).

On assumption of office, one of the first bills submitted to the State House of Assembly by the Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, was one seeking to ban indiscriminate drinking before 4 p.m.

Mr. Jang's action was premised on the fact that, as early as 7 am, many people, including civil servants in the state, were already drunk.

The bill sparked off a lot of protest. Although restaurants and drinking places grudginly complied with the order, BKT joints have failed to comply.

In Kaduna, a group of women, known as ‘Drunkards Wives Association,' are currently proposing a bill to the State Assembly to regulate the consumption of the drink.

One of the women, popularly called Mama Blessing, said husbands turn their wives into punching bags after a long day at the joints.

Blood donors

The joints also serve as pool for men willing to donate blood on demand. In spite of the poor sanitary condition in the various burukutu joints, relations of sick people patronise them to solicit for people willing to donate blood for a fee.

The fee, which varies between N2000 and N3500, depending on the blood grouping, has become a source of income for the men.

Sources at the National Blood Transfusion Service however, said the practice of acquiring blood from BKT joints had reduced drastically since the introduction of compulsory screening of blood.

The source, however, acknowledged that men from those joints had helped saved a lot of lives as a result of their willingness to come forward and donate blood at crucial periods, even for a fee.

But a social critic, Shehu Gambo, said the belief was that people who take the drink have more blood and are always willing to donate for a fee.

"These people are idle, jobless and always looking for any available means to earn money to go and drink," he said, even as he called for the strict monitoring of these joints.


Published by the Next on Sunday.