How Jollof Became The National Food of Nigerians

Nigerian Jollof is known worldwide as one of the best dishes to ever exist. However, has anyone ever thought about how it came to be? We (at Fusion) caught up with Jollof (Smoky and Freshly Cooked) and it gave us all the deets about its birth and rise to fame.

It all started long ago, as far back as the 14th Century, before Nigerians and Ghanaians waged war on Twitter over my love and even before the name Africa was ever conjured. My story starts right in the heart of the grassy plains of “Senegambia.” An area which has come to be occupied by present-day Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania. 

The entire region was ruled by the Wolof Empire. The Wolof were known for growing grains – rice, corn, barley and millet. When the first set of Portuguese traders arrived by the Senegal River, they traded tomatoes for rice with the locals. This planted the seed for what you now know as my incredible self, Jollof.

Amazingly, my existence happened as an accident — a truly divine moment if you ask me. Pendu Mbaye*, a cook near the river, ran out of barley and went on to throw in rice with tomatoes and other spices and came out with a dish which was named Thieboudienne (what you call Senegalese Jollof and whom I call my father) 

The food was so good that it became a staple. My father was replicated everywhere along the banks of the Senegal river like he was the best thing since sliced bread (he was), until a rich trader who goes by the name of Wakur Wakur*, was due to travel to the coastal regions of Nigeria via Burkina Faso and Cotonou. 

He took a maid, Buki*, with him to travel across the region. She cooked his food and catered to all his needs.

When they reached the place you now call Nigeria, Wakur Wakur met with his customers and invited them to a feast of Thieboudienne and wild game (aka bushmeat).

His guests tasted the food, ate it all and asked for another plate. Some of them were so intrigued by the taste of it that they asked him to share the secret. What made it taste so good?

In case you don’t realise, they meant me — what made me taste so good? 

Unfortunately, like most men in the 15th century, Wakur didn’t know anything about the kitchen or what made the dish what it was. That was when he introduced them to Buki. 

Every evening, the men would come with their wives before the cooking started. Their wives would join Buki, learning in the kitchen, while they discussed the white men over local alcohol. 

It didn’t take any time before the women understood and perfected the recipe. 

From the ashes of their firewood and the heat of their clay pots, I rose, named after the people who discovered my father with a tweak of one of the Nigerian tongues, Jollof.

However, rice was expensive as it only came from the Northern part of the country, so I was only made during festivities, based on VIP. Over time, with the rise of Christianity, that translated to Sundays. That’s why you all love Sunday Jollof.

As I grew in popularity, my taste kept getting better. The Nigerians perfected me. They stripped my father of whatever taste limitations he had and made me their own. 

I became more than rice cooked in a tomato base. I became a celebrity. There was butter, there were different types of pepper. There was ginger. I became a movement. 

The country accepted me as a national dish, no matter where or how I was made and as with any populist movement, copycats were born. Fortunately, I am grateful, I choose to call them my siblings. 

• Concoction Jollof – Made for/by struggling masses and students who can barely afford fresh tomatoes and use tomato paste and whatever spices they can lay their hands on.
• Sunday Jollof – The most regular of joes. An unfortunate victim of see finish and overfamiliarity. We were made for kings and emperors, meant to be craved after, not eaten every week.
• Party/Smoky Jollof – This is me. The elite sibling and the reigning king of the jollof movement. A trailblazer made with a bit of smoke and firewood to give me a certain hmmmph.
• Asun/Suya Jollof – The face of successful innovation. Armed with a full artillery of goat/cow meat, this sibling has obviously come to stay. I have accepted, but will not forfeit my crown.
• Ghanaian Jollof – A proper nuisance and scam, made with everything but the good stuff and keeps struggling for recognition that might never come.

By the way, this is how Ghanaians would eat me if you let them.

I have brought every sibling together, and we have agreed to exist in peace and unity because no matter the kind of jollof you are, Nigerians will still eat you. 

You can clearly see the smiles of adults and kids alike when I am set in front of them, accompanied by tasty chicken or beef. I mean, who can blame them? It’s not easy to taste this good. I totally understand and that’s why I am their national food. They will go to war for me and they will win, because Nigerian jollof is supreme. 

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