Have you ever sat down to think about how some meals came about? Like what was going through the mind of the first person to boil eggs? Well, all foods have an origin, especially in a country as big as ours. With over 250 indigenous tribes in existence, every tribe has at least one meal unique to them. 

However, due to migration and intermarriages between tribes, most of our cultures have mixed together, sometimes drawing inspiration from one thing to create another. Some Nigerian meals have disputable origins, and because we can’t go back in time to interrogate our ancestors, we’re going to have to settle this through books and word of mouth from our elders. 

Jollof rice

The origins of Jollof rice have been disputed all over Africa for years. From Nigeria to Ghana to the Senegalese Wollof tribe and even Liberia, everyone has a different tale about how Jollof rice came to be. While it’s close to impossible to determine who created the original recipe, what we can tell is who has the best one and by popular demand—Nigerian Jollof. 

Egusi soup

Egusi soup is made from Egusi melon seeds which are found in the tropical parts of Nigeria and are also a subspecies of watermelon seeds. Contrary to popular opinion, Egusi is not necessarily an original Yoruba soup, despite the distinctive style of cooking, since it is eaten by West Africans, from the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, all the way to Ghana, where it is called ‘Agushie’.

However, the fact remains that the soup is cooked using diverse methods, from the Edo, who cook theirs with Une (locust beans) and waterleaf, to the broth-like agushi soup, popular amongst the northerners.

John, a proud Igbo man born in the ’60s, claims that egusi used to be an original Igbo recipe, (at least in Nigeria) until it was adopted by other tribes who introduced different herbs like bitter-leaf to the soup.

He said, ”Back when we still used to go to the farm, my mother would tell us the names of the herbs and crops being harvested, as her own way of preserving our heritage and gastronomy, perhaps. This was when I learned how egusi came about in these parts.”

Banga soup

 Banga soup is called various names in different tribes across West Africa, from Sierra Leone to Ghana. In Nigeria, Banga soup originates from the south southern tribe - the Urhobos. Over the years, there have been similar soups from other tribes but it’s mostly the same Banga soup with slight differences, such as a different kind of leaf.

Some of the similar soups are Obe Eyin from the Yoruba people and Ofe Akwu in Igboland. Banga is also consumed by Liberians and is known as Palm Butter Soup, a delicacy served with rice.

Edikang-Ikong

This soup is known as the pride and joy of the Efik- Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom State who created it. It is made with primarily pumpkin leaves and water leaves. The people of Cross River State in Southeastern Nigeria also treat this dish as one of their own but it is regarded as a meal from the Efik people.

Moi Moi

Moi Moi, which is made from ground peeled beans, onions, pepper and tomatoes (as the case may be) is another meal whose origins remain disputed till date. This comes as no surprise since it is consumed across tribes like the Edo, Yoruba, Hausa, and Urhobo; and in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Osita, a 57-year-old Igbo man living in Lagos holds a different opinion about the origin of moi-moi. He believes the bean-based meal originated from Eastern Nigeria and he backs his argument with the similarities between okpa and moi-moi.

For context, okpa is a moin-moin adjacent dish predominantly consumed in Eastern Nigeria. The two meals basically have similar recipes except that okpa is made with Bambara nut, unlike moi-moi whose main ingredient is beans.

“We are the ones who created the recipes and first started making these meals. However, moi-moi was popularized in the west and now, everyone enjoys it”, Osita maintained.

Stephanie is a British-born Nigerian novelist, poet, journalist, editor, essayist, and activist who obtained her first degree in Mass Communication, majoring in Broadcast Journalism at Covenant University. Stephanie writes fiction and non-fiction, enjoys performing arts and exotic food, as should all people with impeccable taste. Her debut novel—Deafening Silence—is the 2019 1st runner up of the Association of Nigerian Authors Prize for Fiction.