Amala-Ewedu, Isi-Ewu, Tuwo-Sinkafa & Pounded-Yam Marketing

by Paul I. Adujie

New York, United States

Nigerians, too many, are consumers of every foreign concepts and theories; undiscerning consumers that is!

Do we ever stop to query these foreign concepts, theories and things? Where is our own originality? Are Nigerians mere lazy interlopers and sheepish followers of foreign leaders of thought, products and processes? What have we imposed on the world and what can we impose on the world beyond 419? We have nothing to give the world? We sure have so much to give, only if we care to contemplate and deliberate on what and how much to give the world

Some Nigerians would kill other Nigerians over religions, foreign religions no less! Foreign religions have taken pride of place over African religions and these foreign religions have extremists and fanatics as followers Christianity or Islam etc. Nigerians have not done a good business of exporting African religions. Africans actually had religion before the advent of colonialists and foreign cultures on the African continent. We receive everything, but, what do we send out in return? What is globalization if it is a one way traffic in which we are always the dumping ground for every idea and everything?

A good number of Nigerians, nay a majority of Nigerians are familiar with the cuisines above; I hope! Those Nigerians, who may not have eaten these foods, must at least have heard about them. But why have Nigerians failed collectively to delight the world with all or any of these essential Nigerian cuisines? What “enabling environments” do we need to showcase our foods and our cultures, our way of life to the world?

It is rather easy and simple to invite your friends and colleagues to Nigerian restaurants or homes and have them feast on Nigerian foods as well as simultaneously entertaining the foreign guests with music made by Nigerians. Some Nigerians frequently come across as though promoting the way of life in Nigeria, will have to wait, until every facets of life in Nigeria is perfect.

This will be the equivalent of saying that Nigerians will promote Nigerians foods, until Nigeria holds elections which will be certified by everyone, especially foreigners, as truly free and fair and truly democratic. Nigeria will not promote Nigerian attires, until technology in Nigeria is more advanced than it is in America, Japan and China combined! Shall we be rest assured then, that Nigerians will not promote Tuwo Sinkafa, until Nigeria builds a colony on the moon?

I honestly think that it is every Nigerian’s responsibility to teach the world how we Nigerians live. It should be the preoccupation of every Nigerian to teach the world what Nigerians do, apart from a devotion to democracy, free and fair elections and religious fanaticisms, of Christian and Islamic extremes. What do Nigerians do, outside of war, famine, chaos, disease and all the now “usual” devastated and unsustainable society image of Africans which is so common in the media and on the minds of many, worldwide?

There are births and deaths in Nigeria and all of Africa. We cook and we eat different foods in Nigeria. Whose permission do we need or require to introduce our foods to the world? All the several cuisines which I mentioned above are spectacularly delightful and I have had my very selective, very discriminating gourmet connoisseurship satiated with each and every one of these cuisines. Sadly though, these meals are not universally or globally available. How could there be a lack of demand and supply by items consumed by more than 140 million people and their friends on earth? Why cannot a five star hotel anywhere in the world give me pounded yam and egusi a la carte? Better yet, why cannot five star hotels serve pounded yam, ewedu, amala, isi ewu, tuwo sinkafa and pounded yams before their proud perfection of serving European and transcontinental foods in hotels right on the ground in Nigeria? Nigerian farmers and Nigerians in agriculture and food processing will benefit, if every cabbage, lettuce and burger does not have to be imported!

I am currently unaware of any major hotel, inside or outside of Nigeria which makes and serves Nigerian foods on demand. This is regardless of whether as standard fare, or on demand or upon special requests, by customers and or guests.

How many hotels, restaurants and airlines worldwide prepare and serve these cuisines and why not?

I live in New York City, a mini United Nations of a mega metropolis of a city! You can find pounded yam, but only cooked by Nigerian restaurants. Meanwhile, you can find Chinese foods cooked and sold, served by non-Chinese! And Cuban foods cooked and served by non-Cubans

Talking about the Chinese and Japanese foods! Who gave them “permission” to “compel” Americans and Nigerians too, to eat ethnic Chinese and Japanese foods? Who gave them the audacity, the temerity and boldness of confidence to promote their foods and their culture of Lomein and semi-raw fish to the world?

An urbane Nigerian can eat raw or semi-cooked fish or sushi, to prove his sophistication and assimilation or openness? Or eat escargot and fried frogs; why can’t the world spread the world towards Nigerian foods?

Nigerians do not have to have been part of the past, present or future government of Nigeria to take interest in promoting Nigerian culture, Nigerian foods, Nigerian clothes, in fact, Nigerian way of life, we do not need the permission or authorization from our government or any government for that matter!

Who authorized and consented to the Chinese and Japanese idea of eating with chopsticks instead of the Anglo-Saxon approved and preordained silver spoons?

Who refused to issue same authorizations to Nigerians and Africans? Who summarily decided that African cuisines would not be available at Hilton Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Holiday Inns, the Waldorf Astoria, Wyndham, Hotels and even at Best Westerns and Motel 6?

What are the reasons hotels, restaurants, airlines big and small do not offer Nigerian, nay African foods? Could it be because, Nigerians, and other Africans never ask? I once purchased an electronic yam pounder which was made in Japan, and it cooked and pounded the yams well, like heh lehleh!

I take the view therefore, that some Japanese do know a thing or two about pounded yam or at the very least, the idea of marketing pounded yam processing to us the natives! What if Nigerians return the favor, by teaching the Japanese to eat pounded yam?

I genuinely believe that if Nigerians teach Arabs and Israelis how to eat pounded yam, Amala and Ewedu, Isi Ewu, Tuwo Sinkafa, and then relax as Nigerians do, peace between Arabs and Jews may finally no longer be a far fetched concept, it might actually be attained in our life time!

As a Nigerian, I cannot stomach the thought that world peace is delayed, because Nigerians have not had the confidence to market African foods to the world! And meanwhile, the entire world outside of Nigeria is missing out on the good fortune encapsulated and encrusted in tasting foods from different parts of Nigeria!

There are quite possibly, some Nigerians who believe that Nigerians and African foods are not second nature to non-Africans because of corruption, bad governments, lack of democracy, imperfect elections or because of malaria and Ebola or even AIDS! Not to mention the absence of technology and microwaves!

But when did China become the beacon and model of democratic governance; Elections in China, what elections perfect or imperfect? Or why exactly is the world not gobbling up African foods, especially the ones aforementioned above? What is so democratic about a Falafel? What is free and fair elections about a Gyro, Tacos, Guacamole and Kosher foods and the countries from which they originated?

There is no attempt here to repudiate and pillory democracies or free and fair elections, but instead, to make the point that Nigerians and Nigeria should not have to wait for perfection before introducing things palatable and Nigerian to the entire world, before the human race get used to no having out input or gets tired waiting for us to make the moves.

I can almost hear some people saying eating Nigerian or African foods will require some adjustments on the part of non Nigerians non Africans! But how have Nigerians and other Africans become accustomed to eating intercontinental foods? How many Nigerians asks or cares how sausages are made before they happily chomp it down into their guts?

How have Nigerians and Africans adjusted and adopted or acquired tastes for foods outside of the continental Africa food chain?

Or, better still, what is this thing; which makes it possible for Nigerians and other Africans to be so “adventure-some” regarding other peoples’ languages, foods, clothes, accents, religions and cultures and non Africans are somehow not equally-similarly “adventurous” with African religion, African languages, foods and African cultures?

What are the unstated excuses?

Robot  # 1 | 01.07.2009 00:10

Amala-Ewedu, Isi-Ewu, Tuwo-Sinkafa & Pounded-Yam Marketing by Paul I. Adujie New York, United States Nigerians, too many, are consumers of every foreign concepts and theories; undiscerning consumers that is! Do we ever stop to query these foreign concepts, theories and things? Where is our own originality? Are Nigerians mere lazy interlopers and sheepish followers of foreign leaders of thought, products and processes? What have we imposed on the world and what can we impose on the world beyond 419? We have nothing to give the world? We sure have so much to give, only if we care to contemplate and deliberate on what and how much to give the world Some Nigerians would kill other Nigerians over religions, foreign religions no less! Foreign religions have taken pride of place over African religions and these foreign religions have extremists and fanatics as followers Christianity or Islam etc. N...Read the full article.

e-Shegz  # 2 | 01.07.2009 05:15

Lovely Article Here. The moment i saw those "swallow" up there, my day was simply made! Till date, i still beg girlfriend to please desist from serving those high sounding, garlic infested, Onion ravaged pasta, spaghetti, macaroni and all what not in the name of "Meal"! What is a genuine meal without being any of those ones up there? Must we kill ourselves with Rice, Rice and More Rice? If you are not throwing "balls" it is no food at least once a day!:lol::lol: London was hell until i discovered all the Naija restaurants. Oh what sheer pure joy to roll, squeeze and dippingly lubricate the real mound on my fingers. Oh what bliss to deposit a well formulated in my ever demanding, never satiated Nigerian stomach of mine! What other vehicle should we employ to rebrand Nigeria than this ones up there? But no, Nigerian conferences, meetings and seminar are now incomplete without Chinese and Indian foods! Hypocrites at the end of the day right at the venue will now go and queue in front of the loo, wrestling to access the sanctuary after eating frogs, lizards and half cooked whatever you call it! Lets Eat Fooooood...and those are the ones up there!!!. Let's introduce our kids to these wonderful meals wherever we are in any part of the world. As a matter of fact, lets start a new re branding effort titled "Food? Throw Balls...Its African" (Now i am hungry already)

Kay Soyemi (Esq.)  # 3 | 01.07.2009 06:40

Paul, I like the couple of questions pasted below and would like to do a quick response back on them with my own questions! Talking about the Chinese and Japanese foods! Who gave them “permission” to “compel” Americans and Nigerians too, to eat ethnic Chinese and Japanese foods? Who gave them the audacity, the temerity and boldness of confidence to promote their foods and their culture of Lomein and semi-raw fish to the world? Who refused to issue same authorizations to Nigerians and Africans? Who summarily decided that African cuisines would not be available at Hilton Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Holiday Inns, the Waldorf Astoria, Wyndham, Hotels and even at Best Westerns and Motel 6? Why would the waiters and waitresses in VI look at my like I am a mad man when I insisted on having palm wine served with the pounded yam meal I ordered in a hotel? My brother who lives in Nigeria hid his head in shame for me and even other patrons gave me funny looks because I insisted I preferred palmy to Odeku or Gulder! So, I say to Nigerians, healer heal thyself first! What are the reasons hotels, restaurants, airlines big and small do not offer Nigerian, nay African foods? Could it be because, Nigerians, and other Africans never ask? I do believe BA offered me Jollof rice on a trip once! I took it for the sake of novelty and promptly regretted the decision. It was like chewing flavoured rubber bands! And the pepper? It was non-existent:D So, we need to look closer to the home front, that's where the problem lies. Most of us only truly appreciate Nigerian meals outside of Naija while those living in Nigeria would like to "apes obey"!;)

Suleimana  # 4 | 01.07.2009 08:26

Thanks for provoking me this morning. You are absolutely right about the ‘good food of Nigeria’, very much like ‘good people of Nigeria’. I had the benefit of a culinary vacation starting October 2008 and Ending May 2009 (with work tucked somewhere in between). In the period, I sampled restaurants in London, Banjul, New York, Philadelphia, DC, San Francisco, Dubai, Lagos, Abuja, Accra and Cape Coast. The only conclusion I reached from this experience is that Nigerians simply can package, don't innovate and won’t serve. In London, Tayyab (Indian) and Saddaf (Mediterranean) were excellent. The Restaurant at the Sheraton in Banjul had good service but I barely remember the food. In the US, eating in San Francisco was unforgettable though a tiny little restaurant perched on a cliff in Half Moon Bay remains my most memorable eating experience. The place is called The Distillery and God, what a meal. New York also offered some worthwhile experiences. Dubai is all glass and no spice, Cape Coast had nothing edible. In Accra, Bukka (Nigerian owned, I am told) had decent food but when it came to service, it was the Maquis Tante Marie that came tops. In my dearest Lagos, Yellow Chili carried the day! La' saisson gave us excellent service but had a 'bad chef' day. I still go there frequently because they know how to serve and on most days, the food is divine. Abuja has Wakkis (I wish they served more Nigerian dishes though) and that will suffice. As a devout Shagalinku adherent, I rushed my American friend with whom I had sampled most of these Restaurants to the place I had spoken about so many time, they place I must 'visit' every time I go to Abuja, but behold a grand disappointment of a lifetime. The environment was as drab as usual, but service was unusually delayed. As for the food, let’s just say that I will wait till I get to Shags in Zaria for my next religious culinary experience. If Nigerian food are served in places like Yellow Chili and Wakkis (very African, world class atmosphere), people will go there without any preaching. Have you ever seen a Chinese man advertising Chinese food? It just happens because they have put it together. I think it was Pastor Adeyemi that once wrote about how we still cook beans the same way our grandparents did. I was at 805 Restaurant & Bar in Peckham and how exciting it looked until the food came. Nigeria has beautiful attractions but no tourists, excellent opportunities but few investors, amazing food but few world class restaurants, talented footballers and a rubbish national team, gifted scholars and a nonexistent educational system. The story goes on and on. Now I am hungry, time for my favorite pounded yam and okra soup with smoked fish-nothing quite like it.

nijalaw  # 5 | 01.07.2009 08:49

Our food lacks the requisite branding, re-branding or marketing to make them world class acceptable foods. Take a look at the curriculum of many of our so called catering institutes & departments of Food Sci & Tech & you would find out that it's mostly foreign techniques & food that makes up the overall space. How would you expect the alumni of such institutions to promote Nigerian food in their various places of employ. Look at the major hotels & restaraunts ( 3 Star rating & above), it's expats that are the head chefs. Who are the chefs of Air France, BA & co. These days of going green & consumer awareness of the amount of calories & health benefits of food taken, where is ours. What's the health benefit of Isi-ewu, Amala-Ewedu etc & how many calories are in poundo, garri, ofe nsala, efo, gbegiri etc. Those in the diasporia do they take their non Nigerian friends to these Nija restaurants to promote our food or they are just places for Nigerians to hang out. These Nigerian restaurants what are they doing also to promote Nigerian food in their localities. Also on the issue of palm wine, many of the hotels & restaurants are in for a profit & it could be that the demand for palm wine is low. I am aware that there is bottled palm wine but in PH you can go to 20 regular joints & you will be shocked that only one sells bottled palm wine. I clearly remember when I looked for fresh palm wine in PH for my wife to bolster lactation, it was only one place I could locate after various phone calls to my fellow boozers.

Mikky jaga  # 6 | 01.07.2009 08:49

I remember when I still used to travel on the now defunct National carrier, NNSL. My standard order was African!! All those a-la-carte and other oyibo foods never attracted me. Little wonder I was the only one that did not get sea-sick of all that traveled first time on that trip. Unfortunately, one oyibo man that I tried to teach how to throw balls nearly suffocated at his first attempt - he was not used to it!! That may be the snag in trying to export our brand of cuisine abroad.

e-Shegz  # 7 | 01.07.2009 12:55

=Suleimana;368233>Thanks for provoking me this morning. You are absolutely right about the ‘good food of Nigeria’, very much like ‘good people of Nigeria’. I had the benefit of a culinary vacation starting October 2008 and Ending May 2009 (with work tucked somewhere in between). In the period, I sampled restaurants in London, Banjul, New York, Philadelphia, DC, San Francisco, Dubai, Lagos, Abuja, Accra and Cape Coast. The only conclusion I reached from this experience is that Nigerians simply can package, don't innovate and won’t serve. In London, Tayyab (Indian) and Saddaf (Mediterranean) were excellent. The Restaurant at the Sheraton in Banjul had good service but I barely remember the food. In the US, eating in San Francisco was unforgettable though a tiny little restaurant perched on a cliff in Half Moon Bay remains my most memorable eating experience. The place is called The Distillery and God, what a meal. New York also offered some worthwhile experiences. Dubai is all glass and no spice, Cape Coast had nothing edible. In Accra, Bukka (Nigerian owned, I am told) had decent food but when it came to service, it was the Maquis Tante Marie that came tops. In my dearest Lagos, Yellow Chili carried the day! La' saisson gave us excellent service but had a 'bad chef' day. I still go there frequently because they know how to serve and on most days, the food is divine. Abuja has Wakkis (I wish they served more Nigerian dishes though) and that will suffice. As a devout Shagalinku adherent, I rushed my American friend with whom I had sampled most of these Restaurants to the place I had spoken about so many time, they place I must 'visit' every time I go to Abuja, but behold a grand disappointment of a lifetime. The environment was as drab as usual, but service was unusually delayed. As for the food, let’s just say that I will wait till I get to Shags in Zaria for my next religious culinary experience. If Nigerian food are served in places like Yellow Chili and Wakkis (very African, world class atmosphere), people will go there without any preaching. Have you ever seen a Chinese man advertising Chinese food? It just happens because they have put it together. I think it was Pastor Adeyemi that once wrote about how we still cook beans the same way our grandparents did. I was at 805 Restaurant & Bar in Peckham and how exciting it looked until the food came. Nigeria has beautiful attractions but no tourists, excellent opportunities but few investors, amazing food but few world class restaurants, talented footballers and a rubbish national team, gifted scholars and a nonexistent educational system. The story goes on and on. Now I am hungry, time for my favorite pounded yam and okra soup with smoked fish-nothing quite like it. Hear...Hear, Shags is the place sir and hey never forget to wash the portion down with specially brewed fura :lol:.hmmm...juicy:D:D:D! But please when next you go to Zaria, do not bypass Mama Tessy, Peters or Tonia's...top of the range African cuisine with all the attendant "weapons". Hygienic environment and all the good news! I went, I tasted and i am Hooked! I'm out of here, Dinnertime!!!:lol::lol:

quietswami  # 8 | 01.07.2009 14:05

Find the bellicose belegerance of this piece rather bemusing. The postering gives the impression that the commonplace cuisines owe there acceptance to manipulation, conspiracy, pandering etc. The unfortunate reality however, is that when it comes to food or cuisine, people literally vote with their mouth, belly, eyes, nose, purse, and overall experience! Whichever cuisine makes it to the top of the global cuisine billing, is due to natural momentum in that given direction by discerning eaters. Nigerian cuisine has some way to go to make any real impression on the global stage - paucity of the cuisine aside. For the most part, there has been little or no evolution of the cuisine but it is rather steeped in its basic, rustic, parochial, rural, peasantry, subsistence style trapped in time. Admittedly, storage and preservation issues were reasons for most of the present day dishes - surely we can now start to evolve beyond these! Enough of the predominantly starchy staples already! Heard a cruel joke once that purported that cultures with overly spicy dishes do so for a simple reason - to hide the taste! I long for the refined, adventurous sophistication I get to enjoy with other world cuisine; where brazen chefs with intimate appreciation and understanding of food, continuously challenge and experiment with food, cooking techniques, and styles to produce the variety of servings associated with the French, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai cuisines of the world. I long for the celebrity Nigerian Chefs to help challenge my amateur knowledge of the cuisine to take it to new heights backed with glossy cookbooks, recipes, endorsed condiments, nutritional virtues etc. Do not bemoan the lack of promotion of the Nigerian cuisine, bemoan the lack of variety and creativity. Good food is simply that, and wherever on the globe it is taken it will be eaten as such - not due to some covert promotional intent!

Mikky jaga  # 9 | 01.07.2009 14:43

=quietswami;368326>Find the bellicose belegerance of this piece rather bemusing. The postering gives the impression that the commonplace cuisines owe there acceptance to manipulation, conspiracy, pandering etc. The unfortunate reality however, is that when it comes to food or cuisine, people literally vote with their mouth, belly, eyes, nose, purse, and overall experience! Whichever cuisine makes it to the top of the global cuisine billing, is due to natural momentum in that given direction by discerning eaters. Nigerian cuisine has some way to go to make any real impression on the global stage - paucity of the cuisine aside. For the most part, there has been little or no evolution of the cuisine but it is rather steeped in its basic, rustic, parochial, rural, peasantry, subsistence style trapped in time. Admittedly, storage and preservation issues were reasons for most of the present day dishes - surely we can now start to evolve beyond these! Enough of the predominantly starchy staples already! Heard a cruel joke once that purported that cultures with overly spicy dishes do so for a simple reason - to hide the taste! I long for the refined, adventurous sophistication I get to enjoy with other world cuisine; where brazen chefs with intimate appreciation and understanding of food, continuously challenge and experiment with food, cooking techniques, and styles to produce the variety of servings associated with the French, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Thai cuisines of the world. I long for the celebrity Nigerian Chefs to help challenge my amateur knowledge of the cuisine to take it to new heights backed with glossy cookbooks, recipes, endorsed condiments, nutritional virtues etc. Do not bemoan the lack of promotion of the Nigerian cuisine, bemoan the lack of variety and creativity. Good food is simply that, and wherever on the globe it is taken it will be eaten as such - not due to some covert promotional intent! Ol boy, your grammar too much. E be like say you never chop correct edikang Ikong before. If you chop Gbelekokomiyo, you no go think of Chinese food as anything but trash. As a rule, any food cooked with book is not palatable to me. Let mama cook better Ogbono soup without the aid of cookery book and then you know there is creativity in Nigerian cuisine.

Anioma777  # 10 | 01.07.2009 16:43

I will try any type of food as I love food period!!!! Nigerian food or African is the best in my opinion and yes I am happy to be called a bush man rather than some imbeciles sufferering from INFERIORITY COMPLEX who prefer to the feed their kids and themselves chips and macaroni and all that jazz. Nothing wrong with foreign foods, but its hard to comprehend how just because a food is foreign its some how better and more nutricious than ours...NA LIE!!!!! I remember after 14 months in Gibralatar stumbling into a Nigerian restaurant in Malaga ( Spain ),it was like seeing a long lost brother or sister:D. You will often hear people say why go out to eat Nigerian food since most eat it every day. My answer is that I like to also taste how others cook our delicious foods and more importantly I like to spend my money at Nigerian establishments. To be be honest wether we package our foods better or market them I dont really give a damn...there is enough Nigerians worldwide that need feeding and long may our foods from al the regions continue to bring us joy and digest well. A fee years ago I tried a Hausa soup called dawadawa ( spelling ) its sort of like medium green in colour and draws like ogbono and ewedu.....its was very nice. I will need to find it and learn how to make it. So any Northern Nigerian women or guys hit me with a pm if you know about it. @Mikky Jagga So if I am ever visit PH where is a good joint to sample edikang Ikong. I have still not tried it yet. Damn all this writing about food, its late but I think I will have some Nigerian food tonite.:D

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