480,000 Biafran children suffered malnutrition during the war. 31% of these children were believed to be have been between the age of five and below.
Times were hard for mothers and children, they had to say goodbye in the most heartbreaking way possible. Most mothers watched their children die as a result of hunger.

The Nigerian Civil War showed that Nigeria like every other country went through this brutal phase when development is considered. For three years both Nigerian and Biafran families were torn apart physically, mentally and emotionally.

The lives of Biafrans and Nigerians took a different turn on July 6, 1967, and even after the war ended on January 13, 1970, the scars are still visible on the historical skin of those who experienced the war as children, teenagers, youths or even adults.


The war came with a lot of brutally but it left something so precious that has become a part of the Nigerian food culture. Mothers watched their children die from malnutrition because there was barely anything they could do to save them. This leaves us with this question, why is stockfish special?

History has excluded a couple of things from its study to generations of Nigerian children, probably because these things do not seem relevant. But these little things have become cultural and our Nigerianness has been defined by them.

Interestingly, food culture is one of the essential things that can keep or kill a group of people at any time, not to mention during crises or wars. Have you ever been so hungry you felt like you were going to die before you get food?

Now, I will like you to imagine the number of children who had that sensation for three years not sure if they would ever get food. I bet you do not want to think of the woman who had to watch her children die because her husband was out fighting the war and she cannot farm, because of possible air strikes or land raids. Insecurity was so high that you would rather eat what you had rather than seek to eat what you did not have.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine the pain she would have felt as she saw her children that were healthy begin to get fragile because of malnutrition. Do you not think she would embrace the next alternative that will save them? That is exactly how it began. That is exactly how Stock Fish became a part of Nigerian history. That exactly how it saved a lot of children, women, and men during those days of horror.

Stockfish has become one of the most used ingredients in the preparation of most traditional Nigerian soups. The taste of this fish in your vegetable makes it awesomely balanced and perfect, the truth is that we have fallen so much in love with this fish and it has become a part of our lives and some soups cannot be made without it.

But what if you were told that Stock fishes do not have a Nigerian origin, would you believe it? Well, Stockfish has become one of the generational mantle parents have passed down from one generation of children to another and this cycle will continue because these fishes have become an inevitable delicacy in the Nigerian cuisine.

Norwegian historian Frank Jensen explained how this fish became an amazing aspect of the Nigerian food culture. He explained that the process of drying makes it possible for Stock Fishes to last for years and this made it perfect, to be used as food in Nigeria during the bloody Civil-War which lasted for three years.

Did you know?

The suffering in Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War led to the development of international humanitarian agencies designed to respond to complex emergencies anywhere in the world

Well, Stock Fishes were the contribution of the Norwegian government to the distressed children of Biafra who were dying from Kwashiorkor as a result of malnutrition. Well, before Norway discovered oil and natural gas, its wealth was built on fisheries. Today, Norway still remains on the frontline with regards to fish exports. Nigerians and their love for Stock Fish have greatly contributed to the income of the Norwegian Government.

Today, the history of Stock Fish has been forgotten. It has become a regular component in our cuisine. I love my vegetable soup with as much of it as possible. History never elaborates on the pain of children who needed protein to stay alive before it was shipped into the country as a relief material by the Norwegian government. Nigerians like me that have found this fish as an inevitable delicacy have directly contributed to the economic growth of Norway because it estimated that Nigerians imports 200 to 250 containers of Stock Fish yearly.

source: https://www.askifa.ng/nigerian-civil-war-made-stockfish-peoples-delight/

cc: freiburger, Mynd44, MissyB3, RoyalRoy

Are you saying stockfish came into Nigeria because of the durability and it was during the war that it was first improvised?

Secondly you sound as if Nigerians are the only ones that consume Stockfish

This trash doesn't make sense.

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