₦airaland Forum

See Previous thread
https://www.nairaland.com/8513830/why-northern-food-mostly-disliked

I read about comments about our foods in Northern Nigeria, upon realizing the fallacy, I believe it's necessary I write to balance the story well.

Let us examine the common criticisms one by one and ask: do they truly stand, or do they collapse under honest scrutiny?

The first accusation is hygiene. Critics say Northern food is unsafe because some vendors use poor water sources or cook in less-than-ideal conditions.

But pause for a moment: is this a problem unique to the North? Have you not seen amala joints built beside open gutters in Berger, Mile 2 etc, or pepper soup stands operating with no running water in the East? If hygiene truly disqualified a cuisine, then no Nigerian street food would survive the judgment.

So why is Northern food singled out? Isn’t it convenient that when it is your own buka, you call it “local delicacy,” but when it is a Northern dish, you dismiss it as “dirty”? Is that really about hygiene, or is it about perception and bias?

Another favorite criticism is that Northern food is “bland” or “not enticing.” But what is the standard for “enticing”? Must a soup be drenched in palm oil or look fiery red before it deserves respect? Miyan kuka, made from baobab leaves, is deeply medicinal and nourishing.

Tuwo, whether rice, maize, or millet-based, is filling and sustaining without excess fat or oil. These foods are not created to entertain your eyes; they were crafted for health, endurance, and balance.

So the real question is this: do you want food that merely excites your eyes for a moment, or food that sustains your body for a lifetime?

Then there is the complaint of “too much Maggi, too much Ajinomoto.” This one is almost laughable. Are seasoning cubes a Northern invention? Every region in Nigeria uses them, sometimes excessively.

Another claim is that Northern food lacks protein because meat is not piled into the soups. But must every soup carry half a goat before you value it? Northerners eat meat — in fact, they eat it more innovatively than anywhere else: suya, kilishi, dambu nama.

These are not just snacks, they are masterclasses in preservation, spicing, and protein handling. If you celebrate suya as one of Nigeria’s great exports, how do you then turn around and mock the culture that produced it? Isn’t that contradiction staring you in the face?

Some also argue that Northern meals are “not visually appealing.” But I ask you: is food a painting to be framed, or a nourishment to be eaten? Do you reject ewedu because of its slimy texture? Do you reject bitterleaf soup because it is dark? No — you eat them because you understand them.

So why should the earthy tones of kuka or taushe be dismissed? Isn’t it only because you refuse to understand what lies in front of you?

Now let us address the most overlooked truth: many people encounter Northern food primarily in roadside canteens or informal stalls, and they transfer the shortcomings of that setting to the food itself.

But tell me, are roadside bukas not the heartbeat of every Nigerian cuisine? Do Lagosians not eat amala under zinc roofs? Do Port Harcourt residents not devour bole by the roadside? Do Igbo traders not queue at akpu joints in crowded markets?

Roadside patronage has never been an obstacle to Southern food acceptance. Why then is it suddenly the lens through which Northern food is judged?

Northern food is not disliked because it is poor in quality. It is disliked because too many people approach it with prejudice, refusing to measure it by the same standards they apply to their own foods.

And so I ask: if you can endure flies on your amala, dust on your boli, and Maggi overload in your oha soup without complaint, why do you suddenly demand perfection from local stalls in the North selling tuwo and kuka?

Again, hygiene concerns are not unique to the North; poor food handling is a nationwide issue, but because northern food is less commercialized, outsiders often encounter it in informal settings rather than polished restaurants.

In a world where health crises are rising from overindulgence, isn’t it time we recognized that the North’s philosophy of moderation may, in fact, be the wisdom Nigeria needs most?

Wallahi you guys have melted my heart after reading lots of beautiful comments.

May almighty Allah bless you all for your good wishes.
A life cannot truly flourish if it is built on prejudice and biased assumptions. Such a foundation leaves no room for growth, only walls of misunderstanding.

That is why I chose to lend my voice here. If this had been politics, I would have walked away, because politics often feeds on division. But food, culture, and the things that shape our daily lives deserve honesty and fairness.

I wrote with the hope that people would look beyond old sentiments and respond with open minds. And I am deeply heartened to see that hope fulfilled.

It reminds me that when we choose objectivity over bias, we do more than defend a culture, we nurture respect, unity, and the possibility of understanding one another better. I'm humbled.

Nice thread I must really say......But reality is bae,and that's one thing I've leant about life itself...

As a matter of fact,I was the first person to comment on that particular thread and I'm here also.....But this time around,I'm also maintaining what I said initially and that's the truth,but to include what I didn't say the other time..

Now I just remembered....I think I always ate akara,which were usually prepared by Hausa women....I also drank the pap and one thing I loved about the akara was that the inclusion of dried pepper to it.... Just like they do to suya....... And that's different from the ones sold down here in the south...... Guy,apart from that,i didn't eat anything else......Talk about the awara, masa ,tuwo and others.....In fact,you people made me to detest Okpa,not until I tasted the one made here in Delta state

Sonnobax15:

Nice thread I must really say......But reality is bae,and that's one thing I've leant about life itself...

As a matter of fact,I was the first person to comment on that particular thread and I'm here also.....But this time around,I'm also maintaining what I said initially and that's the truth,but to include what I didn't say the other time..

Now I just remembered....I think I always ate akara,which were usually prepared by Hausa women....I also drank the pap and one thing I loved about the akara was that the inclusion of dried pepper to it.... Just like they do to suya....... And that's different from the ones sold down here in the south...... Guy,apart from that,i didn't eat anything else......Talk about the awara, masa ,tuwo and others.....In fact,you people made me to detest Okpa,not until I tasted the one made here in Delta state

Thanks for the remarks. But Okpa isn't a northern food.

One of the glaring flaws in the way many Southerners dismiss “northern food” is the assumption that it is a single, uniform thing.

This is ignorance at best and deliberate nonchalance at worst. Northern Nigeria is so vast that it cannot be reduced to Tuwo and Kuka alone.

Example, Kano, Katsina, Benue, and Adamawa are all part of the North, yet each carries its own distinct foods, cuisines, and delicacies.

Kano is famed for its Tuwo Shinkafa and Miyan Kuka, Katsina brings grains and spice-rich meals, Benue prides itself as the food basket with yam-based varieties, while Adamawa’s cuisine is deeply influenced by Fulani and other local traditions.

Where you see hausa people prepare okpa?what you re branding as okpa na alole(moimoi)

Sonnobax15:

Nice thread I must really say......But reality is bae,and that's one thing I've leant about life itself...

As a matter of fact,I was the first person to comment on that particular thread and I'm here also.....But this time around,I'm also maintaining what I said initially and that's the truth,but to include what I didn't say the other time..

Now I just remembered....I think I always ate akara,which were usually prepared by Hausa women....I also drank the pap and one thing I loved about the akara was that the inclusion of dried pepper to it.... Just like they do to suya....... And that's different from the ones sold down here in the south...... Guy,apart from that,i didn't eat anything else......Talk about the awara, masa ,tuwo and others.....In fact,you people made me to detest Okpa,not until I tasted the one made here in Delta state

DrRasheed:
Thanks for the remarks. But Okpa isn't a northern food.

I like to think he was referrimg to their moimoi, made with redoil tied in nylon with yaji as suplliment.

Caaz:
Where you see hausa people prepare okpa?what you re branding as okpa na alole(moimoi)

. Sis,trust me.... Wetin I eat that day na Okpa.... Maybe na igbo woman prepare am cha, but that particular one no just join at all.....Na the one wey I eat recently for my boy workshop I take confirm am say Okpa dey pass Okpa..

Brother forget,your food is nothing,I travelled to North in 2018,I spent 2 weeks I cannot eat any of your food,When I got back to my base people were asking me did I sick, because I did eat good food for two weeks

Caaz:
I like to think he was referrimg to their moimoi, made with redoil tied in nylon with yaji as suplliment.

If he tries that from roadside salesgirl, there's high chance he's spending the night in toilet.

Moi moi is one of my favorite, but it has to be home cooked or from polish eateries. I won't buy from an IDP on the road for sake of patronage

Ai gaslighting readers

OP it's okay to respond emotionally...

You got at least 80% of the issues raised wrong.

You kept almost hitting the point and then falling just short. Because you responded emotionally.

All or at least Most people for example on the other thread commended suya and said it was one of the few delicacy from the north they could eat.

Many people don't have issues with suya or meat!

DrRasheed:
If he tries that from roadside salesgirl, there's high chance he's spending the night in toilet.

Moi moi is one of my favorite, but it has to be home cooked or from polish eateries. I won't buy from an IDP on the road for sake of patronage

Or not.

One good thing about southern cooking is that foods are hardly touched after they're taken off the fire.
Unlike some northern dishes.

I think that is one major issue people have with northern foods.

It is what it is. 🌚

Leave all the epistle.
The most determining factor is in the taste of the food.
Hygiene aside, do Northern Foods taste great?

That's the question we should be addressing.

Well, general opinion sampled across the country suggests the answer is Negative.

Even the food appearance does not help matters...

I don't think it's disliked. Just that there ain't a lot of people garnishing it and bringing it here on social media

But I will rather eat northern food than to eat that some people prepare with toilet broom

So why is Northern food singled out? Isn’t it convenient that when it is your own buka, you call it “local delicacy,” but when it is a Northern dish, you dismiss it as “dirty”? Is that really about hygiene, or is it about perception and bias?

Northern food don't taste good that's the sincere answer.

Apart from Suya and Kuli Kuli, i can't eat any other northern food.

I don't eat kilishi because of too much spicies.

I can't also eat masa, it taste somehow in my mouth.

The problem is not about hygiene but the taste of their food.

No vex. We would start eating it with immediate effect. Byebye 👋

Talking about Maggi and Ajinomoto. The public is more concerned about the excess use of it in metals. You can't dispute the fact that northern food if full of Maggi. Beside, na only north still dey use white Maggi cook.

Who said northern food is disliked again.... When it's d most consumed food I d country

first of all I ll like to comment on the part of "the food appealing to the eyes", and yes most times from the appetizing nature of the food comes the craving to eat it which eventually brings about nourishment.

why do you think most chefs become creative in making food appetizing, its to lure your taste buds.

Sonnobax15:

Nice thread I must really say......But reality is bae,and that's one thing I've leant about life itself...

As a matter of fact,I was the first person to comment on that particular thread and I'm here also.....But this time around,I'm also maintaining what I said initially and that's the truth,but to include what I didn't say the other time..

Now I just remembered....I think I always ate akara,which were usually prepared by Hausa women....I also drank the pap and one thing I loved about the akara was that the inclusion of dried pepper to it.... Just like they do to suya....... And that's different from the ones sold down here in the south...... Guy,apart from that,i didn't eat anything else......Talk about the awara, masa ,tuwo and others.....In fact,you people made me to detest Okpa,not until I tasted the one made here in Delta state

Okpa is not a northern food. What we have is alale or moi moi as it's called in the south

I think the proper headlines should use the word ‘lacking in widespread appeal’ rather than the word ‘dislike’.

I’m someone who loves to eat different cuisines, but somehow northern foods aren’t something I miss.
Even my northern friends fall in love with our southern dishes when they tried it

chiagozien:
But I will rather eat northern food than to eat that some people prepare with toilet broom

. No one uses Broom that have been used in the Toilet to Cook .
Brooms used in Breaking The green drawing vegetables is new ,once it's Bought it's used throughout to break it and never used in the Toilets .You are Absolutely wrong .

Nowadays Most People doesn't even go through the stress of using broom again ..They use Blender which is very easy ,The broom is not necessary anymore ,It's Only used in Breaking it and nothing more .

I like the food. I have forgotten most of the name.
I like the spice and fish that comes with each meal?
The only issue is the excessive use of seasonings

I remember seeing someone using dirty water to cook in gwarimpa,I didn't expect to see that nonsense that day. It has nothing to do with a region, some people are just dirty.

Lol don't mind them jare, only those that grew up in the north will understand the value health wise, northern food are the best and very much medicinal, I really miss gurasa and garau garau.

Bad energy in response.
He went tribalístically ballistic and got drenched in it emotionally.
Nice try to launder bad products with bad strategy.
I remember a colleague of mine who went to a restaurant when we were in Niger state. He bought 'something' that spoke rice. He ate it and regretted it. He acknowledged that I had warned him of the taste. As it turned out, according to him, it tasted like it had too much ajinomoto. I laughed at him, bearing in mind I had had great memories of northern food while living in the North. However, the food episode ended comically, when in apparent zeal to seek recourse to annoyance, he sought comfort in searching for a cup to drink water. In the moment he resorted to doing that, he came back to discover what Mungo Park did not discover when he discovered that his food had taken a swift leap for somewhere beyond sight. That information delighted me that it made me to laugh even further. But just as we were leaving the food spot, he tapped me and showed me some boys graciously delivering judgement on his food, whose disappearing act left him in wonderment. Obviously, the culprits were almajiri boys, and they gave the food a good time in eating, so much so that you'll ask yourself if there is something magical in the food. I couldn't stand the spectacle, and it was enough for me, because it persuaded me to discharge the full wrath of laughter inside of me to an infinite extremity. To say the least, my people, I choke!

DrRasheed:
See Previous thread
https://www.nairaland.com/8513830/why-northern-food-mostly-disliked

Succinctly put and spot on, l like Northern food, l was born and bred in the North and l enjoyed all their delicacies, if not the constant INSECURITY in the North, anytime l finally relocate back to Nigeria, l will prefer to live permanently in Northern Nigeria.

Chai, l miss Early morning Koko and kose, Afternoon Fura dai nono and evening Tuwo and Miankuka and all other Northern foods like Brabisco, Waina , Kulikuli spiced chicken, gurasa, Shai dai burodi and the various varieties of Music you listen to as you devour your foods Etc