The question is why is Opeyemi Famakin obsessed with Igbo food? More than 200 ethnic groups in Nigeria with distinct unique foods but from January to December that retarded bigot will be on Igbo food this, Igbo food that. As a yoruba is he not suppose to focus more on Yoruba food? But no it is always Igbo food. Opeyemi Famakin should know that no amount of food propaganda will displace Igbo food from being number one best food in Nigeria.
"Igbo cuisine is only 100 years old"?
This is one of the most historically inaccurate claims ever made about one of Africa's oldest civilizations.
You cannot separate a people from their food. If the Igbo have existed as an organized civilization for well over a thousand years, how could their cuisine be only 100 years old?
Long before the British arrived, long before Nigeria was created in 1914, and long before the Atlantic slave trade, the Igbo had already developed a rich culinary tradition rooted in farming, fishing, hunting, food preservation, palmwine tapping, and communal cooking.
The famous New Yam Festival (Iri Ji) alone destroys the "100 years" claim. It is an ancient harvest festival celebrated after the first yam harvest to thank God (Chiukwu) and the ancestors before anyone eats the new crop. Historians and anthropologists recognize it as a pre-colonial tradition that has been practiced for centuries across Igboland.
Yam was never just food to the Igbo; it was wealth, prestige, identity, and civilization. A man's success was often measured by his yam barns (oba ji). This is why yam occupies such a central place in Igbo culture, proverbs, ceremonies, and festivals.
Centuries before colonialism, the Igbo were cultivating indigenous crops and preparing meals from:
Yam (Ji)
Fio Fio
Abacha
Ofe Oha
Ofe Achara
Ofe Uturukpa
Cocoyam (Ede)
Mushrooms (Ero)
Breadfruit (Ukwa)
Melon seeds (Egusi)
Pumpkin leaves (Ugu)
Bitter leaf (Onugbu)
African oil bean (Ugba)
Bambara groundnut (Okpa)
Palm fruit (used to make palm oil)
Native spices such as uda, ehuru, uziza, nchụawu, etc.
These foods formed the foundation of Igbo cuisine centuries before the introduction of crops such as maize and chili peppers from the Americas.
Many of the dishes still eaten today trace their origins to these indigenous ingredients and cooking methods.
Archaeological discoveries at Igbo-Ukwu in present-day Anambra State, dating to around the 9th century AD (about 1,100 years ago), reveal an advanced Igbo society with remarkable bronze craftsmanship, extensive trade networks, agriculture, and food production. Civilizations of that sophistication do not exist without established food systems and culinary traditions.
The Lejja iron-smelting site in Enugu State dates back roughly 2,000 years and points to long-settled Igbo communities with organized agriculture and daily life. A people producing iron on that scale were also cultivating crops, processing food, and sustaining large populations.
Yes, some foods and ingredients changed over time. Maize and most chili peppers were introduced to West Africa from the Americas after European contact in the late 15th and 16th centuries. The Igbo adopted these new crops and incorporated them into their existing culinary traditions, just as Italians adopted tomatoes and Indians adopted chili peppers. No serious food historian argues that Italian cuisine began when tomatoes arrived. Likewise, the introduction of these crops did not mark the beginning of Igbo cuisine.
Cultures evolve. Recipes evolve. Ingredients change. But the foundation remains.
That is why dishes such as Ukwa, Ofe Onugbu, Ofe Nsala, Ofe Oha, Ofe Akwu, Ji with palm oil, Ugba, Okpa, Abacha, Achicha, and many others are part of a culinary heritage built over centuries, not invented within the last 100 years.
Food is history served on a plate.
The next time someone claims that Igbo cuisine is only 100 years old, ask a simple question:
If the Igbo have celebrated the New Yam Festival for centuries, cultivated indigenous crops for generations, and built thriving communities over a millennium ago, what exactly were they eating before 1926?
“As a Yoruba Person Living In Abia State, I Have Often Heard The Claim That Igbos Don’t Sell Land To People From Other Tribes. From My Experience, That Is Not True. Many Of Those Spreading This Narrative Have Never Even Visited Igbo Land. I Have Personally Met Many Fellow Yorubas And People From Other Tribes Who Own Land And Properties Here And Are Living Very Peacefully.” ~ Ola Reacts
“My Fiancee Cheated On Me. This Is Someone I Invested My Life And Money In. I’m Not The Kind Of Person Who Comes Online To Talk About My Personal Issues, But This Really Hurts. I Paid Her School Fees From 200 Level Through Her Final Year, Opened a Shop For Her, And Even Built a House For Her Parents. Looking Back, I Feel So Stupid.” ~ Popular Nigerian Comedian Mazi Okeke Reveals 💔