It is popularly said, “Never Marry a man that does not like Ogbono soup!” and I’m sure you’re curious to know why they say this abi?
well, It’s a secret that only we know, and we think the moment has come to finally let the cat out of the bag.
Here’s the back story:
Long before bank apps crashed and POS machines ruled the land, there lived a young widow named Nnemdi in a vibrant village nestled between two rival kingdoms, Oba-Nkwo and Umu-Isi.
Hunger was widespread, tempers were short, and the only thing more bitter than the tribal war was the bitterleaf soup.
One rainy morning, while foraging for firewood, Nnemdi’s son stumbled across a very big tree unlike any they’d seen before.
The villagers called it ogbonoma, but no one knew its worth. Its seeds looked like overgrown nuts with a confusing colour, nothing anyone had thought to eat.
But desperation and hunger brought out creativity.
With no yam, no fish, and just a smoky pot to her name, Nnemdi crushed the ogbono seeds into a paste, stirred in dried bush meat, dropped some bitterleaf for courage, and cooked it over low fire.
When her son took the first swallow, he could not believe it! He started dancing, and in the process, he invented the famous Alanta dance, all thanks to ogbono soup.
Their neighbors also tasted the soup and began to dance, infact it turned into a full-blown dance routine, making them the first people to invent a dance routine way before Tiktok.
The soup was thick, Silky, Slippery in the best way. It hugged every morsel of pounded yam like it was sent from the gods.
When the Oba-Nkwo king heard of this “soup that could make warriors drop their weapons,” he demanded a taste.
The Umu-Isi elders, despite their pride, came too. And when they did, both sides ate from the same bowl.
No royal decree had done what that bowl of ogbono soup did: end a generations-old conflict.
Peace was declared, Trade resumed and the ogbonoma tree became sacred.
Ogbono restored peace across the lands and little kids made up a song they’d always sing: which Kyn soup your mama cook o Ogbono soupe.
This became the anthem for generations to come!
Next time you have a bowl of ogbono soup in front of you, kindly salute it for its great contribution to national peace!
Don’t repeat this history to someone else, because, it’s just our little secret!
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