Food for Chop - The Nysc Chronicles

'Wetin dem cook, wetin dem cook' rent the air, it was our very first night in camp and everyone was curious to eat their first federal government sponsored dinner. Soon, however we realised that our curiosity was quite immature, considering that the first set of corps members who left for the kitchen were already on their way back, and most of their faces reflected both emptiness and disappointment.

True, the National youth service corps was among other things meant to facilitate intercultural tolerance among  Nigerians and indeed young Nigerians, however this seemingly good objective becomes rather difficult when one is trying to explain to a group of southern Corps members that they would have to eat Tuwo for dinner. Can you even imagine yourself being saddled with such a task? Luckily, in Jigawa camp, no one was burdened with such a task, on the contrary, every time the Beegle (alarm) for meals sounded, anyone interested in whatever the kitchen had to offer was expected to queue up, plate in hand for a piece of the meal, which for the most part was neither tasty, nutritious nor of significant quantity.

Anyways, contrary to the reaction of a lot of people, the announcement that the Kitchen had prepared us tuwo for dinner
was not news to me. Why would i be the least perturbed when in fact i was expecting just that dish to be served. My interaction with friends who had their orientations in the North revealed that the best way to starve in camp was to avoid eating Tuwo, since for the most part, it was the choice dish from the kitchen staff, sometimes i even suspect that is the only food they can prepare with adept expertise, Jesus!

That night, while every other person swarmed on the cafeterias at Mami market, i and Timi my bunkmate headed for the Kitchen, both to satisfy our curiosity as to what exactly Tuwo looked and tasted like while as well satiating the rumblings of our aggrieved stomach.

White, soft and smooth, Tuwo was not a bad recipe at all, although i cannot so vouch for the watery okra-like soup which came along with it.  Tuwo proved to be a harmless delicacy, it not only banished my hunger, but also refused to purge either Timi or I contrary to widespread speculations from some quarters. This marked the genesis of my three weeks of romance with an indigenous Hausa delicacy. Luckily for me, i confronted and overcame Tuwo-phobia from the very first day, because it later became the most frequent meal on the kitchen menu list, being served at least five times a week. Today, as i pull my box outside the gates of the Jigawa camp into the wider world, i believe Tuwo is the first major step in my foray into the lifestyle of a typical Northerner. The next one year would determine how far i would go.