Why are Nigerians so crazy about this food?

What is it about Jollof Rice that makes a nation of close to 200 million people go mad?

Last weekend, the globe trotting CNN anchor Richard Quest got his hands on the Jollof Rice debacle. Not surprisingly Lai Mohammed, our dear Minister of Information ad Culture made a mess of things supposedly when he said Senegal made the best Jollof Rice.

Richard Quest later came to his rescue saying the Minister didn't hear the question properly. Nigerians didn't care about this. Lai Mohammed was duly dragged. Nigerians weren't ready to take an L.

There are a few things Nigerians are fierce about. One of them is Jollof Rice. Though tribe and tongue may differ, Jollof Rice unifies all.

Gone are the glory days of the Super Eagles. The national football team no longer brings the country together like in the heady days in the 90s. Back then our fast and attractive style of play caught the world by storm. That's not the case anymore. Our football has been plagued by Nigerian factors.

Apart from Jollof Rice, the only thing that is putting Naija on the world map is music. And Nigerians are defensive about that too. When Drake video, Nigerians went to the rapper's Instagram account to drop bombs on him.

Just like our music, Nigerians don't play with Jollof Rice. Senegal might have invented it but Nigerians make the best version of it.

In these days of a missing President and an ineffective government, a bowl of Jollof Rice while listening to Wizkid and watching Anthony Joshua knock out his Russian opponent is the best satisfaction we can get.

Jollof Rice is our meal ticket to the world. We are the best at it. If this claim is taken from us, what's there to brag about to the rest of the world? Collabos with Drake and heavyweight titles don't last forever but Jollof Rice is permanent.

We can't produce our own passports but we sure can produce the best Jollof Rice the world will ever taste.

When Nigerians defend their Jollof Rice, they are defending their national honour and pride. We may not be the best at many things but when it comes to that brand of Jollof Rice we are the absolute best irrespective of what our dear rivals Ghana think or what a disillusioned Minister thinks.