Nigeria: Ed Sheeran Plans Jollof Rice Adventure

allafrica.com
Ed Sheeran has his sights set on Nigeria and jollof rice.
17 July 2019
allAfrica.com
By Melody Chironda

Cape Town — It seems like multiple award-winning British singer Ed Sheeran has added Nigeria to his bucket list - all because of jollof rice.

How good is this jollof rice that wants to make the singer fly across the ocean?

According to the Sun, the singer wants to "get back to Africa" after the final show of his World Divide tour in Ipswich on 26 August.

Jollof rice is an African specialty, made with rice, tomatoes, oil, peppers, onions, salt, spices and sometimes meat or fish.

Ed Sheeran is no stranger to Africa, as he visited Ghana a few years ago. He spent some time backpacking through Ghana when he took a break from the spotlight before releasing his hit album Divide in 2017. The British muso also performed in South Africa as part of his Divide music tour. But now his eyes are set on Nigeria...

He said:
"I've got to get back to Africa. After the tour I want to go and chill out there. I was in Ghana a few years back and I loved it. Now I need to go to Nigeria. I heard the jollof rice is really good there."

But what's so special about Nigerian jollof rice?

This question has grown into a fierce debate in some West African countries, where jollof rice is a national delicacy. Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cameroon - all claim that they make the best. Maybe this time Ed Sheeran can add his "two cents".

Sheeran joins a growing list of international celebrities who have expressed a wish to either taste the Nigerian jollof or have sampled it already. Prince Charles once tried to solve it when he did a royal expedition in Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria. It was in Lagos, Nigeria, that Prince Charles decided to weigh in on the ongoing debate of which African country makes the best Jollof. The Prince admitted that the Nigerian Jollof is hot and blew his head off.

In 2018, Denys Gauer, France's ambassador to Nigeria, said jollof rice is his "favourite Nigerian dish".

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, during a visit to Lagos in 2016, said that Nigerian jollof rice is "delicious".

So, now we wait for Sheeran's judgement...

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