Egusi is everywhere. Weddings, burials, Sundays, random afternoons. It’s treated like the default Nigerian soup and because it’s everywhere, we automatically assume everyone loves it.

But the more I pay attention, the more I realise something strange. People rarely crave egusi the way they crave other soups.

Think about it. People say,

“I want proper ogbono”

 “I’m in the mood for pepper soup”“Abacha would really hit right now”

“I’m craving ewedu and gbegiri.”

But when it comes to egusi, it’s usually more like, “Okay, egusi is fine.”

I don’t think egusi is bad. I eat it. I enjoy it sometimes. But if I’m being brutally honest, most egusi is carried by the meat, stock, palm oil and pepper. 

Strip those away and what’s left is a grainy, slightly bitter paste that people pretend is amazing because it’s familiar.

I also think egusi benefits a lot from cultural pressure. You grow up seeing adults treat it as premium soup, so you never question it. If you say you don’t like egusi, people look at you like you confessed to a crime.

Meanwhile, soups like okra, ogbono, or ewedu get mocked for texture, even though they’re way more intentional about what they are. Egusi kind of sits in the middle. 

If egusi wasn’t tied so deeply to nostalgia and tradition, I honestly don’t think it would be defended this aggressively.

Again, I’m not saying it’s trash. I’m saying a lot of Nigerians don’t love egusi. We just don’t feel allowed to say that out loud.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe everyone secretly dreams of egusi and I’m the weird one.

But I’m curious, when was the last time you genuinely craved egusi?