Film-maker Niyi Akinmolayan brings Nigerian culture to the national capital
Sunday 31 August 2025
Hundreds of food lovers were at the Andy Hayden Park to enjoy Ottawa’s first Jollof Festival. Organized by film-maker Niyi Akinmolayan, the event featured the famous culinary delight “Jollof Rice”, originally invented in the Gambia and Senegal, but whose ownership now belongs either to Nigeria or Ghana, depending on who you are listening to. It should be noted that just a few weeks ago, Nigerian chef, Hilda Baci cooked up the largest ever serving of jollof rice, a whopping 8780 kg, purportedly approved as a world record by the Guinness Book of Records! There is no mention anywhere about how many people it took to consume this humongous amount of food, or how many days it took for them to completely demolish all of it. The rumour mill has it, though, that Ghanaians are scrambling to top this feat. Watch this space as Black Ottawa Scene will keep readers posted on this relentless culinary tug-of-war between these two neighboring West African nations.
Getting back to our report of the Jollof Festival, among the highlights of the day, were: a high fashion show, traditional Nigerian music and dance, vendors of various African-themed products and services, along with a Nigerian traditional monarch on display. Among the guests in attendance were: the President of the St. Vincent & Grenadines Association, Suzette Small-Weekes; President of the African Canadian Association of Ottawa, John Adeyefa; Friends of Sudan Founder, Justin Laku; and the President of the Nigerian Canadian Business Network, Wale Ade Sanya.
For more info visit: Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/ottawajolloffestival?igsh=YTY4OTg2a3JpZW41
