Who Should Cook in A Nigerian Home?

Ask Cooking QuestionsCategory: Nigerian Home CookingWho Should Cook in A Nigerian Home?
Diana asked 5 years ago

Who should cook in a Nigerian home, do you think cooking should be left just for the woman or you think everyone must contribute.

This has been a controversial topic in most Nigerian homes, mine is not the exception, hence, I hope you could say something about it.

5 Answers
Chris answered 5 years ago

My mom made all the foods in our home, I don’t remember my father ever being in the kitchen, except when my mum had our last born, Chika.

However, I think it has nothing to do with subjugation or forced labour,  I suppose it is just division of labour.

Note, I am a man and only speaking from experience. If husband and wife is gainfully employed they should both get involved in house chores (cooking, washing, etc)

But if the woman not yet working (as seen in most Nigerian homes) the woman should be able to handle cooking and major chores at home, the husband should assist when he is available.

When  she eventually finds a job, they should get a maid to assist with chores in the house.

Every woman within child bearing age should stay away from strenuous jobs and rather take care of the house as long as the man can fend for their needs.

I think a woman should do the cooking in a Nigerian home if she is currently unemployed.

What is your opinion?

Eva answered 5 years ago

Thanks for the question. I think in a home (before the children comes of age) the mother is the one to cook but the burden should not be left alone on her, The father should sometimes help(occasionally).

When the daughters are grown then they will most likely take over from their mum and if the sons are also trained to cook they can also cook occasionally too.

I think in many parts of the world the women are always trained to understand what happens in the kitchen, in my house for instance, the girls are given tasks like washing of dishes,  washing of meat, fish, slicing vegetables, grinding of tomatoes etc while the boys are giving something more technical like cleaning the house and washing the cars.

So i think its the duty of the woman to cook in a Nigerian home because they are already trained to do that. However, if the man is free, he should also get involved.

Finally, I hope the male kids are thought how to cook as well.

Udo answered 5 years ago

In contemporary Nigeria, cooking should not be relegated to the women alone since men have also proven to be good as well. All the men in my life can cook proper foods, not noodles. Infact they cook more than the women. This is why you see most of the popular chef around the world being men.
Who should cook in a Nigerian home? Anybody that is free and available should go ahead and cook.
However, the women is still in charge and must never loose grip of her kitchen completely, she must know what happens in the kitchen even when the man decides to cook. The kitchen belongs to the women… in African setting.
Women are gifted with the grace for organizing things, something as intrinsic as foods can only be adequately and completely handled by a woman.

Flint answered 5 years ago

Nigerian homes are unique as everyone has one specific duty or the other. Who is to cook in a Nigerian home is not debatable as it is the duty of the mother and the daughters in the family as the grow.

Chizobafrances answered 4 years ago

Food is a BASIC human need. Every human being must eat in order to live. Both males and females must eat.

There are social constructs in most parts of the world, Nigeria inclusive, that restricts women to only the kitchen, and subjects men to solely provide for the home.
 
Technology, gender equality, gender fluidity, development amongst other constructs have been able to successfully rid the society of this kind of mentality. 

Cooking is a big deal. It takes a great deal of time and necessary skills. In a present world where women are mostly co-providers or even sole providers in their homes, it doesn’t cost much if the man of the house would contribute an equal amount of effort in the kitchen and in cooking. 

Everyone, both males and females should be able to cook decent meals. Cooking should be a survival skill for both males and females in the home. I mean, is it not this same cooking that men are using to make money? 

Most of the world’s best-paid chefs are all males. These are people who found gold in the meal industry and they are out to milk this gold mine to the best of their capacity.
 
All hands must be on deck when it comes to cooking. You don’t expect two adults to go out to work, to look for money, and when they come back, one is relaxing, drinking wine, and watching television in the sitting room, while the other is sweating it out in the kitchen.

It won’t kill the person relaxing to lend a helping hand and be useful in the kitchen too.