How Ilorin is the Waakye palace that rice and beans lovers just can’t resist
It’s always rush hour at Mummy Dammy’s Buka in Ilorin, Kwara State, as customers troop in for a taste of delicious and well-prepared Waakye meal.
By Vanessa Ugorji
The cluster of shops and restaurants in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, is hard to miss. Small-scale as they are, the businesses are the heartbeat of the state, driving economic activity and prosperity.
One such restaurant that has done very well for itself is Mummy Dammy Buka, serving delicious, well-prepared meals. The main attraction, Wanke or Waakye as it is described in Ghana, is making the restaurant attract many visits.
Managed by Mrs. Bolatito Buhari, Mummy Dammy Buka has operated for upwards of four years. No doubt, wanke, a meal native to the Hausas, is the main attraction.
The protein-rich food is a mix of rice and beans. While some people still argue that wanke is a traditional Ghanaian food, it may interest you to know that Hausa, widely spoken in Nigeria, is also a major language in Ghana.
Meiza Nigeria writer, Vanessa Ugorji visits a popular wanke hotspot to catch people buying their meals.
Mrs. Buhari is diligent in the food business, which perhaps explains why there’s always a steady stream of customers in her restaurant. Daily, she sells out two big pots of wanke to customers. Despite its local ambience, the shop still records high patronage from different classes of customers. Why is this so?
A resident of Basin in the Kwara State capital said: I take my time to prepare my food and we value our customers.
On the misconception of the origin of wanke (just like the ownership tussle between Nigerians and Ghanaians over jollof rice), she disclosed that wanke is not typical to only Ghana as she has never been to Ghana, but knows how to prepare the food traditionally. She affirms that a few Ghanaians who live in Ilorin also patronise her wanke.
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The richness and affordability of her foods have endeared her to students from the city’s tertiary institutions. Segun, an Ilorin-based student admits his love when Meiza Nigeria caught up with him. He shared that I come here for their tasty and affordable wanke. Gbenga, also a student, said the staff is well-coordinated and they value customers.
Mummy Dammy Buka, at Oke-Odo, right in front of Item 7, a different restaurant, also serves other Nigerian dishes. Wanke, however, accounts for the highest traffic in the restaurant.
Vanessa Ugorji, an avid reader who enjoys cooking, writes from Ilorin, Kwara State
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
