Pa Ezekiel Uche, 60, and a retired civil servant, now a farmer living in the Nyanya -Mararaba axis of the FCT. Pa Uche is seen seating at a red plastic table at the Stainless joint in Mararaba, sipping on a glass of Malt drink. He said he often comes here with his friends when he has time to unwind after returning from the farm. But Pa Uche doesn’t eat Isi ewu, in fact he doesn’t eat any animal head. He said he doesn’t just like the heads.
Many people are not like Pa Uche. Ibrahim Nda, a media consultant while speaking to 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE said: “that’s a delicacy that everyone loves, and I love it too.”
Nda is a Muslim, but said because he doesn’t drink alcohol, he uses Ise ewu to relax, but said there is no correlation between alcohol and goat head. So, he just eats Ise ewu as his equivalent to people socializing with beer.
Ise ewu, a goat head spiced delicacy, of Igbo origin is loved by many who visits joints like Stainless where it is mainly sold. Isi ewu is prepared with a thick sauce and vegetables and served in a special wooden plate.
While it is cultural that this delicacy comes in this special wooden plate, many people however, have raised eyebrows about this plate and wonder why it must be served in this plate. There is also a controversy about this plate even among great Isi ewu enthusiasts like Nda. Miss Beatrice who was seen enjoying Isi Ewu with her fiancé, agreed that even though she cannot stop enjoying what she likes, she often feels cheated after finishing her plate of Isi ewu anytime.
Looking at the topped full plate of Isi ewu when served, it looks like it contains a lot of meat, which is made up of goat head and legs. But on completion, one discovers that the plate doesn’t have depth, but is as flat as table. Augustin Igbe, a regular visitor at Stainless said, ‘’the first time I ever tasted isi ewu, I thought I would not finish eating it.” But when he had gone half way, Igba said he discovered that it was just “sheer cheating, as the plate was as flat as this table,” Igba said touching the table on which he sat with his wife. So, he complained to the ‘’madam’’ of the place.
At Stainless, a new set of plates have replaced the traditional wooden plates that Ise ewu is known for. A waitress at Stainless who simply identified herself as Blessing told 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE that ‘’my madam changed the plates because people were complaining too much.”
But while Blessing’s madam has replaced her wooden plates with small plastic plates, other joints have continued with the tradition.
At Sharp Corner Relaxation spot, Ise ewu was seen served in it’s “prestigious” wooden plates. Peace Ifeanyi a waitress here said, “it’s the tradition.” And a customer, whp wouldn’t give his name agreed, saying ‘’if the plate changes, the fun will fade now! Isi ewu is the wooden plate. For this customer, he doesn’t mind that the plate is as shallow as a table. He said, anytime he decides to eat Isi ewu, he knows it comes in a wooden plate, and that is ok.
A plate of Isi ewu goes for between N1,000 and N2,500 depending on the area where the joint is located. Ifeanyi Emeka helps his sister at a joint along the Gidado Idris Road in Kubwa and said, before the advent of coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown that followed, they were selling a half plate of Ise ewu for N1,500, but this price has now changed to N2000 for a half plate and N3000 for a full plate. Emeka said the change was due to the high cost of things in the market. Asked about whether customers have complained about the wooden plate, Emeka agreed, but said, “it’s not our fault. We cannot change the plate.” Even if the plate changes, the quantity won’t increase, so why change the plate, Emeka said.
So, it would seem as though for some customers who prefer the plastic deep bowls for serving Isi ewu, it would just satisfy their psychological curiosity that the quantity is more than when it was served in the traditional wooden plate. Emeka said, even though the price for the uncooked goat head in the market ranges between N1500 and N1800, by the time it is cooked, all variables add up to determine the price. But for the wooden plate, it is a tradition.
