The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed why he cooks his food himself.
The former governor of Rivers State said he feels proud that he has culinary skills.
The minister said this during a media chat on Thursday, insisting, “I feel proud I can cook and I am happy when I eat it. I’m satisfied.”
The former Rivers helmsman had attracted internet users’ attention in a viral video some days ago that showed him cooking food in the kitchen while entertaining the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila and other guests at his residence in Abuja.
Wike was asked to comment on the viral video and his cooking skills.
“What is in cooking? When I’m hungry, I should go and call the chef to prepare?” he queried.
He, however, went on to share a personal perspective on the matter, revealing that his upbringing had instilled in him a sense of responsibility in the kitchen.
According to him, he was brought up in a home where helping with meal preparation, such as grinding pepper and pounding okra was a shared family activity.
“Some of us were brought up in a home where if your mother is cooking, you are meant to stay in the kitchen. You make sure they prepare the pepper; you help to pound the okra,” Wike said.
The minister noted that while some persons may find cooking a waste of time, he finds cooking to be interesting and also deeply satisfying.
He also recounted his cooking experience with his wife’s return from the United States after giving birth to their first child.
“Some people may see it as a waste of time, but for me, it’s very interesting. My wife had her first child in the United States, the day she came back with my first son, I welcomed her with Okro and Okazi soup,” he recalled.
According to him, it is important to know what goes into the food you eat rather than relying solely on commercially prepared meals where the quality and ingredients may be unknown.
Wike also stressed that he doesn’t compromise on his principles for the sake of profit, preferring to enjoy a meal he has prepared himself.
“Not to go and eat what you don’t know the magnitude of Maggi or you don’t know this and then because they want to make a profit or you want to make a profit. I don’t do that,” he said.
