For 80 days in 2019, a bunch of rascals at Zikoko set out on a trip across West Africa by road. You already know the pitch; Jollof Rice is consistent across West Africa, even though it originated from Senegal.
The question that pushed us to the road is; if Jollof Rice spread across West Africa because of the people, what else did they carry with them wherever they went? What were they listening to?
You can believe this was the question that drove us to the road, or you can believe that we just needed an excuse to get Tomiwa and Chidi to give us a bus and money, then set us loose. Whichever one it was, it worked. Toke tried everything, the Jollofs, the drinks, and the soups. Kayode flew his drone and pointed his camera at literally anyone, and anything.
Captain Taiwo held the wheels through 10,000 kilometres of highway and mud. Tosin kept everything and made sure we were never short of French and food. Me, I just ate everything – or most. Between these, we met with people we’ll never forget, ate things that we definitely want to try again. Most importantly, we documented a lot. We kept a daily journal, took a ton of photos and collected dozens of hours of footage, you’ll find tiny bits on YouTube.
“When will the lockdown be lifted?” – The hours of footage in the drives.
For about the amount of time we spent on the road in 2019, we, along with the rest of the world, spent time in our homes. In between having the fourth lunch and endless video calls, the itch to do something about the never-before-seen footage became stronger. While we were on the road, we shared stories and reactions as we experienced them. Now, we want to give them an even better treatment. Here’s what you should expect:
- 10 themes, from food to sound, to people. 10 episodes.
- A physical piece of the road for you to keep close, and never forget, and help you find your Jollof Road.
- One more thing that we can’t tell you yet, but the world will in fact feel small.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing updates. We hope you like what’s coming, but this post exists to serve one purpose: We might be back from the road, but you haven’t heard the last of it. We just dey start.
