Nigeria and Sierra Leone are two West African countries that are friendly with each other. But they have had an intense verbal war for more than 10 years over competing claims of who has the best jollof rice. Ghana, another West African country, makes a claim too but it does not quite carry a voice that is as loud.
To those who are new to West African delicacies, jollof rice has nearly the same color as the red rice that Latinos cook. It has a taste that is causing its popularity to spike in the United States and other Western countries. Nigeria and Sierra Leone do not cook the rice the same way or use the same ingredients. And the versions vary even across Nigeria.
Jollof rice has become such a symbol of a country’s manhood that a former Nigeria Minister (cabinet secretary) became public enemy number one for stating that Sierra Leone has the best jollof rice in the world. He claimed afterwards that he was misquoted. But the wound never healed.
The wars spilled on to American television when a Nigerian, Emeka Egbuka, and a Sierra Leonean, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, played on opposing National Football League (NFL) teams on Sunday. The two are of African heritage. Egbuka’s father came from Nigeria while Smith-Njigba’s is from Sierra Leone. Egbuka and Smith-Njigba are among the more than 100 Africans that star on NFL teams.
At its peak, about 49 million people watched as the battle unfolded on television.
Egbuka is a rookie (in his first year) and is a wide receiver (WR) on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Smith-Njigba plays the same position and is in his third year with the Seattle Seahawks. Each team had a 3-1 record before their match on Sunday.
Sad thing about sports competition is that it can pit friend against friend. The one on Sunday did just that Egbuka and Smith-Njigba are close, having both played at Ohio State University. They both set team WR records at the University.
Over his career at Ohio State, the passes (205) that Egbuka caught and the yards he covered were school records. Smith-Njigba’s records at the same school were on single games — catches (15) and yards (347). His yards (1,606) in a single season were school records too.
On his NFL team, Smith-Njigba has tied the most catches in a single year.
Egbuka has played only five NFL games but is on pace to shatter multiple league records. He has caught the most passes and run the most yards of any rookie WR in NFL history in the first 5 games. Just after the fourth game, the league named him the best rookie WR for September 2025. He is considered among the best WRs after week 5, without regard to his status as a new-bie.
Their similarities extend beyond catches and yards. Egbuka was the best high school football player from the state of Washington while Smith-Njigba earned the same honors in Texas.
If game outcome can be a yard stick, Nigeria has the better jollof rice. Egbuka’s Buccaneers won a narrow victory (38-35) over the Seahawks.
