Ghanaian cultural commentator Kobe Boujee has stirred debates with claims about the origins of some staple Ghanaian foods and the erosion of traditional diets.

Speaking in a recent interview with Accra-based Onua TV on Monday, March 9, 2026, he claimed that Ghana once cultivated and consumed its own rice varieties, but these have been sidelined in favour of imports from Asia because of processing challenges.

Boujee went further to say that many foods now considered Ghanaian are in fact foreign introductions.

He said, “Foods like corn, cassava and plantain are not Ghanaian foods. They came from America. Initially, yams were used to make fufu in Ghana. We didn’t use to make food with corn, but their arrival forced us to use it.”

He also emphasised the influence of language and colonial contact on food names.

According to him, several local foods were named by Fante speakers and foreigners, pointing to examples such as “Abro” (corn), “Abrobɛ” (pineapple), “brodo” (bread), and “brodeɛ” (plantain).

“So, any local food that has ‘bro’ in it comes from the foreigners who came to live in Ghana,” Boujee claimed.

His remarks have sparked conversations about food heritage and identity in Ghana.

Watch his claims below:

Any food with "bro" in its name in our local dialect came from the foreigners - Kobe Boujee #OnuaFM #AdwumaAdwuma pic.twitter.com/YaoQySREnY

— Onua FM (@onua951fm) March 9, 2026