Yinka Shokunbi And Rafiu Ajakaye, Lagos

Hundreds of homosexuals from across West Africa and Europe are expected to gather in Lagos for a two-day celebration commemorating the second anniversary of the House of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church next month.

The Church was founded by Reverend Roland Jide Macaulay a trained Lawyer and Theologian on September 2, 2006. It is an offshoot of the Universal Fellowship of the Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), which was established in the 1960s for homosexuals around the world.

Participants, referred to as "Friends of the Church" are expected to come from Cameroon, Ghana and the United Kingdom.

Speaking with Saturday Independent, Macaulay described the ministry as "a calling by God with a mission and vision to transform heart, life and history and especially, to help people reconcile their sexuality and spirituality".

The theme of the celebration is: Would Jesus Discriminate?

Said Macaulay: "This is a question that has been begging for answer for several decades and it is part of our denominational campaign to bring people together to examine this topic once again, searching the scriptures for the answers."

He said the convention is not an exclusive gathering and everyone interested in knowing the truth about the position of the Scriptures is welcomed to attend the event.

Already, fliers and posters announcing the events are being distributed around Lagos.

The two-day programme will feature a Special Vigil Night of Gospel Praise on September 6 starting from 9p.m. till dawn, while on Sunday September 7 the congregation will hold a devotional worship and celebration for surviving two years as a ministry.

According to Macaulay: "The two-day event is a straight-forward church programme, which should not be construed by anyone to be an unusual gathering as we are out to enlighten Nigerians that God sees your inside and welcomes you as you are and would not throw you away as people often do".

Ministers from other countries would speak, while the House of Rainbow Anniversary Choir will lead other guest artistes to render music, dance steps and solo performances.

Several Christian leaders are known to have shown disdain for same-sex relationships and condemned it in its entirety.

The Church of Nigerian Anglican Communion recently severed its relationship with the See of Canterbury over the issue after it approved the consecration of gay marriages in the United States of America.

In a recent interview with Saturday Independent Director of Social Communication, Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Monsignor Gabriel Osu declared of same-sex liaisons: "It is as a result of wrong values; people have lost touch with God, therefore they do not believe in God any longer.

"As you already know, these set of people were condemned in the Bible, therefore why should anybody in his right senses indulge or encourage such an unholy act?"

The programme also came under attacks on Thursday, with Islamic scholars denouncing it as "totally anti-nature and destructive" but saying a gay vigil in Lagos is subject to Police authorities, which would determine the legality or otherwise of it.

National Missioner of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Islamic Society of Nigeria, Abdurrahman Ahmad, insisted in a telephone interview that homosexuality remains a crime under the Constitution but said people reserve their right of association, including holding any meeting.

He added, however, that the faith community - as well as people of good conscience - would not fold its arm while the society's moral firmament is threatened through immoral activities. "My position is very clear: Homosexuality is condemned by Islam as very unnatural, and it (also) remains a crime under the law of this country. Sodomy is a crime under Nigeria's law, and the gay lobby will not succeed in stampeding the sane community. If the West has lost its conscience and humanity, we are still human beings here, and our good conscience is still very much alive," Ahmad said in a reaction to the planned gay vigil.

"As far as I am concerned (the gays) have freedom of association, they can hold a vigil and they can even decide on perpetual fasting if they so choose. They are entitled to all that for so long they do not attempt to impose upon us their depravity. And of course the law enforcement agencies are the ones to determine whether they have a right under the Constitution to import and popularise sodomy.

"In fact, they will have the faith community, Muslims and Christians, and people of good conscience to contend with."

Lagos Coordinator the Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), Abdullahi Shuaib, said the right of the society to guard its chastity and human existence supersedes any individual's claim to human rights of gays, because the latter are wont to hide under fundamental human rights.

His words: "This culture is alien to us in Nigeria, whether as Muslims or Christians or as traditionalists. We have a culture of modesty. We have a culture of humility, because this act of homosexuality is something unpopular among the populace. It is regarded as a taboo, because it is against the nature of man himself. And anything against the nature is unholy.

The community has a duty to promote and propagate virtues that will enhance and sustain human existence. It has never been recorded in history that man begets man or vice versa, so one wouldn't know their legacy that will not only destroy what binds human race together but will also promote vices in the society that could lead to collective destruction."

It truly is a new day dawning in Nigeria.

[center]Before I met you
I spent a lot of time
meeting all kinds of people
I had a lot of fun
and learned a lot
Though each person I met
had great characteristics
something was missing

No one person
had all the qualities that
I had hoped a person could have -
someone whose every action
and thought I could respect
someone who was very intelligent
yet could also be fun-loving
someone who was sensitive, yet virile
exciting and sensuous
someone who knew what they wanted
out of life
a beautiful person inside and out

I could not find a person like this
until I met you
Sometimes I wake up
in the middle of the night
shivering from fright feeling
empty feeling nothing because
I think about how it would be if
you weren't here

And then I wonder if you really know
how very much you mean to
me how incredible I think you
are how you are a part of all my
emotions how you are the
deepest meaning in my life

I used to think
that love was only real in the movies
and that I enjoyed being alone

I used to think
that I was too independent
that I didn't need anyone
because I was so strong

But after meeting you
I realize that my attitude towards love
was merely a cover-up of
my disappointment with relationships

I put on a strong, non-caring front
so no one would know how I felt
But after meeting you
I could no longer pretend

My feelings became transparent
and now I want to tell the world
something I always knew but was
afraid to admit

that love is the most important
feeling one can have
and I want to thank you for
causing me to be honest
with myself

I love you[/center]

Sebastine Ebhuomhan


Two weeks after the corpse of a 28-year old man, Abiodun Yusuf Odubiyi, was found in the palace of the Onitire of Itire, Lagos State, the police have not come out with an official cause of death of the Chemical Engineering graduate.

However, the deceased’s father, Chief Mukaila Odubiyi, believes that some people killed his son and want the world to see it as a suicide. On account of this incident, things seem to be falling apart for the Itire community in Surulere.

Odubiyi, who was father of a child, was found dead inside the palace of Oba Lateef Dauda on Saturday, July 19, 2008.

The particular spot was marked under a tree which has no shrine anywhere near.

The direct question arising from the tragedy, which residents said was now threatening the community’s peaceful co-existence, came from the late Abiodun’s father, Chief Odubiyi, who is the Asalu of Itire.

“Abiodun was found dead with blood stains, kneeling down and facing the ground, with a rope on his neck. I believe strongly that he was strangulated after which he was hung on the tree with a rope to make it look like he committed suicide,” Odubiyi said before firing his poser to the government, the police and the public.

“Can somebody who supposedly hung himself be found in a kneeling position and facing the ground?” Odubiyi asked.

Our correspondent visited the spot on which Abiodun was found dead. His visitation followed a meeting the Odubiyi family held with him at their home and in the palace.

Apart from Odubiyi, others at the palace meeting included, the Otun Oba, Chief Tajudeen Odubiyi; the Asiwaju, Chief Adisa Olatunji; the leader of Itire Descendants Youth Association (registered), Alhaji Sakiru Aribidesi and Odubiyi’s eldest child, Ade.

Observations reportedly made by early callers to the scene of the incident could probably trust the suicide assertion to the dustbin of doubts for a nuber of reasons.

First, Odubiyi said there were blood stains on the passage leading to the spot.

Second, the height of the tree on which Abiodun allegedly hung himself, as observed by our correspondent, was no more than the height of an ordinary human being.

Third, the worn-out rope he allegedly used compared to the neatness of its severance does not support a suicide claim.

Fourth, the spot is not as secured from the entire backyard of Dauda’s large household to support the inability of any member discovering the corpse for three days.

This last observation is reinforced by another, which claimed that Dauda, on July 17, first asked Odubiyi about the whereabouts of Abiodun, exactly a day after he was last seen by anyone.

Odubiyi had promptly rushed to the palace to reply “Kabiyesi,” as Dauda was fondly called, that he too had not seen Abiodun since they had the previous day’s Muslim morning prayer, Subhi.

Although residing in the palace for about eight years at the behest of one of Dauda’s sons, Abiodun made it a point of duty to always visit his wife, child, father and family members daily at the family house.

More so, Abiodun, an alumnus of the University of Lagos, had to do that to always brief his father about effort he was making to secure a job since his return from Calabar, where he served as a youth corps member.

It was after the lack of communication that his family declared him missing on Wednesday, July 16, with searches that extended to mortuaries, hospitals, police stations, dark spots etc.

Furthermore, Odubiyi supported his question with the hasty way the police released the crime suspects on bail even before any progress had been made on the investigation.

He said this fact could have empowered the traditional ruler to go on a media campaign immediately he was released on bail.

Odubiyi said, “On Tuesday, July 29, members of my family heard him on Radio Lagos claiming that Abiodun committed suicide by hanging himself. That claim is absolute lie.

“I am disappointed in the way all those arrested were hastily released. But I still have confidence in the ability of the police to find and bring to book the killers of my son.”

Notwithstanding his grouse, Odubiyi thanked the Divisional Police Officer of the Itire Police Station, Ade Oyekan. “He did his job professionally,” the griefing father said.

Odubiyi confirmed the visitation of forensic personnel from the Lagos State Police Command, who extracted the blood samples.

He thanked also, the Obas of Awori Land, who visited the palace to express their condolence.

He did not rule out a possible influence of the police by the state’s traditional institution in the same way he could not rule out the possibility of Abiodun being a victim of ritual activity.

Notably, Odubiyi would not want the tragic death of Abiodun to destroy the Awori and Yoruba tradition.

He said, “The death of my son has nothing to do with tradition but the wickedness of a few people.

“I have been a part of the traditional system for over 60 years through my late grandfather and father. So, I know very well that the Awori use only four-legged animals and birds to appease our deities, not human beings.”

On the relationship between him and Dauda, whom he called his close confidant, Odubiyi said, “We had no problem. We, including the other chiefs, ate and drank together.”

As investigation into the death of Abiodun, who was the assistant secretary-general of the youth association progresses, the community cannot wait to get the report.

http://www.punchng.com/Article-print2.aspx?theartic=Art200808043181429

Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, and other Obas have waded into the controversy surrounding the death of Abiodun Seriki two weeks ago, at the palace of the Onitire of Itire, Oba Lateef Dauda.

P.M.News authoritatively gathered this morning, from a relation of the deceased, that Oba Akiolu would be meeting with youths from Itire in his palace this afternoon, to assuage them of the death of Abiodun.

The youths, who are spoiling for a showdown with Oba Dauda over the death of the LASU Chemical Engineering graduate, fled his palace last week, after being released alongside his wives and seven children by detectives at the Special Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos.

P.M. News investigation also revealed that Awori monarchs in the state have also waded into the matter and pleaded with the youths to let sleeping dogs lie.

But speaking with P.M. News on the circumstances surrounding the death of the former youth corps member found dead in his palace, the Onitire, maintained that the deceased committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree at the back of the palace.

Oba Dauda disclosed that the tree where the deceased was found hanging was nowhere near the shrine. He disclosed that he treated the deceased like his son, adding that the deceased had been living within his palace for the past nine years.

The Oba further revealed that he was not in the palace when the deceased’s body was discovered, stressing that someone phoned him to tell him that the deceased, who had been missing for about three days, was found hanging on a tree at the back of the palace.

The Itire monarch disclosed that the police released him, his two wives and seven children because they did not find them culpable in the death of the young man, who he said was planning to travel to Canada. “The police did not indict me or any member of my family. That is the outcome of police investigation,” Oba Dauda stated.


Only in Nigeria can one be cleared in next to no time after a dead body is found in your yard with no reasonable explanation.
Naija we hail thee

Mechionu mai fen,

This type of mall is a dime a dozen in South Africa.

In even the smallest town you will find such.


Naija people too dey make noise about the simple stuffs

OK I must be missing something here.

This is just a regular mall right?

So what is all this fuss about?
Naija people and their wahala sef, Na simple shopping mall dey make people go gaga.


http://www.wheretogoinlagos.com/where2go.php?VenueName=The%20Palms%20Shoppiing%20Centre

The Palms is a shopping and entertainment mall situated on the Lekki road, just after Victoria Island, Lagos. It is the first and largest centre of its kind in Nigeria and is on par with similar shopping centres anywhere in the world, providing an international standard shopping and cinema experience to Lagos.

The Palms is located on a 44,000m2 site and is predominantly a single storey structure, with off-road parking for approximately 720 vehicles. The anchor stores in the Palms Mall are South African brands Game, Shoprite and Nu Metro.

Game, a subsidiary of Massmart, is a discount retail chain that offers customers products ranging from household electronics to jewelries and beauty products.

Shoprite is a huge grocery store whose variety of products includes canned vegetables, canned fruits, canned fish and meats, drinks, cereals, pet foods, fresh fruits and vegetables. Its stock also includes general merchandise, health and beauty products such as baby products, house wares, cosmetics and sanitary products.
Nu Metro comprises a six screen cinema complex and a multimedia store for books, magazines, DVD’s and music.

The Palms offers the exciting concept of “one-stop shopping”- an idea that is still relatively new to the country. It presents the convenience and unique experience of retail, leisure, entertainment, movies, games and health. There are at least, 62 shops of varying size and design which include electronics shops, boutiques, cosmetics shops, hairdressing salons, restaurants and gifts shops.
Persianas Properties Limited is the company behind the Palms Mall. The organisation is a joint venture between Actis and a Nigerian property developer, Tayo Amusan.

Actis is a leading private equity investor in emerging markets, the company invests globally in many emerging markets; however, it is most active in Africa, China, Malaysia and South Asia. The company invests and manages capital on behalf of over 70 investors, and currently has US$2.7 billion of funds under management.
Tayo Amusan is the Managing Director of Persianas Nigeria Ltd.
Broll Properties Services Limited, a subsidiary Broll Property Group South Africa, provides a property management service to the Palms. Broll established in Nigeria in 2004 to fulfill the need in Nigeria for a company that provides all inclusive property services at competitive prices to various sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Led by Mrs. Ibukun Osifo, the company’s catalogue of services include Property Management, Facilities Management, Sales and Leasing and Corporate Real Estate Services to the Commercial, Retail, Residential and Industrial markets in Nigeria.

You can find the following shops at the Palms Shopping Centre
GAME, SHOPRITE, LETS GO BOWLING, CAFFE VERGNANO 1882, NU METRO CINEMA, NU METRO MEDIA STORE, PC OUTLET, MTN FRIENDSHIP CENTER, BOX OFFICE, FUNDERMENTAL, SHIMMER, SIGNATURE, SKYE BANK, TWICE AS NICE, WEN COSMETICS, PHENOMENON,L'ACCESSORIE COLLEZIONI, MONTAIGNE PLACE, OYEOG,
TABLEAUX, NEWSCAFE, NOKIA, THE SOUL LOUNGE, LIGHTHOUSE, NUBITES, HALCHAZ, LA CREPERIE, GEORGE'S KITCHEN, NANDO'S, MARIO'S PIZZA, SPLENDOUR, THE GEMS, SPORTS WORLD, STARCOMMS, LOCKS & SWITCHES, FCMB, ON THE RUN, UNION BANK, EQUITORIAL TRUST BANK, STANDARD CHARTERED, CHIGO, MEDPLUS, PARTY PERFECT, DIAMOND BANK, WOODSTOCK ELECTRONICS, POLO, GLOBACOM, SPEAKEEZEE, THIS DAY, ROCA, CMC INTERIORS, JENNY'S CAFÉ, V MOBILE, CHELLARAMS, KONICA PHOTO, HEALTH PLUS, ATM CONSORTIUM , FLOWERSTALK, WRANGLER, ESSENZA, KIDZ COUNTRY, TIFFANY AMBER, HANGERS & KICKS, BOLA 3, BUYRIGHT, SOUND CENTRE, FORMULA

This is not my version. I found this on the net?
Maybe that is what most people remember as African Salad as per the baked beans and salad cream etc,

Kai Naija!!!    

* sliced spinach or lettuce
    * 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped into small pieces
    * 1 small tomato or cherry tomatoes sliced
    * ¼ cup green peas
    * 1 cup carrots
    * ½ cup (about 1/2 can) of baked beans
    * 1 tbsp diced red onions (diced very very small)
    * 2 tblsp. Heinz Salad Cream (if you can't find Heinz Salad cream, substitute Kraft Coleslaw salad dressing, close but
      it's not quite the same)
    * 2 tblsp. thousand island dressing (you can use 4 tblspn of salad cream, but the salad will be really rich. Mix   
        thousand island and salad cream)
    * smoked salmon/fish sliced thinly
    * salt & pepper to taste

-mix salad cream, thousand island dressing and finely diced onion together. Set aside.
-mix remaining ingredients except eggs together very gently.
-add salad dressing and toss gently. (if you mix too roughly the lettuce will wilt)
-Add chopped eggs and fish last and mix gently.
- Sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste. (not too much salt, or it will draw the water out of the lettuce and your salad will be too soggy).
-Keep refrigerated.

Knorr has a new range of seasonings with NO MSG

Available in Beef, Chicken and Vegetable varieties
• No added MSG

• No artificial colours, flavours or preservatives

• Authentic optic and aroma with no need for additional colorants and flavourings

• Suitable for a gluten free diet

• Suitable for a lactose free diet

• No hydrogenated oils

• Nine months shelf life unopened, three months in the fridge once opened


Interestingly MSG is a naturally occurring ingredient. You find it in tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and stuff.
Not too sure what the big fuss about it is.

If you buy dried soya beans, it's also important to cook them properly. This is because the raw beans contain a natural toxin (which is called a 'trypsin inhibitor') that can stop you digesting food properly. However, it's easy to destroy the toxin if you prepare the beans properly.

Follow these three steps to destroy the toxins:

1. soak the dried beans for at least 12 hours
2. drain and rinse the beans then cover them with fresh water
3. boil them vigorously for 1 hour

Then you need to simmer the beans for approximately 2 to 3 hours to make them tender.

If you buy tinned soya beans, they have already been through this process so you can use them straight away.

Death in the palace: Family, youths set for showdown

By Kunle Adeyemi, Sesan Olufowobi, Olalekan Adetayo and Sebastine Ebhuomhan


Members of the immediate family of Abiodun Yusuf Odubiyi who was found dead at the palace of the Onitire of Itire, Lagos State, Oba Lateef Dauda, as well as other youths in the community are warming up for a showdown with the community leaders.

Odubiyi was found dead with a rope on his neck near a shrine at the palace on July 19.

The case, which was earlier reported to the police at Itire, was later referred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, on July 21.

As at press time on Thursday, the two groups were meeting at different spots in the area with the aim of taking a common position on the issue.

This came just as the initial result of the autopsy conducted on the 28-year-old man indicated that he died of ”suspected asphyxia occasioned by alleged hanging till death.”

The autopsy report exclusively obtained by THE PUNCH in Lagos on Thursday was conducted by Dr. O. L. Lawal, of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

It was further learnt that the blood sample of the deceased had already been taken to a forensic laboratory for analysis.

A top police source at the SCID told our correspondents that the result was being expected on August 2.

One of our correspondents who was at the deceased‘s family house at 1, Ijesha Road, Itire on Thursday quoted the bereaved father as saying that he would only make a categorical statement on the issue after a meeting slated for the evening.

He was on his way to the meeting when our correspondent arrived at the house.

A sibling of the deceased who identified himself simply as Akeem, also told our correspondent that the death of Odubiyi was a great loss to the family.

According to Akeem, the deceased was not only a close confidant of the monarch, but he was also the palace secretary.

He said the youth wing of Itire residents under the aegis of Itire Descendants Youth, was to hold a meeting on the issue at Itire Primary School beside the Itire Police Station.

He also said that the outcome of the meeting would be disclosed to our correspondent on Friday (today).

The monarch, who became the first suspect in the case, had been arrested alongside 10 others, and taken to SCID for interrogation.

After spending hours in police custody, the security agents granted the monarch and other suspects bail.

Our correspondents learnt that another traditional ruler, who satisfied the condition of owning a property in Lagos, stood surety for the embattled monarch.

An investigation by our correspondents on Thursday showed that the monarch had vacated the palace since he was granted bail.

However, a source said the traditional ruler was on the run considering the magnitude and consequences of the alleged offence.

But our correspondents found out that the prime suspect was taking refuge in the palace of another traditional ruler (name withheld) within the metropolis.

Speaking with a resident of the area on Thursday, our correspondents were told that the incident had defiled the palace and it (the palace) needed to be cleansed through the performance of some traditional rites.

Our correspondents also learnt that in Yoruba culture, a monarch is not expected to set his eyes on a corpse and since this had happened, a general purification of the king and the palace was necessary.

The source confirmed to our correspondents that the rites to be performed demanded that the traditional ruler should vacate the palace

When contacted on Thursday, the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Frank Mba, denied any knowledge that the monarch was on the run.

Mba said, ”We have conducted the first round of investigation and the suspects were granted bail after satisfying all the conditions.

”I don‘t believe that the suspect has run away or will run away. A surety stood for him and signed the appropriate papers; anytime we need him, we know how to get him.

”Don‘t forget, this is a peculiar case that has generated much public interest. We are still on our investigation and at the appropriate time, we shall come out with our findings.”

Attempts by our correspondents to authenticate the true status of the victim on Thursday showed that he was neither a corps member nor a student of Lagos State University and earlier claimed.

The Public Relations Officer of the National Youth Service Corps, Lagos Office, Mrs. Joys Madaki, told one of our correspondents that the agency had no records of the deceased as a corps member.

Madaki said all efforts at getting the deceased particulars‘ that can link him to the agency had not yielded any fruitful result.

She said, ”We are interested in knowing whether he is truly a corps member and whether he is serving in Lagos or outside the state. There is no concrete information on the deceased so far.

“As far as we are concerned, anybody can wear NYSC uniform and people will take him for a corps member.”

The Chief Security Officer of LASU, Col. Aliyu Usman (rtd), told one of our correspondents that the school was already verifying the authenticity of the claim that the deceased was a Chemical Engineering student in the institution.

As at press time, Usman has not got back to our correspondents.


http://odili.net/news/source/2008/aug/1/415.html




They knew him but still killed him like that? na real wa for our Naija people o!

snazzydawn:

Okay, AMAKA, let me say it out. What can't you cook?

garri?

Ingredients
1/4 ounce dry yeast (one small packet)
1/4 cup water
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon shortening
6-7 cups bread flour, sifted

Directions
1. Sprinkle dry yeast in warm (110 degrees) water.
2. Scald milk (150 degrees) in sauce pan, then remove from heat.
3. Add sugar, salt, and shortening to the milk.
4. Cool to lukewarm.
5. Add yeast/water mixture and 2 cups of sifted flour and beat with hand mixer on lowest speed.
6. Stir in 2 to 3 more cups of flour. (I use my wooden spoon for this).
7. When dough becomes too stiff to stir, turn out onto well floured surface.
8. Knead until smooth and satiny, and "blisters" start to appear. (10 minutes). During this step, I keep the kneading surface well floured to prevent the dough from becoming sticky. Depending upon the temperature and humidity, more or less flour becomes incorporated into the dough. I have found that this is fine. The dough seems to know how much flour it needs. I am sure sometimes I add another full cup! Since this is all sifted flour, it is probably not as much as it seems. When the dough has enough flour, it stops "taking it in", and becomes very smooth and elastic.
9. Shape into a ball.
10. Put into large greased bowl, turning over to coat entire surface.
11. Cover with warm damp towel, then place another towel over that.
12. Put in oven (not lit) with light on, or other warm, not drafty place.
13. Let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
14. Punch down. (this step is a light kneed in the bowl).
15. Let rise again until doubled. (about 45 minutes).
16. Divide dough into 2 pieces and shape each into a ball placing on floured surface.
17. Cover and let bread rest (proof) for 10 minutes.
18. Grease 2 loaf pans (I use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 glass pans).
19. Flatten balls, one at a time, into long rectangles about 8x16 inches.
20. Roll up lengthwise shaping into loaves to fit pan.
21. Cover and let rise again until double. (about an hour).
22. Bake in hot (400°F) oven for 35 - 40 minutes, covering with foil last 20 minutes, if tops get too brown.
23. When bread is done, remove from pans at once, placing on a wire rack to cool, keeping away from drafts.
24. For soft crust, brush tops with butter and cover with a damp cloth.

A slight variation on the regular fried yam for all u yam enthusiasts.


Ingredients:
Yam - 0.5kg (for a serving of 3 adults)
Palm oil - about 2ml, which is one tablespoonful
Salt to taste
Three medium sized eggs
Chopped onions
Fresh, tomatoes, chopped.
Fresh pepper, chopped.
tomato puree, small quantity.

Procedure:
Step 1: Peel the yam tuber. Cut it up into giant chip sizes (like potato chips for a giant).

Step 2: Rinse the pieces twice and put in a pot. Pour water and boil until tender.

Step 3: When tender, drain in a colander, and blot away any drops from the pieces.

Step 4: Get a bowl and break the eggs into it, and whip them up until frothy.

Step 5: Add a bit of salt to the whipped egg, and place in a wider bowl. Now dip each chip of the yam in the egg mixture and roll it until it is covered completely by the egg mixture.

Step 6: Place a frying pan on low heat and add vegetable oil. Fry the yam chips, turning them when the egg is fried solid, and ensuring that it does not burn.

Step 7: Remove the fried yam pieces from the oil.

Step 8: Mix the tomato puree, chopped onions, chopped pepper, chopped tomatoes in a bowl.

Step 9: Use a spoon to gather any wayward bits of fried egg that might remain in the hot oil. Add the tomato mixture to the oil, and stir fry until tender.

Step 10: Add salt to taste. Add powder pepper to taste as well.

Serving: Place the fried yam chips in a platter. Place the tomato sauce in a bowl.

Ingredients:
Egusi(melon)
Ukpo or Achi(soup thickeners)
Achara(bamboo but the softer one)I don't know what they call it here
Ngara azu(small dry fish)
Ayiya(crayfish)
Azu okpo(dry fish)
Okporoko (stock fish)
Aku agbo(melon balls/biscuit)
Mgbe(kind of seafood, don’t know the English name)
Assorted anu (meat), also assorted bush meat and dry meat (kai to die for)
Manu nri (Palm oil)
Ukazi (shredded)

First cook your okporoko and other hard meat like cow leg and ox tail. Boil meat and azu okpo; add pepper and oil as the meat is boiling. Watch the tenderness, you do not want it to be soggy.
After add ukpo or achi…I prefer ukpo because of the taste. Allow few minutes and add ayiya and ngara azu and let it boil…. allow few minutes to boil, and then taste the sauce/soup to see if it is done. Also the color and the thickness of the broth should let you know if the ingredients are done.
At this time your soup should be slightly thick but not too thick like Eguisi soup…be careful adding Egusi at this time because it also serves as soup thickener.
Allow it to boil for few minutes then add the aku agbo and achara…few more minutes for it to simmer then add Ukazi leaves.

OHA OR ORA SOUP

INGREDIENTS QUANTITIES
Oha Leaves 1 medium bunch
Dried Meat 8 medium pieces
Smoked Fish 1 medium size
Stock Fish 4 medium pieces
Ogiri 1 wrap
Achi 2 tablespoon
Dry pepper (ground) 1 tablespoon
Oporo 1 Cup
Palm Oil 1 cooking spoon
Water 2 litres
Salt To taste

METHOD
Boil the stockfish till soft
Soak the dried meat in boiling water for few minutes, then wash thoroughly to remove sand and burn smell.
Boil two litres of water
Add the stockfish and the meat
Wash the smoked fish and add
Wash the Oporo
Grind the Achi and dissolve in cold water thoroughly and add to the soup. Stir.
Add the Oporo, dry pepper, Ogiri and Maggi cubes and plam oil
Stir thoroughly and reduce the heat
Pick wash and cut the Oha leaves with your fingers
Add to the soup and salt to taste. Simmer for about 10 minutes

Courtesy of Maggi E- cook book

Ingredients

1 kg assorted meat (beef, oxtail, tripe, offal, game)
4 snails (washed with lemon and limes) or 8 garden snails
450g stockfish (pre-soaked)
450g dry smoked fish (washed)
450g periwinkles, shelled
225g dry prawns, cleaned
225g ground crayfish
1 medium onion
50g ground hot chillies
1.35kg fresh ugwu (pumpkin leaves), washed and shredded
1kg fresh waterleaf (prepared and washed)
200ml palm oil
600ml stock
salt to taste

Method:

Wash the meats thoroughly and cut into chunks then place in a large pot. Add some onions, ground chillies and a little stock. Cook for 30 minutes. Meanwhile remove the snails and periwinkles from their shells and wash before rubbing with lime or lemon juice to remove excess slime. Wash the stockfish and smoked dry fish then soak for five minutes in salted water.

Rinse the fish with lots of water then add the snails, stockfish, dried fish, prawns and periwinkles to the meat pot and cook for a further 10 minutes, adding more stock if needed. Finally add the shredded pumpkin leaves and the waterleaf (or spinach). Mix properly then allow to simmer for 15 minutes then add the crayfish and palm oil.

Stir the stock and allow to cook for a further 10 minutes. Serve with fufu or pounded yam.

Roast zebra

In South Africa at a restaurant called Carnivore

Scotch egg & salad

bingo!!

How about Adun?

Quick & Easy to make

NGREDIENTS :

150g/6oz ground make/corn
1 level teaspoon ground chilli
25g / 1oz ground onion
I tablespoon palm-oil

Heat the oil in a small pan. When hot, fry the onions and chilli for 2 minutes. Add the ground corn, remove from heat and mix well.Shape into small balls and serve.

or dodo ( fried plantain)
or kuli kuli

sweet Jesus!!!

mans best friend with boiled plantain?

Honestly guys, what do you think the possibility is of setting up something like Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank in Nigeria?

Given the dynamics back home do you think it is viable? Is it something the people would buy into?

I really believe that this would make the people so much less dependent on those corrupt individuals we call government and empower them to take charge of their lives and do some things for themselves. I think only once people feel empowered can they start questioning the status quo?

I just finished reading that book last week and I was very depressed when I finished reading it.

You should also read

"Destination Biafra" by Buchi Emecheta

It gives a pretty full perspective of what happened during the Biafra War also in a story like format.

Queenisha:

do you realize you're talking to a private part ?
do you expect anything reasonable from a name like that
don't even waste your saliva

Abi o, I wonder why I bothered sef.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080719/hl_time/geneticvariantraiseshivrisk

By LAURA BLUE Sat Jul 19, 4:15 PM ET

There's no doubt Africans have borne the brunt of the AIDS epidemic. Now researchers in London and Texas say it may have something to do with a single gene variant that could account for 11%, or about 2.5 million, of Africa's HIV cases.


Published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, the findings center around one gene variation that blocks a receptor from being expressed on the surface of red blood cells. Scientists had previously studied this genetic variant - found almost exclusively in Africans and their descendants - because it also conferred protection against an early form of malaria. (The malaria parasite needed the receptor to infect blood cells; without the receptor, the parasite starved and died.) More than 90% of sub-Saharan Africans lack the red-blood-cell receptor, along with two-thirds of African-Americans. But the variant that once saved its carriers from one disease now appears to make them more susceptible to another. According to the paper, people with the gene variant were 40% more likely to become infected with HIV than people without it.

This is a finding five years in the making. Virologist Robin Weiss of University College London began to study the relevant receptor in 2003, after seeing earlier research that showed how variation in another gene similarly blocked the receptor that allows HIV to enter white blood cells; far fewer people carry that variant. In the lab, Weiss found that the African-specific receptor, called DARC, or duffy antigen receptor for chemokines, also interacted with HIV: the receptor binds to a wide array of proteins that suppress the virus's replication. Intrigued, but unable to explain why the lack of the receptor increased HIV infection, Weiss teamed up with geneticists at the University of Texas and elsewhere to analyze how the gene variant impacts HIV rates in real populations.

It turned out that among a select cohort of American military personnel who had been followed over decades, the roughly 1,200 carriers of the trait, all of whom were African-American, were 40% more likely after adjustments to be infected with HIV than noncarriers. From that sample, Weiss and his colleagues extrapolated the infection risk attributable to the gene variant in Africa, where a 40% increased susceptibility to infection translates to about 11% of all infections.

Interestingly, among the servicemen who were infected with HIV, those who carried the gene variant lived on average two years longer than noncarriers. "We still can't say exactly why," Weiss says. And though the effect of this gene variant, if confirmed, could help explain a huge number of HIV infections, it still cannot come close to explaining the AIDS burden of Africa. Nearly 70% of all HIV-positive people in the world live in sub-Saharan Africa, and prevalence rates in adults in some African countries top 20%. What's more, the gene variant is most common in West Africa, but HIV-infection rates in that region remain very low compared to those in Eastern and Southern Africa, where the disease has festered longest - and where government and medical officials have often turned a blind eye to risky behaviors in the population.

When asked whether his new findings, if replicated, may help guide current policy, Weiss says, "The straight answer is no. It doesn't really help us think about a vaccine." He adds, "It also doesn't help in other ideas about prevention." Eventually, however, researchers hope to learn how the gene variant slows progression of the AIDS, which may inspire new treatments.

On that front, at least, the British and American researchers may have good company. This week a separate team of researchers at the University of Texas announced they had found what may be the virus's "Achilles' heel" - a stretch of amino acids in the HIV envelope protein, which is necessary for the virus to attach to and infect host cells. Those amino acids, researchers say, could someday be a key therapeutic target and may help change the epidemic's course.

Mustay:

The fact is that:


It's not a shopping mall!

it's a shopping mall under construction now.
What should it be called?

http://www.saharareporters.com/www/news/detail/?id=673

Actually It's only 3 people confirmed dead

http://africa.reuters.com/country/NG/news/usnL9420182.html

A gigantic shopping plaza belonging the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori caved in today in the Jabi area of Abuja, trapping over 100 workers as they got midway casting concrete floors on the 4-storey building. Unofficial death tolls reached over 30 as rescue efforts are continued last night.

The former governor who left office on May 29 2007 started the construction of the plaza about July 2007. The plaza is made of ten blocks of shopping centers considered the largest in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital territory.

Sources knowledgeable about the clandestine construction of the plaza told Saharareporters that Ibori visited the site several times before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested him late last year. Ibori’s arrest and subsequent prosecution by the EFCC led to work stoppage on the site for over two months, serious work resumed earlier this year after Nuhu Ribadu was removed from the EFCC as chairman.

Sources told Saharareporters that it was public knowledge that Ibori owns the plaza but carefully avoided giving away its real ownership by not placing any signpost on the construction site as required by federal regulations. A company that specializes in using direct labor for small time constructions was hired to complete the shopping plaza so as to avoid detection by anti-corruption agencies.

The four- storey building which was located along Solomon Lar Way in Utako District of Abuja opposite Daily Trust newspapers, collapsed around 3.00 PM Abuja time, trapping; bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and food hawkers servicing day laborers working on the site.

An eyewitness who craved anonymity said that there was a crack under the building but the workers ignored it and continue with work, suddenly the whole building just came down and people were shouting. One of the five laborers who escaped from the collapsed building told reporters that, “We are calling their cell phones and some of them are responding but now they cannot be reached any longer”.

“Even the site engineer, a man named Peter was here and the Contractor came to inspect the building and they were all trapped.” Another eyewitness told rescuers and reporters who covered the tragedy. “Those people must have died we cannot say the exact number of people inside but they must be up to 100.”

Findings at the site of the incident revealed that the materials used in the construction are substandard. FCT officials told Saharareporters anonymously that serious defects were found in the building, while efforts were made to demolish some of the buildings but the owners of the building were just too powerful.

The rescue operation could not start on time as a result of late arrival of the excavator and crane. The Minister of FCT, Aliyu Moddibo arrived the scene of the accident and said that the contractor would be brought to book before leaving.

Also at the scene were, Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, Corps Marshal Federal Road Safety Commission, Osita Chidoka expressed shock and described it as a National tragedy.

Meanwhile, Ibori has maintained stoic silence over the incident, much like he did with the disappearance of a Beechcraft 1900 aircraft belonging to his Wings Aviation airline in march this year. The 19-passenger aircraft was on its way to Calabar, Cross Rivers State on a charter run, it is yet to be located by Nigerian aviation officials, fueling speculations that the aircraft was smuggled out of the Nigeria airspace by Ibori and the managing director of the airline, Noggie Meggison with the connivance of Nigerian federal aviation officials.

Sources close to Ibori gave a differing account of his whereabouts, while a source told us he is currently at his home in the Aso Rock area of the FCT, Abuja, another of his friend said he sent out text messages informing friends that he will be traveling to Lagos tomorrow morning from his Oghara hometow

pussy_full:

Amaka

The same question still

What is our business with that story na?

*smh* God forbid this should happen to any of your sisters,aunts, cousins or relatives sha! **hiss***

We will all be sitting online making fun of it the way you are doing about this poor woman and her kids.


Naija people sef! una never cease to amaze with the lack of compassion you can show for your fellow human being.

When did we become so jaded that we see tragedy happening and ask "How is this my business?"

Would it kill you to say a prayer to whatever higher power you believe in for those kids?

pussy_full:

welldone - whats our business with this?

would you have found it more interesting if I had titled it "Grandpas who go home, marry their grandchildren, bring them to Yankee and treat them anyhow, "?

add to that the fact that they are looking for any Nigerian family in Minessota to take temporary custody of their two children until they decide what to do with them, since they do not have any relative in USA and did not associate with Nigerians in USA. The government would pay for the cost until they find permanent place for the children.

sarcasm sometimes can be a low form of wit especially when faced with human tragedy abi?

KFC rice bowl Yummy

Cool , I was also looking for something similar, i.t.o. funding the pumps at home and I came across this link.
www.grameen-info.org/

I agree with you there, It seems that the most successful projects like this internationally have been those that went the micro finance route. When people feel that they own something and they have worked hard to acquire it then they tend to take more pride in it too, and it being a communal/ community type of effort surely will motivate even the slackers in the village to pull up their socks and do something, besides tapping pammy

If you read the inspirational stories on that site , man!

I'm really getting excited about this even though I am still just doing research.

I hope to be able to keep you guys posted as this project progresses, and hopefully I will get some good advice along the way too.

Hmmm on NL we will see sha