Wednesday, 25 March 2020

How to Prepare Egusi Soup



Yemi Olakitan

Egusi is a very popular soup in Nigeria. There are many types of soups in Nigeria but Egusi is the king of Nigerian soups because of its popularity. Egusi is the Nigerian name for the seeds of plants like squash, melons, and gourds that, when dried and grounded become a staple ingredient in many Nigerian dishes. Egusi is rich in fat and protein and it is very delicious and enjoyable African cuisine.
The Nigerian Egusi Soup is a soup thickened with ground melon seeds and contains leafy and other vegetables.  It is one of the most popular soups prepared by most tribes in Nigeria with considerable variation and often eaten with dishes like Pounded Yams.  You can prepare Egusi soup with goat, beef, fish, or shellfish! This recipe will show you how to make Nigerian Egusi Soup, a popular West African soup made with melon seeds.
Ingredients: 1 cup blended onions about 3- 5 and fresh chilies, to taste, 4 cups egusi melon seeds, ground or milled, 1⁄2 – 1 cup palm oil, 2 teaspoons fresh Une Iru, locust beans, Salt to taste, Ground crayfish to taste, 7– 8 cups stock
Cooked Meat & fish quantity and variety to personal preference, 2 cups cut pumpkin leaves, 1 cup waterleaf cut, 3 tablespoons bitter leaf washed
Instructions
EGUSI PASTE:
Prepare the egusi paste:
Blend egusi seeds and onion mixture. Set aside.
MAKE THE SOUP:
In a large pot, heat the palm oil on medium for a minute and then add the Une.
Slowly add the stock and set on low heat to simmer.
Scoop teaspoon size balls of the egusi paste mixture into the stock. Be sure to keep ball shape.
Leave to simmer for 20 – 30 minutes so the balls cook through.
Add the meat and fish and other bits which you’d like to use.
Add cut-up pumpkin leaves.
Add the waterleaf.
Stir and put a lid on the pot and allow cook for 7–10 minutes, till the leaves wilt.
Add the bitter leaf.  Leave the lid off while the cooking finishes for another 5-10 minutes.
Stir, check seasoning and adjust accordingly.

About the World Sleep Day!



Yemi Olakitan
Today is the World Sleep Day, a day set aside to remind people to sleep well. According to the World Sleep Society, this day is to emphasize the importance of sleep to our health and wellness. It is an annual event organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Sleep Society, formerly World Association of Sleep Medicine since 2008.
The World Sleep Society says, ‘’the aim is to accentuate the benefits of good and healthy sleep and to draw society's attention to the burden of sleep problems and their medical, educational, and social aspects, and to promote the prevention and management of sleep disorders.’’
The Society raises responsiveness of sleep disorders so that society can better understand the phenomenon and prevent the problems associated with lack of sleep. According to this organization, inadequate sleep threatens the health or quality of life of as much as 45% of the world's population. ‘‘Sleep is one of the important activities of our life. A person every day should at least take seven to eight hours of sleep. World Sleep Day is a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving.’’
World Sleep Day is celebrated annually as a global awareness event. It is hosted by the Society.  It was first co-chairs by Liborio Parrino, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology at Parma University, Italy and Antonio Culebras, MD, Professor of Neurology, Upstate Medical University, and Consultant, The Sleep Center, Community General Hospital, Syracuse, New York, USA. It was started by a group of dedicated healthcare providers and members of the medical community working and studying in the area of sleep medicine and research. It brings healthcare providers together to discuss the information related to sleep across the globe and distribute its importance. It is celebrated today on Friday 13 March, 2020.  
Why is sleep so important?  According to World Sleep Society, ‘sleep is so important to health, as lack of sleep can lead to sudden death, loss of memory and so on. In other words, anyone who wants to live long, must sleep more. This is why the slogan of World Sleep Day is ‘Better Sleep, Better Life, Better Planet.’ It highlights the importance of sleep that acts as a pillar of health, allows better decision making and generates a cognitive understanding. It also focuses on the quality of life that can be improved with healthy sleep. We can understand it like this that when sleep fails, health declines and on the other side decrease the quality of life. Sound sleep is a treasured function. The World Sleep Society (WSS) is a non-profit based organization based in the United States.
The World Sleep Society has provided 10 tips. These are as follows: Generate a regular bedtime and waking time. If you are habitual of taking siestas, then do not exceed 45 minutes of daytime sleep. Avoid taking excessive alcohol at least 4 hours before bedtime and also do not smoke.  Avoid taking caffeine 6 hours before going to bedtime. It includes coffee, tea, soda drinks, and chocolates. Take a light snack before going to bed at night. It will be better to avoid heavy, spicy or sugary foods 4 hours before bedtime. Do regular exercise but not going before bed at night. Use comfortable bedding. Before going to sleep, the room should be properly ventilated or maintain the proper comfortable sleep temperature setting. Discard or block all distracting noise before going to sleep and eliminate as much light as you can. Take time and reserve your night time for sleep and sex. Avoid work or general recreation during sleep time, sleep when you are sleeping. 

Lamido Sanusi and the Politics of Dethronement

Yemi Olakitan

The news hit the headlines like a thunderbolt, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the 14th Emir of Kano has been dethroned on March 9th, 2020 by the Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje.
An economist and banker who served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009 to 2014, Sanusi was once suspended by former President Goodluck Jonathan after he raised alarm on the $20 billion NNPC scandal.  What really is in the style of Lamido Sanusi that the people in power find unsettling? AN24.net goes on a fact finding mission.
According to Special Adviser to the Governor of Kano state, Salihu Yakasi, one of the reasons Sanusi was deposed was his frequent public criticisms of the government of Governor Abdulahi Ganduge of Kano state. Yakassi said, no one in power could condone such public criticisms. ‘The deposed Emir had access to the Governor and could advise him on any issue but the Emir chose public podiums and stages as his means of advising the Governor.  At every given opportunity, he dished out criticisms.’
‘You can portray it as political or whatever but the question is no one would allow such an act of insubordination to continue. Since the creation of the new Emirates by Governor Ganduje, you can count the number of important events organized by the state government including international events which the Emir was invited and never attended. I can tell you that the Emir did not even attend the free and compulsory Basic Education Programme in the state launched by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. People are free to say what they want to say but this is the reason for the dethronement,’’ he said.
Reports reveal that conservatives in northern Nigeria didn’t find Sanusi’s social criticisms funny. The deposed Emir once explained that Sharia is not divine but religious, and is neither uniform nor unchanging. He has called for an end to child marriage, a practice that is still prevalent in the north, building more schools instead of mosques. Sanusi also called for population planning, and has said, polygamy is increasing poverty in the region. The Emir also said, widespread poverty in the north might put end to Islam as we know it.

A highly educated man, Sanusi has a degree in Sharia and Islamic studies from the International University of Africa in Khartoum, in 1997 among other qualifications. He has spoken out on government policies on several occasions, breaking out with royal tradition.
 In 2017, the Emirate council was under investigation for corruption. Many saw this as retribution over comments he made. The investigation was later called off by the state legislature following intervention by the ruling class. In 2019, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje signed into law the creation of four new emirates. This unprecedented move saw Sanusi's traditional domain as Emir reduced. According to the law, Sanusi will only preside over 10 local government areas out of the 44 in the state. Many saw this as the beginning of Sanusi’s dethronement.
The legal team of Mallam Mohamodu Sanusi, 11 organized a Press briefing on what they called, Sanusi’s illegal dethronement, deportation and banishment to Nassarawa state by the Kano state Government. The team declared the dethronement illegal and unconstitutional. According to the team, the Kano state Emirate Council law which was recently enacted does not give the state Governor the power to unilaterally dethrone a an Emir.
The reason given in the letter of deposition of the Emir dated 9th March, 2020, was alleged ‘disrespect to lawful instructions from the authorities’. The Emir was also alleged to have ‘refused to attend official programmes and meetings organized by the Government’. As far as we are aware, there has not been any notice of such disrespect ever given to the Emir or query issued to him for refusal to attend official functions. He was never given any opportunity to defend himself against those charges.  Section 13 of the Kano Emirates Council Law 2019 cited in the letter of deposition empowers the Governor to depose an Emir only after due inquiry and in consultation with State Council of Chiefs. We are not aware of such due inquiry nor are we aware that the Kano State Council of Chiefs was at any time summoned to any meeting much less discuss the removal of the Emir or give any  advice to the Governor on the deposition. In our view the action was patently illegal and unconstitutional and a clear abuse of power. Be that as it may, the decision to challenge the removal is solely that of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II.
 In a statement, Publisher and veteran Journalist, Dele Momodu said, ‘The last time Sanusi was kicked out of the Central Bank, he became the Emir of Kano, who knows where God is taking him to next. God’s ways are truly mysterious,’’ he said. 

ALIKO DANGOTE DONATES N200 MILLION TO SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST CORONA VIRUS





The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) has donated a whooping sum of N200million to support current effort of the Nigerian government towards curbing the spread of Corona Virus or Covid-19 in the country. ADF’s intervention is considered the largest single donation by a corporate organization in the country to contain the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria.

Monday, 9 March 2020

Nigeria is now the biggest Rice Producer in Africa



Contrary to the report that says Nigeria produces 4 million tons of rice, the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) says it has established that instead, Nigeria being the largest producer of rice in Africa is producing 8 million tons of rice annually.
The RIFAN President, Aminu Goronyo who disclosed this said Nigeria has two rice farming season, in each season according him, 4 million tons of rice is produced.
He said the annual rice production of Nigeria is put at Eight million tonnes annually with twelve million farmers engaged in the production of the commodity.
Goronyo said Nigeria has no option than to put a total ban on rice importation before the end of this year.
“We have two cropping seasons of production and each season we produce an average of 4 million tons that will give you 8 million tons per annum”, Goronyo said.

About Ojude Oba festival

 The Ojude Oba festival is an annual celebration by the Yoruba people of Ijebu-Ode, a major town in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. This v...