Cooking Efo Egusi with 7 lives - Part1

Yes, I'm back. I actually didnt have all the stuff I needed so I dashed out to the corner shop to get shrimps.

Sorry i'm just concluding the post today, was spent by the time i finished yesterday and also had to resize the pictures to make them smaller.

I think I should list the ingredient now.

Kidney, Shaki (tripe), ponmo (cow skin), shrimps, liver, dried fish and panla (stock fish).

Those are the '7 lives'

Other ingredients and condiments are cooking oil, palm oil, spinach (efo soko), ground melon (egusi), onions, knor cubes, black pepper, ground chili pepper, ground fresh chili and scotch bonnet (ata rodo) curry, thyme, salt. (table salt oo!)

Boil the ground ata rodo and chilli pepper for about 15mins.

Wash and season the shrimps with salt just like you would fish.

Soak the panla (stock fish) in hot water and cover it (to make it soft), after about 30mins break it into chunks.

Clean and dice the ponmo, put on fire and spice it with salt and boil like you would beef.

Dice the fried kidney, the fried saki (tripe) and the fried liver. Boil the liver separately during the boiling stage.

Shred the vegetable, wash and soak in warm water and cover it.

Now its time to prepare the stew for the efo,

Pour some cooking oil into the pot, allow it to heat up and add the ground pepper. stir and leave to simmer for a whie.

Next, add the panla to the stew, adding it first will make sure it becomes even softer. leave it for about 5 mins and then add the strained ponmo, add the diced shaki, kidney, liver next. Add knor cubes and salt to taste, cover and leave to simmer.

By now the shrimps is ready to be fried. put little oil in the frying pan, heat it up for about 4 mins and thrown in the shrimps. fry till its pink, it doesn't take long to.

 

Prepare the egusi by dicing sm onions, salt the ground egusi and then add little water, very little and make a paste with it.

 

Pour some palmoil into a pot and heat it up till its very hot, add the egusi in clumps, fry it without truning it for about 3 mins then keep turning.

here is the trick, ensure you fry it well so the efo can keep properly.

I will post the concluding part soon

5bn Mansard Building on Aboyade cole VI on fire - developing story

The newly built Mansard building on Aboyade Cole has been gutted by flames. Aside gutting several parked cars, the fire also spread to part of the adjoining primary school and school students have been evacuated.

The fire started when something went awary with a fuel discharge truck about delivering fuel into the building. The truck reportedly went up in flames whilst maneuvering

The fire has been raging for over 4 hours but is gradually coming under control. 
The building houses several other companies too and is adjacent ExxonMobil head office. Report says Mobil house has not been evacuated and fire fighters are on the scene battling the fire that started around 11am

I will keep you posted

Cook Efo egusi with 7 'lives' - the yomilawal way

I went on hunger strike at the age of 12, my reason for the hunger strike? Hehehe, I insisted on calling my older sisters by their first names against the cultural norms of prefixing it with "anti" (a sign of respect in yoruba culture).
My father, after telling me several times to stop disrespecting them; on a saturday knowing there would be no school and no opportunity for me to eat elsewhere gave the instructions that nobody should serve me any food till I attached the prefix "anti" to their name and thus commenced my first hunger strike as I was determined to never ever 'call these ones anti'? 

The wait was like a lifetime and the pangs of hunger was like a stab wound, about 8hours into the strike when I couldnt hold out again, I went to my immediate older sister and mumbled "....sister lara 'wa' FUN MI LON JE O", my sister wanting to rub it in replied "mi o gbo" and I had to repeat it clearly. 
Well beans and plantain never tasted that good before as I devoured my hard won meal hehehe!

Over the years vowing within me never to be at my sisters mercy over food and also being a finicky eater, I have perfected some art of cooking.

Today I will be making Efo elegusi with 7 different diced delicacies (7 lives) in it.

I will also show you the cheat sheet for making 'kokoless' eba under 5mins with a microwave oven.

Liberate yourselves gentlemen and ladies kindly discourage the guys by following,  tell me whatever I do wrong.
if you want a taste after I'm done cooking, do ask.

I'll be right back! 

Update - Russian Cargo Plane in Kano - the plot thickens

And the plot thickens

First it was a plane bound for Chad but flew past Chad to land in Kano, and then it didn’t come from Russia but came from Central Africa republic going to Chad.

Then Russians disowned the plane and said they knew noting about it. It was a French crew they said.

Then Jesus touched Russia and it was their plane but not their cargo, the cargo belonged to the French.

In between all these Modu Sheriff the Nigerian born Chadian paid a secret visit to try and get the plane released.

Then more magic happens; 

No ammunitions on board now, only French helicopters and it was being moved from CAR (as French peace keeping wound down) to Chad? Really? http://www.themoscowtimes.com/mobile/news/article/russian-plane-seized-in-nigeria-belongs-to-french-peacekeeping-mission/512688.html

So in essence, a peace keeping wound down is so secretive it involves 3 different governments with information clearance levels so high it takes over 48hours for them to get their stories straight?

Ok let’s do the maths. The plane left Bangui headed for Chad, anywhere between its flight path of hearing that N’djamena is closed, the best place to land would be Cameroon not Kano!

Because Cameroon is a French protectorate, has a defence pact with France and is nearer!

Distance between N'Djamena and Cameroon is just 604km

Distance between N'Djamena and Kano is 711km!

Distance between Bangui and Cameroon is 765km

Distance between Bangui and Kano is over 1200kms

So anyhow we look at it, Kano is a poor alternative destination for a Chad bound plane originating from Bangui.

Well, the French have been known to destabilize African nations for control of their natural resources; they were the power behind Cameroon over Bakassi issue with Nigeria. Chad is said to be eyeing the oil reserves in the Chadian basin in Borno, if France stole Bakassi by proxy, they could be helping Chad plan how to steal Borno too.

The Gazelle Helicopter

The plane would soon be released http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/12/nigeria-releases-russian-cargo-plane-impounded-kano/

Once we hear boko haram is making use of attack helicopters we all know who to finger! Bonjour!

Russian Cargo plane in Kano - Another cover-up?

Story for the gods?

Story broke this morning few hours after I posted the AK-47 makeover and in the last lines suggested Russia could be looking at Nigeria as an alternative market due to the sanctions preventing her from exporting arms to her major customers in the US and EU.

Few hours later, news broke that a Russian cargo plane accidentally landed at Kano international airport and had been seized and the crew detained by the NA.

Mr Layi on my vibrant politics oriented bbm group quickly pointed out that there was no way a plane originating from Russia would have to pass through Nigerian airspace.

That got me thinking and I tried to make sense of the news, these are my findings.

Layi was absolutely correct..

The distance between Chad and Moscow is about 4800km as the crow flies.

That between Kano and Moscow is about 5500km as the crow flies.

Its safe to assume a Russian originating cargo plane will want to avoid flying over some countries and the distance will be a tad longer.

Chad has only one international airport, the N’Djamena international airport used for both civil and military purposes.

The Russian cargo plane with long range that could be used for such a job is either the

Heavy Transport Aircraft An - 124 "Ruslan" NATO Designation "Condor" a 4 engine aircraft that can fly at a maximum altitude of 12000 meters and go a maximum distance of 4500km if carrying full payload (150 tons) but with about 40t payload, range becomes 12000km

this means it can conveniently reach chad or Nigeria without stopping to refuel.

It requires just 6 crew to operate.

or

The russian cargo plane Ilyushin Il-76 (NATO designated "Candid"), a multi-purpose four-engine strategic airlifter designed by the Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967, as a replacement for the Antonov An-12. It was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly served areas of the USSR. Military versions of the Il-76 have seen widespread use in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an airborne refueling tanker or as a command center.

It requires just 5 crew to operate, has a higher operating altitude of 13000 meters but lower payload of 50tons max. the range is 4300km if its carrying maximum payload and thus will need to stop to refuel if it originated from Moscow.

Both planes have various variants. However Russia is the only country that uses both for military purposes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-124_Ruslan



Thus we can safely conclude the plane is Russian since the cargo is military hardware and its the Ilyushin Il-76 because 5 crew members were reportedly detained.

Attempted Spin

According to Reuters reports later came that the crew is French and the plane originated its flight from Bangui in the Central African Republic. Two helicopters were on board a bullet proof jeep and some other boxes

The plane will overfly Chad to get to Bangui!

Research shows the distance between CAR and Moscow is about 5600km, further than that to Nigeria as you can see in the map above. So we can safely dismiss it detoured to refuel at C.A.R. We also heard the Ndjamena airport was closed and that was why they had to land at Kano, the question remains, why fly to CAR if you were going to Chad?!

My Conclusion?

The only way that plane could have "accidentally" landed at Aminu Kano international airport is only if the destination was Kano in the first place. The story does not "gel"

What do you think?

Governor Fayose tuition slash - Ruse or real?

Few weeks ago Governor Ayodele fayose announced that Ekiti state university tution fees has been slashed to 30000 naira and that students can pay twice.   

Doyin Adebusuyi of dailytrust reported that 
"Ado Ekiti — Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has ordered the reduction of tuition fees being paid by students of the state-owned university from N50,000 to N30,000.
The governor also directed the school to allow the students pay the fees in two instalments.
Fayose, who gave the order while featuring on a radio/television programme 'Meet your governor', on Saturday, said his administration would also ensure an enabling atmosphere for teaching and learning in all state-owned institutions in the state." http://allafrica.com/stories/201412020484.html

Look below and see if any of the fees is 30k as reported. 
Parents who heard the news thinking they had a respite were shocked when their wards demand for more thsn double the 30k for school fees.

Information obtained from a 200L student of English and Literary studies says aside the fees listed here, departmental fees range between 8,000naira  and 13,000naira in addition so what is really happening? 

EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL FEE FOR
2014/2015 SESSION.
FACULTY OF AGRIC:
100L- 82,000
200L- 73,000
300L- 65,000
400L- 57,000
500L- 62,000
FACULTY OF ARTS:
(GENERAL)
100L- 67,000
200L- 58,000
300L- 50000
400L- 47000
(GEOGRAPHY AND FRENCH)
100L- 72,000
200L- 63,000
300L- 58,000
400L- 52,000
FACULTY OF EDUCATION:
(SCIENCES):
100L- 82,000
200L- 73,000
300L- 68,000
400L- 62,000
(GEOGRAPHY AND FRENCH)
100L- 77,000
200L- 68,000
300L- 63,000
400L- 57,000
(OTHERS)
100L- 72,000
200L- 63,000
300L- 58,000
400L- 52,000
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING:
100L- 92,000
200L- 83,000
300L- 78,000
400L- 67,000
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE:
100L- 72,000
200L- 63,000
300L- 58,000
400L- 52,000
FACULTY OF SCIENCE:
(GEOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, PLANT SCIENCE)
100L- 82,000
200L- 73,000
300L- 68,000
400L- 62,000
(OTHERS)
100L- 77,000
200L- 68,000
300L- 63,000
400L- 57,000
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES:
(GEOGRAPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY)
100L- 72,000
200L- 63,000
300L- 58,000
400L- 52,000
(OTHERS)
100L- 67,000
200L- 58,000
300L- 53,000
400L- 47,000
FACULTY OF MEDICINE:
100L- 85,000
200L- 176,500
300L- 171, 500
400L- 160,500.
NOTE: School Management Have Reduced The
School Charges By 10,000.

See the new AK-47 - want one?

Have you heard? The AK-47, the Russian designed Kalashnikov gun, the most successful weapon of all time that is the symbol of Nigerian police and so many terrorists worldwide is getting a makeover. yay! The days of accidental discharge would totally be over ba?

Its now branded as the weapon of peace. It was a famous weapon during the Vietnam war, touted the cheapest, most efficient and easy to use automatic rifle, so easy (sadly) child soldiers handle it flawlessly.

Excerpts of the video voice over in the re branding video says watch video here

“It precipitated not just a technological but a social revolution. Freedom movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America could at last fight back against professional colonial armies. The AK-47 gave them the chance to demand rights and achieve justice. This is a weapon which helped people defend their families and futures, and demand the right to a peaceful future.”

Mikhail kalashnikov and gun

The company’s most famous gun was developed by the Soviet engineer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1947 and quickly became a mainstay of wars and civil conflicts across the world, known for its ease of use and reliability. The weapons are manufactured at a plant in Izhevsk, a city in Russia’s Urals region.

Kalashnikov Concern was created by a merger of the Kalashnikov brand, Baikal hunting rifles and Izhmash sports rifles. Kalashnikov Concern plans to release a range of sportswear and knives as well as its traditional lines of weaponry.

Kalashnikov Concern gets a new black-and-red CK logo (not to be confused with Calvin Klein), while the rifle brand gets a red K, which looks more like the logo of a supermarket or chemist chain than that of an internationally renowned killing machine, but on close inspection can be seen to contain the distinctive curved magazine used in Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Kalashnikov himself died last year in Izhevsk, aged 94. Shortly before his death he wrote a letter of repentance to the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, asking whether he should seek forgiveness for creating a weapon that had been responsible for so much death. The patriarch reportedly replied that the weapon had been used “in defence of the motherland” and said Kalashnikov had given an example of “patriotism and serving one’s country”.

With the embers of war being seriously fanned by the two leading political parties in Nigeria, hopefully Russia wont look to us to make up for the lost export to the US due to sanctions over purported Putin’s involvement in the eastern Ukrainian conflict.

Would you mind owning one?