Home-made helicopters hit northern Nigeria!

Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi, a 24-year-old physics undergraduate in northern Nigeria, takes old cars and motorbikes to pieces in the back yard at home and builds his own helicopters from the parts.
"It took me eight months to build this one," he said, sweat pouring from his forehead as he filled the radiator of the banana yellow four-seater which he now parks in the grounds of his university.
The chopper, which has flown briefly on six occasions, is made from scrap aluminium that Abdullahi bought with the money he makes from computer and mobile phone repairs, and a donation from his father, who teaches at Kano's Bayero university.
It is powered by a second-hand 133 horsepower Honda Civic car engine and kitted out with seats from an old Toyota saloon car. Its other parts come from the carcass of a Boeing 747 which crashed near Kano some years ago.
For a four-seater it is a big aircraft, measuring twelve metres (39 feet) long, seven metres high by five wide. It has never attained an altitude of more than seven feet.
The cockpit consists of a push-button ignition, an accelerator lever between the seats which controls vertical thrust, a joystick that provides balance and bearing.
A small screen on the dashboard connects to a camera underneath the helicopter for ground vision, a set of six buttons adjusts the screen's brightness while a small transmitter is used for communication.
"You start it, allow it to run for a minute or two and you then shift the accelerator forward and the propeller on top begins to spin. The further you shift the accelerator the faster it goes and once you reach 300 rmp you press the joystick and it takes off," Abdullahi explained from the cockpit.
He said he learned the rudiments of flying a helicopter from the Internet and first got the idea of building one from the films he watches on television.

"I watched action movies a lot and I was fascinated by the way choppers fly. I decided it would be easier to build one than to build a car," he said pacing the premises of the security division of the university which he uses as hanger for his helicopter.
He hoped -- and still does hope -- that the Nigerian government and his wealthy compatriots would turn to him and stop placing orders with western manufacturers.
So far, however, government response to his chopper project has been underwhelming to say the least.
Although some government officials got very excited when they saw him conduct a demonstration flight in neighbouring Katsina state, Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has so far shown no interest in his aircraft.
"No one from the NCAA has come to see what I've done. We don't reward talent in this country," he lamented.
Abdullahi does admit that his first helicopter lacks "some basic facilities like devices for measuring atmospheric pressure, altitude, humidity and the like."
In a country with Nigeria's abysmal air safety record officials may be loath to gamble on one student's home-made helicopter.
But Abdullahi, undeterred, has started work on a new flying machine, which, he says, "will be a radical improvement on the first one in terms of sophistication and aesthetics."
Currently just a spindly metal frame in the back yard, the helicopter will be a two-seater and Abdullahi calculates it will be able to fly at an altitude of 15 feet for three hours at a stretch.
It will be powered by a brand new motor -- albeit Taiwan-manufactured and destined for the Jincheng motorbike so common on the streets of Kano

Real American Pancakes/Waffles

Brief background:

Here's to making meals from the scratch with healthy and fresh ingredients. If you have the luxury of time and you are really into knowing what's inside your meals, you may consider making your pancakes yourself rather than buy those store pancake mixes that you cannot tell what has gone into it. Trust me these pancakes look and taste even better than Aunt Jemima's.

Friends, you must invest in measuring cups for this recipe, no guessing here please, so go out and purchase one because everything needs to be very accurate for the pancakes to turn out fluffy. Another key thing is that you need to have a light pastry hand as over-mixing will toughen your pancakes (something about the flour turning to gluten due to over handling!) This recipe makes 2 dozen pancakes.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs

1/2 cup oil and butter (half and half)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups milk

2 3/4 cups self-raising flour

8 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon Lemon/orange rind (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)

(All measurements are levelled, not pressed)

Preparation:

1. In a medium size round, wide but shallow bowl, measure out your dry ingredients - flour+baking powder+salt+sugar. If using Macdougall's non-sift self-raising flour there is no need to sift but if you cannot get self-raising, just double the baking powder measurement. Mix properly with spatula/wooden spoon to distribute evenly. Set aside.


2. Separate your egg whites from the yolks into two smaller equal sized round bowls; Get help with whisking the egg whites to peaked stiffness, usually takes like 10-15 mins (my 9 year old daughter helps here). Now, you would notice that the egg whites stiffen very fast on the top but have liquid underneath, so what you do is scoop out (into clean bowl) stiff whites from the top as you whisk till you get to the last bits. This technique makes sure that you get all egg whites stiff. So when the whites form firm peaks when you scoop up with whisk you know its ready. Set aside.


3. Now, in your yolk bowl, add milk and the cooled melted 1/2 cup of half butter and half oil (melted butter and oil must measure up to 1/2 cups, for more buttery flavour, use more butter than oil). Add vanilla and rind here if preferred. Stir to mix well.


4. In your flour mixture, pour in the egg yolk mixture and scrape in the egg whites (with spatula) and while using the spatula, scrape downwards towards base of bowl, turn clockwise and lift mixture to the centre gently, moving from one angle till you complete 360 degrees round the bowl from where you started. The idea is not to over mix as you do not need a very smooth mixture, infact mixture should still be quite lumpy!


5. Put mixture into freezer till you are ready to fry.


6. Prove your frying pan by melting a little butter and oil into the pan at medium heat till melted and slightly hot. Pour off oil into a mug for use while frying pancakes later.


7. Reduce heat completely to low and if pan is very hot remove from heat to cool a bit.


8. With a large cooking spoon or ladle, scoop out pancake mixture into frying pan and return to heat. Return mixture to freezer.


9. Fry on the one side till large bubbles appear, then flip over with slotted frying spoon. when it cooks underneath, you turn over into a covered serving dish.


10. Repeat 9 till all the mixture is finished.

Please note that the pancake mixture should never be left outside of the fridge when not in use, once you scoop out for frying return mixture to the freezer. This means that you will be making several trips to the freezer while frying, but not to worry, its worth the effort as the cold environment keeps the mixture in top condition and does not allow the flour to break down further. It is also important not to stir the mixture at all again after the initial 360 degrees stir. All you need to do to scoop in sections until you finish frying the pancakes.

Serve warm with pancake syrup; chocolate spread with a topping of vanilla ice cream; whipped cream; plain yoghurt topped with brown sugar; plain honey.

I am sure that you will enjoy this!

Corporate Jungle Rules of Engagement (2)....by Jenny Eason

I have been searching the web for a part (1) or (3) of this very interesting and hilarious point of view from a certain Jenny Eason. All I could come up with is that she must have been working with a company called Penspen and she evolved this fantastic must-read for all in the corporate world to read, imbibe and refer to as a corporate bible!

CORPORATE LESSONS

So, we will be going through change
Here’s three lessons from large corporations to help you survive change….

CORPORATE LESSON 1
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.
A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?”
The crow answered: "Sure, why not.”
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared,
Jumped on the rabbit... and ate it.


Moral of the story is….

To be sitting and doing nothing
you must be sitting very, very high up.

CORPORATE LESSON 2
A turkey was chatting with a bull.
"I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy.”
"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients."
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree.
The next day, after eating more dung, he reached the second branch.
Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree
Soon he was spotted by a farmer
Who promptly shot the turkey out of the tree.

Moral of the story:

Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there

CORPORATE LESSON3
A little bird was flying south for the winter.
It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field.
While it was lying there, a cow came by
and dropped some dung on it.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realise how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out!
He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate.
Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

Morals of this story are:

1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3) And when you're in deep shit,keep your mouth shut!

Beans Porridge - Stew Style

Beans Porridge Stew Style

If for any reason, you want to do without Palm Oil in your Beans, or you do not have access to reasonble quantity when you are abroad. Then you must try this my version of Beans because it lends itself effortlessly to rice dishes, bread, yam and pasta unlike the acquired taste of the palm oil based variety. Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 cups Beans (Black eye, brown)
3 cooking spooonfuls Vegetable Oil
11/2 vey large sized Onions
1-2 small sized red hot peppers
2 tablespoonful crayfish, ground
Beef or chicken stock
Seasonong cube

Preparation

De-hull, clean and wash beans (for Black eye variety, you may want to presoak over night in equal amount of water to cut cooking time). Shred and chop onions up finely, set aside. Grind peppers, set aside.

Cooking method

Boil beans in water at slightly higher level than the beans. Place 1/4 of the onions and cover (do not add salt at this stage)

Check intermitently for liquid levels and top up as needed. Now you need to keep repeating this process as the beans cooks to a very dark chocolate colour, never stirring so beans will reatin its individual shape, not mashed up.

Once the clour has changed considerably (If not certain repeat the top up at least once) and the liquid levels is at near bottom of the pot, set aside.

In a pan, fry up the rest of the onions in the oil. Add salt whil stirring occassionally, the trick here is to fry until the onions really caramelizes, but careful do not over burn! (the slightly burnt taste adds a smoky flavour to the beans!)

Add your crayfish and peppers, fry slightly. Add stock, simmer for a while before turning into the beans.

Add seasoning cube and salt to taste.

Cover simmer and set down when most of the liquid has dried up.

Ready to eat!

Yam Porridge Stew Style

This is one dish that each time I make, always elicits good reviews, here goes;
Ingredients
1/2 Medium size Yam
3 large sized tomatoes
1 large onion
3 small red hot peppers
1 tablespoon ground crayfish
1 small bunch green leafy vegetables (spinach, 'green', or melon)
Prawns/Shrimps/shredded beef or chicken/smoked or dried fish
4 cooking spoons Stock (optional)
Cooking Oil
Seasoning cube

Preparation
Slice in circles, peel, cube and wash yams (little more than sugar cube size). Boil in salted water till almost done. Drain and reserve in pot.

Wash and puree tomatoes and peppers. Peel and finely shred whole onion, set all aside.

In a large pot, place enough cooking oil (say 5/6 cooking spoonfulls) and heat, adding some pinches of salt for taste. Sweat the onion in the oil till translucent and add the pureed tomatoes and pepper.

Cook until all the liquid has evaporated from the tomato mixture, do not burn while stirring intermitently. Add your yams and stir henceforth with WOODEN spoon. Let yams fry a bit in the tomato mixture.

Add your stock depending on what meat you chose (beef stock for shredded beef etc), then your seasoning cube and preferred meat (If using seafood, from this step onwards up the tempo as seafood cooks real quick!). Stir real quick before adding your washed, shredded veggies.

Top with crayfish, sprinkle all over - do not stir!

Cover and cook over low heat for 5 mins or till veggies are tender but still green. Stir, and set pot aside from heat.

Serve.

Las Vegas in Pictures

The Wynn, Las Vegas. Story has it that Wynn bought up a couple of hotels on the Strip, tore them down and built the The Wynn. It has a simulated carribean landscape behind it and hosts a spectacular water show on its grounds.

Treasure Island is modeled after a treasure island and the pirate ship you see is one of the many berthed around the hotel that sits like a moat with ships around it.

Enter Ms. Uche Okonkwo - Luxury Brand Ambassador

Having heard so much about Uche Okonkwo's mighty strides in Luxury Fashion Branding, I chanced upon this website that had interviewed her.

Uche is the Director & Co-Founder of Luxe E.t.c.(http://www.luxe-etc.com/) the pioneer Strategy & Management Consultancy companyspecialized in the luxury industry, based in Paris. She is the Editor ofthe luxury business magazine, Luxe-Mag.Com (http://www.luxe-mag.com/) and also aPhD Candidate and Guest Lecturer at Ecole Superieur de Commerce, Rennes,one of France’s best business school.

Her book, Luxury Fashion Branding - Trends, Tactics and Techniques is available at major book stores world wide and at http://www.amazon.com/.

Please follow link below to read about her views on why the Luxury Fashion Industry and what really prompted her to write the book:

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/face2face/luxe-etc/uche-okonkwo-interview.asp

On Currency Redomination and Strategy for the Naira

Good God was I excited when I read this news in ThisDayonline! Our Naira is going to get a face lift against the US$ and of course other currencies. It works like this: If you have N1,000.00, you simply shift the decimal points 2 spaces o the left and it becomes N10.00. So in essence, for every $1.00, the Naira equivalent will be N1.25. This is an attempt to bring the Naira close to what it was pre-1985.

In a 13-page message, the Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo engaged the Nigerian press/public yesterday stressing that the time was ripe for such a change......And. I. believe him. As an economist. I can pretty much see where he is going. The indices are currently favourable: our Foreign Reserves are in $trillions; inflation is single digit; our GDP recorded a 6% growth; we have a democracy; we have carried out successful reforms; we have paid off our external debts; internal debts are being paid and so on.

So I guess this is a right time as never to carry out this landmark assignment n behalf of the Nigerian people.

Also if the micro economics can be kept right, i.e Inflation then we are on our way to seeing a strong Naira in the future.

Therefore the question is Micro-management of the economy from henceforth!

All other economics should fall in place, market prices of basic amenities and foodstuff will align if production costs are realigned, everything should fall into place, hopefully!

The Government must also try to settle outstanding issues such as the Nigerdelta problem, our ailing Refineries, Boost and encourage exports and keep Government spending low to encourage the real sector.

It is a wait and see situation!
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=86340

Secrets of a Manhattan Nanny

Before the wake of Scarlet Johansson's Nanny Diaries movie set to debut by August 24, 2007. Here's a true life rendition of Nanny Diaries as it occured to Kate Johnson on Timesonline.co.uk.

This topic is particularly intersting to me because at some point in my life yours truly was out in those Upper Eastside Mahattan apartments pasting up Looking for A Nanny ADs way back in '95.

Read on......



I arrived in New York, aged 27, for a holiday – and stayed. Nanny friends got me a job: I had no experience, but I had an English accent, which Upper East Siders loved (especially when their kids copied it). I lived in a tiny studio apartment on East 85th Street. The hours were long: starting before the parents left for work, finishing after they arrived home. Being in their home all day meant I knew far too much about them: medical prescriptions, arguments, I even knew how often one couple had sex, thanks to the housekeeper who changed their 400-threadcount Frette sheets every day.
All my employers had huge apartments, generally on the exclusive Upper East Side. Immaculate (thanks to a live-in housekeeper), with polished wooden floors, marble bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes packed with colour-coded Armani suits and Prada handbags, and views over Central Park: they were a movie set.
Often there was no evidence of family life, such as toys or drawings stuck to the fridge, and the framed photographs weren’t of the kids but celebrity friends (I recall Al Pacino and John McEnroe). One mother was at home all day: I felt like a paid confidante when she read her riveting divorce papers to me (affairs, alienation of affection, mental imbalance). When I saw her bedroom walls, where she’d slashed the silk to ribbons with a kitchen knife because she believed her husband had planted tiny spy cameras, I wondered if he had a point about the imbalance.
The longer a nanny stays, the more she sees. One friend, Juliet, arrived for work and heard the husband, Randall, beating the wife, Susan, in the bedroom. Susan was saying: “Stop! You’re going to kill me.”
That weekend Juliet went with Susan and the children to the family’s house in the Hamptons. The telephone rang, and Juliet answered. It was Randall. Susan refused to speak to him. She told Juliet to tell him he was a “f****** asshole”. Juliet said: “Randall, I’m not sure how to say this . . . Susan says you’re a f****** ass-hole.” Randall replied: “Really? Tell her she’s a f****** bitch”, and hung up. He thought Juliet had taken sides, and took his revenge. When Juliet was returning some of the children’s rented DVDs, he asked her to return one of his too. So she returned Barney, The Flintstones– and a hardcore porn flick called Anus the Menace.
Some nannies lived with the family (always in a room the size of a drawer), or were given an apartment. The danger of that was that if you lost your job, you lost your home. Living-in meant living by their rules: that could be anything from being told to slice, not scrape, the butter at breakfast, to having an 11pm curfew imposed on your one night off, to working six days a week (and dropping the kids at school on the seventh before starting your day off). Or worse: Teresa was folding laundry one evening when the father appeared, made some uncomfortable small talk, then grabbed a pair of her knickers from the basket and said: “Can I have these?” She said: “Er, no,” and he laughed it off, but the underwear disappeared a few days later. That was the last time she lived in.
Some nannies let the opulence go to their heads: Matisse on the walls, kitchens big enough for blow-up pools for the kids’ parties, Alist friends – it was heady stuff. I heard one nanny say: “We’re looking for a summer house in the Hamptons for $5 million and we can’t find anything, it’s awful.”
But if some nannies blurred the boundary between employer and employee, the bosses never did. We were domestic staff, kept behind the green baize door. One nanny was surprised to be invited to her bosses’ 40th birthday party (which cost more than her salary). When she arrived her boss said: “Take. These. Children. Home.”
Although one mother would literally follow me around the apartment to check that I was working, generally if they weren’t at work they were at charity fundraisers or shopping all day. Nannies spent far more time with the children than they did. Christine correctly diagnosed autism in a child, having spent hours researching it. The parents ignored it: months later a specialist confirmed it.
Parental apathy frustrated some: I was relieved. I lost a ten-year-old boy in Central Park for a hysteria-inducing five minutes (he slipped through the playground fence while my back was turned). When I told the mother I said, gravely: “Something terrible happened today.” She listened, nodding and flicking imaginary fluff off her tight, short, baby-pink Chanel suit. When I finished she laughed and said: “Oh, Gaaaahd! He does that to me all the time. Forget it!”
Professional nannies took their jobs seriously: being trustworthy was their USP and they loved their charges as their own. It wasn’t always appreciated. Andrea was a Norland nanny (the crème de la crème). She worked, in uniform, for a family for 15 years, looking after three children from birth. As she prepared to leave the job, she became increasingly tearful about saying goodbye to the kids. The mother caught her crying after a child’s birthday party and said: “What’s all the fuss? Say goodbye to them in the park tomorrow, and then don’t come in again.” Andrea was devastated. Adding insult to injury, the going rate for a golden handshake was $1,000 per year worked: Andrea got a Tiffany silver frame.
In fact, professional nannies earned decent salaries. But being in someone’s house where there was no formal employment structure, no contract, no personnel department, made it hard to ask for a pay rise, or even a holiday (you fit in with theirs).
Clare dared to ask for a pay rise after three years, and her boss said: “You wouldn’t be asking if you didn’t spend $300 on shoes”: those girly chats about Miu Miu platforms didn’t seem so cosy any more. Louise received a yearly pay rise in line with inflation and a $500 Christmas bonus, though she said it was hard to be overwhelmed when she knew that her bosses netted $1million in bonuses.
I never stayed long enough at a job to think about a pay rise, but I remember being embarrassed that although I was trusted with the children all day, one mother would give me $10 for milk and then ostentatiously count out the change in front of me to check that I hadn’t pocketed a dollar.
Good nannies weren’t promoted, they were demoted. The reward for years of loyal service, once the children were at school all day, was dog-walking, grocery shopping, PA duties or dry cleaning (with explicit instructions: “Careful, that’s Gucci!”).
I loved seeing how the masters of the universe lived. It wasn’t so fabulous: they were never on their own, there were always nosey staff (like me) hanging around. They weren’t all bad. One father caught me napping (in his bed) while the baby slept. He didn’t fire me, or tell his wife, who definitely would have. They moved to Connecticut soon after, but that was obviously just coincidence.

naijablog: Dreaming of Jos

There are certain people in Naija that are making a difference to the future of our food security here. And Norma is one of them.

Please follow link here to discover.
http://naijablog.blogspot.com/2007/08/dreaming-of-jos.html#links

It is really impressive to read through Jeremy's blog and find such dedication to her crops and her customers.

The following was culled from New Dawn website about robbery tactics and security measures to take to prevent the recent robbery onslaught in recent times in the Lagos metropolis..........

Please be guided and share with colleagues.
As you are probably aware, the spate of criminality in Lagos in the last few days has reached an alarming stage in which all staff resident in these areas need to exercise extra caution in carrying out their daily and nightly choirs. This is rampant in VI, LEKKI & IKOYI in recent days.
MODUS OPERANDIArmed robbers mostly in their youth of ages ranging from 17yrs to 24yrs have been noticed to be the culprits. In the most recent cases, five different techniques have been adopted.
1. They rode in Okada and are mostly three in numbers or in convoy of two motorbikes carrying one or two persons on each motor bike. They usually targeted their victims and followed them closely while the person is heading home both during the day and at night.
2. On the road while driving, they follow their target closely praying that he/she might stop to buy some things while the traffic is slow. In this case they will block their victim and one of them will Flash a fake identity card claiming to be a security agent and once he gains entrance into your car he points his pistol at you and commands you to drive him straight to your house under gun point.3. They also pretend to be hawkers of recharge cards on the road. They carry used and unused recharge cards and an unsuspecting person who winds down car glasses to make a purchase especially at night falls victim to them and they will attack the person and dispossess him/her of his/her valuables and if the person is unlucky they might injure him/her ...
4. It has also being noticed that most of these Armed robbers who use these Motorbike uses illegal motor bike repair spots especially within Lekki. Osborne road area as a base to watch out for their unsuspecting Victims.
5. The most recent method adopted by these robbers is to throw old used tyres on approaching vehicles or use these tyres to narrow the road so that motorist will slow down.PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES.The following are tips to exercise caution in this kind of situation.
1. Be vigilant at all times while driving and ensure that you doors are firmly locked while you are inside.
2. Buy your recharge cards while you are in the office or at home and avoid buying things in traffic, it has become very costly to do that.

3. Before you branch off to your gate at night watch carefully through your side/inner mirrors and if possible contact your security personnel in your house or any of your family member ...to let them know that you are on your way home.
4. If you notice any unusual gathering of Motorbikes around your neighborhood probably as motorbike repair spots kindly report to the nearest Police station.
While driving to work early in the morning, control your speed and always look ahead of you and if you're being driven by a driver advice him accordingly and also watch out as well.
5. Incase you are being accosted by these evil men, don't panic, don't move your hands unless they asked you to do so, be calm and leave your engine running unless advised otherwise.
Let us be security conscious at all times.

For the current Affairs Junkies, welcome the 10X10

http://www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html

While looking for avenues to keep myself updated I stumbled upon the site above. Created by Johnathan Harris, its indeed very ingenious and brilliant way to know what happens aound the world by the hour.

The top 100 news culled from top news merchants like Reuters, BBC and New York Times in the form of a Grid of 100 news captions with corresponding news pictures.

Please follow link above for Grid, if not visible on this page.

The Desert that is Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a pretty new city with a blooming population and is like ten American cities rolled into one. When in downtown Vegas you can be in any regular city like NY or Boston and then you juxtapose that with all the glitz and glamour of the STRIP and then of course you have the Suburbs. The very popular 'STRIP' is where all the hotels and Casinos reside with its bright lights and splendor is a beauty to behold at night! We drove by the more popular streets on the Strip and then I spotted the several chapels that stars usually go for quick fix marriages, We even saw the 'Little Chapel of the Flowers' - where I believe Elvis wedded and another that advertised Michael Jordan and Patty Labelle, I believe.

It was fascinating to see that their were so many new residential areas coming up and most offering rent free months and other attractions....it seemed to me as an observer that Las Vegas though with its inclement weather will witness a lot of immigrants into the city.

Going down the Cheyenne Avenue, I noticed a lot of homeless people, more than I had ever seen in any American city! I asked my hostess and she told us that they were once happy-go-lucky gamblers. Gamblers who had gambled all their life savings away and are now left to roam the streets of the city.

Basically the temperature averages 100 - 120 degrees farenheit and for a first time visitor it can be frightfully hot!

So far I have taken the kids to about five different malls and have gone to see the water show, and spent a whole day at rides at the Circus circus theme park.

Next stop will be the Stratosphere and the glitzy night life of the SIN CITY!

Genevive Magazine and the Jegede-Ekpe HIV/AIDS Saga

I hope I am not belabouring this issue but Molara Woods view nails it! Just bumped into the link below:

http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/1888/1/Genevieve-Betty-Irabor-and-AIDS-PEOPLE/Page1.html

Enjoy!

Las Vegas

I came out here on the 19th of July with my kids for our annual vacation.

We took a flight from MM airport Lagos to Schiphol, Amsterdam and spent about 6 hours on air. We also had a waiting time of 3 hours before we connected to North Western NW to Detroit. That was another tiresome 8-9 hours on air. We got into the American airspace and had to go through Customs and Border protection CBP officials. There the officer looked my passport up and asked what I had spent the longest period in the US in '04 doing and I confirmed that I had my last baby during that period. Having said that he went on to enquire what I/husband did for a living, If I was pregnant again and how long I was staying on this trip. I answered him to the best of my ability because their system never lies.. from there I knew he could tell where I worked because earlier on in '07 I had toured 3 US cities -NY, DC & Houston AND we had had a running march with the CBP at NY airport. We came for an Investment promotion roadshow for my company and so had tons of promotional materials which they labelled commercial merchandise (though branded with our logo!). We spent 5 hours at the airport with them arguing and basically trying to get the duty down. So I know for sure that that info would pop up alond side my name.

I was not pregnant and without much ado he gave us up to Jan 08 the mandatory six months window to stay.

My kids and I just barely made it to the next NW flight to Las Vegas and that was another 3-4 hours on the air.

We had in all logged about 20 hours of flight time and I did this with children btw the ages of 8 and 2. It was great self-fulfilling prophesy of agony!

Finally we got picked up by our gracious hosts, Eudy and Pete and we proceeded through the rustic, dusty and Xtreme hot highways of Vegas passing through exciting landmarks that I only got to know about through James Hardley Chase novels and lastly the very recent, Ocean's 13 movie.

Proud to say that I keep very well indoors and out of the merciless sun which is akin to what you would find in the hot deserts of the Sahara and maybe the borders of Chad republic. Where I can only imagine that the hottest temperatures exist.

I have taken to night crawling i.e, coming out only at night to get groceries and to shop. While we sit waiting for my first son's appointment with the doctor's for minor surgery, I bid my time to update you each day on the beauties of Vegas.

So stayed tuned to this page.

Sankofa Multicultural Festival 2007-Houston, TX

Houston, USA – The city of Houston, Texas was set aglow as many International people sought to reclaim, understand & appreciate their roots during the 3rd Annual Sankofa Multicultural Event on June 30 th,2007 at the Bella Aida Gardens.

A collection of African Empowering performers gathers in Houston to strut their stuff at the Sankofa Festival.

In addition to art and music, a multitude of family activities took place including Head-Tie Living arts demonstrations by Segun Gale, a bona fide kiddies Old school march dubbed Change your style, NLN the best women are from Africa contests, "African Kirk Franklin" Sammie Okposo Guest appeared, Delighted Poetry reading from the audience and splendid performance by Inertia Justice and much, much more!

Moderated by the producer of the show Linda Johnson Ofukeme and 2006 Miss Kenya "Eunice".







Visit www.sankofafestivity.com

My Friend Hard at Work at the Spa!

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Sights of Lagos

Could not resist this shot.

This is one day in the life of the average Lagos market woman, buying bulk produce for retailing. If you look carefully at the truck you can find baskets of tomatoes and tubers of yam ready for the local markets where they reside to sell. These women take care of at least 2 or more children and their households with the income they make from this petty trade.

The average woman in the Lagos metropolis works or does some sort of trade. The commercial viability of the city often helps. Any hardworking person in this city can afford not to go hungry if the person can put together small amounts of capital to start a petty trade either in roasted/boiled groundnuts, roasted plantain, roasted yam, pure water (satchet water on-the-go) and many other food items hawked along the streets of Lagos on daily basis to raise income to keep body and soul together.

In Ghana and certain parts of India, micro financing has helped petty traders to live a life of their dreams. These people usually fall below the radar of lending from banks simply because they are regarded as un-bankable due to size. So discerning social entrepreneurs provide relief by offering at least $100 each to market women/men. Such lending is done on the back of the already existing local contributory credit system called Osusu common among the west African countries.

The women know each other, trust each other and act as surety for one another and repay the loans from their weekly profits. Most times a failed debt becomes the debt of the entire group and this keeps default rate low.

In African culture where the woman is often left in charge of the household, transforming a woman's fortune is akin to sustainable development as it means better education, health care and nutrition for their offsprings and indeed society!

Hot Water and Heart Attacks

This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about heart attacks. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot green tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating.

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this "sludge" reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and may lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

Lagos Metropolis - Imagined

This is something I came across on Jeremy Weate's blog. It makes for interesting viewing!
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Your next destination in Lagos...Funtopia!

This should be where you want to go to next in Lagos (with family and friends) -Highly recommended!

">Link Funtopia, Lekki/Aja EXPWY (after VGC)

Loads and loads of fun family time....

It has a totally unspoiled beauty, clean and well maintained. You have to pay gate though, I think about N1,500 ($12) per person. Full catering inside and lots of games, rides and a play pen/baby pool.

Will visit the Nigerian Conservation Site this Saturday, promise to bring you pictures of the visit.

Lagos Palaver!!!

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Has anyone seen Lagos in the rains? This is Iponri - Surulere exactly opposite the Iponri Shopping Complex, Lagos this rainy season.

All Vehicles in Lagos state are amphibians. They can swim, back flip and breast stroke in windshield-high waters caused by a variety of problems, inadequate drainage, inadequate utility maintenance, bad roads, poor environmental habits, human factors etc. It is also painful to think that we have had 8 years of (mis) rule from Gov. Tinubu. I am not going to talk about what obtains in Ikoyi/Victoria Island/Lekki, I will simply bring those pictures to the forum when next I blog.

Finally! my GMAT score

I feel so accomplished with the fact that i have given myself an impetus for advancement by scoring 700 on my GMAT. It has taken me no less than 12 years of nurturing the dream to do Ivy League MBA. My first attempt at MBA has proved to be no mean task, coping with work life balance had been taking its toll on my dreams for this length of time.



I did something really incredible today while browsing the net for scholarship, i was reminded of a website that a dear friend had talked about. The site hosted by Joint Japan/World Bank profiled a couple of study areas eligible for scholarship consideration by prospective applicants to the fund; Economics, Health, Policy, Agriculture and the like, subject areas that should help the average LDC attain their MDGs by the 2010.



The site had not listed my area of proposed study, Entrepreneurship which i considered very relevant to economic development of both the individual and the country. Going through all the Fund's criteria for eligibility I found that I seriously stood a chance albeit the non-inclusion of my area of study.



Being that I had a passion for the subject area and felt that the Fund's processes had not been reviewed for a while, I settled to write a PROTEST email to them. I found myself trying to justify to them how my country would benefit from this concept and how my ex President had within the last year established an institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in one of our local Universities.

This he felt was a new global trend that deserved attention.



I am also browsing several other sites with the hope of turning up the winning formula for a scholarship, BTW, if anyone is kind enough to lead me to some Internet destinations which could provide me with all my needs, i will be most grateful.



Let keep persevering as we hold the dream! Peace!

How Not To Win Elections.....2

Hello, Is there anyone out there keenly following up on Nigerian news? We just got a BIG! BIG!! surprise in the news yesterday here in Nigeria! Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State won a judgement in the Supreme Court against current governor who got elected in phantom electoral process I described in my first How Not To Series. Governor Obi ought to serve out a 4-year tenure going by the Constitution starting from when he was installed as governor BUT his mandate was never handed over to him but to certain favourable person to the government. He was however re-instated (temporarily) eventually through the justice system and the same system has given him back HIS mandate. It's a real way forward for Nigeria.

This thing called LUCK...

Is Luck ephemeral? or is it a given? Does it just occur naturally only to dissipate when you question its existence?

I have a colleague who says that what ever she wishes for she gets and for as long as she has lived its been that way for her......I really do not know what to think because as far as I am concerned mine seem to come in spurts of luck. Here today, gone tomorrow!

No matter how much I will it to stay it rarely does! The circumstance that I am going through today is a typical case in point. I needed to get something done very quickly, got there early and got disappointed, but by some stroke of luck, overnight my hard working partner strived to accomplish the task at about 12 midnight (not much sleep for him) and gave me the good news of success this morning, needless to say, I was so happy and trusted my luck. As I felt content browsing, this morning, he comes up to me saying that all the information downloaded had gotten lost overnight due to power outage! OMG!The temp office had no back-up facility, no generators, no inverters, nothing!

Tough Luck!!! But as the Good Book says, " Praise God in all things, whether good or bad,' so I have resorted to do just that today.

God almighty, I praise you even for all my floundering, I still give you thanks because you know my end from my beginning! Praise Be.

The How Not To Series.....

1. How not to conduct an election in the 21st Century - Cue from the recently concluded general elections in Nigeria where massive voting took place only on the pages of the Result Sheets and not in the actual electoral booths! Apparently, in one location in Imo state, voters turned up to vote, cast their votes quite alright but guess what? - the Returning Officers had no sheets to record the results on. Where? the sheets never arrived! Not that it was meant to!

Add your interesting bit to the How Not To Series....

What do we call this - mid career crisis?

I do not know how many women out there can identify with this situation - You are suddenly at a point in your life where you must stop in order to grow! You have children (which is perfect) AND a career that feels not quite so perfect. You know in your heart that you must change, positively so that you can catch up. May be it has to do with giving life to your children, maybe it has to do with multitasking your life away or maybe you just expect so much of yourself or may be just not! For me, there are times when I feel that I should have given that shot at MBA good opportunity to thrive rather than get married immediately after university and proceed to procreate. That might have been better career wise because I graduated with the best degree result in my year and my Thesis supervisor felt I had done brilliant research! I suppose I should support myself and get back and do the MBA but it does not work out quite so easily....
1. What does one do with 3 children while leaving your country to study for an MBA ?
2. How does the Husband cope for 18 months plus?
3. Who will ensure that home standards are maintained?
4. How do balance off preparing for GMAT with work and home issues because you want to get into the top grad schools with possibly a scholarship?
5. How do you support this 12 year old dream? (age is not on my side, as well) Any Answers?