Making some extra money: buying property in the U.S

     I love listening to Dan Foster's breakfast show on Inspiration FM 92.3. A couple of mornings ago, a  I learned about a company called International Property Development Consortium (IPDC). What they do is to help interested parties purchase property in the U.S. These properties are much cheaper than the ones available here in Nigeria. One guy even called in to endorse the company. He talked about how the guys at IPDC helped him purchase a 2-bedroom house in the U.S for 5 million naira. Now, he gets a rent of $700 monthly on that house. This has really piqued my interest oh!!

     The IPDC representative also talked about their referral program. What happens is that for every person you refer who buys a property, you make a clean $2000 dollars. When you refer up to 7 people, you get a ticket to the U.S and some other perks.
     Anyways, the IPDC is holding a U.S property seminar tomorrow, 30th of September, at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. You will learn how to own a property investment in the U.S and make a profit from it. You will also learn how to get a Green card through your property investment. Finally, you will learn how to double your funds within a year by buying and selling U.S homes. It's FREE to attend!!
     Just thought I'd let you guys know. I wish I could go but I already have plans!! Have a great weekend!

Fomsky

*To visit the Facebook page of International property consortium, click HERE.
*To visit the official website of the International Property Consortium, click HERE.

Not another Yar'Adua! Do Nigerians need to know what is wrong with Patience Jonathan?

     I don't know if anyone has noticed but our first lady has been away from the country for. First of all, the gist was that she had suffered from food poisoning. I'm a little confused here: did she leave the country for medical treatment abroad because she had symptoms of food poisoning?

     Next, we heard conflicting stories about her condition. One party claimed that she had undergone a fibroid removal surgery. Another 'trusted' source also claimed that she had undergone an appendicectomy. By the way, these are common surgeries done in Nigeria everyday... so if this were true, why would she travel outside the country to be treated in the first place? This is why it would be difficult to improve the state of our health sector.... when government officials keep travelling outside the country to treat simple ailments! If they all got treated here, I'm sure our hospitals will all be of international standard!!

     Anyways, the latest gist is that she has Parkinson's disease!! All these rumours!! This is how it started with late President Yar'Adua. To the extent that when they flew him back home from Saudi Arabia, he never made a public appearance till he died. How do we even know that he was conscious when he was brought back? For all we know, he might have been in a coma! Till today, we don't even know what killed our last president. I don't think that's fair: we elected him and we must know certain details about our president. When you run for office, you are giving up your  privacy to a major extent!
     I know that Dame Patience is not the president but why is her sickness shrouded in secrecy? Our leaders should learn to open up about their ailments. Or should we mind our business? Do we deserve to know what ails our leaders? Or not?

Fomsky

Making Banga soup the easy way!

     As a true Urhobo girl from Delta State, I grew up eating banga soup and starch on a regular basis. My hubby, although  a Cross Riverian, loves Banga soup too. However, I don't have that time to boil the banga fruit and squeeze it like my mom did when I was younger. Some people also complain that Banga has too much oil.  I will show you how I make this delicious dish in an easy and HEALTHY way.

Cooking time: about 6-8 hours (start preparing this a day before you intend to eat it! )

Ingredients needed

1. 1 tin of palm nut concentrate 
2. 1-2 smoothly blended onions 
3. 1 - 2 tsps of already packaged banga spices (who has the time to buy the original herbs and blend them? ) 
4. 1 tsp of blended 'Beletete' (you will find this in the market or any supermarket that carries Nigerian foodstuff)
5. Salt 
6. Maggi 
7. Dry Pepper 
8. 1/2 handful of washed bitterleaf (optional) 
9.  Meat (the quantity you desire) 
10.  Dried fish OR Fresh fish (this is the better of the two) 
11.  Blended Crayfish (optional if you already added fish) 

Instructions

1. Empty the contents of the palmnut concentrate into a pot. Add about 1 litre of water and bring to boil. Let it boil for an additional 15 minutes 
2. Allow to cool and freeze it for about 4 -6 hours. Don't let it get rock hard, just firm enough so you can scoop the oil from the top. 
3. When it is firm enough, you will notice that the soup has separated into the oil on top AND the actual Banga fruit at the bottom. Scoop off the excess oil from the top, leaving a little though [if you take off everything, your soup might be too dry]. 
4. Put your pot back on the stove. Add a little more water if the soup is too thick. Bring it to boil. 
5. Add  meat, fish, onions and crayfish.
6. Cover your pot and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. 
7. Add banga spices and 'beletete'. 
8. Add salt and maggi 
9. Add bitterleaf. [This heightens the taste of the Banga].
10. If you used fresh fish, take it now and put aside. You can add it back when the soup is cooked.
11. Allow the soup to boil till you obtain the consistency you desire [some people like their Banga soup thick while others like it light] 

 Voila! A healthy and enjoyable dish!

Eat with eba, pounded yam or best of all STARCH! Bon Appétit!
    

Fomsky

Lagos: the city of hustle and bustle!

     When I was getting my son ready for school this morning, he told me that he needed slippers for his swimming club. Guess what? His slippers were cut. I didn't know whether the shoe maker near my house would be at his stand by 7.30 am. To my amazement, he was. Usually, when I do school runs in the morning, I'm in such a hurry so I don't notice my environment. Today, I took a few extra seconds to look around and I saw IT! The Lagos bustle! Everyone was so busy: road side shops were already open, people were hawking products, children were being dropped off in school....

The bustling Balogun market in Lagos

A typical roadside stall in Lagos!

Lagos is really a bustling city: I don't know how many cities where the citizenry are up and about as early as 5.30 am!

Fomsky

ANOTHER fuel scarcity!?

     While I was driving out this morning, I noticed that the fuel queues were extremely long: the line in front of the Oando station was the longest stretching from the Ikate roundabout to the Lekki 2nd gate roundabout (just in case you don't live in Lekki, this stretch is about 1 km. This particular scarcity is worse than the last one where I had to spend an hour to buy fuel. I'm sure this time I'll spend no less than 3 HRS!!

   One newspaper reported that the  few number of private marketers and tightening of supply by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had contributed to the situation. I don't think that is the REAL ISSUE here. In a nation that is one of the world's largest producers of crude oil? We export the crude oil for other people to refine. What stupidity as far as I'm concerned!!
     I'm pleading with our leaders to save us from all these petrol issues and do the right thing: build more refineries!

Fomsky