FOR THE FUN OF GARRI

 

By Owoyemi Agbejule

It's really a life saver.

You don't need a first class degree to know how to 'soak' Garri, all you need is a cup or bowl. If you are scared of your stomach, don't forget spoon or if you are like me, a typical Ijebu boy, then your hand is enough to do the trick. You can add sugar if you like but, I love that tingling feeling without sugar that elicits an exciting frown when the Garri comes in contact with the taste buds.

If you grew up like me you take it with either eran dindin (fried meat) or eja dindin (fried fish). You could also take it with Kuli-kuli which usually gives the satisfaction of hearing your teeth crunch it with ease. Coconut can also do the trick. If you don’t know how to do the Garri well, all you need do is just add cold water and have a lot of ice playing Merry-go-Round in the cup or bowl. Mind you, I advise that you go with Ijebu Garri, but if you don't have access to that my brothers and sisters make do with what you have. 

For ages it has been a very useful companion as it plays different roles to different individual across the social strata. Garri does not discriminate. The rich, the not-so-rich and the poor turn to it as in-between meals, main meal or to replace some kind of exotic snacks.

If you don't have enough in that pocket of yours don't panic just buy twenty naira (N20) garri. Pour it into your bowl, add water to a very reasonable level, cover it and go visit a friend or go see a movie. By the time you get back you would think you added yeast.

My brother and sister I can go on and on but let me stop here. Continue to enjoy your garri and be creative about it.

NAOMI OSAKA: SUCCESS TURNING THINGS AROUND

By Emma Ugolee

Unlike Nigeria where mixed race people (half Caucasian, Asian or Caribbean) are often easily admired and preferential treatment almost guaranteed, the exact opposite is the case in a lot of countries. Apartheid South Africa called then Coloureds. The Government in Zambia and Zimbabwe didn't go easy on the Goffal, which was the outcast term for mixed people

The Japanese are probably the worst of all at maltreating the biracial. They called them Hafu.

In 1998 a hafu girl was born to a black father. Mr Francoise. For loving a black man, her mother was ostracized from her family for a decade. The experience the child brought was one to be remembered for life so they named her Osaka by the city of her birth. Naomi Osaka.

That was the same name inscribed on the trophy for the winner of the U.S Open. With a cash prize that raised her worth to $7.3m outside an Addidas and Nissan deal. But that's just half of the story.

The main gist is that the whole of Japan is now "claiming relationship" with this 20-year-old who had to migrate to the US with her family at age 3. 

Nissi foods Japan has endorsed with millions of dollars. Others are negotiating. The news got her Japanese grandpa crying with pride on tv that his grand child is the 1st Japanese in history to win this. This was the same man that orchestrated the 10year long family ban on her and her family.

Success and her many relatives vs Failure the orphan. 

Lesson for me and you. Those who disassociate themselves from you when you are down should never be a cause for despair. Thier disloyalty has no business with your ability to find your feet again. In their trade mark shamelessness, they remember ties once you rise.

I was at the video shoot some 13years or so ago when my bro @uzodinmaokpechi shot this Nkem Owohs rendition of Stanley Okories song. As we all laughed at the comic side of his act, I remember Nkem Owoh saying. "Success na still the best answer anyday".

His words are still as potent today. Ignore how many are in your corner. Eyes on the prize and win. It changes everything.