₦airaland Forum

“Water Voices: From Stories to Solutions” is a digital initiative inviting young people worldwide to submit:

Theme -
Water, Up Close
Show us water as it lives in your day." This invites the intimate and ordinary: hands at a tap or a well, a vessel being carried, a meal, a wash, a queue, a moment of rest by a river. The idea underneath: water is not an abstraction or a statistic but a daily relationship, and photographing it up close reveals how differently that relationship is lived from one life to the next, without anyone having to say so. It rewards observation over equipment, which keeps it open to everyone.

Submission Guidelines:
• Open to participants of all ages, nationalities, and experience levels.
• Water must be a central element of the photograph and align with the competition theme.
• Photographs may be taken using any device, including smartphones and professional cameras.
• Only one photograph may be submitted per theme.
• Images must be original and captured by the participant.
• AI-generated or AI-manipulated images are strictly prohibited.
• Basic editing (cropping, exposure, color correction, black-and-white conversion) is permitted. Manipulation that alters the reality of the scene is not allowed.
• Each submission must include a caption of up to 150 words describing the location, date, context, and story behind the image.
• Photographs must be submitted in JPEG (.jpg/.jpeg) format.
By submitting an entry, participants confirm that they own the copyright to the image and agree to the World Water Council's use of the photograph for promotional, educational, exhibition, communication, and archival purposes with full photographer credit.
We look forward to seeing your unique perspective on water and the stories it connects.

Apply here


https:///KnHfz6eJUdB2fT5c7

Mushriks forever end in hell. Oh Allah protect our hearts from such

She had no chance honestly. Fintiri na vampire

TheLoanGuy:
Yes, of course. Your certificate of travel insurance will not even carry the amount that you paid, it'll state that it covers the 30k Euro that you require.

That's how insurance works, you'll most likely not ever need to use it. It's almost like free money for the insurance companies, thousands of Nigerians if not hundred of thousands apply for Schengen visa yearly, and they have to get travel insurance when applying. What's the percentage of applicants that end up getting issued visas? Now from the successful applicants, how many people would end up using the travel insurance when they get to Europe? That should give you your answer.

Thank you

This is becoming embarrassing

TheLoanGuy:
Any Schengen health insurance you process online from Nigeria covers for the 30,000 Euros. You pay in Naira and it can cost between N5,000 - N20,0000 or more depending on the duration. You can use AXA, AIICO, Leadway or Allianz. Personally I use Allianz.

Thank you
The embassy will accept a 20k Naira insurance in exchange for the 30k euro?

advanceDNA:
Even if it’s one week….. ur coverage must be at least 30k euros or more… so that incase u fall sick or have an accident or need something more serious, ur insurance can cover you….dont get me wrong, insurance coverage doesnt mean thats what u will pay…ur insurance premium is way lesser….

Leadway or AXA shouldn’t charge u more than 15 to 20k for 7days insurance … but as tinubu don scatter every where, maybe it could be more

Thank you for the insights. Please guide me more on obtaining. Is the leadwAy or Axa acceptable?

advanceDNA:
Just use google to check companies online and compare rates cos they charge differently….if u dont have euros, that means u are stuck with Nigerian companies likes AXA or Leadway..

Shengen insurance must cover at least 30,000euros worth of health expense….if u buy anything lesser, embassy will deny your application…

Vaccine for what?? Is there are new disease in town.?

Whattttt 30k Euro? I will be there for just a week o before matching forward.

Hello Nlanders.

I will be having my interview next month at German embassy. I see that it's a requirement to get health insurance. Please how do I get one?

Also do i need any vaccine cards for traveling?
What other things is required that isn't likely on the website?

Thank you

brain54:
I have read about this before...


And I understand this model. But my question which no one has answered yet is how do these different commands operate and function as a unit or in sync?

Iran avoids that with three quiet mechanisms most analyses miss:
First, they don’t rely on constant communication, they rely on pre-agreed behavior.
Instead of waiting for orders in real time, units are trained around doctrines that already define what to do under specific conditions. Think less “call headquarters for instructions” and more “if X happens, you already know your role.” That means when communication is cut, coordination doesn’t collapse, it continues on rails that were laid long before the conflict began.
So synchronization is not always live.
It’s pre-programmed.
Second, they synchronize through intent, not control.
In many Western models, coordination comes from tight command and control—everyone moves because someone at the top is directing traffic. Iran flips that. The center defines intent (what must be achieved), but not always execution (how it must be done).
So multiple units can act differently but still align toward the same outcome.
It looks messy from the outside. But underneath, it’s converging.
Like separate rivers flowing toward the same ocean without needing to touch each other.
Third, redundancy replaces precision.
They don’t need perfect timing between units. They build overlap. Multiple units may be assigned similar objectives, knowing some will fail, some will be delayed, some will be compromised.
But enough will succeed.
That creates a different kind of “synchronization”, not clean, not simultaneous, but cumulative. Pressure builds from many directions, not one coordinated strike.
And here’s the part that answers your question directly:
They don’t always operate “in sync” in the way you’re imagining.
They operate in coherence.
Sync is about timing.
Coherence is about direction.
Iran sacrifices precision timing to guarantee continuity of action.
So instead of one perfectly coordinated blow that can fail if disrupted, you get sustained, overlapping actions that are harder to stop because they don’t depend on a single moment or signal.
That’s why even when parts of the system are hit, the whole doesn’t freeze.
It keeps moving, unevenly, imperfectly but in the same direction.
And in long conflicts, that matters more than perfect coordination.

Honestly this war has exposed lots of western hypocrisy. Be objective in your comments and I will have time to reply to your assumptions.

The Nation That Refused to Collapse

The hardest thing to understand about Iran is not its weapons, not its leaders, not even its ideology. It is this: Iran is one of the few states in modern history that has deliberately designed itself to function while broken.

Most countries build power like a tower. Clean hierarchy. Clear command. Remove the top, and gravity does the rest. That model has defined warfare from Napoleon Bonaparte to modern NATO doctrine.

Iran looked at that model and rejected it.

Not out of ignorance, but out of observation.

It watched what happened during the Iraq War. A massive army, centralized, proud, and gone in weeks once Saddam Hussein was removed. It watched Libya collapse after Muammar Gaddafi. It watched Afghanistan absorb twenty years of war and still refuse to resolve cleanly.

And Iran understood something uncomfortable:

Modern war does not destroy countries.
It destroys structure. So Iran rebuilt its structure to be unkillable. Not strong, unkillable.

They call it “mosaic defense.” But that name hides how radical it really is. Iran reorganized its military into dozens of semi-independent commands—31, to be precise—each with its own leadership, intelligence, and operational autonomy.

That is not decentralization for efficiency. That is decentralization for survival. Each unit is designed to keep functioning even if Tehran goes silent. Even if commanders are eliminated. Even if communication collapses. Iran assumes, from the beginning, that in a real war, it will be hit hard, blinded, infiltrated, and partially destroyed and it builds forward from that assumption.

Other nations ask: how do we prevent disruption?
Iran asks: how do we operate inside disruption?
That difference is everything.

Even succession is weaponized. Iran doesn’t just have backups, it has layers of successors pre-assigned multiple ranks deep, so that command doesn’t pause, it simply… shifts. No confusion. No vacuum. No moment of hesitation for an enemy to exploit.

Kill a general, and the system does not mourn. It adjusts.
And then there is the part most people misunderstand: infiltration.

Yes, intelligence agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency or Mossad can penetrate Iranian networks. That has happened. It will keep happening.

But Iran’s system is not built on the assumption of loyalty. It is built on the certainty of betrayal.

Layers watch layers. Information is fragmented. Units operate on pre-defined doctrines rather than constant instruction. So even when something is exposed, the damage is contained not because Iran is impenetrable, but because it is prepared to be penetrated.

This is not secrecy. This is controlled leakage.
And then comes the most unsettling part: cost.
Iran does not try to outmatch its enemies symmetrically. It doesn’t need to. It invests in asymmetry, cheap drones, decentralized strikes, proxy pressure, economic disruption. A drone that costs tens of thousands can force an adversary to spend millions to stop it.

That is not warfare aimed at victory.
That is warfare aimed at exhaustion.

Even after heavy losses, destroyed infrastructure, killed commanders, degraded fleets—Iran continues to strike, disrupt shipping routes, and impose economic pressure. Because the goal was never to remain untouched. The goal was to remain functional.

And that is where most analyses fail. They measure Iran by what it loses, not by what it retains. Iran does not need to dominate the battlefield.

It only needs to deny you a clean ending. Because the real question it asks is not “Can we win?”

It is far more patient than that.
“How long can you keep paying the price of trying to make us lose?”
That is Iran’s doggedness. Not loud. Not glorious. Not cinematic.
Just stubborn, calculated endurance.

And history has a quiet rule that empires learn too late:
Wars are not always decided by who is stronger.
They are decided by who is still standing when everyone else is too tired to continue.

Subhanallah...why are we always in crisis. There are progress and there are significant problems that keep compounding.

TenQ:
I have lived in the North a long time to understand the issue


It's all about Presentation.
In the South, you can find Amala in the lowest roadside buka as well as in big polished Eateries. You can go to the type of eatery that suits your class.

Unfortunately, in the North it is difficult to find posh eateries that serve Tuwo Shinkafa, Tuwo Masara, Tuwo Dawa with Miyan Luka or Mayan Taoshe...etc

What Southerners see are just the low end eateries from the girl who hawks to the low-end bukaterias.

This is the problem.


Secondly, the Northern culture of Alimajiris scavenging in eateries without recourse to decorum makes it a culture-shock to the average Southerner. I cannot tolerate someone kicking a plate I am going to be using to eat.


I stopped taking the Local Yogurt Fura de Nunu in the North because of this even though I used to enjoy it so much. How can I stand 6 boys licking the empty bowl after I finish taking the product?

The third is about packaging!
This is how food is presented during serving: usually on the average not to appetising.
My experience with Danwake will make me vomit.
I guess I may be able to eat Danwake ONLY if it is cooked in a Rich Hausa friend house. But from my experience, it was like something prepared for dogs to eat.

So, sentiments apart, these are the problems of perception as you claimed.
Yes Hausa foods can be made appetising but it also needs a lot of appreciation from Northern cultures and a conscious push to make them global

Cc:
DrRasheed

Thanks muchhh. Great points here

koxi:
Thank you so much for the enlightenment.
You can tell that the post criticizing Northern delicacy, like most posts here on NL, is riddled with misinformation, ignorance and implicit bias.
And what’s more disheartening is the fact that the ignorant ones will run with that false narrative, and spread it around like wildfire…so unfortunate!!
But thank God there are people like you to set records straight, matching knowledge with intelligence.
Respect ✊


You gained a follower

Thank you for recognizing that, and I’m honored to have earned your follow. Together, voices like ours can help rewrite these false assumptions. Respect ✊

lexy2014:
you highlighted the complaint which is "not enticing? and you talking of being medicinal. with your response, you confimred that northern food is not enticing but bland looking.

whether you like it or not, food must be enticing and appealing to eyes and tasty. that is just the reality.



I do not see you debunking the claim in your point you raised here.

are you agreeing that northern foods has excessive maggi?

Niger, Nassarawa, Kano, Adamawa and Benue are all parts of northern Nigeria. But believe me, they have distinct foods and delicacies.

Gerrard59:
Fair counterpost. I saw your response before reading the previous thread. Initially, I thought of tribal prejudice as the reason many southerners don't like northern meals. I read the previous thread, saw their responses and read yours - it still boils down to tribal prejudice because an unhygienic environment is a Nigerian thing, not a regional concept. Unfortunately for northerners, though, most southerners tend to interact with northerners in such environments. A thorough analysis would come from southerners who have lived a long time in northern Nigeria.

However, I disagree that the sight of a meal should not be taken into consideration. How a meal looks and how it is served play an important role in how the meal would be cherished. Eyes "eat" before the mouth. Additionally, OP's meals' pictures did not help matters. Presentation matters a lot.

I like this your comment. They interact with northerners from low level environment yeah.

Lukuluku69:
It is actually prejudices every culture have it for others but it is usually amplified against the Northerners.

Most take this prejudices comes from a point of ignorance and stereotyping.

I like Hasus food because it is mostly Medicinal but I will stick to my own food because I understand it more.

Nice write up by the way Dr. Rasheed.

Thanks muchhh

Godmind2022:
There's nothing to argue about. There is this thing in all of us that makes us to think that whatever originates from us is better than what comes from others - From marrying my tribal person, preferring my children to others', and so on and so forth.

Another angle. Nice point here. how can you tell somebody on his own tradition how his food should taste like?

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Emotionss:
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I can bet my last card that majority of those who criticize northern foods are doing it mostly out of ignorance or programming.

Majority of them have never been to the north nor have they tested any northern foods to come to such conclusions.

There's no igbo or Yoruba or any person that has been to the north that will criticize their food.



I

Definitely.

Hassanmaye:
Nice one, I made a reply jokingly, someone washing shit with toilet paper is telling people who do ablution five times dirty, nawooo oooo

Thanks muchhh

Caaz:
I like to think he was referrimg to their moimoi, made with redoil tied in nylon with yaji as suplliment.

If he tries that from roadside salesgirl, there's high chance he's spending the night in toilet.

Moi moi is one of my favorite, but it has to be home cooked or from polish eateries. I won't buy from an IDP on the road for sake of patronage

Sonnobax15:

Nice thread I must really say......But reality is bae,and that's one thing I've leant about life itself...

As a matter of fact,I was the first person to comment on that particular thread and I'm here also.....But this time around,I'm also maintaining what I said initially and that's the truth,but to include what I didn't say the other time..

Now I just remembered....I think I always ate akara,which were usually prepared by Hausa women....I also drank the pap and one thing I loved about the akara was that the inclusion of dried pepper to it.... Just like they do to suya....... And that's different from the ones sold down here in the south...... Guy,apart from that,i didn't eat anything else......Talk about the awara, masa ,tuwo and others.....In fact,you people made me to detest Okpa,not until I tasted the one made here in Delta state

Thanks for the remarks. But Okpa isn't a northern food.

One of the glaring flaws in the way many Southerners dismiss “northern food” is the assumption that it is a single, uniform thing.

This is ignorance at best and deliberate nonchalance at worst. Northern Nigeria is so vast that it cannot be reduced to Tuwo and Kuka alone.

Example, Kano, Katsina, Benue, and Adamawa are all part of the North, yet each carries its own distinct foods, cuisines, and delicacies.

Kano is famed for its Tuwo Shinkafa and Miyan Kuka, Katsina brings grains and spice-rich meals, Benue prides itself as the food basket with yam-based varieties, while Adamawa’s cuisine is deeply influenced by Fulani and other local traditions.

Wallahi you guys have melted my heart after reading lots of beautiful comments.

May almighty Allah bless you all for your good wishes.
A life cannot truly flourish if it is built on prejudice and biased assumptions. Such a foundation leaves no room for growth, only walls of misunderstanding.

That is why I chose to lend my voice here. If this had been politics, I would have walked away, because politics often feeds on division. But food, culture, and the things that shape our daily lives deserve honesty and fairness.

I wrote with the hope that people would look beyond old sentiments and respond with open minds. And I am deeply heartened to see that hope fulfilled.

It reminds me that when we choose objectivity over bias, we do more than defend a culture, we nurture respect, unity, and the possibility of understanding one another better. I'm humbled.

See Previous thread
https://www.nairaland.com/8513830/why-northern-food-mostly-disliked

I read about comments about our foods in Northern Nigeria, upon realizing the fallacy, I believe it's necessary I write to balance the story well.

Let us examine the common criticisms one by one and ask: do they truly stand, or do they collapse under honest scrutiny?

The first accusation is hygiene. Critics say Northern food is unsafe because some vendors use poor water sources or cook in less-than-ideal conditions.

But pause for a moment: is this a problem unique to the North? Have you not seen amala joints built beside open gutters in Berger, Mile 2 etc, or pepper soup stands operating with no running water in the East? If hygiene truly disqualified a cuisine, then no Nigerian street food would survive the judgment.

So why is Northern food singled out? Isn’t it convenient that when it is your own buka, you call it “local delicacy,” but when it is a Northern dish, you dismiss it as “dirty”? Is that really about hygiene, or is it about perception and bias?

Another favorite criticism is that Northern food is “bland” or “not enticing.” But what is the standard for “enticing”? Must a soup be drenched in palm oil or look fiery red before it deserves respect? Miyan kuka, made from baobab leaves, is deeply medicinal and nourishing.

Tuwo, whether rice, maize, or millet-based, is filling and sustaining without excess fat or oil. These foods are not created to entertain your eyes; they were crafted for health, endurance, and balance.

So the real question is this: do you want food that merely excites your eyes for a moment, or food that sustains your body for a lifetime?

Then there is the complaint of “too much Maggi, too much Ajinomoto.” This one is almost laughable. Are seasoning cubes a Northern invention? Every region in Nigeria uses them, sometimes excessively.

Another claim is that Northern food lacks protein because meat is not piled into the soups. But must every soup carry half a goat before you value it? Northerners eat meat — in fact, they eat it more innovatively than anywhere else: suya, kilishi, dambu nama.

These are not just snacks, they are masterclasses in preservation, spicing, and protein handling. If you celebrate suya as one of Nigeria’s great exports, how do you then turn around and mock the culture that produced it? Isn’t that contradiction staring you in the face?

Some also argue that Northern meals are “not visually appealing.” But I ask you: is food a painting to be framed, or a nourishment to be eaten? Do you reject ewedu because of its slimy texture? Do you reject bitterleaf soup because it is dark? No — you eat them because you understand them.

So why should the earthy tones of kuka or taushe be dismissed? Isn’t it only because you refuse to understand what lies in front of you?

Now let us address the most overlooked truth: many people encounter Northern food primarily in roadside canteens or informal stalls, and they transfer the shortcomings of that setting to the food itself.

But tell me, are roadside bukas not the heartbeat of every Nigerian cuisine? Do Lagosians not eat amala under zinc roofs? Do Port Harcourt residents not devour bole by the roadside? Do Igbo traders not queue at akpu joints in crowded markets?

Roadside patronage has never been an obstacle to Southern food acceptance. Why then is it suddenly the lens through which Northern food is judged?

Northern food is not disliked because it is poor in quality. It is disliked because too many people approach it with prejudice, refusing to measure it by the same standards they apply to their own foods.

And so I ask: if you can endure flies on your amala, dust on your boli, and Maggi overload in your oha soup without complaint, why do you suddenly demand perfection from local stalls in the North selling tuwo and kuka?

Again, hygiene concerns are not unique to the North; poor food handling is a nationwide issue, but because northern food is less commercialized, outsiders often encounter it in informal settings rather than polished restaurants.

In a world where health crises are rising from overindulgence, isn’t it time we recognized that the North’s philosophy of moderation may, in fact, be the wisdom Nigeria needs most?

Islam is not just a religion of rituals; it is the divine blueprint for how to live with purpose, mercy, dignity, and balance. Its core message—La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)—frees the human being from servitude to wealth, ego, status, or societal trends. It anchors the heart in One eternal truth, beyond the noise of the modern world.

Islam teaches that true freedom is not found in following every desire, but in submitting to the Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, described in the Qur’an as a mercy to all creation, embodied a life of compassion, forgiveness, resilience, and unwavering devotion. His teachings uplifted the oppressed, honored women, established the rights of the poor, and guided humanity toward justice that was not swayed by race, tribe, or wealth.

In a time where so many crave clarity, his sunnah still provides it with unmatched gentleness and strength.

What makes Islam the only true religion is its divine preservation and perfect consistency. The Qur’an remains untouched, word for word, since it was revealed over 1,400 years ago—a living miracle memorized by millions, still guiding hearts from Jakarta to Lagos, Istanbul to New York.

It speaks of science before microscopes, of justice before constitutions, and of love before slogans. It invites intellect without compromising the heart, and it commands action without severing spirituality.

In today’s confused world, where morality is relative and purpose is commercialized, Islam brings absolute clarity:

You were created to know and worship your Lord. That worship is not confined to prayer mats alone—but extends into how we speak, how we deal, how we love, and how we stand up for truth.

Viable24:
This is wisdom in response, let us be friend

It will be my pleasure 👏

mirrael68:
I m a Christian and I agree with you completely. You ve made much sense. Thank you 👍

Thank you too.

Amotolongbo:
No hijab.
Religious bondage is truly for the poor

So because a bride didn't wear hijab on her wedding day, your immediate conclusion is that religion is bondage—and only for the poor? That says more about your own intellectual laziness than anything about Islam.

Let’s be clear: the hijab is not about poverty or wealth. It’s a religious command, not a class symbol. Millions of educated, empowered women around the world—doctors, engineers, CEOs—wear the hijab out of conviction, not compulsion. Reducing a deeply spiritual choice to "bondage for the poor" exposes your shallow understanding of faith and your tendency to mock what you do not understand.

And if you're pointing fingers at the elite, ask yourself: why do the powerful often abandon principle the moment power blinds them? That isn’t proof that religion is fake—it’s proof that humans are weak. Don’t mistake hypocrisy for truth.

Instead of using one bride’s dress to dismiss an entire faith, maybe pick up a book, study history, theology, or philosophy. You might realize that Islam, when sincerely followed—not politicized or flaunted—isn't bondage, but guidance. Not for the poor, but for the conscious.

This is authoritarianism masquerading as diplomacy. The U.S. government didn’t revoke Bob Vylan’s visa because of "hate speech"—they did it because the band dared to say what millions of people around the world, including within America, are screaming at the top of their lungs: Israel is slaughtering Palestinians, and the U.S. is funding every bomb, every bullet, every massacre.

Let’s stop pretending this is about “antisemitism.” This is about power, money, and the bloodlust of an apartheid regime that the American political class continues to shield—no matter how many civilians it incinerates. The chant was “Death to the IDF,” the same military machine currently carpet-bombing Gaza, executing children, bulldozing homes, and starving an entire population. That’s not hate speech—it’s rage at a genocidal war machine.

And let’s talk about the real disgrace: the U.S. government. A government so far up Israel’s spine it can’t even pretend to represent its own citizens. Americans have taken to the streets, filled college campuses, occupied city halls—not just in protest but in raw desperation—pleading with their so-called leaders to stop arming genocide. And what does the State Department do? Cancel a punk band’s visa. Cowards.

This isn't about safety. This isn't about protecting democracy. This is fascism—plain and unfiltered. Silencing artists while funding a military that drops U.S.-made 2,000-pound bombs on refugee camps is not democracy. It’s violent imperialist hypocrisy. The U.S. doesn't just ignore public outcry—it crushes it, demonizes it, and punishes those who give it a mic.

Warren Stephens calling the chants antisemitic is laughable. The real disgrace is standing by a state that’s turned Gaza into an open-air graveyard and then crying “hate speech” when people finally say enough. It’s not antisemitic to call out war crimes. It is evil to defend them.

Bob Vylan spoke truth. The U.S. government is showing us—again—that truth is what they fear most. And as for those officials backing Israel despite the outcry of their own people: you’re not leaders. You’re enablers of mass murder. History won’t forget. And neither will we.

adolfHitler1934:
Rasheed you should be ash,amed of yourself.
Why you are trying to defend and spew this trash is because SW ranked highest in the whole of South. If it were to be the SE that have that SW figures I'm very sure your line of argument would have changed, and insult the SE people

Bigotry at its peak. I'm Hausa man by the way.