mynuel:
abeg make we see road....which one be no eat ponmo those against the eating of ponmo should come and taste the one iya sukurat dey sell and see if they will not have a rethink

I have been making up to N60,000 per day for many years on sales of ponmo, ” a seller, who simply identified herself as Alhaja Risikat at Laketu Foods Market in Ikorodu, Lagos, said.

Skins of cows, goats and sheep (hides and skin), popularly known as `ponmo’ has become a delicacy in many homes in Nigeria.

The delicious succulent texture of ponmo when cooked and seasoned, makes it a favourite food of many Nigerians.

However, in many developed countries, skins of cows, goats and sheep are not consumed but used in production of leather and related products.

Economic xperts are worried that Nigeria is losing out in the pack of countries competing for the huge global leather industry because of the high rate of consumption of animal skin.

Risikat, who thrived on sales of ponmo, narrated that she had customers in corporate organisations, who she delivered the commodity (ponmo) to.

She said that the meals of the customers were never complete without the delicacy.

“I have customers in banks and other corporate organisations. They call me on phone and I deliver it through my sales girls.

“ I have been making up to N60,000 per day for many years,’’ Risikat said with enthusiasm.

In spite of reports regarding the adverse results the consumption of animal skin posed to human health, many could still not do without ponmo in their pots.

Recently, there were warnings against eating some species of ponmo burnt with tyres on the basis that the processing was not hygienic.

In spite of the health hazards posed by those burning ponmo with tyres, the level of sale and scramble for the commodity in markets nationwide continue to rise unabated.

During the production stages, the commodity is subjected to naked flames to burn the skin of the animal.

According to research, during the burning process, a lot of unhygienic substances such as trash, wood, charcoal, rubber tyres and so on, are thrown into the furnace to sustain the blazing heat.

The black skin is burnt, while the white animal skin is boiled and the flesh is scrapped.

A further survey of markets in Ikorodu, Lagos, revealed that many people, even the elites, could not do without the delicacy.

Some sellers of the commodity told NAN that they were fully in the business.

A seller of the commodity in one of the abattoirs in Ikorodu, who chose anonymity, said he had been in the business of sales of ponmo for 20 years.

He added that there had never been a time he never made huge sales.

Another woman, operating a beer parlour along Ijede Road in Ikorodu, Mrs Alice Maduka, said her customers preferred to drink their beer with ponmo, garnished with pepper.

“My customers prefer ponmo with peppered stew than beef, so I buy in bulk daily,’’ she said.

Also, a Manager of a cafetaria in Sabo Market in Ikorodu, Mr Alex Ndigwu, said his customers preferred ponmo “because it is bigger and cheaper than beef’’.

“ My customers prefer to eat ponmo because it is sweeter and bigger than beef; so I usually get it in large quantity,’’ he said.

Heath experts, however, expressed mixed feelings about the nutritional value of ponmo.

Some dieticians and food scientists warned that consumption of ponmo is dangerous to health, adding that some of the animals suffered skin diseases.

They also said that the tyres used in burning the animal skin could cause cancer and some other killer diseases.

Recently, the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST), Zaria, Dr Isuwa Adamu, said that consumption of the product “as meat is dangerous to health’’.

“Scientifically, ponmo does not have any nutritional value to human health.

“Scientific research has shown that it does not add any nutritional value to human health.

“Some of the animals where ponmo is gotten from are usually sick and harbours dangerous injected chemicals and this leaves the consumers vulnerable to the chemicals in the animal skin,’’ Adamu said.

An 85-year-old man, Mr Alaba Taiwo, said he never believed ponmo could be hazardous to health.

“I have been eating it right from my childhood and if truly ponmo causes many hidden sicknesses, i would have died a long time ago.

“As I am, I like it more than real beef and I am medically fit and sound,’’ he said.

Mrs Ijeoma Ugba, a Nutritionist at Foods Guts and Psychology Centre, analysed that ponmo was medically proven to have calories (150g); and Total fat (4g); Saturated fat (1g); and Poly-saturated fat (0g).

She mentioned Mono-saturated fat (0g); Trans fat (0g); Cholesterol (0g); Sodium (0mg); Potassium (0mg); and Total Carbohydrate (0g);

Ugba talked about: Dietary fibre (0g); Sugars (0 per cent); Proteins (0 per cent); Vitamin A (0 per cent); Vitamin C (0 per cent); Calcium (0 per cent); and Iron (0 per cent).

Dieticians and food scientists suggested that government should come up with policies to reduce the consumption of ponmo.

Apart from the debate over health hazards of the commodity, a reduction in its consumption, would provide more raw materials for the tanneries.

Pirates have abducted seven Russian sailors and one Ukrainian in the territorial waters of Nigeria, the Russian embassy has said.

Russian Embassy in Nigeria reported on Wednesday that, “the BBC Caribbean ship came under a piratic attack in the territorial waters of Nigeria.”



The Russian embassy said on its Twitter page that, “Seven Russian citizens and one Ukrainian citizen have been kidnapped from the ship”.

The Russian embassy has asked the Nigerian authorities for assistance in establishing the whereabouts of the abducted.”

According to Russia News Agency TASS, Maritime Herald on Tuesday said the general cargo ship BBC Caribbean was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea 45 nautical miles south-west off Brass, Nigeria.

The incident happened near Pennington Oil Terminal at Nigerian Delta, when the cargo ship was approached by a motor skiff with armed men on board, who opened fire.

The guards on board of the general cargo ship BBC Caribbean returned fire.

On November 27 last year three Russian sailors were taken hostage when the Saronic Breeze ship was attacked in the territorial waters of Benin. On December 20 all were freed.

On February 23 last year the Bourbon Liberty 251 ship belonging to a French company was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.

The attackers eventually fled taking two hostages, one of them Russia’s Ivan Rydny. He was freed in March 2016 to return to his family in Murmansk.

The news of the hostage taking was also broken in the Twitter handle of Rus to En Fr Es News ‏@Rus_Eng_News which said “In Nigeria pirates kidnapped seven Russians and the citizen of Ukraine’’

Ruslan TradVerified account ‏@ruslantrad had #BREAKING: pirates took hostage 8 sailors from #Russia and #Ukraine in the territorial waters of #Nigeria.

It said “In connection with the seizure of the Embassy of the Russian Federation requested the authorities of Nigeria’s assistance in locating the stolen.’’

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Avram Grant has quit his job as Ghana’s head coach after more than two years in charge of the Black Stars, the country’s football association said on Tuesday.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said in a statement that “the two parties will mutually part ways after their contract ends on Feb. 28’’.



“Both parties have mutually agreed not to renew the contract upon its expiry,” it added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Grant’s resignation comes five days after his side were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon.

The Black Stars lost 0-2 to eventual winners Cameroon, and then also lost 0-1 to the Etalons of Burkina Faso in the third-place match on Saturday.

The West African side, losers on penalty kicks in the final two years ago to Cote D’Ivoire, finished fourth overall this time round.

The former Chelsea manager, who guided the Blues to runners-up spot in both the Champions League and Premier League, was given a target of winning this year’s tournament.

Grant took over from Kwesi Appiah in November 2014 following Ghana’s disappointing World Cup finals appearance which included poor performances on and off the pitch.

Following his decision to step down, Grant was quoted as saying “the time is right’’ for him to seek a new challenge and that he had enjoyed his time in charge.

“The passion and loyalty of the supporters is something I’ll always remember,” he added

An 18-year-old Boko Haram suicide bomber, Amina, who was intercepted by men of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday in Maiduguri, said she was given N200 for the mission.

She told our correspondent in Maiduguri that she was abducted two years ago by the sect members in Madagali, Adamawa, and taken to Sambisa forest.



“They gave us N200 each which they said we should use to buy food for ourselves.

“ It took us three days to come to Maiduguri on a motorcycle. We were directed by the sect members to detonate our explosives any where we saw any form of gathering.

“They said if we press the button, the bomb would explode and we will automatically go to heaven.

“I was scared, so, I told them that I could not detonate any explosive. So, they said if Zainab detonated her own, it would serve the purpose.

“On our way to Maiduguri, we encountered the military and they were shooting. I was very scared and the people that brought us ran away.

“I am from Imam Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram, even though I have never seen Shekau. But I hear about him in Gobarawa,” Amina said.

She said that her father, mother and younger brother, Umar, were all killed when they tried to escape from the Boko Haram enclave where they were held hostage.

“We came from Gobarawa along Damboa, Madagali and Algarno axis, in a community where a lot of us were held hostage and married off by the sect members.

“I also am married to a Boko Haram Commander known as “Amir”.

The NSCDC Commandant in Borno, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the command had handed over the suspect to the Garrison Commander, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, “ for proper investigation’’.

The Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, Maj.- Gen. Lucky Irabor, confirmed that the suspect was in custody of the Army, and that she would undergo investigation.

“We are going to profile her as she would give us the lead to get to other insurgents,” Irabor said.

NAN reports that personnel of the NSCDC had earlier intercepted two female suicide bombers, who tried to ram into motorists at the NNPC Mega Station along Damboa Road, Maiduguri.

The Commandant of the corps, Ibrahim Abdullahi, told NAN that the incident occurred at about 6.45 a.m.

“Our personnel at the NNPC station intercepted two female suicide bombers who were targeting motorists on the long queue at the NNPC mega petrol station at about 6.45 a.m.

“One of the bombers got scared and threw away her bomb and was instantly arrested, while the other one began to run after people with her explosive but luckily, she was shot on the leg by our personnel after he chased her to a safe place,’’ Ibrahim said.

In an attempt to curb the ‘indecent’ fashion demeanour of its students on campus, the management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has issued a new dress code notice.

In a circular issued to students – most especially the undergraduates – the university management said, “indecent modes of exposure do not reflect the seriousness, dignity and character-moulding nature of the institution.”

UNILAG Introduces New Dress Code For Students, Bans Low Waist Jeans, Mini-Skirts And Tight Outfits
UNILAG Introduces New Dress Code For Students, Bans Low Waist Jeans, Mini-Skirts And Tight Outfits: TheCable


In the circular, the management also cautioned the undergraduates to desist from wearing tight outfits and those that expose sensitive parts of the body.

THE CIRCULAR READS IN PART: “IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED THAT SOME MALE AND FEMALE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS DRESS INDECENTLY ON CAMPUS, EVEN TO LECTURES. INDECENT DRESSES ARE EITHER TOO TIGHT, TOO SHORT OR EXPOSE SENSITIVE PARTS OF THE BODY.

“STUDENTS SHOULD MAINTAIN A CLEAN AND WELL-CARED FOR APPEARANCE IN ALL SETTINGS ON CAMPUS. WEARING OF TIGHT, STRAPLESS AND REVEALING CLOTHES WHOSE LENGTH ARE ABOVE THE KNEES ARE INAPPROPRIATE.”

HENCEFORTH, MALE AND FEMALE UNILAG STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WEAR THE FOLLOWING:

I. ALL TIGHT-FITTING CLOTHES INCLUDING SKIRTS, TROUSERS AND BLOUSES

II. ALL CLOTHES, WHICH REVEAL SENSITIVE PARTS OF THE BODY SUCH AS THE BUST, CHEST, BELLY, UPPER ARMS AND THE BUTTOCKS. EXAMPLE OF SUCH DRESSES ARE TRANSPARENT CLOTHING, SPAGHETTI TOPS, TUBES AND. SKIRTS AND DRESSES WITH SLITS ABOVE THE KNEES FALL IN THIS CATEGORY.

III. OUTFITS SUCH AS KNICKERS AND MINI-SKIRTS, DRESSES, WHICH ARE NOT AT LEAST, KNEE LENGTH.

IV. INAPPROPRIATE OUTFITS E.G PARTY-WEAR, BEACH WEAR AND BATHROOM SLIPPERS SHOULD NOT BE WORN TO LECTURES.

V. OUTFITS SUCH AS T-SHIRTS, SKIRTS AND JEANS, WHICH CARRY OBSCENE AND SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES.

VI. TROUSERS SUCH AS HIP-RIDERS AND LOW WAIST JEANS.

The management also mandated students to wear academic gowns on a black or grey suit during matriculation and graduation ceremonies.

In the circular, lecturers and administrators were also empowered to exclude students from academic activities if they are not properly dressed.