Fembleez1: We cook this over the course of 3 days max. There is nothing like adding coconut milk. After cooking the beans (which is exceptionally hard than the regular beans), you chop coconuts inside and take it to the grinders. Then use sieve to get the juice, which is then cooked to thickness, adding sugar and the major ingredients for taste is Clove. Nothing like flavored with cocoa (Well, like you said, 'in certain countries'.)
You contradicted yourself. You said "nothing like", then you said "in certain countries", which means that there is something like.
Frejon (From Feijão, which is the Portuguese word for beans) is a coconut milk and bean soup which is eaten especially during Holy Week by a selection of Christians, mostly Catholics, across the world.
Countries where Frejon is popular include Brazil and Nigeria (especially among Yoruba who returned to Nigeria from Brazil at the abolition of the slave trade, and settled in what is known as the "Brazilian Quarters" in Lagos Island), and also Sierra Leone on Good Friday, or for functions such as weddings.
Because dairy foods and flesh meat (beef, pork, goat) are strictly forbidden on Good Friday, this dish is a suitable accompaniment to non-dairy foods such as fried fish and peppered snail.
The frejons consumed in Nigeria and West Africa are puddings made of black beans cooked slowly overnight over a wood or charcoal fire, and then mixed with coconut milk to form a thick, sweet, smooth pudding. In certain countries, the dish is flavored with cocoa. Frejon is often served with fish stew, peppered snail and Garri Ijebu.
According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus' disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled.
Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testified ambiguously, "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemned Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death. Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denied Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had foretold.
In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king. Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders replied that they were not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death.
Pilate questioned Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questioned Jesus but received no answer; Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released. Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, "Crucify him." Pilate's wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous man." Pilate had Jesus flogged and then brought him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came.
Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot. The sentence written was "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the "place of the Skull", or "Golgotha" in Hebrew and in Latin "Calvary". There he was crucified along with two criminals.
Jesus agonized on the cross for three hours, from noon to 3 pm, darkness fell over the whole land. In the gospels of Mathew and Mark, Jesus is said to have spoken from the cross, quoting the messianic Psalm 22: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
With a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the site of crucifixion declared, "Truly this was God's Son!"
Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus. Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought about a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus. Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion of whether Jesus was dead. A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out, and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus was dead.
Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock in a garden near the site of the crucifixion. Nicodemus also brought 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs. They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb. Then they returned home and rested, because Shabbat had begun at sunset.
Good Friday, also known as Black Friday, Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum.
Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant and some Reformed traditions (including certain Continental Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches), observe Good Friday with fasting and church services. In many Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches, the Service of the Great Three Hours' Agony is held from noon until 3 p.m.—the hours the Bible records darkness covering the land until Jesus' death on the cross.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains fully engaged in Nigeria's governance even though he is away in Europe.
His absence remains temporary and in line with the communicated timeframe of approximately two weeks.
The President left Paris for London at the weekend and has maintained constant communication with key government officials, overseeing critical national matters, including directives to security chiefs to address emerging threats in some parts of the country.
His return to Abuja and the resumption of duties at Aso Villa will follow the conclusion of the Easter holiday.
The President’s commitment to his duties remains unwavering, and his administration continues to function effectively under his leadership.
We appreciate the public’s concern and assure all Nigerians that governance proceeds without interruption.
Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister HE @YusufTuggar and Niger’s Foreign Minister HE Bakary Yaou Sangaré.
A historic meeting just ended between Nigeria’s FM Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar and Niger’s FM Bakary Yaou Sangaré the meeting renewed commitment to shared values and the enhancement of security, trade, migration and diplomacy. Both envoys reaffirmed the vital role of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission in advancing regional cooperation.
Rebuilding trust and fostering regional stability remain central to Nigeria’s diplomatic efforts.
I led a delegation to the Republic of Niger to renew bilateral ties and strengthen cooperation in key areas such as security, trade, and energy.
Our engagements also addressed pressing shared concerns, including migration management, the fight against desertification, and the revitalisation of the Nigeria-Niger Joint Commission (NNJC).
Nigeria and Niger remain united in their commitment to advancing regional peace and development.
1) Western Line: The Western Line was the first line that was built by the Colonial Government. The primary reason for building it was to transport raw materials and agricultural goods like Al-Hassan Dantata's groundnuts from Kano to the port in Lagos.
The line begins at the Lagos Terminus in Iddo (there's also a branch line to the Apapa Port) and goes through Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna and terminates in Kano. It is a narrow gauge line.
The Western line began with the Lagos-Ibadan line which was built between 1891 and 1896, it reached Kano in 1912 and it was later extended to Nguru in 1930.
2) Eastern Line: The Eastern Line was primarily built to move coal from Enugu to the port at Port Harcourt. Port Harcourt was also built for the same reason (to serve as a port for the shipment of coal). Coal was shipped to Great Britain and to the power plant at Ijora in Lagos.
The Eastern Line was extended to Jos, to move tin from the tin mines there and it was also connected to the Western Line in Kaduna. The Government of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa extended the Eastern Line to Maiduguri. It is a narrow gauge line.
The Eastern Line began with the Port-Harcourt to Enugu Line that was built between 1913 and 1916. It was extended to Kaduna in 1927 and it was later extended to Maiduguri between 1958 and 1964.
3) Central Line: The Central Line was constructed by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida (construction began in 1987). It was built to convey iron from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steel mill at Ajaokuta and to convey the steel from Ajaokuta to Warri Port. It is a standard gauge line. The line was not completed.
There have been plans to build new standard gauge lines on the western and eastern axis, along the same corridor as the old narrow gauge lines.
The government of President Goodluck Jonathan began the Kaduna-Abuja rail line on the Western Axis. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari completed it and also built the Lagos-Ibadan line on the Western axis. The Government is currently building the Kano-Kaduna leg of the Western Line. When that is completed, all that will be left is the Ibadan-Ilorin and Ilorin-Abuja segments of the line.
The Government of Muhammadu Buhari also completed the Warri-Itakpe Line (the Central Line). There are plans to extend it to Abuja.
The Muhammadu Buhari Administration had declared that it would focus on completing existing projects, rather than starting new ones and so it focused on completing the Western and Central Lines. There is also a plan to build a standard gauge Eastern Line (Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri) but that has not commenced yet (which has caused annoyance among people of the North-East and South-East).
There is a proposal to build a coastal line, from Lagos to Calabar, but it hasn't been built yet. Critics complain that the colonialists were only interested in exploiting resources from Nigeria, rather than giving Nigerians good infrastructure and that's why they built rail lines from the hinterland in the north, to the ports in the south. For example, the critics point out that if you want to go from Lagos to Enugu by rail, you'd first have to go all the way up to Kaduna, before you can get to Enugu.
When I heard this criticism back in the 1980s, I often asked, "So why haven't we built it? The colonialists have been gone since 1960, so why haven't we built a rail line from east to west? We can't keep blaming them".
naptu2: The Buhari Administration began the Kaduna - Kano leg of the Western Line and the Tinubu Administration will finish it.
President Tinubu has gone to China to finalise the deal for the construction of the Ibadan - Ilorin and Ilorin - Abuja legs of the line.
The idea to build the Eastern and Western standard gauge lines was conceived during the administration of President Obasanjo. Yar'Adua did not follow through, but Goodluck Jonathan continued it.
The Central Line was conceived during the administration of President Shehu Shagari. It was started by the Babangida Administration and finished by the Buhari Administration. However, the Buhari Administration proposed that it should be extended to Abuja.
I'll tell you about Lord Harcourt later.
naptu2: The Eastern Line goes through places like Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos, Bauchi and Maiduguri.
The Western Line goes through places like Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jebba, Minna, Kaduna and Kano.
The Central Line goes through Warri, Abraka, Agbor, Igbanke, Agenebode, Uromi, Ajaokuta and Itakpe.
In the first map below, the narrow gauge lines are in purple and the standard gauge lines are in red.
Kicked off our Familiarization Tour of the Eastern District with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Management in Rivers State yesterday 15th of April 2025
From facility inspections to staff engagement, we’re taking a closer look at operations on ground to ensure improved service delivery and stronger collaboration across the region.
Stay tuned as we continue the tour across key locations in the Eastern District!
Food › Re: Frejon, The Lagos Brazilian Food That Is Eaten On Good Friday by naptu2(op): 5:46pm On Apr 18, 2025
