Coronavirus Stories - Reaching Out From Isolation

Edited BY G P Kennedy Peace - Lagos, Nigeria   "Man is made up of spiritual and physical elements. At the same time, he has essential qualities that should make him desire to be in tandem with God, a spiritual entity. He strives for self-mastery and an awareness of himself. This self-mastery, to man, is most primary foundation for his existence which helps him to ask certain vital questions necessary for human existence and moral virtuousness: Who am I? From whence am I? What am I here for? Whither goal from? What is my place in the cosmic eternal scheme of things? What is life? What is death?" Emmanuel O. Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe, my Father    This week was a bit gloomy as another prominent politician died in Nigeria from the Coronavirus, One of my “sons “ Babajide has been his Special adviser for social Media for the past 6 years, Senator Ajimobi was a jolly good fellow, He was Governor of Oyo state till last year, but he died in a hospital in Lagos as his as his case need ...

Edited BY G P Kennedy Peace - Lagos, Nigeria  HUMANITY NEEDS A LARGE DOSE OF LOVE  As numbers reached 20,000 and Lagos state having more than 9,000 of the COVID-19 patients the Government this week started enforcing the use of Masks in public spaces and face shields to try to flatten the Curve many people don’t understand that COVID-19 is increasing in our communities as local transmission rates are at 50%.    The Black lives matter BLM around the world continued to make a point of asking Governments to realize that all humans are equal. The world over color, religion and tribe are issues. Tribalism is a big issue in my country Nigeria as well, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa being the predominant tribes have deep issues amongst themselves.    The world needs a load of love, the whole world is at war with itself, the lockdown brought out a lot of pent up anger triggered by the killing of George Floyd and that seemed to spark the anger that many people had decided it wa...

Edited BY G P Kennedy This week we give our opening page to our sister, Peace. She is suffering the loss of a dear friend at a time when her home town and country are struggling with the global pandemic. Let us all reach out our arms to support Peace at a very difficult time. We are with you, Ogechi. Dear friend, Ibidun, with her family Peace – Lagos, Nigeria    It has been a busy week; working on the phone, Google hangouts, Zoom meetings, I’m tired of Zoom and Zoom conferences. Data costs are ridiculous.    The Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign escalated around the world as protesters continued to make a point of asking Governments to realize that all humans are equal.    People defied the social distancing laws. “So, is COVID-19 real?” someone asked me. Many people who have a conspiracy theory that the coronavirus is a Biological virus that was released to reset the world order.    Remember we have all been locked down in our homes for over two ...

Tastes even better than it looks! Peace – Lagos, Nigeria  To be honest I really haven’t had the best of appetite during this lock down period, but my Coffee has been a blissful companion for me during this duration. Afang Soup and pounded yam is a favorite. Also If I say my  Jollof rice made in my own way  fresh tomatoes and peppers , prawns and sweet corn with a dash of curry and yellow pepper. It is inspired by my mom’s recipe.   Jollof Rice - Dorothy's Recipe  Fresh tomatoes 3-5kg  (7lbs) fresh Plum Tomatoes Vegetable Oil: 5 onions Red hot chili pepper Cameroon Pepper Yellow pepper 3¾ cups (750g) long grain parboiled rice Chicken (whole chicken, drumsticks or chicken breast) Pepper and salt (to taste) 3 Knorr cubes 2 teaspoons thyme 2 teaspoons curry powder (Nigerian curry powder) 2kg Prawns /shrimps Sweet corn Garlic and ginger Bay leaves   Cooking Directions  Wash and blend the fresh plum tomatoes. Cut the onions into small pieces. Blend some...

Edited BY G P Kennedy  In our week-long listen to our hearts and heads in lockdown we opened up with Daniel in New York City. Today we feature two songs from Peace, in Lagos, Nigeria. She takes time reflect on family, love. Luther, and longing.  From NYC to Lagos, so, meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic... Peace – Lagos, Nigeria “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato  Coronavirus has put a lot of stop to a lot of things, but it did not stop us having the chance to listen to music, that would have probably made the whole experience unbearable. The inability to have normal human interactions was saved by our ability to run away using our imagination.    The Lockdown came with many problems. All travel plans all in the air, the planning for the 2020 edition of the Africa movie Academy awards left with uncertainty will the world be back to normal or not?  To be honest after the ...