Lifestyle

The Best Way to Prepare Poundo Yam Flour

Poundo yam, and hundreds of soups or other dishes, is a Nigerian staple side dish. It is made from yam flour and is a decent substitution for pounded yam made from fresh yam. It’s clear that the powdered version with the fresh pounded yam is just not the same, but it’s pretty darn near!

In the orthodox method of using mortar and pestle, the tension and complexity involved in producing pounded yam have led many people to eliminate the meal from the menu of their families. It’s 2020 and not many people are opting for easier ways to do things.

Similarly, particularly during the dry season, yam is pricey, which is if you’re even fortunate to find the decent ones. And again, when you’re living with the landlord or worse off when you have people leaving under you, the sound coming from your beating and pounding could lead to needless quarrels.

In recent times, the emergence of substitute poundo yam appears to be the way out; a form of powder/flour that produces a similar outcome. It’s a quicker operation and less laborious.

This meal, because of its stretchy texture and very sweet taste, is one of my favorite swallows. Two methods are available to prepare Poundo Yam

First option

First of all, blend 2 teaspoons of flour with 1⁄4 cup of water to produce a light mixture.
Combine the flour mixture in a medium pot with 2 cups of water; bring it to a boil.
Thirdly, pour poundo flour in boiling water gently; minimize heat; stir continuously with a wooden spoon until a strong mass begins to develop.
Then apply leftover water periodically when stirring, and poke holes to let steam escape and cook the flour.
Finally, stir until all the water evaporates and a solid lump emerges. The lump should be mild and stretchy to the touch, not too soft or too rough.
Serve with your favorite broth from Nigeria.

For option

Firstly, add to boiling water one cup of poundo flour.
Note: Beginning with the same volume of water as the powder is my key tip for producing every morsel.
Stir until it is a whole solid lump with a wooden spoon.
Now, the lump would usually be too dense to eat, so add as much as you want to get the consistency you want from the remaining 1⁄2 cup of water.
Remember to add pieces of water. If you would like, add more than the remaining 1⁄2 cup of water.
Similarly, just as you cook Semo, Eba, Amala, Starch, and the likes, poundo yam can also be prepared the same way using poundo yam flour.
In the most stress-free way possible, you will now enjoy baking pounded yam.

Entertainment

My mum is my God, my dad is my God’ — 9ice

Singer 9ice has sparked debate after saying his parents are his “God” and rejecting other deities, months after revealing he has practised as a Babalawo for 18 years.

9ice is once again at the centre of online debate after declaring that his parents, not any deity, occupy the highest spiritual place in his life.

In a video posted to his Instagram on Sunday, the artist said: “Today I’ll tell you something I don’t really talk about, but I’ll talk today. I love my mum, I love my dad, my god is my mum, my father is my god.” He went further in the comments, clarifying that the reverence typically reserved for an unseen God should instead be directed at one’s parents.

The singer didn’t stop there. “I don’t believe in inferior Gods,” he added, distancing himself from the worship of any other spiritual beings and insisting his belief system doesn’t fit neatly into traditional religious structures.

Predictably, the internet had thoughts, and most of them weren’t kind. A large chunk of reactions accused him of being under the influence of something, with many dismissing the statement outright rather than engaging with it.

This isn’t 9ice’s first brush with this kind of controversy, and that’s part of why the latest clip spread as fast as it did. Back in April, he went viral for a different but related rant, this time aimed squarely at Nigeria’s religious culture.

“You’ll leave Nigeria and go to Mecca to go and lick rock all in the name of Kabba,” he said then, arguing that decades of national prayer hadn’t translated into national progress. He compared Nigeria’s work ethic unfavourably to London’s, joking that between church on Sunday, Bible study on Wednesday and vigil on Friday, “when would you work?”

Some Nigerians found merit in his earlier point about productivity versus performative religiosity. Far fewer have extended that same patience to his spiritual claims, with both the Babalawo reveal and now this parental-deity comparison landing mostly as fodder for mockery rather than genuine reflection.

Entertainment

I Will Focus On African Music and culture – Davido

In a recent BBC 1Xtra interview, Davido revealed that his upcoming sixth studio album will be rooted in African sounds, marking a deliberate shift away from Western music influences.
In a recent appearance on BBC 1Xtra’s Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show, hosted by Congolese-British comedian and presenter Eddie Kadi, Davido offered what appears to be the clearest indication of where his music is headed next, emphasising his plan to decenter the West.

“This part of my career… I’ve performed everywhere, sold out every arena, been at all the award shows. I’ve been to three Grammys in the last three years. Now, I want to go back home. I want to go back to Africa. Even the music I’m recording now is very, very Davido African. I’m not focused on Western sounds. This one that’s coming next is very African,” he said.

Outside the casual interview quote, if we can recall, on his birthday in November last year, Davido subtly announced the coming of his sixth studio album. With this latest comment, he appears to be offering an indirect preview of what that project will sound like, indicating a deliberate pivot toward African audiences after years of building and consolidating a global presence.

It would not be the first time Davido has made that choice consciously. His fifth studio album, 5ive, released in 2025, was a commercial success anchored firmly in Nigerian identity. The album connected deeply with the markets Afrobeats had spent a decade cultivating across the continent, reflecting an artist who understood that the genre’s most loyal and most responsive audience had always been at home.

That conviction extended to his live shows. Last year, Davido held the 5ive Tour across five major Nigerian cities, including Lagos, Ibadan, and Enugu. It was a domestic tour that came at a time when major acts had largely abandoned the Nigerian touring circuit, and was widely commended as a statement of intent.

Entertainment

#SpotlightAfricaThrowbackSeries The Exclusive Wedding of Chief Sunday and Mrs Oluwatosin Oso in Akure

Joyful was the moment when the families of Oso in Ado-Ekiti and Ojo in Akure, Ondo State, as their children, Chief Sunday Oso and Mrs. Oluwatosin Ojo, formally sealed their lifelong union with an exchange of marital vows on November 6, 2021.

For the two lovebirds, the aura exuded nothing but love, as they both looked resplendent in their beautiful attire, gazing at each other with overwhelming excitement.

The event kicked off with a photo session by the couple at St. Jacobs Hotel, a 5-star hotel in Akure, Ondo State, which hosted notable guests from across Nigeria and abroad. At the same time, families, friends, and well-wishers converged at BAS Event Centre, Akure, Ondo State, the venue for both the traditional marriage and reception.

The two families expressed their joy as they warmly welcomed one another during the engagement. Guests were enlivened with rib-cracking jokes by the popular actress, Ronke Ojo, popularly known as Oshodi Oke, who anchored the event. The Ogbomoso-based Fuji maestro, Ramoni Akanni, did not fail to entertain guests with lively music. It was an all-you-can-eat menu accompanied by varieties of drinks, wine, and liquor.

Dignitaries in attendance include top politician, Hon. Olu Araoyinbo, Chairman, West Park Hotel, Mr Rasaq Oseni, Aare Khalif Adebiyi, Nigerian-based businessman, Mr Sesan Adelabu, Emirates, Chairman, St. Jacobs Hotel, Mr Babatope Adebiyi (Jafil), the Waziri of Ekiti State, Alhaji Ajijola, former Chairman, Ado-Ekiti Local Government, Hon. Chief (Mrs) Tosin Aluko, among others.

Hearty Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Oso!