The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sun

  • Southern Sun celebrates Nigerian cuisines

    Southern Sun celebrates Nigerian cuisines

    Southern Sun Hotel, Ikoyi, one of the hotels under the Tsogo Sun Group, has said the hotel is paying  special attention to provide its guests with top culinary experience.

    In a recent chat with travel journalists, the hotel Assistant Executive Chef, Mr. Stanley Mwangi, said since inception, the hotel made dining experience one of the most important areas to focus on. Consequently, the hotel’s management went the extra mile to put together a restaurant that would not only provide value for money satisfaction, but also a focal point external diners to come and have a distinctive culinary experience.

    He said: “When we came, the first thing we did was to do our market survey and see what other people are offering. We tried to come out with something that is different from others and also something that many people would be interested in eating. So, we tried to bring in more of intercontinental food and more of Nigerian food taking into consideration that most of our guests are Nigerians. So, we have a lot of Nigerian food, a lot intercontinental food and we tried to infuse Chinese dishes.

    “So, what you expect from us is that when you come here you have a good meal to eat. Anybody from anywhere, when you come in, you will get something that you would be very comfortable to eat. We have everything for everybody. We have a lot of variety. We also import food from everywhere to make sure that we have food outside the box. Our philosophy is to make sure that we have food to carter for everybody.”

    The hotel’s Sunday buffet, called Sunday Brunch, has become popular among many families. Mwangi explained the concept and success of the brunch: “What we do is that we have a team of local chefs to call to a meeting and we come out with something that people would eat. For example, I have seen people talk about ikokore. It is something that is a delicacy of people from a particular place. If, for example, you come to our restaurant and you find it in the buffet, you will be impressed. You will want to come back again the next time. So, we try to incorporate cuisines from all over. We are not only doing cuisines from a particular area, we are doing cuisines from all over and individual specialties from different  parts.

    “So, after our meetings and agreement on the kind of meals we want to offer for the Sunday Brunch, by Friday, we go and buy the things  to prepare the meals.

    “Also, there are other things that we do that have made it popular. We try to incorporate all sorts of continental things that are although popular, but may not be easily available.”

    He said the food philosophy of the hotel was to make sure that no matter where a guest is from, the guest would be at home with the hotel’s menu list.

    He explained: “Let’s say from our ala carte and in-room dining, there are menus that are South African food so that when they are here, they will be happy.  We also have food from Kenyan, Indian recipes and so on. We always tell our guests that if you think that we have something that we can cook for you, just tell us. We have some Indian  recipes on the menu because most Indians are vegetarians, so we try to carter for that, not just Indians but for anybody who may not be an Indian but are vegetarians.”

  • How alleged bomber of ThisDay, Sun, Moment was captured, by witnesses

    How alleged bomber of ThisDay, Sun, Moment was captured, by witnesses

    The Federal Government yesterday called four witnesses as it opened trial in the case involving Mustapha Umar, accused of being the mastermind of the April 26, last year’s bombing of a building occupied by three media houses – ThisDay, the Sun and the Moment – in Kaduna.

    The witnesses gave details of how Umar drove a bomb-laden Honda car unto the wall of the building known as SOJ Plaza; how he was captured while trying to escape after allegedly killing three people and how the police saved him from being lynched by a mob.

    Before the trial began yesterday, Justice Adeniyi Ademola granted an aplication by the prosecution barring people, other than parties in the case, their lawyers, journalists and law students on court attachment, from witnessing proceedings..

    The judge also ordered that witnesses in the case should be protected with their identity, names and other particulars kept secret. In view of the orders, the four witnesses hid their faces by wearing mask.

    The first witness, who was identified as Ismael told the court how the accused drove a car ladden with explosives into the building.

    He said although the car didn’t explode, the accused allegedly killed three people when, in a bid to escape, he threw one of the explosives into the crowd.

    Ismael said: “I was passing along Kontagora Road, Kaduna when I saw people gathered. I moved closer to inquire what was going on. I saw a Honda car very close to the wall of the building. I saw about two people trying to rescue the accused from inside the vehicle.

    “He was alone, sitting on the driver’s seat. Thinking he was invoved in an accident, I joined in an attempt to rescue him. The moment we brought him out, he started shouting: ‘I have brought bomb to this premises. It can explode any moment from now.’

    “By then, the size of the crowd had increased. They started beating him, asking him to go and remove the bomb. And he told them if they remove it, it will explode,” the witness said.

    He told the court how he and others were later able to invite, first some policemen from the Sabongari police station, before other security personnel arrived at the scene.

    The witness, who was led in evidence by lead prosecution lawyer, Simon Labaran, added that some moments later, the accused, who was held by some members of the crowd, went close to his car and brought out what looked like a fire extinguisher.

    “Because the crowd was outside the premises, he threw the fire extinguisher and we heard a loud sound. Three people died on the spot, one of them was on Okada (motorcycle). “Unfortunately for him, as he was trying to scale the fence, some youths, who had gathered, apprehended him. By this time, he has sustained injuries and was bleeding. We later handed him to the police.”

    He said moments after the accused was taken away, some youths set the vehicle on fire, during which the explosives exploded. “About 4pm, when the police came to remove the burnt vehicle, I saw about 12 camp cylinders inside the vehicle. There were three in the front, three in the middle and six in the booth. They were neatly wired to the steering of the vehicle,” the witness said.

    On cross-examination by defence lawyer, Nureni Sulaiman, the witness maintained that the accused caused the death of three persons. The second prosecution witness, who said he was the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) at the Sabongari Police Station when the incident occured, corroborated the first witness’ statement that the accused killed three people by allegedly throwing an object like a fire extinguisher into the crowd.

    He said their mission at the scene of the incident was to ensure security and rescue the accused person.

    He admitted also seeing the camp cylindres inside the accsued perspns’s vehicle.

    The third witness, who said he was qually serving at the Sabongari station as at the time of the incident, told the court how he was directed by his Divisional Police Officer (DPO), who he met at the incident’s scene, to take the accsued person to the Police Medical Centre for treatment.

    He said although he had taken the accused person to his station, his DPO called to direct that Umar be taken to the hospital.

    The fourth witness, an Assistant Police Commissioner and medical practitioner, told the court how he helped stabilised the accsued person, who was brought to the police medical facility “conscious, but confused.”

    Explaining the condition in which he met the accuxed person, the medical expert said “I went to the Accident and Emmergency Room, where I saw the accused person. He was soaked in is own blood After examining him, I niticed he had injuries on his hand and head. He was later stabilised. Initially when he was brought in, he could not talk,” the witness said.

    The trial resumes today at 11 am.

    Sent from my BlackBerry wireless