TheNewsGuru

Tag: Francis Ewherido

  • Lessons from last Monday – By Francis Ewherido

    Lessons from last Monday – By Francis Ewherido

    Last Monday was sharply different for me. The screen of my phone went blank over the weekend. Consequently, I was also blank for much of the weekend. It is not as if I am addicted to phones. I use it basically for calls, emails, messages and getting knowledge from responsible and informative online sources.

    I only use one handset because, like a spouse, I cannot handle two. After losing two phones when I was using two handsets, I started using only one and I have not misplaced any in the last 15 years. Phone manufacturers had people like me in mind and started making phones with provision for dual Sims. That helped me to partly overcome the problem when there is poor network from one provider, the primary reason why some people have more than one phone number.

    Switching and mastering the usage of Nokia, blackberry and other brands was too much stress for me and once I got used to android, I never switched again. In those days, I would not have repaired the phone. I would simply have gone to get a new phone. I was very intolerant of the disruption caused by faulty electronics. When one technician saw that my faulty deep freezer was full of foodstuff and wanted to use the opportunity to hold me to ransom, I called off his bluff. I went and bought a new freezer, dropped three post-dated cheques with the people I buy electronics from and came home with it. These days, the first option is to repair.

    On Monday morning, instead of the usual Monday morning routine, I headed for Computer Village, Lagos. On entering the car, I noticed that I forgot my wallet, but I did not bother since my wife was with me and she was driving. I did not need my driver’s license, or so I thought. Lesson number one, always go out carrying an identification. I broke the same rule I drive into my children’s head because I was with my wife. What if the NLC demonstration was that day, turned rowdy and I was arrested?

    When we got to the mall, where we usually parked, I wanted to go with her as usual, but she said the building where the repairer had his office was a multi-storey building. My right knee is still healing, so I do not climb beyond first floor for now. Lessons number two: Do not assume when facts are available. I assumed we were going to the usual place on the ground floor. I should have asked my wife at home. Assumption makes even the most sensible or intelligent people look foolish and do foolish things. As I wrote in my book, Life Lessons from Mudipapa, the legendary philosopher, Aristotle, assumed that women had fewer teeth than men, but he was married twice and also had a daughter and could easily have verified his assertion. He goofed because he assumed.

    That said, the Lagos State Government needs to review its approval laws for public buildings to make multi-storey buildings user-friendly for the disabled, physically challenged and temporary physically challenged people. I spent three months in India. Every public building with more than three floors I entered had a functional lift. I do not want to mention Europe and America. Using the staircase should be an option not by compulsion. The lifts must also be functional. I have climbed 20 floors and 13 floors, respectively, in Lagos because the lifts were bad. I was younger and much fitter then. Now, I will simply abort the trip and walk away.

    When my wife was leaving the mall, I remembered you pay to use the toilet even to do the “small one” (urinate). I collected N400 from her just in case I needed to use the toilet. After she left, I remembered I had nothing to keep me busy; no phone, book, newspaper, etc. I also had no money to engage in any activity. I was totally unprepared for the period I would be waiting. Lessons three: Always be prepared and take more money than you need. It is better to bring back the money than be stranded.

    It also occurred to me that I was incommunicado. There was no phone to communicate with my wife or the rest of the world. I thought of paying a guy sharing the table with me to use his phone to reach my wife. Then I remembered stories of people who got into trouble because their phone numbers were found on certain call logs. Apart from obvious emergency, I will not allow a stranger to use my phone with the situation in the country right now. I lamented not borrowing the last daughter’s phone. But it never occurred to me that I would be separated from my wife during the trip. Lesson four: Prepare for the unexpected.

    I resent idleness. Without a phone, book and money, I decided to get busy by observing my environment, another information gathering technique that we were taught in school. The mall is very neat and beautiful like malls abroad. The cleaners were cleaning per second. Two people littered the floor. Within a minute that I was distracted the bottle of water and used tissue had disappeared before I looked again. Then I asked myself, why can’t the whole of Lagos be clean like this? Then I learnt the fifth lesson. The management of the mall is intentional and deliberate about keeping the mall clean. Lagosians, the Lagos State and local governments need to be intentional and deliberate to make Lagos clean all round, not in patches.

    I couple passed with their baby. The husband was fully dressed in Kaftan and the baby girl was all dressed up, but the wife was wearing bum shorts and a skimpy top in a mall! You know why? She has flawless skin and she wanted the world to know. Why will a man be fully dressed and allow his wife to go out with him half naked? When the hawks hover around and anyone succeeds in plucking her, even if once, you cry blue murder that “my wife cheated on me.” Lesson six: A wife a private property, an asset, guard her jealously.

    After what looked like an eternity my wife showed up to my relief. Time to go to home. As a rule I use the toilet before the leaving the house and I also use the toilet before departing from anywhere I go to. You never know with Lagos traffic. The mall charges N100 per entry whether you are doing the “big one” or “small one.” The toilets were very neat. After washing my hands, I wanted to dry them. The hand dryer was faulty. They had no hand toilet paper to dry hands, which is the minimum standard abroad. There was also no toilet paper in the toilet because I suspect people take them away. I then asked for tissue. They gave me the cheapest of tissue I have ever seen. I was shocked. After paying N100 just to “piss?” Seventh lessons: Maintain standards all the way, pay attention to details and give people value for their money.

    It was already after 3pm. I am pre-diabetic, but I do not take drug. I use food to control my blood sugar. My wife asked if we should buy food. “Mee? After spending money I did not budget for fixing my phone, N1,600 for parking ticket for and another N200 for the two times I used the toilet. I will eat when I get home. Just buy me a bottle of coke so that if my blood sugar drops suddenly before we get home, half a bottle of coke will take care of it.” Lesson eight: Prepare for medical emergency.

    When we got home I was expecting my usual soup and blended oat. I saw eba, my former addiction, which I jettisoned to control blood sugar. Once in a while cannot cause damage. Instead of getting angry, I descended on it and had my lunch/dinner. Lesson nine: Marriage is full of landmines. Diffuse the ones you see. At some point in my marriage, I decided that food will never cause a rift between my wife and I have stuck to that. Final lesson: Husband, eat whatever your wife sets before you. Wife: By now you should know what your husband likes. But in unusual situations, both of you should show understanding.

    That was my last Monday. In the night, did EKEDC give me light to allow me sleep off the stress? For where!

  • Much ado about relocation of faculties – By Francis Ewherido

    Much ado about relocation of faculties – By Francis Ewherido

    During the week, much politics and ethnic undertones greeted the announcement by the governing council of the Delta State University, Ozoro, in Delta South Senatorial District of Delta State, on the planned relocation of Faculty of Management Sciences from Ozoro to Orerokpe, the headquarters of Okpe Local Government Area in Delta Central Senatorial District. The Delta State Governor, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori, is from Osubi in Okpe Local Government.  Though the announcement was made by the Chairman of the governing council of the university, Ambassador Godswill Echiejile, some Isoko people saw the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob.

    Before this planned relocation, the law and engineering faculties of Delta State University, Abraka, in Delta Central Senatorial District, were relocated to Oleh, a neighbouring city to Ozoro and headquarters of Isoko South LGA. The faculties of agriculture and management sciences were also moved to Anwai, Asaba, in Delta North. There was no protest during these previous relocations, so what changed? It is an “existing state policy to spread the university campuses around.” I have personal issues with the mushrooming of campuses and universities in Delta State, but I will come to that shortly. Before then a little background so that you will know where I am coming from.

    I am Urhobo from Delta Central Senatorial District, but like many other Deltans, especially from Delta Central and Delta South Senatorial District, which made the old Delta Province, I have roots in Isoko. My great grandmother is from Enhwe in Isoko South LGA. Some of my father’s relatives migrated from Olomu in Ughelli South, Delta Central to Olomoro, in Isoko South, where they live till date as Isoko people. I lived in Ozoro from 1973 to 1980. For me Ozoro is home. I was the general secretary of Isoko Students Union at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1986- 87. I read minutes in both English and Isoko during meetings. I have nephews and nieces who are partly Ijaws and Itsekiris. I also have first cousins who are Isoko. I factor in all these relationships in my actions and what I say.

    The Delta State Governor’s wife is Isoko. The founders of some Isoko towns migrated from Urhobo and vice versa. In fact, the Isoko Nation used to be called Urhobo Eastern Province. The Urhobo and Isoko cultures (food, attire, language, marriage, etc) are similar. Oleh benefitted massively from the relocation of some faculties from Abraka in Delta Central some years ago. Now that Orerokpe will enjoy the benefit of such a relocation of faculties, what is the problem now? I consider these protests as unnecessary, myopic, hasty and selfish. I am talking now as someone who also has Isoko blood.

    Let us be realistic. If you are a politician in Nigeria, your people expect you to develop the area you came from. It has been so since independence, if not before. In the old Bendel (BEN for Benin and DEL for Delta) State, people from Delta clamoured for the state university to be sited in Abraka, Delta, which already had a renowned college of education. In spite of all the agitations, the then governor, Prof Ambrose Alli, sited it in his home town, Ekpoma which is in BEN. During the campaigns leading to the 1983 election in Bendel, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) released videos of scarcely-used tarred roads in Prof Ambrose Alli part of Bendel State. Meanwhile many roads in major towns of DEL were untarred. The areas where the tarred roads were located were so remote that the villagers spread their farm produce on the roads because vehicles scarcely plied those roads. Today, all those areas have been opened up, thanks the university Alli sited in Ekpoma. Higher institutions bring development and many people in positions want to do that for their towns.

    In the run up to the last governorship election, some opposition politicians attacked the former Deputy President of the Senate, HE Ovie Omo-Agege, for siting the federal polytechnic in Orogun, his home town. I was one of those who defended his action. I saw nothing wrong in it. I will develop my town, not necessarily with a university, if have the same opportunity. Today, I also defend Governor Oborevwori for moving a faculty to Orerokpe, but that is not necessarily because the governor comes from that local government. Orerokpe has always been a major town and local government headquarters from the time of Midwest Region. Orerokpe should be far more developed by now. It is the headquarters of Okpe, the biggest Kingdom in Urhoboland, if not Delta State. The governor could have set up a new university in Orerokpe and nothing go happen.

    The noise about the relocation is much ado over nothing. I studied at the University of Nigeria and we had two campuses in Nsukka and Enugu. All the degree certificates bear: “University of Nigeria, Nsukka.” The degree certificates will bear Delta State University, Ozoro!  “Aw’Ozo, eme (Ozoro people, what is it)?” My real concern is not the where the schools are sited, but whether they are meeting our needs and helping to solve our problems in Delta State. Currently, Delta has problems of youth unemployment, internet fraud, prostitution, moral decadence, amongst others. What problems are these universities solving? We have a University of Agriculture, Anwai, Asaba. Is the university taking advantage of our enormous opportunities in agriculture? What kind of graduates does the university produce? Are they part of a bigger plan to make Delta self-sufficient in food production? Do the government and the university have an arrangement where there will be credit scheme or cooperative to enable the graduates to access cheap loans to go into farming after youth service? If they go looking for jobs after graduation, there is a problem.

    The state government should also go into partnership with the private sector to set up technology hubs in places like Ughelli and Warri, where internet fraud is rife. These youngsters already have the computer skills which have been wrongly utilised. What they need is reorientation. They must know the value of delayed gratification and spend their time and talents on positive endeavours. Why would a 20-year-old want to drive a vehicle worth 40m without first of all legitimately creating the wealth?

    Delta State has an untapped multibillion dollar maritime business and industry. We have Warri Port, Sapele Port, Koko Port, Burutu Port, etc. The Maritime industry chain is heavy with opportunities and can substantially reduce unemployment and generate wealth.

    The biggest asset Delta has are the people. We are hardworking, resilient, achievers, tops in sports, entertainment and academics, etc. We must go back to where we went wrong and re-discover ourselves and the universities need to be part of the journey of rediscovery.

    My final word is for my Isoko people in general and my Ozoro people, in particular. As one of you, I tell you boldly that this agitation is selfish and misplaced. Focus on the bigger picture beyond the economic benefits the university brings to Ozoro. Ozoro is growing in leaps and bounds; nothing can stop it. I was in Ozoro a few years ago. At Ala Square, I miscalculated and entered Etevie Quarters, instead of Erovie Quarters. I wanted to see the “bungalow” where I grew up. I had gone far into Etevie before I retraced my steps. Everything had changed. I saw a market, which I suspected, the traders refused to relocate to 40 years ago because it was far from the town, while I was still living there. It is now a busy cattle market. It enabled me to link up with Erovie Quarters and locate our “bungalow.” Ozoro is blessed. As far back as 1973 when I went there for the first time, Ozoro already had three post primary schools, pipe borne water and a general hospital, etc. The only thing missing then was electricity. Do not destroy important relationships that will come handy in future over nothing.

  • When things just don’t feel right – By Francis Ewherido

    When things just don’t feel right – By Francis Ewherido

    As you grow older, health conditions and challenges manifest. To overcome the challenges or mitigate the risks, you undergo treatment, be on certain medication or take drastic decisions. Besides your personal physician (your doctor), you are your other personal physician. You own your body, so you must understand it and do what is best for you.

    I have always been a sports lover, and I have always taken losses hard. From wrestling to boxing, basketball, tennis and football, it has always been so. When Ray Apollon inflicted the first professional loss on Mighty Igor, whom I supported then, I could barely eat for a week. Both of them were great wrestlers in the 80s. I took losses of the Green Eagles hard in those days and the Super Eagles harder now. My soccer team, Arsenal, made me miserable season after season. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at age 34. As I grew older, I knew I had to do something to avoid stroke or sudden death from these pains from sports losses.

    Some people feel a game is just sports. You win or lose, life goes on. It is wonderful for those with that disposition, but it is more than a game or sport for some of us. In insurance, you cannot insure the sentimental value owners place on a subject matter of insurance. That is because it is invaluable. The same applies to emotional attachment we have to teams and sports figures. A Chelsea fan and friend of mine told me to change my team to Chelsea when those boys at Arsenal were really playing with our emotions. I asked him, “Can you divorce your wife and marry another woman?” I know he loves his wife dearly, so I was not surprised to hear “impossible.” So I told him, “Don’t tell me that.” Football might just be a game and the football team is just a team, but there is emotional investment. If it still does not make sense to you, just run along. By the way, when I see my friend again, I will ask, “How market for Chelsea?”

    Knowing my attachment to the Super Eagles and considering my blood pressure, I decided I will not watch live matches of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Hearing the result after the match was okay for me. Hearing the result of a loss is like the momentary pain of an injection to me. After that moment, the pain subsides or goes away entirely. But the tension of watching a Super Eagles match live can be terrible. When the Super Eagles progressed to the semi-finals, I decided to watch the match. I regret the decision. After VAR cancelled Osimhen’s goal, I could see South Africa were playing, waiting for the game to end in a penalty shootout. I knew I had reached my limit. My body said so, and I switched off. My youngest daughter came to tell me later that we won. We won, but it was a Pyrrhic victory: It claimed the lives of five Nigerians – Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, who had been constant in Delta State politics since 1999, the Kwara State University Deputy Bursar, Alhaji Ayuba Abdullahi; a sales representatives, Mikhail Osundiji; a serving National Youth Service Corps member, identified simply as Samuel, and a Nigerian businessman based in Cote d’Ivoire, Chief Osondu Nwoye.

    I was firm that I would not watch the final after the tension of the semi-final. I already had mixed feelings that day. The deaths during the semi-final left a much soured taste in my mouth. The dead did not live to savour the victory. Then I read of the death of Prof. Emevwo Anselm Biakolo on Saturday before the match. He died in his sleep on Friday, according to the reports. I was not close to him, or so I thought. I ran into him a few times at Pan Atlantic University (PAU). He was quite polite, friendly and looked every inch distinguished. Of him, my eldest brother, Most Revd Anthony Ewherido, the Catholic Bishop of Warri Diocese, said: “He was a genius of a man. Has always been very smart. I knew him since my minor seminary days and his family was living around us in Otovwievwiere (Ughelli, Delta State) then (early 70s).” Now I understand why he always gave me a friendly smile when I ran into him at PAU. I was too young to know him then, but he knew me by my surname. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.

    Before the AFCON Final, there was an EPL match between West Ham at home to Arsenal. Arsenal lost in the reverse feature at home 2:0 to West Ham. They have been tough opponents to Arsenal in the last six meetings. I decided to watch the beginning which would determine whether I would watch till the end. West Ham came into the match with excessive confidence, bolstered by their recent successes against Arsenal. They abandoned their usual defensive tactics and catching Arsenal on the counter. They played toe to toe this time around. Not more than two teams do that in the premiership and go unscathed. West Ham was annihilated 6:0 at home. My spirit was lifted. My daughter thought I would change my mind and watch the AFCON Final with her. I told her it was too risky for my BP. I asked her, “I am sure you still want your daddy around?” She nodded in affirmation. “I will not watch,” I told her with a tone of finality.

    The kick off time coincided with the start of our evening prayers. This made me happy. After prayers, I went to my room to continue with this my occasional long solo prayer. I was determined to be as far as possible from the final match. I was still praying when my daughter came to my room sobbing: “Daddy, we lost.” No response from me. Am I supposed to interrupt my prayers? When I was done, I continued listening to psalms until I drifted off. I have not watched the full match or highlights till date and will not. What for? Am I the coach to watch and analyse where we went wrong.

    The week has been very sombre. I was numbed further by the news of the death of Herbert Wigwe, his wife, eldest son and Abimbola Ogunbanjo in a helicopter crash. I do not know them personally, but I have tasted bereavements and it is an experience I do not wish anyone, especially in gruesome and unexpected circumstances like this. Unfortunately, we all will be bereaved at some point in life. That is the price you pay for loving. I feel for their families. While growing up, “save us from sudden accidental (unprepared for) death)” was part of our daily family prayers. At times like this, I remember that prayer. I still pray it, but not as often as when I was growing up.

    While going through comments on the stories of the death of the Wigwes and Ogunbanjo, I saw the famous quote of Shakespeare: “When beggars die there are no comets seen. The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” The person was referring to the recent killings in the Middle Belt and other parts of Nigeria viz-a-viz the Wigwes and Ogunbanjo. With all due respect, such a comment at such a time is inappropriate and insensitive. I have been there before. It is rubbing pepper on the bereaved wounds. Mass killings have been going on for a while in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and other parts of Nigeria. Nobody, except the perpetrators, are happy about it. In many cases, these people are villages who are not known, but they are certainly not “beggars.” They are Nigerians, fathers, mothers, relatives and neighbours, though not famous. So why the quote at this time? Wigwe and Ogunbanjo were prominent Nigerians. Even in death you cannot deny them that. When Pope John Paul II and Queen Elizabeth died, CNN, BBC and other major networks suspended their usual programmes and gave their death and funeral consistent coverage. We are all equal before God, but some people get accolades and mention because of their positions and accomplishments. There is nothing anyone can do about that. Give people their flowers when deserved. That does not diminish other deaths. Every death makes humanity poorer.

  • The hazards of styrofoam – By Francis Ewherido

    The hazards of styrofoam – By Francis Ewherido

    On February 22, 2021, I wrote an article titled “Real and Metaphoric Floating Debris.” In the article I wrote about my experience at Ladipo Market, Lagos, where a heavy down pour caught up with me. I complained about “empty food packs, plastic bottles of water and drinks, among other debris that were earlier disposed of indiscriminately.” I was really pissed off with our attitude to keeping our environment clean. Among the debris I complained about were disposable empty food packs. I did not realise that beyond being environmental nuisance, those packs are very hazardous to the environment and our health.

    Recently the Lagos State Government placed a total ban on the usage and distribution of Styrofoam in Lagos State. Restaurants and food sellers use these Styrofoam as take away packs. As at the time I wrote that article, I was only conscious of the nuisance to the environment. Now, I know that the sins of the Styrofoam food packs are legion. One, due to their indiscriminate disposal by Lagosians, they block drainage channels adding to flooding during rainy season. I am not surprised because I suspected from my experience at Ladipo Market. The roads and drains were flooded.

    The Lagos State government also said that Styrofoam is hazardous to wild and aquatic life and animals that often mistake them for food. After consuming the Styrofoam, these creatures become toxic. These are the same fishes and animals we consume as food. Your guess is as good as mine. The government also said Styrofoam is dangerous to human health. This is understandable. For a Niger Delta man, anything dangerous to aquatic life will automatically be dangerous to our health. We live mainly on seafood, so it is no rocket science.

    My great worry is how we allowed it to get into restaurants and “mama-put” as take away pack without proper enlightenment on how it should be handled? The World Centric wrote: “As early as the 1980’s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency demonstrated that styrene – the molecular building block of all polystyrene, including Styrofoam – was present in 100% of the samples of human fat that they collected from all 48 states in the continental United States.” Better late than never. Lagos State is taking action, what about the other 35 states and the FCT Abuja? As a people, we need to be more proactive about such health-related issues.

    The government also “said that the product was not recyclable and would remain the same after 100 years.” This really got me worried. We are in an era when recycling of waste and reducing or avoiding use of climate change substances are on the front burner and we have a widespread use of a product that is not recyclable. Any waste that cannot be recycled is not good news.

    I decided to dig further to know what Styrofoam is all about. “Styrofoam is a trademark name for polystyrene, a petroleum-based chemical compound. It’s manufactured from styrene, a volatile colorless liquid. Studies have linked exposure to styrene to genetic damage to white blood cells and to certain blood cancers. Polystyrene is considered safe for food use when in a solid state. However, heating can cause chemicals to leach into the food. Eating the contents of a melted foam container one time is unlikely to cause harm. However, repeated exposure, which can be cumulative, can be a health risk.”

    The explanation there says it is considered safe when in solid form, but can cause chemicals to get into the food if heated. Ehen!  In many restaurants, it is heated with the food in microwave to make the food hot. That is a big problem. And now Styrofoam being linked with cancer is a deal breaker for me no matter how remote. Four people I know died of cancer in 2023. “It is estimated that over 124,000 new cases of cancer were recorded in Nigeria in the year 2020 which resulted in 78,899 deaths.” That is a lot even if we are over 200m people. And trust me, these estimates are below actual figures. Illiteracy, poverty superstition amongst others make some cases go unreported. I do not have the figures for 2021 and 2022, but I will not be surprised if they are higher. Global Cancer Observatory says Nigeria has one of the highest cancer mortality rates in the world, with approximately four out of five cases resulting in death.

    Early detection is crucial, but that is not the case with most Nigerians. King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer last week, but because of its early detection, it is looking like a routine ailment and treatment: “Although he will pause his public events, the King will continue with his constitutional role as head of state, including paperwork and private meetings.” This is not the case with cancer patients in Nigeria. Some have died and those who survived the battle against cancer have scars to show for it. Nigeria still does not have an all-round plan to combat the scourge of cancer.

    The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act 2022 had made health insurance mandatory for all Nigerians, but how far with the implementation? NHIA is expected to enroll all Nigerians, including cancer patients for health insurance. We are nowhere near achieving that. That is why I take sides with the Lagos State Government on this matter, though investors would lose money and there will be job losses. The health of the people should take precedence. In all fairness to the Lagos State Government, pronouncement on the ban of Styrofoam was made over three years ago but was not enforced. So the three weeks’ notice it gave recently is on a matter that was already on. I sincerely symthatise with those who will be affected, but when you have a relative or friend who agonized in pains while waiting for the inevitable last breath, you will take side with the government.

    I must confess that Styrofoam ban was not totally clear to me when the Lagos State Government placed the ban. My interest was the nuisance it posed to the environment. My shallow knowledge of chemistry was mainly responsible. As an arts student, I gave up on mathematics, chemistry and physics too soon. The teachers did not help matters, but no excuses. But you know, if you are driving and your front tyre runs into a pothole, you make efforts so the hind tyre will avoid the pothole. If both fall into the same pothole, your driving is questionable.

    That is why I advised all my children to be grounded in both sciences and arts, not minding whether you are an arts or science student. It makes life easier later in life. You should not struggle with mathematics or English and your children will do same. It is not good enough. if you see reports written by some wizards in the sciences or figures, reading them is worse than eating stone-riddled Abakaliki rice of old because of grammatical errors. For the arts-oriented people, they sweat even in air conditioned space while making presentations with data, graphs, etc. If you are going through this or you went through it, your children must never have the same experience. A well-rounded education will save your children this agony later in future.

  • Ughelli, my Ughelli – By Francis Ewherido

    Ughelli, my Ughelli – By Francis Ewherido

    I was born and started life in Ughelli, a town then, but now a city, in Delta State. It was a town with a hospital, three post primary schools, primary schools, a standard general hospital, pipe borne water, parade ground for independence parade and celebration etc., a police station and even military presence because some soldiers stayed back after the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. Though it had all these institutions, it was just a major Urhobo town. The only language spoken was Urhobo.

    My childhood memories were sweet. Ughelli was a very safe town. The only little security issue was arms that fell into wrong hands after the civil war. We also heard rumours of gbomogbomo (people who stole children), but I cannot not recall any case. Ughelli was safe. There were no fences separating compounds, so we had many shortcuts. Then the adults would send us on errands and spit on the ground. They would tell us that if the spittle dried up before we returned, we would die. We ran the races of our lives to deliver errands. On return, we would first go and check the spot of the spittle to be sure it was still wet. That meant we would not die. The adults kept spitting on the spot in our absence to ensure it remained wet. That way they perpetuated the myth.

    Ughelli was fun for me. I loved the freedom of nature. The only time some of us wore clothes was on Sundays and school hours. I played and ran around the streets of Okoroedafe and Otovwievwiere naked. I stopped when one of my playmates confronted me: “This boy, don’t you ever cover this your thing (penis)?” It was a public gathering of children and I was so embarrassed. I ran to the house to wear my pant and shorts. That was why when my children were growing up, if my wife rebuked them if she caught them naked in the house, I would challenge her: “Their father ran around the streets of Ughelli naked; why are you harassing them for being naked within the house?” This nakedness happened mainly in their rooms or from their rooms to and fro the bathroom.

    Then, I also was not aware of the difference between male and female private parts until around three years to four years, one of the disadvantages of growing up without a sister. My older playmate was a girl called Oghenenioke and we used to play in the rain and have our bath together outside (the bathrooms then were meant for older teenagers and adults only). We were having our bath outside one day when I noticed that her private region was flat. I shouted, “Mama, mor. Dak’Oghenenioke vwi shoshoo” (Mama, come o, Oghenenioke has no penis). My mother Oghenenioke, and the women in the compound fell down and started laughing. I was laughing with them, reveling in my “ingenuity,” because I thought I discovered something they never knew. These adults kept telling me repeat what I said and a round of laughter followed each repetition. Oghenerhioke was, of course, a girl and had no business having a penis!

    During school hours, parents, especially mothers, carried canes and followed recalcitrant children to the school gate or class. You could cry buckets of tears, but you had to go to school. Among these children then are professors, captains of industry, top civil servants and many other successful men and women you see today. That was my Ughelli of the late 60s and early 70s before my family relocated to Ozoro, also in Delta, in 1973.

    Ughelli is no longer what it used to be. People from other ethnicities now live there and it is now a city. Speaking of Urhobo is now in pockets, but it is not because of people from the other ethnicities that is making the local language to die. I watched a video of an Igbo guy who grew up in Ughelli. His Urhobo is typically the Ughelli dialect without a trace of an accent. The Urhobo language is dying not only in Ughelli, but the whole of Urhobo land. If you speak Urhobo, you are labelled an “Ogb’Urhobo” (bushman). Such a tag is destructive to some young people’s self-esteem. Youngsters want to be happening guys in town and one good way is to stay away from their culture (language), in their estimation.

    But my main worry is not the erosion of our culture. It is the erosion of values. The stories I am currently hearing from Ughelli are not palatable. Over fifty years ago, parents compelled their children to go to school. Now, some parents are taking their children to where they will learn internet fraud. Parents pay major internet fraudsters fees to take their children as apprentices.  A friend of mine relocated from Lagos to Ughelli. He said our youths back home needed more role models and mentors to guide them.  I spoke with him some time ago. He said Ughelli is completely different from the Ughelli where I grew up. Morality has been thrown to the dogs in many families. It is not only internet fraud, cultism, drug abuse and “runs girls” are abound. The moral fabric of Ughelli has undergone a metamorphosis, the type where a caterpillar transforms to a butterfly and you cannot find the relationship between the two creatures anymore.

    My mind went to the 70s. My father bought all our books, including writing materials (pens and pencils). How do you explain being in possession of another brand of writing materials that were not the bic or HB pencil he bought for you? You want to lie that they were exhausted? He would know you were lying which is a more grievous offence because as a teacher, he knew how long they lasted before replacement. And if they were exhausted, where did you get the money to get new ones? Why didn’t you request for new ones? The attention of some parents is no longer on studies, but how their children can become rich without doing the hard work.

    Kidnapping is also rife in Ughelli. A friend told me that it is dangerous to step out of your house from 8pm. That is a death sentence for businesses that rely on night life.  Someone I know was kidnapped about three weeks ago. I do not want to go into details of the dangerous dimension it has assumed. It is worrisome. I know kidnapping is rife in Nigeria right now, but it is not good for the economic wellbeing of any town, state or country where it is rampant.

    I want to remind those parents encouraging their children to do Yahoo-Yahoo or other crimes that they are playing with their children’s future. Beyond security agents clamping down on them, the world now knows that many Nigerians are into internet fraud.  Gradually fewer foreigners are falling mugu. With simple economy law of demand and supply, the business will die or shrink like a pond to a level where a tiny few can be accommodated. I hear that some parents who “invested” in laptops and phones are already complaining that the business is not as return-oriented as they expected. Some of these parents are putting not only their children, but their own future in jeopardy. Now that you are still young, go back to school or learn more enduring skills that can guarantee you a better future. Delta State has many institutions of higher learning and technical schools.

    And you the parents encouraging your children, you are getting old. Some of you have no reasonable assets, liquid cash or retirement plan. What will happen to you when you get too old to fend for yourself and you have no children who can take care of you in your old age? Build your children’s future on solid, not sandy, foundation, Make everybody begin get sense. Urhobos, Deltans and Nigerians cannot get to their destinations with this wrong mindset.

  • “Keyamo?” or “Keyamo!” – By Francis Ewherido

    “Keyamo?” or “Keyamo!” – By Francis Ewherido

    Of course, Barr. Festus Keyamo is the Minister of Aviation Aerospace Development of Nigeria. The name Keyamo has a deep meaning among the Uvwie people of the Urhobo Ethnic Group in Delta State, where Keyamo hails from. The rest of Urhobos use the another word, Kesiena. Keyamo and Kesiena mean the same thing. We shall go deeper into the meaning later.

    The aviation sector in Nigeria has been bedevilled by a myriad of problems over time. At a point, planes were dropping from our skies like very sick and exhausted birds. A few air mishaps have been recorded recently, but fatal as it used to be. Our airports were eyesores at a time and some still are. On getting to our arrival hall at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, stench from the toilets welcomed you, followed by irritating toilet cleaners who were busy offering travellers tissue paper for tips, instead of keeping the toilets clean, the job they were employed to do. That was a real anomaly because all over the world, travellers use hand dryers or paper towels to dry their hands without human interaction.

    Further down you had some immigration officials asking returning Nigerians and foreigners “what did you bring for me?” Before you exited the terminal, customs officers took their own pound of flesh. But that is not all. You exited the arrival hall into very chaotic scenes: disorganised transportation system, rowdy touts, money changers who exchanged both genuine and fake money; thieves and people loitering around the airport for God knows what reasons. It was a nightmare for a first timer and other travellers. Departure was just as embarrassing. The departure hall was like an open Nigerian market place. The customs, immigration officials were not much different from the ones at arrival. That was situation was as at May 29, 2023. I have not travelled abroad since then to know the current situation.

    The aviation sector is a landmine. That made many Nigerians to question the choice of Keyamo as the aviation minister. They wanted an “aviation expert” as the minister. I am not vast in that sector, but I know that businesses and sectors that are international in nature like aviation and marine are steep in law. I felt a lawyer and a senior advocate of Nigeria, for that matter, should do well in the Ministry of Aviation. Beyond that, anybody who wants to reform the Nigerian aviation sector needs to have balls. He needs courage because of the changes, reversals and bold decisions that need to be taken. Over the years, Keyamo has shown that he is a man of immense courage.

    Soon after he came in, the Federal Government suspended the Air Nigeria project. It was a deal that was deep in so much intrigues and secrecy. That was the right thing to do. Keyamo has just ordered the relocation of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) headquarters from Abuja to Lagos State. In a country where ethnic colouration was read into such relocations of government agencies from Abuja during the Obasanjo government, that is a courageous decision, but the dust is yet to settle. Some Northern elements say the relocation of the FAAN Headquarters to Lagos is anti-North. I find this thinking very disturbing because Abuja was conceived to be for all Nigerians. Anything anti-Abuja should therefore be seen as anti-Nigeria, not anti any part of the country. Abuja belongs to all Nigerians, its location, notwithstanding.

    Anyway, even stake holders within the aviation industry hold divergent views on the relocation order. As a lay man, I feel that the initial relocation of FAAN headquarters to Abuja was ill-advised because over 60 per cent of FAAN’s activities are in Lagos. FAAN also left an owned-accommodation in Lagos to become a tenant in Abuja. FAAN has stated that the relocation will “stop waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.” I am for that, but time will tell.

    Before the order for the relocation of FAAN, government had relieved the MD of FAAN and heads of three other agencies under the ministry of their positions and replaced them with new hands. Such changes do not really excite me until I see positive results of the changes, so time will also tell. There are many other issues Keyamo will confront and conquer many challenges to determine how his tenure as aviation minister will be judged.

    Keyamo knows the challenges in his ministry more than I do and I have no intention of telling him what he knows more than I do. But for some time now I have become addicted to Songs of Solomon 2:15: “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that are ruining the vineyards…” In Nigerian parlance this verse simply means: “na small sh*t dey spoil yansh.” Another way to look at it is paying attention to seemingly insignificant but important little details. I will give an example as a prelude before I get back to the aviation sector. Why is there sand on our roads? It is not so in Europe, America and even emerging powers like Dubai, Singapore and others. Their roads are spick and span.

    Back to aviation, I spent part of my early working life as a public relations/advertising person. I still see things from that angle. On arrival at our international airports, the first set of people foreigners meet are the immigration people. Consequently, they must be patriots with innate public relation skills and be great ambassadors of Nigeria, because the visitors get their first impressions of Nigeria from contact with them. If they need to be intentionally and deliberately trained, so be it. I know the immigration staff are not under the ministry of aviation, but Keyamo must ensure that the Nigerian Immigration Service sends only the best hands who are driven by patriotism and professionalism, not pecuniary gains. No one has asked me for tips in Europe and America; even in some parts of Asia. The airports are the turfs of Keyamo and when in Rome, officials of other agencies must do as the Romans do. That should not be negotiable for Keyamo. Nigeria cannot be different from the countries it seeks to measure up to.

    I have not used the new wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, but the toilets in the old were strategically located just before the entrance of the arrival, but they were an eyesore. I have never seen a smelly or dirty toilet in all my travels. The only time I encountered a smelly toilet was at LaGuardia Airport, New York. Our airport toilets should be spick and span at all times. They should smell good.

    Flight delays and cancellations are still the norm rather than the exception. The narrative must change during your time, Hon. Minister. There are many other issues, some of which you have already talked about. The task is huge and I wish you success for the sake of the Nigerian Aviation industry.

    Now back to the name, Keyamo. Keyamo can be interpreted in two ways in Uvwie. When it carries a question mark, it means that the person talking is not impressed, but when Keyamo goes with an exclamation, it means joy or contentment (this is, this what we have been expecting). Well-meaning Nigerians will take that decision, but it is minister’s performance that will determine if it is “Keyamo?” or “Keyamo!”

    Francis Ewherido is TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) columnist.

  • Is sex a prostate enlargement therapy or hype? – By Francis Ewherido

    Is sex a prostate enlargement therapy or hype? – By Francis Ewherido

    “A fool at 40 is a fool forever,” is a popular, in fact, hackneyed saying. I have not subjected it to empirical study, so I will not comment on it. But I know that at 40 you should try to be real and after 50 years, if you still live a lie or lie to yourself, your case is desperate. I love being real and brutal with myself by telling myself the truth. I do not play fool or deceive myself in my personal matters. It is painful if another person deceives me, but it is unforgivable if I deceive myself.

    Two weeks ago, we talked about prostate challenges: prostatitis and enlarged prostate (benign or malignant). Our interest today is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), that is, enlarged prostate that is not cancerous. There are many supposed therapies to shrink the prostate. One of the often hyped therapies is regular sex.

    Just in case you still do not know, the prostate is a part of the male reproductive system, which includes the penis, seminal vesicles, and testicles. The prostate is located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It surrounds the urethra (the tube that empties urine from the bladder). The prostate glands produce and contain fluid that forms part of semen, the substance emitted during ejaculation as part of the male sexual response. I just want to give you an idea of the importance of prostate and the immense role it plays in reproduction and sexual pleasure. 

    We know that once a man turns 40, the prostate starts enlarging. This enlargement comes with challenges after a while: “poor bladder control, including frequent bathroom visits, urinary urgency, sometimes with only a small amount of urine, difficulty starting the urine stream, or stopping and starting the stream while urinating, a weak or thin urine stream,” among others. These are all inconveniencing and sometimes painful conditions. 

    I have always preferred natural therapies on prostate issues. In fact, for a while, I ate meals with plenty of tomatoes because it contains lycopene. From my PSA check before and after, compared to other times, the enlargement was much slower. Then I had some health challenges which disrupted the routine for two years. By the time I did PSA after over two years of disruption, there was a significant enlargement of the prostate. 

    I have been experimenting with other natural therapies since then with little success, so I cannot discuss them here. I also tried an exercise where you lie face up on a flat surface and with the soles of both feet on the flat surface you are lying on. Then you raise your waist up and down. I am actually familiar with the exercise because it was recommended by my physiotherapist to strengthen the hind leg muscles when I temporarily lost the use of my legs. It worked for my hind leg muscles, but it did not shrink my prostate as hyped by the protagonists of this exercise, though I acknowledge that results do vary among people. I usually do pre and post PSA and prostate scan to be certain of what I am talking about. 

    The purpose of today’s article is to reason with men on sex as an option to shrink prostate enlargement. Before I go on, let me share with you what I read online. “A 2016 study found that men who ejaculated at least 21 times per month reduced their risk of prostate cancer by about 20 per cent compared to those who did the deed four to seven times a month.”

    “The magic of sex only goes so far when it comes to possibly protecting the prostate. Prostate enlargement, or benign prostatic hypoplasia, is a reality of aging that can’t be undone by more frequent ejaculation.”

    “It’s far from definitive to say that more sex can help you dodge prostate cancer. In reality, nearly one out of eight with a prostate will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their life.” If we are to go by these quotes, the postulation of sex or frequent sex shrinking the prostate or stopping prostate cancer, it is inconclusive. 

    Now let us go to the relationship between sex drive, testosterone, prostate enlargement and the age factor. “Testosterone, a hormone men need for sexual arousal, is typically high in your 20s, and so is your sex drive. Men in their 30s and early 40s continue to have a strong sex drive, though testosterone starts to slowly decrease around age 35. It typically goes down by about one per cent per year, but it could be faster for some men. This could have some effect on your sex drive. Plus, for many men, the stress of work, family, and other commitments can affect how interested you are in sex.”

    “If you’re in good physical and mental health, there’s no reason you shouldn’t continue to enjoy your sex life as you get older. Erectile dysfunction “does become more common as you age. Your erections may happen less often and may be less firm. But it’s not age itself that causes the problem as much as health problems that become more common with age, like heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity, and the drugs that treat them.” 

    • “At birth, the prostate gland is roughly the size of a pea. The prostate keeps growing until you turn 20 when it weighs 15 grams to 20 grams. During the ages of 30 to 45, the prostate should remain stable at 20-25 grams. 25 – 30 grams for men in their 40s, 30 – 40 grams for men in their 50s and 35 – 45 grams for men in their 60s.”
    • As you observed, the libido and sexual ability diminish as the prostate is enlarging. I have been wondering, how can a natural problem (prostate enlargement) arise and nature is chipping away at the solution (regular sex). If regular sex is a sure solution to enlarged prostate, it would have been better if enlarged prostate afflicted people in their 20s and 30s, up to 45 years when their sex drive is high and they can engage in sex up to 30 times or more a week without stress to shrink the prostate? But how many people in their 50s have that kind of time, strength and health to engage in such frequent and rigorous sex? Na who I go ask, God?
    • I will share a few interactions with you. Many years ago, I spoke with my friend after he turned 50 years. He is a year older than I am. In the course of our discussion, he told me that his wife complained that he now does only one round, unlike before. “My friend, don’t you know I am getting older,” my friend bellowed. I went to visit another friend. I met him with another mutual friend. They are their late 60s now but they were in their mid-50s then. I cannot remember what brought the discussion, but the wife of my host said their marriage is now more about companionship than sex. The other woman retorted, “If we see am once in three months, na celebration.” My friends were so embarrassed, I quickly changed the topic. I visited another friend in his early 60s. We were talking when the wife came to greet me. As she was going upstairs, my friend asked, “Make I come.” The wife retorted, “Come do wetin? I never recover from the one you do yesterday.” I was not surprised at her response. My friend spends hours playing squash and he is so fit and strong, what do you expect? Last August, an 84-year-old man killed his 75-year old wife for denying him sex. An 84-year-old can still muster an erection?
    • But from the few responses and the story, it is a mixed bag for men above 50 years, depending on many factors. But the point I want to make is that God created sex for procreation and pleasure in marriage. Continue to enjoy it, but be careful using it as a means to shrink your prostate. Take into consideration your heart condition, underlying ailments like hypertension, diabetes and others. Some of these ailments have even rendered some men temporarily impotent, while other men are dealing with erectile dysfunction. Do not also go taking aphrodisiacs, because you want to use sex to shrink your prostate, without consideration of your health situation and consultation with your doctor. Do not rob Peter to pay Paul. Being alive is more important.

    Though I have not implemented all of them, I subscribe to the following natural routines for prostate health: Avoiding liquids a few hours before bedtime or before going out, limiting caffeine and alcohol as these may stimulate the urge to urinate, eating a low-fat diet, eating a large variety of vegetables each day, eating a few servings of fruit daily, with citrus fruits, if possible; participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week and maintaining a healthy weight (before those who know me get at me, I am overweight. E nor easy, but I go try lose some).

  • Reaction to Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana (2)

    Reaction to Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana (2)

    By Francis Ewherido

    I continue my last week’s reaction to videos of Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana. A couple of interactions took place between the publication of the first part and now. For clarity, I do not know any of these YouTubers personally. They are Nigerians and much younger than I am. As a patriot, I am just correcting misrepresentations and putting facts in proper perspective. I cannot sit down in peace and watch some people throw fellow Nigerians and Nigeria under the bus for selfish reasons: looking for more subscribers and views.

    Some of their videos are based on the fallacy of an “age-long” Nigeria-Ghana rivalry. Some Ghanaian YouTubers also are also into this fallacy of age-long rivalry. Which age-long rivalry? How old is the rivalry? When did the rivalry start? From history the leading figures in Nigeria and Ghana COLLABORATED during the colonial times for African countries to gain independence from Colonial rule. Collaboration is not rivalry. Ghana’s pioneer President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was a leading figure in the campaign for a United State of Africa. Nigerian leaders then were not too enthusiastic about the idea because within Nigeria there were already mutual suspicions among the three major ethnic groups and the smaller ethnic groups. A country already plagued by such mutual suspicions could not have been enthusiastic about being part of a larger United State of Africa. Ordinarily, Nigeria should even have been in the forefront because we have always had the population advantage. These leaders had DIFFERENCES IN OPINION, not rivalry. 

    During the Nigerian Civil War, Ghana at some point supported Nigeria, then switched support to Biafra. Some people saw the involvement of Ghana in Nigeria’s affairs as INTERVENTION, while others saw it as INTERFERENCE. Either way you look at it, it was not rivalry. Ghana expelled many “undocumented West African migrants, mostly Nigerians of Yoruba stock from Ghana in 1969. In January, 1983, Nigeria expelled “two million undocumented West African migrants, more than half of whom were Ghanaians.” These deportations are sordid part of our histories that are better forgotten. But nobody who knows the details can also refer to both deportations as rivalry.

    The only area where I saw rivalry over time is in soccer. In their time Abedi Pele of Ghana and Roger Milla of Cameroon broke many Nigerian hearts, including mine. The football rivalry still subsists, but such football rivalries are normal and are all over the world between countries and clubs. The so called jollof rice rivalry was just a comic relief but social media people took the handshake beyond the elbow.  People need to be careful with taking jokes too far because what Will Smith did to Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars, though inappropriate, can happen to you.  

    Music rivalry has never existed between Nigeria and Ghana. It is a creation of the social media people. At the beginning, Ghana’s veteran musician and legend, Ebi Taylor, said Nigerian and Ghanaian musicians “jammed together” and “hung out together.” That connotes COLLABORATION. So when did this age-long music rivalry start? Both countries have always done their music. Both countries still do. I will not speak for Ghana, but I know that right now, being the best, or minimum, being among the best in the world is the goal of Nigerian musicians. The same applies to Nigerians in the movie and other sectors of the entertainment industry. Nigerian entertainers just want to be at the world stage. There can only be collaboration with their Ghanaian counterparts, not rivalry between both countries in the entertainment industry. 

    Having written this portion, I Googled Nigeria-Ghana rivalry to be sure I was on point. The only rivalry Wikipedia mentioned was soccer. The jollof rivalry was just a joke. The only area Wikipedia mentioned was trade-related disputes fuelled by national interest. Is that rivalry? YouTubers should look for contents, not creating what does not exist. 

    Ghana is very peaceful country, while Nigeria is dealing with many security issues, so what are you comparing? Nigeria has so many internal issues to resolve. I feel Nigeria should just be left alone to deal with its internal challenges while we savour the good things going for us. YouTubers go about looking for contents like hungry lions. Some Nigerian YouTubers have taken the option of living in Ghana and enjoying the peace and stable electricity there. There is no problem with exercising your freedom of choice, but leave those of us who have decided, by choice also, to stay in Nigeria alone. It is our country and for us, east or west, home is the best.

    Some Nigerian YouTubers also taunt Nigerians that Ghana has a better educational system. Ghana is the only West African country listed among the top ten countries with the best educational system in Africa. I do not deny people their flowers, so kudos to Ghana. But let me go back and focus on Nigeria. The University College, Ibadan, was established in 1948 as an affiliate of the University of London. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe established the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, in 1960. By the way, I am a proud alumnus of UNN. The South West followed with two universities: Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in 1961 and the University of Lagos in 1962. Not to be outdone, the Northern Region established Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1962. Obafemi Awolowo was the first premier of a region to introduce free education. He also gave scholarships to many students from the Western Region to study in Europe, especially the United Kingdom. Other regions followed suit. This inter-region healthy competition sped up educational advancement in Nigeria in the 60s. Nigerian universities were world renowned (and some still are). Asians, Caucasians and other African countries came to Nigeria to study. Even in the 80s, my roommate, Kelechi, a Nigerian, was living in London, but his father sent him to Nigeria to study. We had Indians and students from other countries. Some Cameroonians students were on scholarship from the Cameroonian Government.  I singled out Cameroonian students because when it came to drinking beer, they took Nigerian students to the cleaners. I wish the 36 states in Nigeria can reignite that healthy competition among regions in the 60s. It will accelerate our development across all sectors of our national life.

    The nemesis of Nigerian universities came when they rubbed the military government the wrong way. The military government decided to underfund and stifle them because of their opposition to continued military rule. That was when things fell apart. At this time I had graduated without strike-induced disruptions. The major disruptions started thereafter. When Nigeria returned to civil rule in 1999, the government still did not fund education enough and the strikes and other issues continued. The disruption was what led to the exodus of many Nigerian students to other African countries and Europe where they distinguished themselves. Some YouTubers do not read the history that shaped the present they are talking about. They should up their game.

    Nigeria has 174 universities and counting. The federal government owns 43, the 36 states own 52 and there are 79 private universities. Tuition is virtually free in federal universities, although students pay other fees amounting to equivalent of $120 to $150. State universities pay about 50 per cent higher. Tuition and other fees of private universities range from $1,470 to $4,000 per annum. As a result of stability returning to Nigeria’s university educational system and the depreciating value of the naira, many Nigerians will no longer send their children outside Nigeria for university education. 

    Some rich Nigerian investors have seen the need for Ivy League kind of universities like Harvard University and Yale University, in Nigeria. It is a long shot, but if you know what these promoters have achieved in other endeavours and their tenacity, you will not underrate them. What it all mean is that with time more rich Nigerians will not even need to send their children to Europe and America. They will keep them in Nigeria so that they can monitor them. Some rich Nigerians who sent their children abroad have lost them to drug addiction and other vices. 

    These new developments mean that Ghana, Europe, Canada, America and other countries that were benefitting from Nigeria’s troubled university education system are going to lose huge revenues. Two proactive universities from Europe have already visited Nigeria to explore the way forward for their universities. 

    I will run through a couple of other issues in brief and round up. Agenda Setting: This is a formidable tool which media practitioners use to determine the issues to be discussed. Some Nigerian YouTubers in Ghana are very ignorant of it and follow agenda set for them by others, which is to portray only the bad side and misrepresent Nigeria. They proclaim that the Nigerian Passport is useless. Apart from the Republic of Benin and Togo enroute Ghana, many of you have never travelled anywhere and you tell me my Nigerian passport that I have used to travel effortlessly to various parts of Europe, America and Asia is a problem? My Nigerian passport is not a liability. I carry my passport with pride. You always quote other people’s experiences. Tell us your personal experiences. One of you mentioned Tayo Aina, a well-travelled Nigerian YouTuber, as one of those who complained about the Nigerian passport. I do not know if Tayo is married, but he is certainly young. Every young and/or unmarried Nigerian applying for visa or travelling abroad is a suspect because of stereotype, which has substance: Some of them stay back permanently with visiting visas. 

    It is true that some Nigerians do experience hiccups due to stereotyping, but some of those Nigerians complaining are not telling us the whole story. For instance, when you travel frequently on routes notorious for drugs trafficking, immigration will see you as guilty until you prove your innocence. When you put incriminating and hate posts on your social media platforms, forgetting that the public have access to them, you make yourself a subject for further investigation. Why should you share posts of people who propagate stupendous wealth without identifiable sources or processes of income? There are some other reasons why some Nigerians encounter problems while travelling, but they have nothing to do with the Nigerian passport they carry. Any immigration officer who Googles the names of many other Nigerians realize that these people will certainly go back to their “shithole,” “Boko Haram,” “den of kidnappers,” and “scammers’” country once they are done with what brought them to their country. In one encounter with immigration at George Bush International Airport, Houston, the immigration officer wanted us to realize that he knew a few things about Nigeria. He asked my wife whether she was carrying “egusi” or “ogbono.” Once we told him content in the luggage, he waved us on. He did not check!

    Another some set of YouTube videos I find irritating are YouTubers who interview two or three Nigerians and use their response to stereotype over 200 million Nigerians. Haven’t you heard of the word “census?” Where census is difficult because of lack of resources or logistics, you get a “representative sample” or you use a determiner like “some” Nigerians. Anyway, I don’t watch such videos. What is important to me is how Nigeria can overcome its internal challenges. I am also not interested in videos of what citizens of other countries think about Nigerians. I am not looking for validation from anybody. What people think about me is outside my control. What is within my control is to be law-abiding in Nigeria and everywhere I travel to, and also respect my hosts. But my hosts must treat me as a fellow human being, at the minimum, and respect me even if they have to pretend.

    My problem with these Nigerian YouTubers based Ghana in is not their criticisms of Nigeria. I criticize Nigerians and the Nigerian Government also. Other Nigerian YouTubers also criticize Nigerian government and government officials like hell, but they are constructive. But the videos of some of these Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana are divisive, demeaning, destructive, unpatriotic and sometimes evil. I will give you one example. The Nigerian Government engaged Dangote Industry to reconstruct the Oworonsoki to Apapa Road in Lagos with concrete to end perennial failure of the road. The road is about 35 kilometres and was done in segments because it is a busy road. Most parts of the road had been completed. Then one of these negative-minded Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana did a story on the road. He ignored the major portions of the road that had been completed and focused on the small portion of the road leading into Apapa Port that was yet to be done. He wickedly announced to his subscribers and viewers that this is the state of the road leading to Nigeria’s main seaport. That video really got me angry when I went to the comment section. If this is not evil, what do you call it? The same fellow who caused so much hate between Nigerians and Ghanaians is now preaching peace on his channel because Nigerians are tired of his likes and are now fighting back. So much for a peacemaker!  You just trample on people’s sensibilities because of your defective sense of reasoning. We all cannot be low in thinking and slavish like you. Nonsense. Continue portraying Nigeria as the Biblical Nazareth where nothing good can come out of. But Jesus Christ is from Nazareth, and the followers of his teachings form the largest religious group in the world today.

    In another video, a YouTuber gave the “grievous” account of the criminal behaviour of some Nigerians in Ghana. Continue to expose them as I said in the part one of my reaction. But I expected you to talk about the “minor” news of the invasion of Balegete community in Nigeria twice, abduction of over 40 villagers, destruction of their farms, the killing of the Balegete Community leader and burning of Balegete community by Ambazonian militants from Cameroon. The community is probably not too far from your own community. What you did is called Afghanistanism in journalism (the practice of concentrating on problems in distant places while ignoring local problems.  

    I will conclude with an unsolicited advice to these YouTubers. One, be in firm control of your minds because whoever controls your mind controls your life. The minds of some of you are others-controlled. Physical slavery has been abolished, but mental slaves subsists. Two, understanding the meaning of issues is in many stages, but I will deal with three: literal, denotative and connotative. Your literal or basic understanding of issues needs improvement. There is no excuse for that. Denotative understanding needs a reasonable level of mental capacity and intellectual rigour. It is within you. Just put in the hard work. I will not bother you with connotative understanding. It takes time, experience and influence in your circle (media, business, financial, social, government and whatever circles you play in). 

    Africa has 54 countries. The obsession of comparism by YouTubers of Nigeria and Ghana is causing more damage than good in social media. All these brouhaha are non-existent in the traditional media which proves my point that it is a social media creation. Social media should let both countries be. Let them breathe. The ambition of Nigeria/Nigerians is not to be better than Ghana or any African country. Our interest is not about unhealthy competition with anyone. We just want to solve our problems to enable us realize our full potentials. We want to be among the best countries in the world. 

     

    Francis Ewherido is TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) columnist, an author and a Patriot.

  • Breast cancer, be proactive, be brutal – By Francis Ewherido

    Breast cancer, be proactive, be brutal – By Francis Ewherido

    I am neither a woman nor a medical doctor. But I needed to make today’s topic real, so invited my cousin, my real “paddy” and Chief Medical Director of NTA Clinic, Victoria Island, Dr. (Mrs.) Martina Agberien, to co-author today’s article with me. Breast cancer is the nemesis of women, just as prostate cancer is the nemesis of men. The only difference is that men are more prone to prostate cancer than women are prone to breast cancer. Like other cancers, they can be prevented or managed, especially if detected early. Both have damage control mechanisms. I used to be very angry when I heard that a woman had breast cancer or died of breast cancer. For some women it is just negligence or ignorance. But there is deadlier cause: wrong diagnosis and negligence by health care personnel in early identification of the likelihood of cancer. Like prostate cancer, prevention of breast cancer is better than cure.

    Many factors over the course of a lifetime can cause or influence a woman’s breast cancer risks. The risk of women developing breast cancer is influenced by a range of factors and it is difficult to find a formal definition of high risk women. Women who carry mutation in BRCA1 and BRCA2, (The BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins are key DNA-repair proteins). Their functional loss leaves some cells highly vulnerable to DNA damage, including damage that triggers cancer. Women with inactivating mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have very high lifetime risks of breast cancer, as well as high risks of ovarian cancer). We also have family histories of genetically transmitted breast cancer, women who have received mantle irradiation, (Mantle Radiation was a radiation technique used to treat Hodgkin Lymphoma from the 1970s to the 1990s. It is rarely used today, as chemotherapy is the preferred treatment) and women with lobular carcinoma in situ (Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is an uncommon condition in which abnormal cells form in the milk glands (lobules) in the breast. Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is not cancer, but being diagnosed with LCIS indicates that you have an increased risk of developing breast cancer). You cannot change some of these factors, such as getting older or your family history, but you can help lower your risk of breast cancer by taking care of your health. The first thing to do apart from reducing the risk factors is to do breast cancer screening.

    What is breast cancer screening? Breast cancer screening means checking a woman’s breasts for cancer before there are signs or symptoms of the disease. All women need to be informed by their health care provider about the best screening options for them. There are three types of prevention. They are primary prevention. Primary prevention include avoiding becoming overweight and obesity, eating healthy, exercising, moderate consumption of alcohol if you find abstinence impossible, avoiding hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is supplementing women with hormones that are lost during the menopausal transition. You should consider taking an estrogen-blocking drug as it stops the production of estrogen in those who are post-menopausal and are mainly used to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. In simple words, they are also used again, with a prescription to help fight breast cancer. Avoiding smoking is also important in cancer prevention. Although African women of old smoked tobacco in pipes, it is not fashionable to see women smoking in Nigeria. Parties and clubs na different matter, sha! Breastfeeding is also a cancer prevention measure. For ladies who do not want to breastfeed your babies, it is actually advisable. What is even the big deal about your breasts sagging? Is there a bone structure in the breasts to keep them erect forever?

    Breastfeeding is also a cancer prevention measure. For ladies who do not want to breastfeed your babies to stem your breasts from sagging, breastfeeding is actually advisable. What is even the big deal about your breasts sagging? Is there a bone structure in the breasts to keep them erect forever? Breast-feeding is not the only reason women’s breasts sag. My wife did baby friendly for our five children for six months and continued breastfeeding thereafter. The breasts are not what they were when we got married, but they are still firm enough to hold me spellbound. Meanwhile a friend confided in me that he stopped womanising because the breasts of all the girls he befriended were “flatter” than his wife’s, a mother of four children, and she was also “fresher.” Many other factors cause breasts to sag, not breastfeeding only, so breastfeed your babies as long as possible. Mother’s breast milk is the healthiest food for the first six months of children’s lives. By the way, apart from your husband, who else is supposed to know that your breasts have sagged? In those days when breasts were properly packaged and hidden away, no one, apart from your husband, knew the state of your breasts. It is only in this modern age that some women openly flaunt their “slippers” that the state of women’s breasts is now public knowledge.

    Secondary prevention of breast cancer is the identification and treatment of premalignant or subclinical cancers. This includes regular self-examination of your breasts. The best time to do a monthly breast self-exam is about three to five days after your period starts. Do it at the same time every month. Your breasts are not as tender or lumpy at this time in your monthly cycle. If you have gone through menopause, do your exam on the same day every month.

    Screening by means of mammography is another typical example of secondary prevention. A mammogram is an X-ray picture of the breast. Doctors use a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer. Regular mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast cancer early. Women who are at average risk for breast cancer should start mammogram screening at age 40 ( women with family history can start earlier) and get one every two years until age 74 years. That’s the latest updated recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF),

    Finally, we have Tertiary Prevention. This is managing disease post diagnosis. Tertiary prevention is defined as symptoms control and rehabilitation. This prevention stage is the most important and critical stage. This is the treatment professional stage when a patient is going through the treatment of breast cancer or any other disease. This stage is used to help the patients and their caregivers to deal with the disease. Managing the disease and treatment of it is one of the crucial stages. This management includes behaviors, habits, depression management, etc. Supporting campaigns and people who help others to get back in their routine life after passing through serious diseases like cancer. Vocational training is usually given to the patients after diagnosis to support them and enable them work with people that have jobs so they can fend for themselves as they use to before the toll of the disease gets them down

    Let us conclude with mastectomy. A mastectomy is surgery to remove one or both breasts. Sometimes other tissues near the breast, such as lymph nodes, are also removed. This surgery is most often used to treat breast cancer. In some cases, a mastectomy is done to help prevent breast cancer in women who have a high risk for it. A good example is Angelina Jolie, the famous Hollywood Actress. When it comes to mastectomy, some women dilly-dally while others are very “brutal” (take prompt action). A couple of women were diagnosed with malignant lumps in their breasts. The lumps were removed, but other malignant lumps were diagnosed thereafter. A mastectomy could have put a stop to the vicious cycle, but they could not imagine life without breasts. Cancer came back with fury and they both died.

    For me as a man, breasts are like the icing on the cake. Icing only makes the cake more beautiful. The real deal is still the cake which is the vagina. Once the “cake” is there, I don’t bloody care about the absence of “icing.” How many men even want to suck a cancerous breast even though cancer is not contagious? If you die, your husband will remarry after a while. Women, get sense! Chop the damn cancerous breasts off and live. The women who did are still alive. One of the women, as Spyro sang, is still rice and beans, with the husband, but beans and dodo, for me. The meaning is that they remain inseparable, absence of breasts notwithstanding. Be brutal like Angelina Jolie.

  • Reaction to Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana [1]

    Reaction to Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana [1]

    My media career journey started about 40 years ago as a mass communication undergraduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.  Print media were my favourite and that still subsists, so my reaction to the YouTube videos is in print not video. Let me start with a summary of my reaction: One, Nigerian YouTubers have the right to put whatever content they want on their channels (including promoting and celebrating Ghana/Ghanaians and other countries). Two, Nigerian YouTubers, wherever they are, are under no obligation to promote Nigeria’s image. Patriotism is not obligatory though advisable. Three, if you denigrate Nigeria/Nigerians, we have a right to respond. Four, there is a difference between constructive criticisms and destructive criticisms. It is advisable to know it. Five, though social media are comparatively recent, the role and rules of the mass media subsist: balanced reporting, balanced mirroring of the society, dissemination of information, entertainment of your audience, titillating the bored, watchdog and exposing the wrongs in the society, gatekeeping, agenda setting, etc.

    If you read comments from Ghanaians on Nigeria/Nigerians and Nigerians on Ghana/Ghanaians on social media, you will be shocked. It is as if both countries are at war fuelled by the social media. In 2022, felt so concerned that I wrote two articles but changed my mind and did not publish any. I did so partly because I did a content analysis of Nigerian and Ghanaian newspapers and they were dominated by internal issues. I saw only one little story on each country on both media. Seeing that the “war” was restricted to social media, I advised some YouTubers on both sides, but it fell on deaf ears.

    Today, my reaction is on the videos of some Ghana-based Nigerian YouTubers whose deliberate acts of commission or omission, in my opinion, are aimed at putting Nigeria and Nigerians to odium and ridicule. Their attempts are exercises in futility, but I will write about their videos all the same. My focus is on their videos, not the YouTubers, though those whose videos I am reacting to will certainly know.

    Even if you were born a Nigerian, you are under no obligation to remain a Nigerian. If you are ashamed or embarrassed of being Nigerian, or you have no love for motherland anymore, you can naturalize and change your nationality to a country of your choice. There is no need to lament about being a Nigerian, although being a solution provider is good. Exercise your freedom of choice. Some Nigerians have taken citizenship of other countries. Some foreigners have also naturalized to become Nigerians and others have applied for Nigerian citizenship. It is a free world.

    Some of you were happy throwing mud at Nigeria and building your YouTube channels’ subscriber base and viewership on whipping up hate for Nigerians and Nigeria. Bad news and controversy are hot cakes in growing social media platforms. But now the bad name you helped to create and perpetuate about Nigeria is catching up with you, some of you are lamenting, complaining and trying to put out wild fires you started like a candle light. When you throw sh*t on the fan, it splashes on everybody around without distinguishing. The sh*t you threw on the fan is splashing on you directly and you are now complaining? Stop complaining. Your starting point should be cleaning the mess you partly created in Ghana and elsewhere.

    Apparently, some of you have no formal training in mass communication. You probably stumbled on YouTube as a hustle or interest, and there is no problem with that. But in these days of internet, you should have studied the role and functions of the mass media. You were probably only obsessed with the “pen is mightier than the sword,” the enormous powers of the media or you had some other motives. The power the mass media confer on you goes with concomitant responsibilities, so you need to be careful how you deploy these enormous powers because they can boomerang, especially these days when your target audience have powers and multiple sources to reply. You need to come down from your high horses.

    Let me talk in little details the roles/functions of the media I highlighted at the beginning. Balanced Reporting: You people have reported Nigeria mainly in bad light: terrorism, kidnapping, insecurity, blackouts, internet fraud, bad roads, etc. Nigeria has all these problems and more. I acknowledge them and I, like all well-meaning Nigerians, am not happy about them. But how many of you have used your channels to tell your audience that Nigeria is number one country in entertainment in Africa, Nigerian musicians are now global icons, that Nigeria has the most educated migrant community in the US, that the current best male and female African footballers of the year are from Nigeria, that Dangote Refinery is the largest single-train facility in the world and has in fact started production? How many of you have told your Ghanaian audience that Nigeria is the biggest rice producer in Africa and this feat was achieved within 10 years with a member of Ghana’s seventh Parliament, Abraham Dwuma Odom, as the policy advisor, providing technical support and direction for the program? You merchants of bad news do not share such good news.

    How many of you told your audience that the Igbos are documented to have one of the best business mentorship systems worldwide? The last time one of you made a reference to Igbos was that in Ghana, Igbo youths were mainly responsible for the bad name Nigerians have in Ghana. I have not verified your claim, but, during the Nigerian Civil War, Ghana supported Biafra (Igbos), after initially supporting Nigeria. Consequently, Ghana took in many Igbos. Many of these Igbos stayed back in Ghana after the Nigerian Civil War. Knowing the Igbos for their entrepreneurship, business acumen and mentorship, I am certain they have contributed greatly to the informal sector of the economy of Ghana. In fact, not only Ghana’s economy but Togo, Cameroon, Republic of Benin, Central Africa Republic, Equatorial Guinea down to Congo, etc. Have you bothered to do a story on their contribution to these economies?

    What about the corporate world? Have you ever mentioned how the entry of Nigerian banks revolutionized the banking sector in Ghana? What about Dangote Cement contributing to help make Ghana self-sufficient in cement production, paying taxes, providing employment and engaging in corporate social responsibility? All these are of no interest to you or too complex for you to present in your videos. Only the Nigerians engaged in illegal activities in Ghana are worth talking about on your channels.

    Mind you, I support no criminal activities. Continue to expose and report bad Nigerian elements in Ghana. It is all part of your job as media persons. But one of you made a fatal mistake by dissociating herself from other Nigerians, especially Igbos. Did you go to Ghana with a passport from your ethnic group? You are all there with the Nigerian passport and the same water that touches the penis will touch the scrotal sac, so be well advised. As a duty, I advise Nigerian YouTubers in Ghana to expose Nigerians who are into negative activities there. Thereafter, let the law enforcement agents do their job. You told us Ghana has the best police in Africa. Ghana courts have not outsourced their judicial responsibility to you. So do not use your one-man YouTube courts to do trials of Nigerians. Let the relevant bodies do their job.

    When the Nigerian police arrested two Ghanaians with their Nigerian collaborators transporting arms to Eastern Nigeria to cause more mayhem in that volatile region, Nigerians did not drag Ghana. When some Ghanaians were caught bunkering oil with their Nigerian collaborators, nobody dragged Ghana. They were simply handed over to the relevant security agency. You Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana should stop dragging Nigeria for crimes allegedly committed by Nigerians in Ghana. Nigeria did not send them to Ghana to commit crimes. Ghana’s efficient security agents should do their job in accordance with the laws of Ghana. Period.

    Relatedly, Nigerian YouTubers based in Ghana, who are crying that bad Nigerians are making life difficult for you in Ghana, are as guilty as the bad elements. A mirror reflects what is before it. The Nigeria you portrayed to Ghanaians is what they are reflecting in dealing with you. In the Urhobo-speaking part of Nigeria, where I come from, we use “emekpe” for measuring garri, but if you denigrate your emekpe, your neighbours will use it to pack ashes instead of measuring garri. You are the architect of your problems. All countries of the world have the good, the bad and the ugly, but they project the good. South Africa, Mexico, America are known for tourism; China and India are known for technology. You know why? It is a marketing and communication concept called POSITIONING, a strategy that distinguishes a country from others based on their “good.” It is a battle of the mind to make people see, for instance, Nigeria as an economic, technology and entertainment hub in Africa. This is without prejudice to our negatives which we need to work on how to overcome. Other countries are known for their negatives it in spite of their positives. India is notorious for internet fraud; drug wars in Mexico are mindboggling. I can go on and on with each country. It is a question of putting your best foot forward. The other foot might have defects but what the world sees is your best foot. Nigeria already has products for the positioning: economic power in Africa and entertainment globally are just two of them. Sensible and patriotic Nigerians are and will continue to pursue the positioning with utmost vigour and the say-no Nigerian spirit. Nigerians are actually our greatest asset, not oil. These might sound abstract to these negatively-minded YouTubers, but if you know, you know. Make una dey play for Ghana.

    Every country has the good, the bad and the ugly. Our bad and ugly cannot hold us back nor define us, although we need to fix them to move faster. To borrow from former American President, Bill Clinton, there is nothing wrong with Nigeria that cannot be cured, and I dare say solved, and fixed, with what is right with Nigeria (hard work, creativity, ingenuity, can-do spirit, going the extra mile, etc). Nigeria is a rough diamond and these YouTubers are too remote and blind to understand.

    One of the YouTubers said the world is tired of Nigerians. Which world? Fourth generation Indians, Syrians and Lebanese are living in Nigeria. Just in case you do not understand, their great grandparents were the first to arrive in Nigeria and their subsequent generations have remained in Nigeria. Some of them have naturalized and are now Nigerians. Go to Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior and see the long list of candidates who have applied for Nigerian citizenship. Is it America and Europe that are tired of Nigerians? Certainly not. Some Western diplomats and company executives/workers who served in Nigeria relocated to Nigeria after their retirement. Some are even married to Nigerians. America and European countries are looking for more skilled labour from Nigeria. You can go online to verity my claims.

    As for African countries, we know the problems some of them have with Nigeria and Nigerians, so we are not bothered by their antics? They can continue to hate progress, enterprise and ingenuity; they can continue their campaigns to ban Nigerian music. Nigerian music has gone global and there is nothing haters can do about it. Can you hold smoke? But I hope this Nigerian YouTuber is not including some Kenyan, Ugandan and South African men who went on rampage and demonstrated that Nigerian men are taking over their women, among people who are tired of Nigeria? As a woman, aren’t you ashamed of such losers who call themselves men? Will you associate or marry such failures? Relationships in Nigeria are purely personal matters as long as those involved are consenting adults. We in Nigeria were amused when we saw the demonstrations on CNN, BBC and other international media channels. Or is it the South African men who accused Nigerians of taking over their jobs and businesses? SA is a free economy (laissez-faire). SA businessmen, especially the whites, are also making a kill in Nigeria. They are smooth operators; no noise. They just blend in with other Caucasians. There are also Kenyans doing well in Nigeria. One of them my friend had dealings with is financially huge, but no noise. It is their lazy counterparts who are demonstrating pathetically over “nyansh.” Go and check the income and profits of the MTN and Airtel from all the African countries where they operate, including Nigeria, and ask them if they are tired of Nigeria/Nigerians.

    The crime rate and drug trafficking were already high in SA before Nigerians joined them. The law enforcement agents of all countries should deal with all criminals within their domain in accordance with the laws of their land. Criminality knows no nationality. Citizens of Niger, Chad, Mali and Cameroon are heavily involved in insecurity in Nigeria, but Nigeria does not complain to anybody for criminality within Nigeria. Nigeria is looking for solution providers, not people who want to produce their own books of Lamentations in YouTube video format. I will complete my reactions next week.

     

    Francis Ewherido is TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) columnist, author and a Patriot.