Questions you might have asked yourself in 2013.

How was the year 2013 for you?
Do you ever want to look back and think about it?

Did you lose anything so dear to you?
How did you live each day? Was it in debt or on out of pocket spending?

Did you ever live with the assurance that things would get better or you just lived the days as they come?

Right now, are you really hopeful that things will get better any time soon?

Do you think the future is a realistic project considering the nation's economy?

Do you feel you stand a chance to weather the storm?

If you are employed, do you feel what you earn now can sustain you?

Do you have any savings?

You thought about some projects at the beginning of the year like the purchase of land, buying of shares, starting off a small scale business and even marrying.
How many were you able to achieve?

Have you been handicapped by the economic hardship the nation is experiencing?

As a young man, do you feel you are getting closer to you prime when you feel many things should have been achieved by now or you have even passed the stage without any meaningful achievement?

Are your parents waiting on you to take on the responsibility of their well being?

This list of questions is endless.
My goal is not to make you feel bad or guilty but I hope I have been able to bring some issues to the fore.

All of us are worried about achievements and heights in life.
We are faced with the issue of 'when do we attain this level in life?'
We all have an endless list of needs and wants in our heads but not all of us take time to adequately plan. A number of us plan on the surface.

Planning has a lot of benefit. It is essential in building one's life. A house/society built without plan will later cause an embarrassment.
If you haven't been planning your life, this is the time.
You don't have to wait on the final resources.
Divide your plans realistically into short, medium and long terms.
If you plan to achieve something in 2 years, the truth is that with hard work and perseverance, you will eventually achieve it even if it will take you till the end of the 3rd year but if you fail to plan, you may not achieve it even in 7 years. Time flies and waits for no one.

Don't be discouraged. Don't ever give up on your dreams.
The economy may be truly poor but as from now, have a rich mindset.
Take a cue from this little piece of mine and plan your 2014.
You will come out different and better.

Also read on Th!nk Oyo:
http://www.thinkoyo.com/benefits-of-planning/

Questions you might have asked yourself in 2013.

How was the year 2013 for you?
Do you ever want to look back and think about it?

Did you lose anything so dear to you?
How did you live each day? Was it in debt or on out of pocket spending?

Did you ever live with the assurance that things would get better or you just lived the days as they come?

Right now, are you really hopeful that things will get better any time soon?

Do you think the future is a realistic project considering the nation's economy?

Do you feel you stand a chance to weather the storm?

If you are employed, do you feel what you earn now can sustain you?

Do you have any savings?

You thought about some projects at the beginning of the year like the purchase of land, buying of shares, starting off a small scale business and even marrying.
How many were you able to achieve?

Have you been handicapped by the economic hardship the nation is experiencing?

As a young man, do you feel you are getting closer to you prime when you feel many things should have been achieved by now or you have even passed the stage without any meaningful achievement?

Are your parents waiting on you to take on the responsibility of their well being?

This list of questions is endless.
My goal is not to make you feel bad or guilty but I hope I have been able to bring some issues to the fore.

All of us are worried about achievements and heights in life.
We are faced with the issue of 'when we attain this level in life?'
We all have an endless list of needs and wants in our heads but not all of us take time to adequately plan. A number of us plan on the surface.

Planning has a lot of benefit. It is essential in building one's life. A house/society built without plan will later cause an embarrassment.
If you haven't been planning your life, this is the time.
You don't have to wait on the final resources.
Divide your plans realistically into short, medium and long terms.
If you plan to achieve something in 2 years, the truth is that with hard work and perseverance, you will eventually achieve it even if it will take you till the end of the 3rd year but if you fail to plan, you may not achieve it even in 7 years. Time flies and waits for no one.

Don't be discouraged. Don't ever give up on your dreams.
The economy may be truly poor but as from now, have a rich mindset.
Take a cue from this little piece of mine and plan your 2014.
You will come out different and better.

THE ESSENCE OF LIVING

I have lived in the hospital for most part of the year and I’ve been in direct contact with people. They bring in people with lots of ailments. Some cannot be hidden from the world.

When we were born into this world, we knew nothing. All we wanted was food, sleep and someone to hold on to. We grew and saw the challenges of life. Whether we like it or not, life gets tougher and even uglier. We are faced with various difficulties.

We all leave where we are but are not aware of the coming tragedies of life. We do not wish them upon ourselves but the truth is that they happen on a daily basis in various places. No one knows who is next in line.

We smile; we talk about tomorrow like we have been there before. We take pictures with different poses but we can never know which one will eventually be used during our funerals.

We wake so early, toiling day and night, heaping rewards but who knows when nature will stop us? That brings the question, what is the essence of living? What is the purpose of living if life is full of tragedies and evil reports? If religion will save us, why not fold our arms and stick to it? So many unanswered questions about life.

We never forget our dates of births but we do not want to talk about the day we’ll cease to exist. We never want to discuss the inevitable day.

We take time to think, plan and aspire greatness. We hold on so tightly to life because nobody is sure of what happens on the other side.

I wish we can live forever without pain, anguish and death.

While we take time to ponder on these, we should not be discouraged.

There is so much to take out of life. There is so much to live for.  While I was also pondering on this in my own little thought, this quote came to my head and I had to write it down in my book of wisdom, “You start living the moment you are no longer afraid to die”. Just think about it, why should you be worried when the future cannot be seen? What problem has been solved by being worried? It’s always good to live each moment and be relaxed in one’s mind.

Not being afraid of death gives you a whole lot of courage and hope. You see what others don’t see. When they talk about death, you don’t lower your voice pitch in fear. Even when you are faced with a near-death situation, preparedness makes you face the challenge and get out of it in a short while.

What you should focus on is living a good life.

There is a purpose for living which must be realized on time.

Since we cannot know the day of death, we must live and do it right.

Of Airplanes, Quick Journeys and Flying Coffins

In the past, if you told your friend you boarded a plane from Lagos to Abuja, they will see you as a guy with a class who is better off than those who have ridden in a bus because they feel you must have a lot of money and also the advantage of time at your disposal.

Some may however argue that the choice of air travel is because of convenience, but what is ‘convenience’ without money? For you to choose what is convenient, you must have some cash to back it up.

Still telling you this short story about friends and air travel, some of them lie about it. They will leave Ibadan for Abuja and come about a week later telling you their means of transportation was by air. You wonder why?

Not so many people are crazy about taking pictures but then everybody basks in the euphoria of some of life’s major events, and, to some people, boarding an airplane is one, be it local or international.

Even if you don’t like your face, you want to show a part of it to your doubting friends with a background of an airplane wing, seat or the square window. Anybody that saw any of those would at least know you got close to a plane.

It is expected that on the average you change your display picture on your blackberry phone, send a picture to twitter or if you decide to be secretive at that moment, you will at least leave a picture or two in your phone media library to show as a proof to friends that indeed it happened. The only excuse you can give is that you didn’t have a camera phone with you but then you may have to keep the boarding pass.  Oh, I must be a funny writer you just thought. What can shut the mouths of your friends? In other to clear all doubts, you need a solid proof.

Coming down to the Nigerian story, the story has really changed in the last few years.

The Nigerian airspace they told us is safe but I wouldn’t agree in totality because we’ve had one too many deaths in the last decade. Our airplanes have become flying coffins.

Boarding an airplane in Nigeria is no longer a luxury. People are scared for you because they are not sure of your survival. The rate of crashes has increased and one can almost conclude that you are dead until proven otherwise.

Those who boarded most local airplanes said they are old and rickety. The air conditioner rarely works and the noises from those engines are frightening. You may have to say your last prayers many times over.

Many innocent lives have been lost including promising young Nigerians who were supposed to be part of the re-building process of the country.

We can only hope that relevant agencies sit up, and put an end to this menace, before it spirals out of control.

INTERNS PROTEST NON-PAYMENT OF SALARIES BY LUTH MANAGEMENT

The House officers of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH took to the marble floor area of the hospital on the 2^nd of September, 2013 at about 8am in the morning to protest the non-payment of their 7 months salaries.

With chants and various placards showing “No work, no pay”, “We are Docs, not Dogs”, and many others, they decided to boycott their daily hospital activities.

In an interview with one of the interns, he described the situation as unjust, pathetic and unfair treatment by the LUTH management who has owed them since February this year.

In a recent development by the federal government, salaries from June this year are supposed to be paid directly to the health workers with the current IPPIS (integrated personnel and payroll information system)

and not through the LUTH management again who prior to June had been deducting a certain amount from their salaries. The IPPIS scheme will also be applicable to other federal hospitals across the country.

As of now, no payment from the LUTH or federal government however had taken effect.

The strike which has been described as indefinite will continue tomorrow. However, the LUTH management, represented by the Director of Administration, promises to get across to the aggrieved interns in 24 hours as he said he was not actually aware that some of the interns had not been paid since February.

Activities in the wards and clinics however were not completely paralyzed as the consultants, resident doctors, nurses and other health workers were at their duty posts attending to the patients.

Of mortal combatants, MDG’s, and the 2015 elections

2015 is almost here and Nigeria’s leaders have abandoned their positions and taken up wrestling, sparring (physical and verbal), and every other thing but what they were elected to do. The media is awash with accusations and counter accusations, rejoinders, and press releases. There is the infamous Jonathan vs Amaechi saga that is consuming everything in its wake, assuming new dimensions with the ruckus in the Rivers State House of Assembly. How can 5 out of 32 members even attempt to impeach a sitting speaker?

Apart from the property in the Chambers being destroyed, there are House members in hospital, a reflection of the murky waters our politicians are wading in.

About a month ago, we witnessed the crisis that happened during one of the meetings of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum where an election was held. Governor Jonah Jang who was said to have had 16 votes has refused to accept Amaechi, who had 19 votes, as the elected chairman. The two factions have been having separate meetings and won’t come to terms with each other, preferring to trade words in the media.

All these current happenings have diverted our attention from the real thing. Rather than being fed fat on the dividends of democracy, we have been forced (for this is definitely against our will) to watch this reality show that neither amuses nor inspires. Elected officials need to remember that over two years ago, we voted them into power on the back of promises to bring good governance during their various campaigns. They promised to deliver in the areas of education, infrastructure, health, security and alleviate the suffering of the masses. Those promises should not count for nothing.

The common man on the street is groaning under the weight of the myriad of troubles survival in Nigeria is becoming. While developed countries work assiduously to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) we don’t seem to be making any meaningful progress.

Goal 5 of the MDGs for instance states that we need to improve maternal health. Precisely, the goals are classed into:

• Target 5.A. Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio
• Target 5.B. Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health

According to President Jonathan,  his government is committed to attaining the MDGs in 2015 but going by the dilapidated state of our health system especially primary health care, it is safe to say that there has not being an appreciable decrease in the maternal mortality rate. Contrary to the 350 per 100,000 quoted by the President, a UK Minister of the UK’s International Development, Ms. Lynne  Featherstone said in Abuja in May at a media briefing as part of her schedule to review the progress of the Department for International Development (DFID) said that Nigeria accounts for 10 percent of global maternal mortality rate. She also lamented that over 80 percent of our women in the North cannot read.

It is barely two years (628 days to be precise) to the end of the expected fulfillment of the MDGs but we are actually far from reality. We especially don’t need to quote figures if they are not true.

Leading up to 2015, public office holders need to listen to us, pay attention to our yearnings, and focus on the reason they were elected to represent us.

This article was written for Ynaija Countdown to 2015 Elections: http://ynaija.com/politico/of-mortal-combatants-mdgs-and-the-2015-elections/

EFFECT OF MUSIC ON HEALTH

How well do you love music? I’m an addict. I could listen to music all day. It’s that pleasant to my soul. I feel good. I don’t remember my worries. I pay attention to the lyrics and even browse the most favorite ones on the internet. Most radio listeners are music lovers. It’s a good source to know the latest songs. Nowadays, with the internet, it is easier to download your favourite songs. Just note the song title as well as the artiste, and then you are good to go.

Music has helped a lot of people with depression as it lifts the spirit, encourages you and improves your health because of the joy and happiness it brings. A happy music connects the physical with the emotional. As a result of the heightened emotions, the responses are manifested physically as head nodding, tapping, dancing and even jumping.  When you dance, you do a form of body exercise. By exercising, an internal heat is generated and you sweat some more which is good for the body.

Scientists say that music can give intense pleasure by delivering chemical rewards in the brain that are equal to the joy of good food and a part of the brain, the nucleus accumbens has actually been thought to be the structure that elicited the strongest response. They say it’s important because it’s involved in forming expectations and these are expectations that could be rewarding.

Music can alter the heart rate and blood pressure under some specific conditions. If you listen to rap or rock genres of music, the heart rate and mean arterial pressure are likely to go up while the converse is true if you listen to country and classical music. ( Research work by Sakomoto for the Journal of sound and vibration).

It’s been demonstrated that just like laughter does, joyful music causes the blood vessels to dilate improving vascular health.

In another research by Professor Luciano Bernardi, a Professor of internal medicine at Pavia University, Italy, he found out that music induces a continuous dynamic and to some extent predictable changes in the cardiovascular system. Some Italian researchers work was also published in the Journal of America Heart Association where they said that music could in the future be used as a therapeutic tool for blood pressure control and rehabilitation.

Music forms an important part of a gathering whether religious, political or cultural. It is hard to find anyone who does not listen to music. That is why I say that music is a mystery with still a lot to unravel.

 You can also read this article on INFORMATION NIGERIA. Link: http://www.informationng.com/2013/07/opinion-the-effect-music-has-on-health.html

THE IDEAL SOCIETY

Is there any society that is ideal? I mean a perfect one devoid of corruption and lawlessness. The answer undoubtedly is no but we do know that some nations of the world have these beneath them and these are not really significant issues they confront.

Over the years, the number one cause of underdevelopment in our society is corruption. That is, if we could point our fingers at an entity.

We all know how much we suffer in terms of poor social infrastructure, unemployment of our teeming youths, and poor delivery of services, amongst others.

 Just to mention what Abraham Maslow talked about in 1943 when he proposed the theory of human motivation which is best pictured as a pyramid with the largest and most fundamental levels of need at the bottom and the need for self-actualization at the top.

I will dwell more on the most fundamental levels of need which are physiological needs that are vital for survival such as water, air, food and sleep.

In the Nigeria of today, even the most wanted needs are scarce. Not so many people feed well. Only a few can boast of 3-4 meals per day. Even when these are available, they are not nutritious, affordable and high in quality unlike what obtains in the developed nations where poverty of food almost does not exist. Just in traces.

The same is for water which is supposed to be portable, running from taps and disease-free. That’s why the scourge of water diseases is on the increase.

On the issue of security, we all know what we face as citizens and the things that are not ideal have become ideal. For instance, just because we need protection from hoodlums and armed robbers, we use burglary proofs on our windows which even the town planners don’t include in their planning because they know it is wrong. This is dangerous in case of fire outbreaks when one needs to escape.

I would have loved to expatiate on other security challenges but will just have to mention them. We hardly see fire alarms on our buildings and the emergency services are poor when the services of the fire brigades are needed.

Still on security, we hardly report crimes and assaults on individuals, report of suspicious movements in the neighborhood and so on. Even when such attempts are made to report, there are no efficient call codes for the citizens to report and our police stall in their responses. The police and defense system have been compromised over the years. They take bribes openly. Many Nigerians have lost their lives in an argument with the police. In developed nations, police have the respect of their citizens because they deliver quality services. Unlike our society, they do not move about with guns and they still maintain law and order.

Other security challenges are the porous borders across the country, incessant attacks on innocent citizens by terrorists and other similar groups.

On our judiciary, I know we are improving but there is still a lot to do. We all see and hear of how election results are being changed and how tribunal officials, judges and electoral officials are being bribed. Corruption has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society. It has affected the young and the old. School politics has turned into a personal money making venture. Every individual wants to hold a post because of the monetary gain. It should be a service to your organization or nation. In societies where there is law and order, you can’t steal public funds and go away with it.

 In conclusion, I will like to end this piece on awareness creation. We do not create adequate awareness in our society. We have only made it a yearly thing where people gather and mark such events. We are supposed to enforce them daily or weekly for the betterment of our society so that we can be more informed and productive. What are our national televisions and radios there for? They are not just for commercials and soaps. What are the various types of awareness that need to be created? We have so many areas on Health, Education, and Society.

On Health, there is need to inform people on the regular and routine medical checkup, once or twice a year, genotype and HIV status before marriage etcetera.

Societal and social issues like the use of seat belts, proper waste disposal, obedience of traffic rules, prevention of environmental pollution, proper care for animals and not allowing them stray the streets.

Now, we can look back at our society and judge. Is it anywhere near ideal? I just want us to imagine how lives can be better for the citizens where everybody that finishes from school is sure of employment, a society where citizens have health insurance and can pay hospital bills, where people can afford to feed and clothe themselves, where there is stable electricity to enhance productivity and adequate transportation by road and rail, a society where there is law and order, an ideal society for all.

THE NEED TO REVIVE NIGERIA'S AILING HEALTH SYSTEM

Nigeria is a country blessed with so many resources especially natural and human but unfortunately, we have failed to channel these effectively for the betterment of the society particularly to our health system.

Instead of the government to provide jobs, create scientific laboratories for research without power outage, put money in the research of diabetes, brain disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and other mental illnesses, rather they pump money into the next coming elections. They do not truthfully tackle poverty, hunger and unemployment.

Many of us are just lucky to be alive. We are not sure if we are completely healthy because we do not get the best of health care in terms of proper medical check-up and treatment.

I see patients on the wards many of which will die because of our poor system. The government has neglected their roles when it comes to proper delivery and maintenance of health.

The emergency room is almost nothing to write home about. Facilities are lacking. There is always a shortage of one material or the other. It is not in any way standard. No proper insurance policy. Insurance only covers some certain medications and investigations. You will have to pay for the more expensive ones in a number of cases. Patients cannot afford most investigations let alone treatment. Most patients die because of lack of funds. When such funds are available, there is the problem of out of pocket spending.

When you add both the implicit and explicit costs incurred on health care, the whole resources are gone.

Governments at all levels need to wake up fast. There is need to revive our primary health care centres across the country. They are not adequate and adequately equipped. There is shortage of man power. Staff members are not properly remunerated. This has resulted in a poor working spirit among health workers. Only a few health workers want to stay in the rural areas.

There is a lot of pressure on the tertiary health system.  Many at times, the secondary health system is omitted. It is as if, they don’t exist. For proper health care delivery, there has to be effective referral system beginning from the primary health care centres through the secondary health care centres which are taken charge by most state governments before we can now reach the level of the tertiary system which are largely controlled by the federal government.

I’m not sure we can really boast of organ transplantation as of now in Nigeria apart from kidney transplantation which not too many centres are involved. Other ones done are cornea, gut and skin. No open heart surgery or liver transplant is done in Nigeria because as of now, there are no facilities. People who need these are given referrals to India, South Africa, UK and the US. Referrals have even been sent to Cameroun for paediatric heart surgeries. What a diabetic nature we have as we are suffering in the midst of plenty.

The developed countries of the world are now talking about robotic surgeries, telemedicine and minimally invasive surgeries to a large extent. They transplant heart, kidneys, livers at will.

Medical research centres should be established across the six geopolitical zones with adequate funding and stable electricity. Stable electricity will ensure the preservation of blood and other body tissues as well as vaccines and drugs.

 I believe this outcry is necessary. It’s a shame that Nigeria has not fully combated polio. India with a population of over 1 billion has successfully eradicated polio. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria are now remaining. It is a shame that we share statistics with war torn countries. Maternal mortality and under five mortality are still very high. 

We experience a double burden of both communicable and non communicable diseases to a large extent because of the scourge of HIV/AIDS.

On the issue of HIV and AIDS, Nigeria now ranks second largest country with the largest burden of HIV/AIDS. We need to ask about the funds being channeled on a yearly basis to the management of HIV/AIDS both at the state and federal levels.

On the demographic transition scale, Nigeria is still between stage 1 and stage 2 as we can’t conveniently put Nigeria in stage 2 with a high fertility rate and a little decline in mortality rate. Scandinavian countries like Norway and Sweden are in stage 4 with low fertility and low mortality rates because of the advancement in their health care system. In Nigeria, life expectancy for females is at 47 years while that of males at 45 years. There is a multiplicity of factors responsible for this.

We really need a drastic change. The strategies currently employed are obviously not working effectively. It is evident that there is corruption which is the bane of our problem.

Our primary health care has to be firmly established, adequate in number and well equipped. Health workers need to be motivated and properly remunerated. There need to be a good referral system. The tertiary should not always take the burden. It should be the last resort. Other factors that may cause delay in assessing health care should be addressed.

Primary delay explains the education and attitude of the citizens to health care. Secondary delay which looks into factors like transportation to health care facilities and tertiary delay which can be combated by making sure that man power and equipments are available and functional even after the primary and secondary delays must have been by-passed.

Government needs to increase the budgetary allocation to health. This is very germane and corruption must be tackled with sincerity.

We need to save our mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, young ones who are the future of Nigeria.

This article was published on Ynaija Online Magazine on 10th June, 2013: http://www.ynaija.com/opinion-nigerias-disintegrating-health-system/