The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life and Style

  • Gani Adams bags another title

    Gani Adams bags another title

    It is indeed a happy time for the National Coordinator of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, and his family. The OPC strongman added another feather to his cap on Monday, November 18, when HRM Oba Oyefusi Salawudeen, the Ayangburen of Ikoroduland, conferred on him and his wife, the title of Akinrogun and Yeye Akinrogun of Ikoroduland.

    With the title, it seems it is Aluta continua for Adams, who promised the large crowd that attended the ceremony to continue in his quest to “ensure that the Yoruba race is not relegated to the background in Nigeria.”

    Among the dignitaries that added colour to the event were the Ikorodu Council of Chiefs, Comrade Debo Adeniran, Comrade Jubril Ogundimu and Otunba LAM Afolabi Gbadamosi, among others.

    Popular fuji act, Sefiu Alao, treated guests at the event to scintillating music, as the guests danced late into the night.

  • Elizabeth Atuche takes solace in God

    Elizabeth Atuche takes solace in God

    Even though it be a cross that raiseth me, nearer my God to thee, nearer to thee “. There is no denying the fact that the foregoing line of a popular hymn is having more than a soothing effect on the life of Elizabeth Atuche. From the way events are playing out, it appears that the beautiful lady has chosen close affinity to the Almighty as the only way out of the emotional stress she is passing through.

    The wife of former Managing Director of Bank PHB, Francis Atuche, has suffered some hard knocks occasioned by her husband’s travails, which have forced to flee her comfort zone in the party arena for church. Today, Elizabeth is an ardent church attendant.

    She is even said to have deserted the friends with whom she painted the town red when her husband held sway as the MD of the defunct Bank PHB.

  • Ajimobi’s daughter delivered of baby girl

    The population of the household of the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has just increased by one. His daughter, Abisola Ajimobi, was delivered of a beautiful baby girl in the US.

    It was the second baby of the beautiful Abisola and her banker husband, Kola Daisi, in three years. No one would forget in a hurry how their society wedding shook the whole of Ibadan to its roots about three years ago.

    Abisola, the first and most popular of the governor’s five children, is enjoying a marital bliss. Her business outfit is also flourishing. The opening of her shoe place, Florence H, was one of a kind. It had many big names in attendance.

    It was gathered that Abisola and her husband are planning a shindig as soon as they return to the country. The party could mark her return to the social scene from which she took leave to have her baby.

  • Omowunmi Akinnifesi slows down

    Omowunmi Akinnifesi slows down

    Tongues are wagging over former beauty queen, Omowunmi Akinnifesi’s absence from public glare. So conspicuous is her absence that the social circle is abuzz with speculations about her whereabouts.

    In 2005, Akinnifesi was crowned the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria at the age of 18, making her eligible to represent Nigeria at the Miss World Pageant in China the same year. At the global beauty contest, she shone like a star and also engaged in tree planting for the Chinese government.

    Today, Omowunmi, the CEO of Elle Poise, a public relations and usher-hiring outfit, has disappeared from the social radar to the dismay of her fans and high society in general. In her heyday as Nigeria’s beauty queen, no A-list event was complete without her presence, as she dazzled everyone with her modish attires and stunning gait.

  • CANCER: Habits that lead to it —Experts

    CANCER: Habits that lead to it —Experts

    ‘How to avoid them’

    WHEN celebrated lawyer Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi died in year 2009 due to cancer of the lungs, there was a general hue and cry against the notorious killer known as cancer. But even before that, many celebrities had bowed to death through the wicked blow from cancer. Ace sports broadcaster, Yinka Craig, got a knock out punch from cancer in 2008 at age 60. There were prolonged tears for many that knew they will miss that voice of sports commentary on television.

    More tears flowed freely when society-loved wife of Timi Alaibe, the late Alaere Alaibe, took a bow and left life’s stage due to death by cancer. And so did late Clara Oshiomole, the late wife of Edo Governor Adam Oshiomole, who departed, leaving painful tears to her loved ones. In Edo State and beyond, it was difficult to control the flowing tears, as many refused to be comforted.

    For the death-ravaging cancer, the list continued and continues stubbornly. From Sam Ojebode, to fashion darling Remi Lagos, Remi Abiola, Mrs. Maryam Babangida and even the one still fresh in the mind, late Dr. Olusola Saraki. These are some of the celebrated victims. But death by cancer does not hit only the rich. All across Nigeria, more and more people have died sometimes from ailments relating to cancer.

    Sociologists and medical experts that we recently spoke to give the conditions that could lead, directly or indirectly, to cancer and how to avoid those situations. Cancer, once described as a ‘rich man’s illness,’ is now ravaging both the low and the mighty. And at close range, you never can tell, who the next victim will be.

    Abuja-based health and wellness consultant, Dr. Stella Chijioke, explains how some of the habits of the rich make them susceptible to the dreaded ailments.

    He says: “Our top flight executives are very much endangered because of a daily lifestyle that gives room to cancer. They live from chair to chair, sitting through one boardroom to another, with little or no activity. From there, they swing into air-conditioned cars straight to their door steps at home, into another chair and eventually into bed. The routine is like that, day in and day out.

    “Then the food consumption of many include heavy meals because they have too much money at their disposal and they drink alcohol and spirit. Some even inject themselves with different sorts of things (drugs). So, with that, cancer is already knocking on the door, and it will only take a little time, before the door comes falling down.”

    Prof. SRA Akinbo, a consultant at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, says: “One of the major reasons for cancer truly is food intake. This is a big topic on its own. These days, one notices that more and more people are into the eating of refined foods, canned foods. Some of these over processed foods lead to cancer. Also our lifestyles, especially for those of us that live in the urban, we are exposed to a lot of radiation. People are in traffic for longer time and breathing in fumes emitted from automobile. All these are factors that lead to cancer. That is because the toxic goes into the system and induces all sorts of things and illnesses. There are various causes of cancer. Food is one of it, exposure to radiation is another, and some other major causes.

    “However, concerning what people can do or what lifestyle to keep to avoid cancer, we have left the traditional; that is, cancer used to be feared in the olden days and avoided through the eating of fresh foods. But fresh fruits are really missing in our meals today. Also in urban areas these days, people are exposed to generators and the attending fumes. In a house of 20 occupants, for instance, everybody there has generators. So more and more people are now likely to have cancer due to the lifestyle they presently keep. Then also there is the issue of age. Old age could also induce cancer.

    “Of course, I will recommend exercise as a necessary part of our daily lifestyle. But then also, exercise is not limited to just the avoidance of cancer; we need exercise in our lives. In those days, things were different. My father actually died at the age of 104. When you saw him then, you would have found it difficult to believe because, he was still agile. The lifestyle that they had then helped a lot. They used to trek for kilometres going to farms everyday. That was a good form of exercise. Then also, they had original foods, fresh foods from the farm, which they used to eat.

    “Still concerning exercise as a lifestyle in avoiding cancer, one has to note that there are different kinds of exercises which should be recommended on an individual basis because everyone of us has different health challenges. For instance, someone who is hypertensive, there is a type of exercise that he should do. So everyone cannot do the same kinds of exercise. The most important thing is that before we get involved in any kind of exercise routine, we have to get screened. When the kind of health challenge you have has been ascertained, then exercise routine can be determined. So it can be in terms of just sitting down or standing, or jogging or be on treadmill and so on. Exercising should be an individual thing and not generalised.

    “There are some organisations now that have programmes such as ‘walk for life.’ However, walking too fast for some people who may be hypertensive, could trigger off another kind of thing that can lead to heart attack, especially, when you are over 30 and 40, you have to be very careful on the type of food you eat and exercise that you do.”

    A dietitian with LUTH, Titilope Adelani, says cancer is avoidable through a dietary plan which comprises eating a well-balanced diet daily. “Such dietary plan”, she recommends, “should start early in life for an individual to avoid cancer in future. It should start at a tender age so that it will be part of the child, leading him or her into adulthood. That will also make the child to be eating well when he or she grows up.”

    She adds: “Foods that should be eaten to avoid cancer include whole grain, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and protein. But there are also others. A child should start eating these from age two. And for an adult who has a family history of cancer, the person should take high protein, high calories, low fat foods and high fibre diet with intake of fruits in between meals.

    “A dietitian actually has a role to play in the lifestyle of people generally to make them avoid having cancer. A dietitian plans the menu and ensures the people follows it. A dietician’s role is also to monitor such. And for an adult that is already diagnosed with cancer, it is important that such persons eat high calorie, moderate and low fat protein foods. Such persons are also supposed to use plant sources of oil for cooking, also depending on the severity of the cancer.

    “Foods to totally avoid are foods that are fatty products. Well, as a lifestyle, I will recommend that people generally eat very well, avoid alcohol, eat fruits and vegetables and do exercises.”

    An Assistant Chief Dietitian also with LUTH, Bolanle Tijani, describes cancer as “a terrible disease that is preventable, although there is not much that anyone can do.” She added: “But with good healthy diet, one can reduce the risk of getting cancer. The kind of food encouraged is what I refer to as green, green, green. What I mean by this is that, when you are taking food, ensure that it is green! Avoid foods that are roasted or fried. Also avoid barbecued foods, make sure that most of the foods that you eat are fresh. We are advocating these days, that is, trying to encourage people to go back to the use of our former pots, cooking utensils that were used in those days; pots made from mud are more heathy. But the problem with that is that it may not look civilised, especially when friends come calling, but the truth is that these pots are believed to be more healthy in using to cook.

    “For people with a history of cancer in the family, I can say that cancer is not a transmittable illness; there is a risk factor, and there are different kinds of cancer. There is the leukaemia, the blood cancer, the cervical cancer, pelvic cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, brain cancer, various types. It is not genetically transferred from one to another but variously during maturation of the foetus. That is a risk factor that can cause it.

    “What a dietician can do is that if and when cancer has been diagnosed, the first thing is that the patient should go for medical attention, surgical operation afterwards. A dietitian is then to encourage the patient to eat heathy foods to prevent the growth and multiplication of the cancer cells and also keep eating green, green, green with all the family group of foods to encourage a healthy eating habit.

    “As a lifestyle, everyone should eat protein, eat carbohydrates, avoid fatty foods, but most of all, we encourage more of fibre. For cancer patients, eating of fibre is very important for quick recovery, as they serve as anti-oxidants for the eradication of the cancer cells. Foods such as water melon, oranges, banana, water leaf, apple and so on should be eaten.

    “It is difficult to totally avoid particular foods; we don’t even advise it, it is only that smaller quantities are recommended; even for the over-blown cancer patients, reduction of the intake of particular foods are recommended. But then, we advocate the avoidance of foods with folic acid. Even then, folic acid cannot completely be denied because there is folic acid in most foods, even in animal protein and vegetables. So the important thing is to reduce the intake of folic acid.

    “The eating habits and lifestyle will dictate more as to whether a person is likely to get cancer or not. To women, I will advise that they eat healthy and avoid alcohol, avoid an environment that is stuffy or congested. That is a challenge in Lagos where fumes are all over the place. Even in traffic when you have your air-conditioner on, the fumes from other vehicles still find a way of getting in. Exercise is very good for the body, at least do it for an hour everyday. These are healthy lifestyles that can make one avoid cancer. Then reduce your alcohol intake, do not take alcohol as if you are drinking water.”

    According to a nutritionist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Lagos, Justina Akagu-Osojiese, “somehow, cancer is avoidable through a dietary plan because some of the foods that we eat now are being prepared with addictives that are not really not good for the body.” She adds: “For instance, we have things that are today used as substitute for sugar. Sacarrin, for instance, is used as a substitute. There are findings that such prolong usage can cause cancer.

    “As far as I am concerned, a dietary plan should start for everybody right from day one, that is at child birth. I say this because it is very necessary to consider a diet plan for a child. So we give the baby milk. And at different ages, we give a child appropriate foods, not just anything in sight.

    “To avoid cancer it’s better to eat natural foods. Most of the time, however, there is usually no problem with most foods that are not natural, but it is the addictive that are used in preparing them that causes or could lead to somebody having cancer. For instance, too, it is better to eat oranges directly than take orange juice that has been processed, especially for an adult. The fruits are natural but you do not know what has been added to produce the juice. The same applies to canned foods because they always have preservatives. Sometimes, they are kept for long periods; the addictive can influence the cause when eaten, the potassium, the sodium are major cause of worry.

    “For those already with cancer, natural foods are just good for them. Cancer is a very terrible disease that destroys the cells of the body. So it is good to give someone already with cancer, a high protein diet and a high calorie diet. By high calorie diet, I mean the carbohydrate family of foods. They give energy. Most cancer patients are very weak, we give them that for energy. To replenish the cells that are being destroyed, a cancer patient needs high protein foods and these are fish, meat, egg, milk and so on and these are augmented with plant set of foods.

    “I think that people should be more active in lifestyle; we should avoid high calorie dense foods; we should be careful to eat foods that have all the class foods to give us adequate nutrients in the body, protein, carbohydrates, fat and oil, minerals and vitamins which is in fruits and vegetables. Our foods should be adequate and that is commonly referred to as balanced diet. We have what is called anti-oxidants in our foods; they are the ones that destroy those unwanted things, or harmful foreign things in our body. So, we should just eat right.”

    Dr. Stella Chijioke, Managing Director, Ultimate Health and Wellness Ltd, Abuja, posits that with a particular cautious lifestyle, cancer can be avoided. She adds that, that could be complemented by a combination of three things.

    “Health and wellness stands on three legs. One of the legs is diet, which means whatever you put inside your mouth, food, drink, smoke, snuffing or injection. The second is increased activity, which culminates in exercise. Any small activity is better than no activity at all. This helps the heart. Do anything that can make you sweat, like walking, swimming and so on. Brisk walk is good and not expensive.

    “The third leg of the tripod is adequate rest and management of your stress level. Every human being undergoes one form of stress or the other. Without stress, you cannot live a balanced life. But in certain situations, the stress level gets too much, so you have to manage it well. If you don’t, things like hypertension, diabetes and all that sets in. Complete health and wellness means that the above three legs must be implemented.

    “Additional habit is the drinking of water. One of the ways of managing stress well is having enough sleep. Seven to eight hours of sleep at night is mandatory so that your body can use that opportunity to recharge. REM Sleep is the highest form of sleep, because some people think that they are sleeping but they are not really sleeping. You have to get into the REM Sleep before you really rest.

    “We are all setting ourselves for cancer, though we have better diagnosis, but most people are gearing themselves towards cancer. If you check the three legs of wellness that are stated above, you will find out that most of us are not eating well or eat the wrong things, smoke or drink the wrong things. Some of us inhale or inject ourselves with the wrong things (drugs). These are the wrong parts of civilisation that we are imbibing.

    “Most people in the urban cities are not resting well. In the effort to make it because of high cost of rent, transportation, school fees, people don’t get home early to rest and sleep, they are hustling all over the place or staying in the office late, believing that they are resting but they are burning their candles at both ends.

    “Some people don’t even get into activity. They move from car into the house with little or no activity, into chairs at home or office. And one of the worse things or habits that the executives have is long hours of sitting on chairs. This is the latest killer that many don’t know. We are supposed to sit down not more than two hours and that is if our jobs are sedentary. Even market women sit in one place for too long at a time. The use of maids are not too helpful too because the madam ends up sitting down too much, while throwing errands around. She’s not getting up from that seat at all. So, it is not just the executives alone that sits from one boardroom to another.

    “Executives take elevators; nobody takes the stairs anymore, these are silent killers. These are ways that we are all driving our selves towards having cancer. Even younger people are coming up with some of these degenerating diseases. We shouldn’t be seen as getting old at 50, if we are living the right lifestyle. If you are living the right kind of lifestyle, then it will be difficult to develop cancer in the 40s. But these days, cancer could even be diagnosed among the younger ones. There is a book called ‘alleluia diet.’ This book tells us more about this. We eat the wrong things.”

    A Lagos-based medical practitioner, Dr. Ogunkoya, says: “To avoid cancer, people need to stop taking these cancer-inducing foods; they are: sweetened beverages, fried potato, hot dog, donut and burnt meat. The top anti-cancer foods for people to take are: green vegetables, tumeric, tomatoes, and rice. Then cancer-fighting foods are: tomatoes, garlic, grape fruits, ginger, ginger pepper, white berry, ginseng, broccoli, lemon, mustard seed and rosemary.

    “What you eat determines your healthy habits too. People should also try to live at places with minimised smoke and fumes. Do not stay where people who smoke are, because if you do, you are as well smoking with them as you inhale. It causes cancer of the lungs. And go for check-up and clean up your system regularly with cancer-fighting foods.”

  • The rise of Soji Bello

    The rise of Soji Bello

    Soji Bello is one of the hottest socialites currently making waves in the South West. The ex-banker now resides in Akure and has become one of the biggest contractors in the Sunshine State. That Soji is one of the richest young men in Nigeria is like stating the obvious. With a garage that boasts of numerous state-of-the-art cars of different shapes, sizes and colours, Soji powers around town in the in the fleet.
    Celeb Watch findings revealed that Soji is not just a hard rocker he also wields a lot of influence in the corridors of power. Legendary and long-standing is his friendship with the incumbent governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko. Their friendship reportedly dates back to the early 1980s when the politics of that era brought them together. They have since remained inseparable like conjoined twins.
    Soji’s friendship with the governor is said to be legendary and comes with its perks.

  • How being sociable can boost your brain

    How being sociable can boost your brain

    A study has shown that bits of the brain are bigger and better connected in people who have lots of friends.

    And the more sociable they are, the bigger the brain boost.

    The finding comes from Oxford University scientists who asked 18 men and women how many friends they had met, spoken to on the phone or emailed in the past month.

    The average number of friends contacted was around 20 but some were in touch with more than 40 people. Others only made contact with ten pals.

    Scans showed that around half a dozen brain regions were bigger in those who were more sociable – and the more friends someone had, the larger the areas were.

    One of the sociability regions was the anterior cingulate cortex, an area we use to keep track of what other people are doing.

    The scans showed that connections between this area and another that we use to work out how others are thinking and feeling were particularly strong in sociable types.

    The Society for Neuroscience’s annual conference also heard that there were strong connections between the various areas involved in sociability.

    Researcher MaryAnn Noonan said: ‘In more sociable humans, perhaps these communication pathways are more like motorways than windy country roads, making information processing more efficient and better.’

    With earlier work in monkeys producing similar results, the researchers think it is not the case that sociable people are simply born with brains that are better wired for friendship.

    Instead, they believe that people with lots of friends use certain brain regions more often, leading to them growing to keep up with the social demands.

    Dr Noonan said: ‘If I hedged my bets, I’d say the brain is changing in response to social network size.

    ‘But that is not to say that there isn’t a genetic influence, so that if you come from a sociable family, your brain is predisposed to that.’

    It is hoped that learning more about how the brain reacts in social situations could lead to new treatments for autism, schizophrenia and other conditions in which people struggle to interact with others.

    However, sociable types should note that the finding doesn’t mean that they have bigger brains overall.

    It is thought that other brain regions, which aren’t used when they are out socialising, shrink in compensation.

     

    Called from Daily Mail

  • Timi Alaibe shuts down late wife’s business

    Timi Alaibe shuts down late wife’s business

    Former boss of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, has shut down the business of his late wife, Alaiere Alaibe, bringing the era of the once a flourishing business to an end. Until her death, the late Alaiere ran a multi-million naira beauty shop called Pretty Woman on Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Many people had expected the business to wind up as soon as Alaiere died in 2009, but her husband reasoned that closing down the business would amount to erasing the legacy of enterprise for which Alaiere was known. He left the business to run and appointed someone to manage it.

    According to an inside source, the business started experiencing financial troubles just a year after the transfer of its management. Timi was said to have come up with the idea of selling the business at the time because he was too busy to oversee it, but the late wife’s family and friends appealed to him to keep it open. They told him that the financial troubles experienced by the business would abate in a few months when the new handler would have got used to it.

    But year after year, Pretty Woman became an ugly shadow of its old self. The place became deserted and the equipment began to rot. Timi could not take it anymore and decided to close down the business once and for all. The building now houses a branch of Enterprise Bank.

  • Inside the fascinating world of Nigeria’s POWER BIKE RIDERS

    Inside the fascinating world of Nigeria’s POWER BIKE RIDERS

    AS she entered the bank building that morning, the young lady drew curious glances from onlookers. Not surprising considering the way she looked. Dressed in full biker gear in sturdy black leather jacket, black trousers complete with hefty knee, elbow and shoulder pads and black biker shoes, she could pass for something out of the science fiction movie, Transformers.

    As she left the building after transacting her business, a man ran after her.

    “Good job, good job!” he gushed, shaking her hand. Then he handed her an envelope containing some money as a way of, “showing his appreciation and admiration of her,” as he put it.

    That incident is one of many that Matilda Otulana, one of the hundreds of power bike riders in the country, faces regularly. Wherever she goes either alone or in a group, she attracts attention with on-lookers gazing at her in wonder as if she is a strange being from space. Others wonder if she’s human. Being a lady in a sport regarded as a macho one for mostly the male folk, gets her double attention.

    “I get mixed reactions from people,” the legal practitioner who works in a bank, told The Nation. “Some are impressed while others hate it. In my bank, I have people who like it because it’s not common.”

    The fad for power biking in Nigeria

    While the sport of power bike riding in Nigeria is a relatively new phenomenon, motorbikes have been a regular feature on Nigerian roads in many towns and cities for decades. Japanese made models like Yamaha, Suzuki and Vespa were the popular choice of motorbike lovers who rode them both for business and pleasure. Then sometime in the 1970s and 80s, commercial motorcycles, popularly known as ‘okada’ became ubiquitous on the roads as a faster means of moving around traffic-choked roads in the metropolis.

    And now the power or superbikes. These motorcycles are bigger, sleeker and faster with speed range of between 150- 350 km per hour. Beginning with a few numbers some years ago, these fast, rugged ‘machines’ have become more common on our roads. Besides the rugged looking bikes which are eye-catching enough, the riders when kitted out in their full body armour of jacket and trousers, full face helmet, boots, gloves, knee and elbow pads and other biker ensemble are a sight to behold. With their fast as-lightening speed and the stunts they perform, they could pass for characters in a gritty Hollywood action movie, especially of the James Bond variety.

    Wherever they are, especially when riding in a group, they draw stares and comments from the public who are often thrilled by their daredevil moves and speed. Over time, they have assumed a tough, rugged image, a kind of swagger that has further endeared them to a section of the public.

    So, who are these power bike aficionados who have chosen life on the fast lane, riding bikes at dizzying speed that would give the faint-hearted person serious heart palpitations?

    In their day jobs, they are highly trained, respected professionals such as lawyers, bankers, engineers, doctors, industrialists, pilots among others. Off-duty, however, the formal office suits are switched for tough-looking biker gear that give them an intimidating look. To some of these bikers, it’s a hobby while for others, it’s the thrill, sense of adventure and freedom it gives.

    Adebayo Banjo, an engineer and 35 year-veteran of bike riding belongs to this category. “I love riding power bike because it’s exciting. It represents freedom and speed,” stated the 53 year old in an interview. His forays into the sport started with a modest Suzuki 250 model in the ’70s but has now graduated to riding more exotic ‘big bikes’.

    Another great lover of these bikes is Femi Segun, former ambassador and multi-linguist. “Super bikers come in different outlooks. But one common thing among them is their unique style, bravado, and love for adventure,” he explained when asked on his passion for bike racing. His choice ‘machine’ which he rides about town is a ‘beast, a Kawasaki ZX1400 Ninja. It’s about the second fastest sports bike in the world which does 1-100 kph in 2.5 seconds with a top speed of 320kph.

    His love for racing began decades ago as an undergraduate at the then University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). “I started riding Superbikes when I was in my second year on campus in 1976. That was when I bought a Kawasaki 250cc. It was considered big in those days. After that I began riding my friends’ Kawasaki Z1000cc. That makes it 36 years ago, since I started riding bikes,” he disclosed.

    Continuing, he added: “In the beginning, I actually started out riding Mobylettes, you know, the small motorized bicycles that you pedal until it starts when I was about 13 years old in 1972. An uncle of mine had one and used to let my cousin and I ride it up and down the street, whenever he came visiting my parents. Then in 1975, this same cousin’s roommate at the University of Ife (Now OAU) had a small Kawasaki 100cc. We used to ride that, also. That was the first time I rode a bike that had proper gears.”

    Ikhide Izokpu is the current President of Easy Riders Motorcycle Club, Lagos. A public servant, he has a Bsc from Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State and an MBA from the Lagos State University, LASU.

    He began riding six years ago due to his ‘passion’ for racing. Said he: “I will substitute flair for passion. As you grow older, you look for the opportunity and time to do what you enjoy doing. When I was much younger, then bikes were one in a million- you could sit outside for about two hours without seeing them, so when one passes once in a month, you are like wow did it just pass? I get excited whenever I see them and I told myself that when I grow up I want to do that. And when I got older, I started riding.”

    On the thrill of riding Otulana, whose desire is to see more women riders, said: “The kind of fellowship you gain from being a biker is awesome. I’ve enjoyed the thrill. I don’t know how to describe it. There is this adrenaline I get when I’m on my bike.”

    Toying with danger

    While certain sports and pastimes come with an element of danger, that of motorbike racing is doubly so because of the intense speed involved. Though statistics are not readily available, there have been reported cases of accidents involving power bike riders which have resulted in bodily injuries and in some cases death.

    Speaking on this, Izokpu stated: “Well, it depends on the community and where you are actually riding to. Every mode of transportation has its own dangers. Like two weeks ago, a car just passed the toll gate going through inward Lekki, within few minutes, the car just somersaulted at absolutely no speed. If it was a motor cycle that went off like that, they would say okay because it’s a motor cycle, but it was a car. So, if we actually can, all of us, nobody is exempted, obey traffic rules and regulations, I’m sure it will be safer for motorcycles. If you are going to measure risk among Keke Marwa (three wheeler tricycle, okada, cars, buses, trailers, I think motor cycles have a higher risk.”

    “Biking could be a dangerous sport, but everything is dangerous if not well managed,” declared Charley Boy, musician and entertainer and one of the pacesetters of power bike riding in Nigeria sometime ago in an interview. The self-proclaimed ‘Area Fada’ of Okada riders of Nigeria, disclosed that he was always careful while riding, and as such, had never been involved in a crash.

    The same cannot be said for Otulana who has had about three crashes since she began riding four years ago. She shared her experience: “I’ve had three crashes. It was on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway. We were going to ride on one way, and we had to ride through a muddy path. It was very slippery and I mistakenly hit a Nissan car’s rear light. My biker friends gathered round me to help out and dusted my body. Meanwhile, the owner of the car was complaining, ‘My car! my car! You must fix back my car.’ By then I had not removed my helmet. By the time I did, the man was surprised to discover that it was a woman biker. He just shouted ‘go away’. Though he was upset at it, he was also surprised. I didn’t sustain any wound though the bike was slightly damaged and I had to repair it in Ibadan.

    “On my second trip to Ibadan on our way back to Lagos, I was so tired and not as alert as I used to be and started making mistakes on motion. As we rode pass Mowe/Ibafo, a bus driver just hit my bike by the side and had to drop the bike. I fell off the bike. By then, a crowd had gathered around me to know what was wrong. I removed my helmet and was almost going to fight the bus driver when the mob started beating him.

    “In fact, I had to beg them to stop beating the driver. Funnily, some children were touching me to see if I was a human being. My biker friends too had stopped to see what was wrong because we look out for each other while riding. I knew they were trying to ride back to see what had happened to me. I just checked myself and found no injury on me. So, I started my bike and rode on. It’s a fantastic experience.

    “If the road is in good condition, Lagos to Ibadan is 55 minutes on bike but the road is bad which we travelled in an hour. You speed and reduce your speed in some parts. My bike is called a sport tourer. It’s good for long distance. When approaching a pothole, you have to reduce your speed to 60km so you manoeuvre through the pothole because your hand is always on the brake, you down gear.

    “My third crash was very slight. A driver hit my bike on motion and ran away. I was able to control it to avoid me falling off the bike. I’ve been very lucky while riding on major roads.”

    To Banjo, motor bike riding can be quite safe if one is well trained and follows the rules of riding. “There are rules governing power bike riding,” he maintained, noting: “People should be well trained before riding. They also need to be well kitted to protect themselves in case of accidents. They should always ride in full biker gear of helmet, jacket, boots, elbow and knee pads.”

    While most riders complain about the bad roads in the country which hamper a smooth riding experience, Banjo’s biggest grouse is Keke and Okada riders. “They are the biggest dangers to us on the roads because they are so reckless. Then, there are the drivers of Jeeps particularly the women, many of whom can’t drive well. Weekends- Saturdays and Sundays- are the most dangerous days because that’s when these women come out in their Jeeps; we have been hit many times by them. There are also oil spills, potholes and other things which disturb us on the road. I had accidents when I was younger and I used to speed a lot,” he noted.

    For Segun, a major crash some years ago cost him some teeth and broken bones. “I know that I was one of the earliest to have a major crash in which I lost two of my teeth and broke some bones on October 8, 1976. But I survived it obviously,” he said.

    Long distance riders

    While some riders like short city or town shuttles, for others like Izokpu, the longer the distance, the better.

    “Out of town ride is my favourite,” he said, adding: “I have been to most states in Nigeria on my bike. You actually have to prepare for it, first you have to be mentally and physically fit. Secondly, you have to know your body system. I will give you an example. Riding now (in the afternoon), it will be very hot. You may think you are okay but you could be very dehydrated and the next thing you could just fall off the bike and you would be wondering what happened?

    “So, if you know that you are dehydrated, you stop and sip water. Usually when riding, you use the cannon pack- it’s like a back patch, coming to your front and goes into your mouth- then as you ride, you sip at any point in time you are dehydrated. So I use it when I’m going for long journeys like going to Benin or Abuja. Initially, I used to take it to Benin but now I don’t use cannon pack to Benin. It’s also called dehydration pack. I use it when I go further than Benin or further than a four hours journey and I get tired. If you don’t have that, you can always stop every hour and take a sip of water or Lucozade, usually water and a little sugar and glucose.”

    “I’ve not done pass Ibadan, Abeokuta and Lagos. I hope to go on far distance riding,” said Otulana, who does not see biking as a big deal. “When I get the kind of reaction I get from people, I feel sometimes, what’s the big deal with riding a bike? There is really no big deal in riding a bike, just that there are few women who do it.”

    An elitist hobby?

    Power bike riding is an expensive hobby, considering the cost of the motorbikes and other paraphernalia of riding. Findings show that many of them are more expensive than cars, with some going for about N2.3m and others about N4m and above, depending on its capacity. For instance, popular brands like Yamaha 1000cc costs about N2.3m or more. “Some of the exotic, big bikes can go for as high as N5m, including cost of insurance,” said Banjo. This has made some observers of the sport to brand it elitist like polo or other popular sports of the rich. Many see it as a hobby for the ‘big boys’ in town, who have the wherewithal to afford the expensive bikes.

    But Izopku disagrees, stating: “I wish I can say yes but I will say no to the assertion that power biking is elitist. if you decide to commit to a car, and you buy it for one million naira and use it to commute to work every day and I say, ‘me I no fit for traffic o,’ and I opt for a motorcycle of N700, 000, that is my means of commuting to work. Your means is car, so that’s the way it is. If I want to buy a motorcycle for five million, and I can afford it to commute to work, I will. If you want to buy a car of seven million, or simply five million, it is what you want, so it has nothing to do with being elitist or that it is for the rich only. It is like saying the car is for the rich. There are cars of N200,000, likewise bikes of 200,000. It is for everybody, so it is relative.”

    Brotherhood of bikers

    With the increasing number of people taking up the hobby, different associations and clubs have sprung up to take care of bikers’ interests. In Lagos, there are the Easy Riders Motorcycle Club, Ikeja, the Wheelers, the Angels (based in Festac) and a few others. In Abuja, there is the Capital City Motorcycle Club, among others.

    On the benefits of belonging to the five year-old Easy Riders’ Club, its President said: “It’s the passion. We share ideas, share experiences, exchange contacts just in case you need someone to assist. You can work in a bank and I need to access the facilities, work in telecoms or oil company and I need to get a product or anything, we just help ourselves.”

    Otulana, who does not feel intimidated being one of the few female bikers, spoke on the camaraderie among bikers. “The club makes me feel I’m part of them because we share a common bond together. We have actually learnt the act of trust; it’s more than sharing the same passion, we see each other now as a family. Initially when I started riding, they welcomed me in whether they thought I was going to finally ride or not. The fact that I am a lady does not make any difference.”

    Banjo is not too happy with what he referred to as, “certain individuals who are trying to form clubs and cliques and force people to conform to their rules.” It’s one of the growing problems of biking in Nigeria today,” he grumbled. “There are some bikers going to government and saying ‘we are bikers association and asking that laws should be put in biking. This is not right; they don’t have the right to lord it over bikers because once you start putting restrictions on bikers who are free-spirited, you are moving towards cults, gangs like Hell’s Angels (in the U.S). We, the real older bikers want to maintain our integrity and protect ourselves from unscrupulous elements trying to take control of riding in the country.”

    Wives’ worries

    Due to the element of danger in bike riding, it is understand able why most spouses of riders tend to be apprehensive about their partners’ sport of choice. Some are vehemently against it and do anything to stop their husbands from riding.

    A Lekki-based mother of two, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated: “When my husband bought his first power bike about six years ago, I was not happy at all. I feared for his safety, especially when someone we knew died while riding to Benin on his power bike. I begged him to sell it and to stop riding but he refused. So, one day when he travelled out of the country, I looked for a buyer and sold it. You can imagine how mad he was when he returned and found his bike gone! It caused a quarrel that lasted for nearly a year. Later, he bought another one and for the sake of peace in our home and to keep my marriage, I didn’t protest. In fact, I no longer quarrel with him about riding and let him do what he wants.”

    She’s not alone in her concerns for her spouse. Said Segun on this: “Of course my wife is concerned. She was so relieved when I sold my last bike, Suzuki GX750R a couple of years ago as she thought I was done with riding. She was upset when she saw this new one, but she had to accept it when I explained to her that I had a project I was working on which involves bikes and that was why I need one at this time.”

    “Initially it was a no,,” said Izokpu on his wife’s reaction when he was making plans to buy a power bike. “When I told her I wanted to buy a motorcycle, she told me: ‘You are joking’ and she walked away. She forgot the husband that she married. I had already thought the process through and I just decided to throw it to her, this is what I am gonna do, so you better support me. I knew that if I sat down to discuss it with her, she would definitely not agree, so I told her this is what am going to do and you better support me.

    “The first couple of months when I got the motorcycle was traumatic for her- she kept praying and praying. Whenever I travelled was the worst. So, whenever I stop to buy fuel, I have to send her a message, ‘I am at Ijebu ode’, or Ore or any other place. So, she got used to it for like six months before she started feeling comfortable. Now, if I tell her I’m going out of town, Abuja, to Ghana or anywhere, she is absolutely comfortable with it.”

    Asked if they ride together like some bikers do with their wives, he jocularly stated: “Let’s put it this way; it is allowed only for one person to be insane in the house. I am the insane one, she is the good one. Absolutely lovely woman!”

  • Celebrity photographers who ‘shoot’ for the rich

    Celebrity photographers who ‘shoot’ for the rich

    Le Fahts Fotografa

    The idea was meant to serve as a stop-gap for two restless secondary school leavers seeking an opportunity to get themselves busy pending when they will proceed to higher institution. But almost three decades later, that idea, Le Faht fotografa Ltd, has turned into the yardstick with which the success of photography is measured in the country.

    Indeed, among the photography studios most patronised by Lagosians between the middle 80s and 90s was Le Fahts Fotografa, located in the mainland area of the city. Perhaps one unique aspect of Le Faht’s story is that it appeared on the scene when the business of photography was not really as lucrative and attractive as it is today.

    The two brothers, Abdul Fatai Alao Thomas and Segun Bada, chairman and director respectively, started business in June, 1986 in a small flat, after having learnt the tricks from an elder ‘brother’ and owner of Studio De Best, one of the frontline photographers of the period.

    Speaking with The Nation, one of the then two young men whose dreams have now snowballed into a multi-branch photo studio that offers several young Nigerians employment, Segun Bada said the success has surpassed their expectations.

    He said: “Le Fahts Fotografa came into existence at a time photography was not considered lucrative and profitable. It was a bumpy start, as we had almost nothing to start with. At that time, no young man wanted to go near photography. But the standard set by this big uncle drew us close to him. It was like after secondary school, while we were waiting to progress, we just felt like doing something pending when we would go further in our education. But photography later took the better part of us, and that was it.”

    The first few months were tough for the two young men. There were days that nobody would knock on their doors to have his photograph taken. “It was simply rough at the beginning. We had only one camera, which we got on credit. After paying the rent, we had nothing left to do any other thing, not even to buy a fan. And there were days that we had nothing to do.”

    Their fortune changed for the better in December of that year. But it came as a result of a bit of ingenuity by the two. With only one camera and virtually no studio light or effect, they had to bring out the genius in them to ensure that they didn’t go out of business soon after they came into it.

    Bada explained: “We didn’t have what it takes to start at the time. We didn’t have a studio light. All we had were one flash and a camera. We had to find a way of doing something unique. What we did was to do some tricks on the lens in order to make it look as if we had studio light. If you looked at our photos then, they looked soft. That was how we started. “

    Whatever little money they made was quickly reinvested into the business. To acquire more sophisticated knowledge, they became avid readers of foreign magazines, from where they picked new ideas, settings and different backgrounds for photographs.

    One major thing that contributed to their breakthrough was the location of the studio a few metres away from Methodist Girls’ High School and the popular All Saints’ Anglican Church. Le Fahts Fotografa offered a unique opportunity for young men and women seeking adventure to dash in and have a feel of the new studio.

    Realising this unique opportunity, the two young men altered their mode of operation by opening their studio on Sundays. “We suddenly realised that we were wasting Sundays doing nothing. So we started to open between noon and 6 pm every Sunday. The December of that year was the breakthrough. People started coming with suitcases of clothes just to book photo sessions with families and loved ones.”

    With the money came new innovations. A business that started a few months back without a fan could now boast brand new air conditioners and a new look office and studio. At a time, the two could no longer cope with the influx of customers, and had to give tally numbers to them.

    Three years after their rough beginning, Le Fahts Fotografa took another giant step when it acquired a whole building a few streets away from the Yaba office. Not done with that, they opened another office on the popular Allen Avenue, then Ikoyi, before finally arriving in Abuja.

    “After the customer base had grown, there was a need for expansion. So we got another office at Maye Street in Yaba. Other branches were later opened at Allen Avenue and Ikoyi to meet the demands of clients from those parts of Lagos.”

    With the business base firmly assured, Alao Thomas took time off to study Law in the UK, leaving the running of the business to Segun Bada. After completing his studies, Alao Thomas came back to Nigeria, while Bada now went on a ‘Sabbatical’ to London.

    His stay availed the two the opportunity to establish an office in London. “I went to London and stayed there for some time. I was there for about nine years. I have a studio there. As a matter of fact, my family members live in London,” Bada said.

    A little less than three decades after the two brothers sought a way to drive their energies, what they thought would be a short romance with photography had grown into a huge company, with a clients’ base that include the crème-de-la-crème in the society.

    Their clients include the Emir of Ilorin; PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; former governor of Kwara State, Mohhamed Lawal; former governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore; PDP chieftain, Bode George; Gani Fawehinmi; Godwin Abe; the Ibrus; Andy Uba and Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Kuforiji.

     

    Sunmi Smart-Cole

    Ace photographer, Sunmi Smart-Cole, was born on September 25, 1941, in Port Harcourt, to Nigerian-Sierra Leonean parents. He is well-known for his versatility. Although he is famous as a photographer, his love of music and fashion and other varied experience, including photo journalism, is acknowledged by the public.

    Smart-Cole held his first solo exhibition at Stanford University, Stanford, California, in 1978. In December 1978, he was invited by the National Council for Arts and Culture to mount an exhibition at the National Arts Theatre, Lagos.

    His love for photography came to the fore when at 17, he started training as an architectural draughtsman. The buildings he subsequently designed included the country home of Sierra Leone’s late Prime Minister, Sir Albert Margai.

    Sunmi is also an accomplished soul music drummer and jazz percussionist. He taught himself to play trap-drums in 1964, by watching the then Fela Ransome-Kuti and his mother, Mrs Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti convert highlife drummer, John Okoh, into a jazz drummer. Smart-Cole used his laps as a drum.

    He organised the first Nigerian Jazz Festival in 1964 at King’s College Hall in Lagos. In 1967, his barber shop, Sunmi’s Place in Yaba, was a trend-setting centre for the fashionable Lagos elite. In 1972, he went to the United States, where he worked as an electronic drafter and technical illustrator. His strong visual sense led him to embark on a photography course in 1976, at Foothill College in Los Altos, California.

    In 1983, he became the first photo editor of the newly-established The Guardian newspaper, where his works were always a must-viewed by readers. Sunmi Smart-Cole has trained more than 30 photographers (free of charge).

    His first book, The Photography of Sunmi Smart-Cole, with foreword by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, was published by Bookcraft Ltd in collaboration with Daily Times of Nigeria in 1991.

     

    TY Bello

    Toyin Shokefun came into limelight as a member of the popular musical group, KUSH. Other members of the group were Lara Bajomo and Emem Ema. They were indeed Nigeria’s darling trio who took gospel music out of the church and into the mainstream in the early 2000s.

    Today, the girls have become women and gone their different ways. Toyin Shokefun has metamorphosed into TY Bello and is now an internationally-acclaimed portrait photographer. The colours, shades and textures she captures in her photographs are all expressed in the way she handles the arts.

    According to her, “art is about collecting experiences and expressing them. For me, music and photography are similar art forms. I collect experiences, stir them in myself and express them in my own language. Just like photography, music is my language.”

    TY has proved that she is indeed a multifaceted young woman. She stages an annual photography exhibition to raise funds for orphans across the country. She is also a Director of Link-a-child; an NGO dedicated to propagating information on orphanages in Nigeria and soliciting sponsorship on their behalf.

    As a photographer, TY Bello has captured presidents, governors, celebrities and socialites on the lenses of her camera.

     

    Yetunde Babaeko

    Born in 1978, Yetunde Babaeko studied art and design at Osnabruck, Germany. She currently lives and works in Lagos with her photo studio being one of the most professional in the region. Her work is emotional and touching, projecting women the way she sees them; strong, frightening and still elegant.

     

    Kelechi Amadi-Obi

    Kelechi Amadi-Obi is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kelechi Amadi-Obi Studios. He went into full-time photography and studio art shortly after obtaining a law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and his call to bar in 1993.

    The renowned professional photographer has earned respect of the international community with his outstanding photography and artworks.

    His unique style and mastery of aesthetics and creative lighting in his paintings were reinvented in his photography to create dynamic and result-oriented imagery for his clients.

    His clientele include Samsung, Guinness Nigeria Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc, Globacom, Etisalat, The Ford Foundation, Forbes, Nokia, Diamond Bank, FCMB, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, PZ Nigeria Plc,British American Tobacco, UBA, PrimaGarnet Ogilvy, SO&U, InsightGrey, Orange Drugs Nigeria Ltd, Nigeria Flour Mills, ex-international, Austin.J.J Okocha, music stars such as PSquare,DBanj,Genevieve Nnaji and Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, to mention a few.

    These include; “Transferts” Africalia, Brussels, Belgium-2003, he won the St.Moritz Style Award for Photography- 2004, “Lagos” Ifa Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany- 2004, “Depth of Field” South London Gallery, UK- 2005, International Centre of Photography, New York, USA- 2005, “Snap Judgement” – New Position in Contemporary African Photography- 2006and “The Progress of LOVE”-Menil Collection, Houston 2012.

    Amadi-Obi has over the years made a gradual transition from painting to photography and equally built a brand with his paintings through several exhibitions within and outside Nigeria. These include: “Transferts” Africalia, Brussels, Belgium-2003; he won the St.Moritz Style Award for Photography- 2004; “Lagos” Ifa Gallery; Stuttgart, Germany- 2004; “Depth of Field” South London Gallery, UK- 2005; International Centre of Photography, New York, USA- 2005; “Snap Judgement” – New Position in Contemporary African Photography- 2006 and “The Progress of LOVE”- Menil Collection, Houston 2012.

    In 2010, Kelechi established a publishing company, Mania Productions Limited, which publishes a fashion magazine, StyleMania. This magazine has become one of Nigeria’s top fashion magazines telling the stories of African women with style and creativity.

     

    Udeme Robbin

    Arguably one of the most successful entertainment photographers around, Udeme, popularly called Debbin in the Nollywood circle, started as an apprentice photographer with a Lagos-based photography outfit, USA Photo. He was introduced into entertainment photography by actor cum movie producer, Ikechukwu Ogunjiofor, in 1995. The thirst for education encouraged him to study photography at Yaba College of Technology. Apart from handling the location photography shoot for Nneka the Pretty Serpent and several other movie projects, his clients include top Nollywood actors and producers.