The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Always

  • P&G Nigeria introduces new sanitary pads

    Always, world leading feminine care brand of P&G, recently launched a newer and more affordable product, ‘Always Cotton Soft’, into the Nigerian market.

    According to the Brand Manager, Always Nigeria, Funmi Adigolo, the new ‘Always Cotton Soft’ is specially designed to be as soft as cotton to soothe the skin and afford users comfortable protection all day long. She stated that the product was made particularly for people who desire a soft and soothing feel from their pads so as to make comfortable experience. “It is two times softer than our Always Classic thick pads. The new Always comes with a very soft top sheet that protects your skin from irritation and harm,” she added.

    The Communications Manager, P&G, Nigeria, Tomiwa Ajewole, also added that “the new Always Cotton Soft is now available at an affordable price point of 250 naira at most retail stores across Nigeria. While this is the recommended price, all pricing at the shelves is at the sole discretion of the retailers.   He also mentioned that this launch is part of company efforts to make everyday life a little better and easier for the average Nigerian female especially now when we all face pressing domestics needs but have limited financial capacity.”

    He also disclosed that the Always Cotton Soft is available nationwide in attractive pink packs of eight pads, in individual packs.  “It comes in ‘long’ and ‘extra-long’ variants, giving users a choice to get the one that best suits them.  As with other Always variants, the new Always Cotton Soft guarantees superior and comfortable protection for up to 8 hours,” he added.

    P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always, Ambi Pur, Ariel, Bounty, Charmin, Crest, Dawn, Downy, Fairy, Febreze, Gain, Gillette, Head & Shoulders, Lenor, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, SK-II, Tide, Vicks, Wella and Whisper.

  • Living for public good always

    As I was preparing to publish collection of my thoughts as a book, there came an experience I am humbled to share. I chose to include it as the last chapter of this book because of the life changing lessons I feel I am indebted to share with the public.

    The scriptural recommendation that we should always be good to fellow being is as old as existence of the world itself. When the Bible says “Love your neighbour as yourself”, it implies that whatever is our wish for fellow human naturally returns back to us in a way. This is applicable to everyone irrespective of status.

    The truism that we are what we sow in terms of deeds cannot be half true. A close shave encounter with death on Monday, September 11, 2017 revealed the shortest length between life and death, while the help from ‘doing it right’ that placed an ambulance in the remote Ketu-Ejinrin General Hospital, Epe and dividend of my humble goodwill became the saving grace.

    ‘Living for public good always’ is a ‘best kept secret’ meant for all to earn noble rewards but only the wise make use of it. More importantly, those who are privileged to hold positions of authority should see it as rare honour to touch lives because to whom much is given, much is expected. Public office is a trust and public office holders too are part of the public. For me as Eleniyan nothing bothers me more than waking up in a day without a programme that will help me bring a little happiness to those who are in dire need particularly on the financial front. Without dressing anything in borrowed robes, I am nicknamed Eleniyan not for the fancy of it, but because I see people as my garment each day of my life. Life is short; whatever we give to help and save others from sorrow, agony and dejection are our deposits for the eternal.

    Apart from being humanitarian, it is also wise to give one’s best in any situation where service is required. Whatever helps offered in the cause of doing well, it is mere deposit for one’s safety account when the time comes. If Ketu-Ejinrin in the semi-rural part of Epe was not deemed worthy of an ambulance by Governor Akinwumi Ambode under his ‘health service delivery for all’ scheme, or if a bad legislation had stalked such laudable scheme, the narration herewith would have been different, a memorial commendation probably. I survived a life threatening situation on the fateful day not because of my position or influence; practically if Ketu-Ejinrin General Hospital lacks capability for good medical service, or has no stand-by ambulance for emergency, the eventuality would have been disastrous.

    In the public office arena, political and public office holders who fix public facilities to serve all class of people are only wise. Though those who take advantage of their positions to divert huge public resources think they are smarter.  Reward of goodwill is peace of mind. A former public office holder in Nigeria who was riddled with all forms of diseases but has array of estate apartments, huge shopping complexes, properties across Dubai and London and unlimited investments while her people languish in abject poverty and penury is not only wicked but cruel in its severest form.

    Holder of public office is just a receiver of grace and high privilege because there are so many men and women who hold no distinctive positions but whose contribution towards the development of the society has been enormous.

    We have seen viral lessons online of modest world leaders who go on public train, travelled on road without heavy security and a Prime Minister who rode on bicycle to office without hassles. We must continuously strive to make the world peaceful and habitable for all. We have also seen a poor cleaner at Nigeria’s foremost international airport return millions of naira lost by a traveller – goodwill is not limited to status. Be you a clerk, office attendant, security personnel, driver or even a cleaner, you are bound to put your best as the good job you do might just be your saving grace when least expected.

    To my warmest amazement, the level of care and hospitality received in the hands of our health care workers were amazing. This also has nothing to do with my status but demonstration of the fact that if adequately motivated and encouraged, our health care providers can offer equal or better services than what we seek for thousands of miles away.  I am therefore happy that the vision of the present administration is to ensure Lagosians who live in the remotest part of the state are able to access health care facilities. Government hospital in Ketu-Ejinrin provided emergency service to stabilise my failing health; a stand-by ambulance took over and LASUTH did the rest. Anyone can find himself in a situation where his bullet proof car will be of no use but that ambulance with a thinning conveyer stretcher while siren is blown to announce the need to save a life. I was dressing up preparatory to my return trip to Lagos without the least sign of such health emergency scenario, but when it dawned, the car parked outside for my journey was later driven empty to Lagos while I was conveyed with the stretcher inside the ambulance for intensive treatment at the LASUTH. Life is transient for whoever cares to accept the reality of it.

    After staying unconscious for almost an hour, the splash of water over my face at a gallop returned me back to life. At that moment, my thought went to Albert Schweitzer who said “the purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” I offered my silent prayer for the grace to do more for my people and those unknown. It was answered as I regained my consciousness partly until I got full treatment. At that point, the ambulance driver was a factor in the outcome (good or bad) of my situation…everyone is important!

    The level of professionalism displayed by doctors and staff of various departments at LASUTH were so amazing. Services were superb talking equipment and personnel. I implore Lagosians to continue to patronise our General Hospitals because they still remain the best around. All we need to do is develop them into international model health care hospitals. It was also a thing of joy that every department I was taken to for examination, one person I never remembered I helped in the past came out to offer their best to save my life. The good relationship I maintained with people in the health sector I oversee had paid up.

    We must always do well in all circumstances. Our contributions in the course of our public services are not for anybody but invariably for ourselves. As legislators, if we did not do enough to ensure money was adequately voted for health sector, I would have become a victim of our undoing. As I was there, a senior doctor was also admitted and operated upon, reaping dividends of his goodwill; such is life.

    I want to sincerely thank the Governor, the Speaker of Lagos Assembly, all members, entire staff of Ketu-Ejinrin General Hospital, CMD of LASUTH, doctors and all staff and all law-abiding tax payers in Lagos State; we are all doing ourselves services needed for a better tomorrow. I thank my well-wishers and associates who stood by me in me low time.

    Health is wealth. We need to make every life count and continue to ensure no life is lost as a result of unavailability of basic health care facility or personnel. Our society is only better and safer when we can rely on our local apparatus for saving lives. In all, we must all strive to continue to live for one another. Who knows, the next beneficiary of our goodwill might just be our own blood relation or the next door neighbour.

     

     

    • Olulade is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Epe Constituency II.
  • ‘Why I’m always on the move’

    ‘Why I’m always on the move’

    General Overseer of Elshaddai Covenant Ministries Lagos, Dr James Iruobe, speaks with Sunday Oguntola on his recent apostolic trips as well as plans for the church, which clocked 30 recently. Excerpts:

    You have not been so much around in the last few years. What took you away?

    I was away to England. I went primarily because I wanted to take advantage of the fact my wife is a citizen of the UK but at the back of my mind was a plan to plant a church in the UK, which I succeeded in doing.

    The spiritual weather there is not terribly favorable. Even to get a place to put is one problem. Things are done differently there. No doubt, it is the blacks that actually go to church in the UK and we eventually succeeded in planting a church. The challenges are still there but the church is also there. I have been back since last November.

    Fully or partially?

    Fully

    You are not going back?

    Not that I won’t go for overseeing, holidays or preaching engagement. I will but I am back to my base. Lagos is my base. I have not changed base yet and I don’t know if I will but for now I am a Lagosian.

    So how was your UK experience? Was it palatable? What have you learnt?

    I learnt a few things helping me because there you do everything by yourself. I have learnt to be more independent and one thing that I learnt in the UK is that whatever you are looking for is written somewhere. It is your job to find information and if you don’t understand it, get people who will explain it to you.

    I have imported that to my job here in the sense that I try to write things down. Anybody can pick it and read instead of holding meetings upon meetings. Another thing I gained is the fact that I was alone most of the time and I was able to pray.

    Here it is just too busy. If someone wants to see you, you can’t say no. But when I was there, I had a lot of time to myself even though I was in a sense still busy. I was still overseeing whatever was going on in Nigeria.

    From Jos to Lagos to UK, why are you always on the move?

    I see myself as a church planter and sometimes I see myself as a missionary. My missionary work is not to the villages but urban missionary. The work in Jos, I did very well. We started small but with time we began to grow. That is why I am not worried about England.

    I know that if God caused Jos to grow, He will do the same over there. Jos did very so well that at a time we were a household name there. It appeared to me I was jobless because people were doing everything I should be doing.

    I just went to church, preached and left. They took care of everything. I saw myself as being jobless and began to ask God what next. I started feeling I should relocate. In my mind, I started wondering where to go – Port-Harcourt, Abuja or Lagos. Eventually, I felt God was directing me to Lagos.

    That is why I came to Lagos and from here to England. And everywhere I went, I have been planting churches.

    Would you describe yourself as an apostle or pastor?

    My basic calling is pastoring but I am doing the work of an apostle now. That doesn’t mean I should change my title to that of an apostle. I don’t know if it would make any difference. But my basic calling is that of a pastor. I have only grown into becoming an apostle.

    But there are people who still haven’t forgiven you for leaving Jos

    Yes, many people could not understand. Everybody has his/her mindset about issues but I know people find it difficult to see how I could have given up such a church to go and start with nothing.

    I was a big man in Jos only to come to Lagos and start leading house fellowship. It was no joke but again it has paid off in the sense that we are not where we were in Jos but I am hoping we would get there. I am still doing a lot of works.

    I want to raise people because what we actually did in Jos was to raise leaders who could handle anything with minimal supervision. Once we get there here, I don’t know the next thing to do.

    Lagos taught you lots of lesson. Could you recap some of them?

    Yes, the first lesson I learnt in Lagos is don’t trust anybody you see on the streets because in the north you could easily trust people and I have this nature of always trusting everybody.

    I have suffered from it a lot. I came to Lagos and met a lot of disappointment. When I started thinking of coming to Lagos, I didn’t have anyone in mind. But along the line, I met a man who was a member of our church in Jos.

    He asked where I was going in Lagos and I said Ikeja. That was the only Lagos I knew. He said I should come to Victoria Island and he would pay for my house and church hall. I changed my plans because of that.

    I got to Victoria Island and started coming up with policies. He didn’t like it and that was the first shock. In fact, he felt I should forget El-Shaddai and start a new work. He stopped paying for the hall. He did some others things that even an unbeliever should not do.

    So I decided to move to Ikeja because that was where I was going originally. So when I left, he inherited my congregation, pastors and drivers.

    He took over everything. I came to Ikeja and encountered many troubles. The first accommodation we got for church, we paid over N1 million and till date we couldn’t use the place. We couldn’t get our money back. It took God to take us to where we are now.

    Would you consider your constant movement a result of your restless nature?

    I don’t know if I am restless. I just want to see things done and I like new challenges. I want to grow people. I want to disciple people. I want to see people mature and once I see that I am satisfied.

    Have you started thinking of retirement?

    Yes, people say there is no retirement in this work but I don’t know how true it is. What is bothering me is not retirement but succession. I haven’t quite found somebody I will hand over the ministry to.

    I had someone that started with me who I was grooming to take over.  Eventually, he told me he was going to the US for training, only to say he wasn’t coming back.  He has started his ministry over there. I felt disappointed but I trust God to provide someone else.

    In over 30 years, shouldn’t that have been taken care of?

    Yes, it was not taken care of because the person I had in mind disappointed me. He felt he wanted to be on his own and that was just last year.

    What kind of succession do you have in mind? Hand over the ministry, take a back seat and watch someone do it?

    Yes.

    You could have used any of your children.

    I have three children – two ladies and one young man. I think it is better for God to work things out than for me to think that my son should come and take over. He may be interested and he may not be. But we have never seen it as a family affair.

    That is why I always involve people in whatever I am doing, even in decision-making. I think if somebody will ask me what has accounted for the success we have today, it is the fact that I involve others.

    You wouldn’t mind if your successor comes from anywhere?

    No, I don’t mind. I don’t care where the person is coming from.  I only care where he is going to. The person can be from anywhere so long he is genuine, sincere, god-fearing and understands the vision of the ministry as well as willing to run with the vision.

    Emmanuel College is one of the leading educational institutions in Jos. Why haven’t you been to replicate the same in Lagos?

     Settling down in Lagos took more than I thought it would have taken. Then when we eventually settled down, we found out that there are too many schools around here. What led us to start the Jos school is the fact that parents were looking for admission and the schools were not just there.

    The good school then was the Baptist High School and it was like Carmel going through the eye of a needle to get admitted there. Emmanuel College came and provided what people wanted.

    What has become of the vision to have a Christian estate?

    Omo Onile people have dealt with us. We had 110 acres of land fully paid for in Ota, Ogun State, just a few minutes’ drive after Covenant University. We have been battling Omo onile who encroached on it.

    We went to court and got a ruling they should give us another land. Till date, they haven’t. We involved police to no avail. We bought another 25 acres somewhere in Ota again.

    This was fenced but somebody broke in and started building on it. To be honest, we have been very unfortunate with landed properties.

     

  • N10m scholarship for Always’ winners

    N10m scholarship for Always’ winners

    Always, the leading feminine care brand from Procter&Gamble Nigeria, has organised an award to reward winners of its Always #MyFutureStartsToday Essay Competition in Lagos.

    No fewer than 100,000 pupils  received N100, 000 scholarship each at the contest.

    The awardees’ essays were adjudged best among the 2000 entries received by Always, the leading feminine care brand and organiser of the contest.

    Some of the winners who were picked across schools in Lagos State and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), also had the privilege of being mentored courtesy of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), which is in partnering Always.

    WIMBIZ is committed to the socio-economic development of young girls through capacity building, mentorship and taught programmes.

    Brand Marketing Director Procter&Gamble Nigeria, Tolu Adedeji, said the mentorship programme was meant to inspire participants to achieve their potential.

    She noted that there were  challenges facing the girl child in Nigeria, adding that the mentorship would not only benefit the girls alone, but also impact the society as a whole

    “The education of girls is important for us. In fact, Always advocates the empowerment of girls and women. In our bid to continue to contribute to Nigeria and Nigerian girls and women, we have launched this platform to reach more girls and help them to achieve their potential,” he said.

    Going down memory lane, Adedeji recalled that in August, the organiser launched a video that showcased young girls sharing their challenges. Afterwards entries were invited from girls between 11 and 16 to send in their essays detailing their dream careers and how they hope to go about it.

    “When the video was launched, we were overwhelmed with the response and support that we received from everyone. It affirmed that starting up a conversation like the Always #MyFutureStartsToday could help build a girl’s confidence,” she added.

    Founder Bella Naija, Uche Pedro, who gave a motivational talk, challenged participants to live their dreams, despite encumbrances.

    “We live in a world where girls are often told that they cannot achieve certain feats simply because they are girls; but that notion is wrong. I strongly believe that with confidence a girl can achieve whatever she wants,” Uche added.

    Other motivational speakers were: The founder, Flying Doctors Nigeria Dr. Ola Orekunrin, and Mercy Eghonghon, who started flying at 17.