The Nation Newspaper

Tag: child

  • Breaking the cycle of maternal and child deaths

    SIR: It is hard to believe when not directly affected, that globally, a woman dies from complications in childbirth every minute – about 529,000 each year. To Barrister Victor Laima such ordeal has been made a fact as he witnessed the death of three pregnant women within an hour in a medical centre in Gombe State. Such deaths are more peculiarly in developing countries like Nigeria. The direct causes of maternal deaths are haemorrhage, infection, obstructed labour, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, and complications of unsafe abortion. There are birth-related disabilities that affect many more women and go untreated like injuries to pelvic muscles, organs or the spinal cord. At least 20% of the burden of disease in children below the age of five is related to poor maternal health and nutrition, as well as quality of care at delivery and during the newborn period. And yearly eight million babies die before or during delivery or in the first week of life. Further, many children are tragically left motherless each year. These children are 10 times more likely to die within two years of their mothers’ death. Another risk to expectant women is malaria. It can lead to anaemia, which increases the risk for maternal and infant mortality and developmental problems for babies. Nutritional deficiencies contribute to low birth weight and birth defects as well. A majority of these deaths and disabilities are preventable, being mainly due to insufficient care during pregnancy and delivery. About 15 per cent of pregnancies and childbirths need emergency obstetric care because of complications that are difficult to predict.

    A woman in sub-Saharan Africa has a one in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth; in Nigeria the chances are one in every 13, compared to a one in 4,000 risk in a developed country. This glaring disparity is reflected in a number of global declarations and resolutions which have not only being signed by governments, but given full commitments in implementation.

    In September 2001, 147 heads of states collectively endorsed Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5: To reduce child mortality rate by 2/3 and maternal mortality ratio by 3/4 between 1990 and 2015. Strongly linked to these is Goal 6: To halt or begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. To ensure these efforts, the AU Abuja Declaration was signed to improve health sector budgeting to 15% of aggregate budget as well as the actualization of the National Health Act 2014 which compels the federal government to allocate at least one percent of the consolidated revenue fund into the Basic Health Care Provision Fund. Regardless of these commitments, the sector still remains underfunded, opaque and disintegrated.

    Access to skilled care during pregnancy, childbirth and the first month after delivery is key to saving the lives of Nigerian women and those of their children. As well as the need to ensure that medical staffs are well compensated, else the continual risk of capital flight as well guaranteed consistent and sufficient supply of drug, working equipments and erecting standard medical facilities especially in the rural communities that have none. The actualization of all of these requires the non-hypocritical implementation of the NHA 2014 by the government, improvement of funding to the Primary Health Care Development Agency, as well as effective monitoring, evaluation and public reporting of the expended funds and donations to the sector by the agency. Lastly, broad grassroots community sensitization by the government agencies, religious organisations, CSOs and other health development stakeholders on the importance of quality health services and practices, family planning, immunization, use of insecticide treated nets, etc, as well as their rights to engage and demand from their House of Representatives members, Senators, Governors, Community and Traditional Rulers, and the incoming administration their “Right to Life” which can only be guaranteed when their “Right to Basic Primary Healthcare” is provided for.

     

    Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu,

  • Raised by a maid? Your child may be disadvantaged

    Highly-mobile parents have been warned that their wards may be disadvantaged intellectually despite their education and status.

    The claim is the result of a research that Mrs Dolapo Ogunbanwo shared at a parenting workshop organised by Caleb group of schools and Sterling Bank Plc in Lagos.

    Mrs Ogunbanwo, who is the Executive Director of the schools, spoke on “Understanding Developmental Stages: What Parents must do to Maximise Potential”, said the 2007 research conducted in the United States, revealed that factors such as social economic status, parental influence, mother’s education, single parentage, month of birth, gender, special needs, and income could affect how successful a child would become.

    She said the research also revealed that it would take black African children until 2053 to catch up with their white counterparts.

    In light of the research, which Mrs Ogunbanwo said she was a part of, she warned educated parents not to think that their wards are more privileged than others as they may be adversely affected by the influence of domestic workers raising them.

    “You may think that you are educated; and have a good income; but the maid raising your children between zero and three years have issues if you don’t, and can influence your children,” she said.

    The educationist urged the parents, who numbered about 600 to do their part to ensure that their wards turn out to be high achievers.

    She said children who are high achievers have high aspirations, self belief, positive can-do attitude, focus, and seek to learn from experience.

    She also said parents should allow their wards to fail and learn from their failures.

    “You can learn from your failure.  You need to teach your children to stop, think about what worked well, and what they can do differently.  Do not let your children be afraid of failing because when afraid of risk, they won’t do anything,” she said.

    Speaking on why the bank supported the workshop, Mrs Olapeju Ibekwe, Head of Brands, Sterling Bank said with parenting not taught as part of formal education, parents need all the help they can get to raise children who will turn out to be good members of the society.

    She said: “We understand that the economy is in such a situation where definitely parents need to be engaged economically to be able to meet the needs of the home.  But this should not be at the expense of raising the leaders of tomorrow.  There has to be a very fine balance to ensure that we do not go ahead and start raising miscreants, people that will become cultists and thieves.”

    Mrs Ibekwe said the bank supports educational initiatives because of the importance of the education to societal development.  She urged parents and schools to take advantage of various services they can enjoy from the bank.

    “We are supporting the schools because we have a very wholesome value chain initiative and impact we want to make upon the schools.  We do school fees finance, we do asset acquisition for schools; we support the educational institutions,” she said.

     

  • ‘Every artwork is like your child’

    ‘Every artwork is like your child’

    Professor of Art, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States (US), Dele Jegede, in this studio talk with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME shares his studio experience and views on INEC and relevance of art movements to the growth of arts, among other issues.  

    What is your studio work schedule like? How many hours do you spend in the studio per day?

    My studio work schedule is perennial and interminable. In one respect, my studio is a cerebral deal. I nurture and incubate ideas mentally over a period of time. I annul the usual distinctions between the physicality of practice and the fertilisation of ideas. So, you can say that my studio practice is both meditative and performative. What matters most to me is the gestation of ideas, which may take anything from a flash—a sudden burst of insight—to eternity. My studio work covers just an aspect of the totality of my commitments. As a professor, my commitments range from conducting research to teaching; carrying out quotidian academic chores to making art. I divide my time between writing and painting. Whenever I am in the practice zone, I remain in the studio for as long as I have to, regardless of the time of day.

    What are you working on currently: exhibition or commissioned works?

    I am currently working on a solo exhibition, which will be my second in the last four years. My forthcoming exhibition, which will be in a major gallery in Lagos, stems from my latest exploration of ideas and new media. It will be a combination of figurative and conceptual aesthetics. It is a body of work that I have been working on specifically to commemorate my 70th birthday, which comes up this year.

    How many works are you working on concurrently and why?

    It is difficult to itemise. At any given time, I have upwards of two, three, or four canvases that I am working on. And, as you may have suspected, a blank canvas is something of a battleground; it presents its own challenges and dares you to make your move. There are times when issues are resolved amicably between you and the canvas; when it honours your moves and reciprocates your gestures. But there are other times when the canvas becomes recalcitrant and uncooperative: when you reciprocate such stubbornness by turning the stupid canvas against the wall and leaving it there for as long as it takes. This is purgatory of sorts for the poor thing. It is a test of wills. Some times, this practice works. You go back and voila! Case solved. But at other times the canvas remains unyielding, and you may have to resort to extreme measures such as painting over it completely. There! You just exercised your power as an artist. The Yoruba say that, “Ohun ti ko lenu, ki i gbon ju eni.” “That which cannot speak should not outwit one.”

    Of all the media, which one do you find challenging to handle and why?

    I see a medium—any medium—as a means to the attainment of an idea. A medium is part of a process, the mastery of which is fundamental to any successful assertion of your expressivity. That is foundational. At my stage in professional practice, I have come to prefer certain media to others. I favour two-dimensional platforms and continue to experiment with new media. In recent years, I’ve limited my romance with oil-based media, preferring instead to focus on water-based processes. The challenge here is to limit my exposure to fumes and potential hazards that are an expected consequence of a studio space with circumscribed ventilation systems. Besides, artists owe themselves a duty to take necessary precautions and avoid health risks that are posed by exposure to certain media.

    In your personal collections of your own paintings, are there works you will never part with? If yes, what is the attachment to them?

    Potentially, every work is like your child. You gave birth to it. And this explains the attachment. I am often reluctant to part with my work. I hoard my work. I prize it above monetary recompense. This seems inevitable because my time is split among several endeavours as professor. Yet, part of you often must be with your work. Even at that, you are never fully parted with it since you do have multiple processes of reproducing the same piece although Walter Benjamin’s notion of the diminution of aura and authenticity is worth noting in this respect. Here’s the deal though: I will rather give my work out free to someone with incurable love of art, but no means than sell it at an exorbitant price to someone, who has the means but no respect for the art.

    As a seasoned artist, what is the relevance of art movements or guilds to the growth of art practice?

    The critique of art formations and movements falls within the purview of art historians and art critics. This is one area that is relatively under-developed in Nigeria. Contemporary art is that precisely because we are all still in the moment; we as yet do not have the mandatory spatial and temporal distance that is a necessary component of enduring historicisation. Art movements will continue to remain relevant, even inevitable, so long as there are artists who continue to work and experiment. At times, you need decades to be able to compartmentalise movements. Traits that may initially be fugitive or indiscernible have a way of settling down later. For example, based on their creative longevity, it should be relatively easy at this point to examine the stylistic trajectory of the works of, say, El Anatsui, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Kolade Oshinowo. But we may not as yet have the spatial gaze that will help us determine which of these artists is central to any broad-based movement, and which is at the cusp of inscribing or initiating a movement. As for guilds, they are an inevitability, regardless of the nomenclature that they claim—society of this, association of that, or whatever else may emerge.

    Considering the many debates on different national issues in politics and economy, how has the visual artists fared in contributing or adding his or her voice to the talk?

    There is no doubt that visual artists have realised the economic viability of their profession. What I don’t know as yet is the extent to which they have translated such viability to political capital. Nigerian artists have a responsibility to express their political opinion and exercise their political rights without let or hindrance. Demas Nwoko once demonstrated the innate propensity to exercise political right when he threw his hat into the political ring a generation or so ago. Our inimitable Fela Anikulapo-Kuti once formed a political party. Of course, we do not all need to be candidates before we make our contributions to on-going political debates. Such contributions may come in the visual agendas and portfolios that artists present to the public. Jelili Atiku, for example, has shown the capacity for performance art to engage in subtle or covert critiques of cultural, social, or political systems.

    There may be understandable reasons why visual artists are not known (as yet) for the public exercise of their political views. Some may be dismayed by the unbridled sycophancy that has become normative. Right now, Nigeria is on the right path in one respect: the embracement of democratic practices. Oh yes. Feel free to quibble about the democratic process itself; it certainly is far from being perfect. But regardless of its shape (which is a function of the dramatis personae) what Nigeria should continue to celebrate is the institutionalisation of the democratic process. In its most execrable form, which is what we are currently seeing in Nigeria, a democratic dispensation is better than a military dictatorship. I am optimistic that the days of peremptory broadcast on national television by stern-looking military dictators, interspersed by martial music, are over forever. That is worth celebrating. But Nigerians have a duty to protect this incipient democracy.

    That said, what is appalling is the lack of civility that has characterised the political discourse. There is a shocking display of gratuitous grandstanding, crudeness, uncouthness and plebeian mentality particularly among the top hierarchy of the political class. A top citizen of the country, one who, though not elected, enjoys all the pomp and pageantry that come with an exalted office, could use some decorum and exercise decency in the choice of words for opponents. Disagreeing with a political opponent should not entail being disagreeable. It certainly should not warrant wishing anyone dead. I have looked, in vain, for a robust campaign that is based on issues and not on trivialities and sophomoric vituperations especially by political operatives that include a once-demoted governor and a former minister who appears to specialise in nothing but corrosive utterances that belie the dignity and equanimity that his status is supposed to command. Where is the decorum? It is astonishing that a political umpire, who was appointed by the government, has been dragged into an unnecessary political fray, which is clearly aimed at impugning his integrity. Everything, including the kitchen sink, is being thrown at INEC. It is surely unsettling to read statements and see political adverts, which virulently attack a man who cannot (and should not) volunteer a response at this point. In all of this though, our cartoonists should be having a field day. I’m not sure that I have seen enough impactful cartoons that are devoted to searing critiques of the on-going political buffoonery and sophomoric outbursts by certain personalities.

     

     

  • Comedian Seyi Law loses first child

    Comedian Seyi Law loses first child

    Humour merchant, Oluwaseyitan Aletile, aka Seyi Law and wife, Ebere, have just lost their first daughter, shortly after the baby was delivered in the United States.

    The comedian took to his Instagram to announce the tragedy, arousing the emotions of his fans, who have been sending consolation messages.

    He said: “My heart is blank. My joy has disappeared. Anger has become my companion.

    The wait is over with a bitter end. Oh Lord! Why does it have to be me? I am so imperfect and never denied it. The pains of nine months have amounted to nothing.”

    Seyi, who was discovered a few years ago in a comedy contest organised by AY’s Corporate Entertainment, has been one of the well sought-after comedians ever since.

  • Man escapes lynching for attempted child theft

    Man escapes lynching for attempted child theft

    A middle-aged man narrowly escaped being lynched last Saturday for allegedly attempting to steal a three-year-old child.

    One of the women, who caught him said she suspected he was a ritualist.

    “I noticed the way he was trying to lure the child with a piece of biscuit. At a point, he carried the child and made to hurry out of the place. Seeing that if left alone without watching him, I may not see him again, I quickly alerted two other women and asked them look for the mother of the child.

    When the woman (mother) arrived at Agbe Road in Abule Egba, she found her child in the hands of a total stranger and raised the alarm,” said the woman.

    She added: “Within some few minutes, people started gathering. All efforts for them to know why he carried the child and attempted to go failed. He was silent. So, the crowd became angry and started punching him. Some people even attempted to break his head with empty bottles, but two men who held the man made it impossible for them to use broken bottles on him.”

    Another source, said the suspect was given the beating of his life.

    The irate crowd was said to have dragged him to a nearby police station from where he was transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.

  • Child Obesity: A growing cause for concern

    Child Obesity: A growing cause for concern

    As we usher in the New Year, Gboyega Alaka brings to the front burner, the growing cases of child obesity in our society, highlighting the health and psychological effects on the youngsters.

    Eight-year-old Modupe (not real name) got the biggest embarrassment of her young life recently, when she was shooed off the stage mid-way into a children dance contest. It was the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the popular radio programme, Lunch Hour Show and Modupe had gone up stage with high hopes of clinching the winning prize money, apparently trusting in her dancing skills. In addition to bags of goodies, the organisers had earmarked a part of its N1.5million winning money of the day for the best child dancer, and Modupe, from the audience position danced really well and deserved to go all the way. She was therefore surprised when a larger chunk of the audience voted her to go off the stage with the elimination slang ‘waka’ (meaning walk away).

    From the audience’s point of view, which is about forty meters from the elevated stage, where the kids danced, Modupe appeared a much bigger girl, giving the impression that  she shouldn’t even be competing with the kids in the first place. And that, more than her performance on stage, determined the audience’s decision to eliminate her from the competition.

    On descending the stage and approaching her father at a section of the audience’s section however, a good number of the crowd suddenly discovered that they had misjudged Modupe’s age and indeed been unfair to the young girl. “Oh she’s actually a little girl,” somebody whispered.”

    “And we thought she is too old,” another replied; while one who couldn’t care less retorted, “why she self go fat like old mama.”

    Somehow, they all agreed, on seeing her up-close, that they had committed a grave error of judgment, which unfortunately, they could not reverse

    Overwhelmed, Modupe snuggled close to her dad while complaining tearfully about how, “they told me to go away… and I was dancing well daddy.”

    Khafilat’s story is not much different. But while information about Modupe’s background and history may not be known; that of events leading to Khafilat’s obesity problem is available, as told by a close family member. Born into a nouveau riche Lagos middle-class family, Khafilat’s mother took delight in feeding her with meals from fast food joints, even though she was literally a fulltime housewife and could have nurtured her with healthy home-made meals. To her, it was a thing of pride, and it was actually common to hear her flaunt the fact that “My daughter doesn’t eat anything cooked at home,” and “Oh she has to eat meat pie and a cup of ice cream before going to sleep, otherwise….”

    Her father, a top manager at a defunct government parastatal, wasn’t left out, as he always branched at a fast food eatery to do mother and daughter’s bidding.

    Gradually, in their ignorance, they fed little Khafilat with junk, until she began to blow up. Unwittingly, they also reveled in her chubbiness. She was the teddy of the family and they were simply loving it. Somehow, it never occurred to them what harm they were doing to the little girl. By the time Khafilat was clocked 9, she already looked like a 16-year old, big and over-blown. Suddenly, both parents realised the problem on their hands, but alas, it seemed a bit too late, as they all (Kafilat inclusive) lost control of her body. The fact that she inherited her father’s height also means that she now looks quite imposing. Now at 14, the poor girl could pass easily for a 30-year-old woman, looking fat and matronly. And wait for this: men old enough to be her father now make passes at her, apparently misjudging her age.

    To make matters worse, she is also facing issues of self esteem, as she gets jibes such as ‘orobo, mummy and fatty,’ from friends and strangers, who find her size amusing. The embarrassment has also got to a stage where she hardly goes out, except to school.

    Her helpless mother now complains of her increasing recluse lifestyle, trying hard to get her to ignore the negative remarks on her size. On her part, Khafilat is trying hard to avoid those foods she has been used to, to no avail.

    And the question persists:  how does she lose her excess weight?

    Little Modupe and Khafilat’s stories are just two of the thousands unpalatable experiences children suffering from obesity and overweight problems are facing in our world.

    Unfortunately however, these may just be tips out of the iceberg, considering the health complications they might be facing in the future, if their conditions are not quickly reversed.

    Mrs. Iwalola Akin Jimoh, nutritionist and member of the Ovie Brume Foundation explains that obesity is actually a situation that predisposes somebody to certain other conditions and diseases. “For example,” she said, “if you are obese, you’re susceptible to high blood pressure, hypertension, cardiac diseases, and diabetes mellitus, particularly in adults.”

    She disagrees with opinions in some quarters that obesity in itself is a disease, saying it is “more like a dangerous condition that predisposes one to other diseases.”

    And while current statistics may be hard to come by, one will most certainly find pockets of children with obesity problems in the exclusive private schools across the country, somehow suggesting that it is a condition preponderant amongst the rich and upper-class. Cursory investigations however suggest that there are cases in public schools and even amongst the lower class, indicating that it cuts across all economic strata.

    A study conducted by the Paediatric and Child Health department of the Igbinedion University, Edo State, at the turn of this decade revealed that Nigeria has a prevalence of 18% obese cases among school age children. This of course indicates that a sizable number of the country’s emerging youth might be facing challenges of obesity and its attending health conditions in the near future.

    It also carpets the opinion in some quarters that the problem has not yet reached an alarming rate.

    Akin-Jimoh lends her voice to this controversy, when she said “to say that it is not yet at an alarming rate is something I won’t agree with. It’s quite alarming at this point in time.”

    Even though statistics may be scanty, she says the problem cuts across board and requires urgent attention.

    She revealed that the problem of obesity actually takes roots from the way mothers feed their infant, when the child is born, right through the type of diet that the child is weaned on. She also said that the reason it might be more preponderant amongst children of the upper class may not be unconnected with their parents’ busy schedule, especially in a city like Lagos.

    “For this reason, they don’t pay extra attention to diet and you find that their kids in the morning take cereal, sausage and chips, which is very high in calories; in the afternoon, they go for rice and maybe a quarter of a chicken, which again is way too much. And in the evening, they go for maybe white bread, egg and sausage. So the diet that a lot of kids in the upper-class take might actually contain a lot of fat, a lot of sugar and very high carbohydrate diet. Sometimes it’s also very high in protein, way beyond what a child needs; and when you take too much carbohydrate and protein, it is converted and stored under your skin.”

    To be on the safe side, she advised that once your diet provides enough for you to meet your energy needs, then it is excellent; as against consuming way more than you need and having it work against you.

    While raising an alarm over the growing rate of obesity amongst young children at the 2nd Federation of African Nutrition Societies (FANUS) meeting held  in collaboration with the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and other stakeholders a few years back, Dr Maria Pilar Riobo Servan, Vice President of the Society of Endocrinology, Nutrition & Diabetes in Madrid, Spain, said changing food habits, declining physical activities in the home and in schools, increasing sedentary habits- where children sit for long periods watching TV or playing video games, and changing physical environment are some of the major factors parents need to address. Except something urgent is done to address this growing trend, Servan warned that the situation will attain a pandemic proportion, leading to the continent’s first generation of less healthy adults with shorter life expectancy than their parents.

    For the records, an adult with a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. Extreme obesity, also called severe obesity or morbid obesity, occurs with a BMI of 40 or more. With morbid obesity, one is especially likely to have serious health problems.

    Servan also stated expressly that the biological cause of obesity is simply “an imbalance between the number of calories in and the number of calories out. In other words, consistently eating more calories than you burn off could make you obese.”

    Once regarded as a problem of economically advanced countries of the world, the condition seems to be taking roots in Africa. A conservative figure actually suggests that 15 million Nigerians are obese, while two to three times more people are probably overweight.

  • ‘Obesity exposes a child to dangerous health conditions’

    ‘Obesity exposes a child to dangerous health conditions’

    Mrs. Iwalola Akin-Jimoh, a nutritionist and member, advisory board of the Ovie Brume Foundation speaks on the growing spate of child obesity in Nigeria and its health and psychological implications; even as she urges early preventive measures.

    While it might be said that Obesity in children in Nigeria has not reached an alarming stage, it nevertheless calls for concern seeing that cases liter our exclusive private schools; can you give us a current statistics?

    I cannot give you any statistics at this point in time, but to say that it is not yet at an alarming rate is something I won’t agree with. It’s quite alarming at this point in time, and the problem of obesity actually takes roots from the way you feed your infant, when the child is born right through the type of diet that the child is weaned on. I mean you can talk about private schools, where it seems to be obvious, but I really think the situation in which we’ve found ourselves needs urgent attention.

    There are controversies on whether obesity is a disease in itself or a condition; could you please explain obesity in simple terms?

    Obesity is a situation that predisposes somebody to certain other conditions, to certain diseases. For example, if you’re obese, you’re susceptible to high blood pressure, hypertension, cardiac diseases, and diabetes mellitus, particularly in adults. So it’s more like a dangerous condition that predisposes you to other diseases.

    Some people take pride in having their children looking chubby, especially at the early stage. What have you got to say to this?

    It’s good for a child to look healthy, but he doesn’t have to look overweight. When you have your infant, you should take him through a process called Growth Monitoring at a health centre, where they will measure his weight and height and let you know if he is thriving. If the child is overweight or prone to obesity, they would tell you.

    Is there a specific measurement of weight for height for children or even adult?

    Yes we do. For adult, you take your BMI and for a child, there is a standardised Growth Monitoring Chart, which is approved by the Federal Ministry of Health and which is actually used in all government health facilities, and approved private health facilities. The chart gives a range of what height is supposed to be for a particular weight. There is a range that tells you a child is healthy, malnourished, underweight and even overweight.

    What’s the difference between being overweight and being obese?

    When you’re overweight, your Basic Metabolic Index is probably over 25. The Basic Metabolic Index has a formula that you use to calculate it. Many people have questioned the authenticity of the BMI because if you’re familiar with the Nigerian population, you find out that almost everybody is overweight. And when you get to a certain range, you say somebody is obese; and when you get to another range, you say somebody is morbidly obese. The Basic Metabolic Index, which is a relationship between your height and your weight, actually tells if a person falls within any of these ranges. It is important to note here that there are certain tests that are also performed on individuals, because a person may be overweight and his biochemical parameters remain okay. Also, a person may be within the normal weight range, while already showing high cholesterol level. You might also be within the normal weight and already have high blood pressure. It’s just that when you’re obese, it predisposes you to some of these conditions. So once a person is above 40, 45; there is need to continuously check a lot of biochemical parameters in your blood, to see how you’re fairing health-wise.

    Obesity also seems to be more common amongst children of the upper-class and middle-class? Why is this?

    It’s actually related to diet. If you look at Lagos for example, you’d find that a lot of the upper-class parents are very busy. They don’t pay extra attention to diet and you find that their kids in the morning take cereal, sausage and chips, which is very high in calories diet. In the afternoon, they go for rice and maybe a quarter of a chicken, which is way too much. And in the evening, they go for maybe white bread, egg and sausage again. So the diet that a lot of kids in the upper-class take might actually contain a lot of fat, a lot of sugar and very high carbohydrate diet. Sometimes, it is also very high in protein, way beyond what you need. And when you take too much carbohydrate and protein, it is converted and stored under your skin. So your diet provides enough for you to meet your energy needs, it is excellent. Rather than consuming way more than you need and having it works against you.

    Do you then subscribe to the opinion that obesity is more common amongst the rich and upper-class?

    Being overweight has nothing to do with your economic class. It has to do with your diet. If you don’t eat right, you have a tendency to have malnutrition, irrespective of your economic class. Malnutrition can be over-nutrition or under-nutrition. Over-nutrition is a category in which we have the manifestation of obesity, which means you’re over-eating. And whether you’re living in Ajegunle or Mushin, if you fall in this category, you have the tendency to become obese. In children, it might not be very obvious, but in adult, it is quite evident. If you look at the Nigerian population; you’d find that people are overweight, irrespective of their economic class. I’m not saying that people are also not undernourished, but when you look at the trend in the last ten years and also project into the next ten to twenty years; you’d find that Nigeria could actually have a population in which a lot of people will actually be overweight, because they’re not just eating right.

    The general opinion is that obesity is preventable. How so?

    You can actually start preventing obesity right from infancy by breastfeeding your child exclusively for six months; all breast, no water. At least ensure that you do this for the first three months of your maternity leave. Even when you have to go to work, you can still manage by breast feeding them when you are at home; and by extracting and storing when you know you would be at work. Also, you can use weaning milk, peradventure you cannot give your child exclusive breast feeding, and stick to the instruction on the can. Do not give four level spoons, when the instruction says three, just because you can afford it. In any case, no health worker will encourage a mother to raise her child on infant milk, except in health cases such as when the mother is HIV positive etc.

    How do you reverse obesity in a child?

    To reverse obesity, you need to place the child on a diet, because the truth is your weight is almost 70 per cent of what you put in your mouth and 30 per cent of your physical activities. But you shouldn’t cut back too much on the protein because the child needs protein, but you’re reducing the fat. You shouldn’t cut back too much on the milk because the child needs calcium; you should not cut back on things like legumes, beans and all that, because the child is still growing. And then you want to increase the child’s physical activities. If you can afford it, swimming is actually a very good sport that engages the whole parts of the body and even strengthens the back. You might want to enroll the child in aerobics, dance class and generally increase his/her physical activities. So the child is exercising and also enjoying himself. Even simple exercises like brisk walking will go a long way. So you can use increased physical activities and diet modification to help a child lose weight. Another thing: if your child is used to ice cream, chicken and the likes, you don’t cut it out totally; simply reduce the portion size, otherwise when you turn your back, he goes back and binge on it. For a more effective approach, parents who can afford it should also see a dietician or nutritionist. Virtually all teaching hospitals has departments designated for them. The sooner the issue of a child showing signs of obesity is addressed, the better.

    Aside the health implications, there are psychological issues, which seems to even assail obese children much earlier. Do you have experiences to share in this regard?

    Of course it affects them psychologically and leads to issues of self-esteem because in a case where they are just one or two looking like that in a class, the tendency is for their mates to call them names such as orobo, facto and all of that. And it cuts through even the public schools, because we do a lot of work with public schools. It might even affect their studies in the long run, because they become too self-conscious. And then during sports there is the issue of performance, in which you might not be able to run as fast as your colleagues or compete generally in physical exercise. This does not necessarily apply academically though. Talking about the female gender, the image that is posted out there  whether on the internet or on the television; is the idea that an attractive lady is one who is slim and shapely. And if you’re obese, you don’t tend to fit into this image and it affects the way you look at yourself. And so parents really need to pay a lot of attention to this, so that when their children are obese, they help them get through the difficult period of self worth. The fact that you have only one body and cannot get a spare one in the markets, means that you need to strive to keep it as healthy as possible. Obesity is a condition that you don’t even want to find yourself. You should also cultivate the habit of taking fruits and vegetables. It is bad enough that children don’t like vegetables and fruits; but to now let them perpetrate a diet that is devoid of them means that you’re setting them up for something that will not benefit them in the future. Besides, if you don’t bring them up to take fruits and vegetable, how do they in turn transfer this healthy health habit to their children? Exercise is also key. A lot of parents lay too much emphasis on academic success, such that the child hardly pays any attention to physical exercise of any sort. And that is extremely harmful to a child because a child has a lot of energy. They need to learn how to multi-task and manage their time effectively. An active sports life will also help them avoid sedentary life and help then burn up extra calories and energy even when they over-eat. It is important for a child to start laying the foundation for healthy muscles rather than fatty tissues.

  • And the child is dying

    They call them leaders of tomorrow but the tomorrow has refused to come. That elusive tomorrow has turned out to be ages ago and the acclaimed leaders of tomorrow are now grandparents, yet they flaunt that hefty tag of tomorrow’s leaders. What do these children know? It is popularly said that the Iroko tree may be tall, yet its length is of no significance in determining its experience.

    Our villages have now become breeding ground for illegitimate kids by youths who rely on their parent for survival. Some of the parents of these adolescents are themselves children in the general sense of it and have no means of livelihood but for the peasant farming which is hardly enough for their growing family size.

    Our towns and cities are not better off as they are far from the expected civilisation they ought to portray. Even with the hunger and starvation that is eating deep into the bones and marrows of some families, children are still procreated indiscriminately. The result is the increasing number of out-of-school children as many of these families are better at giving birth than nurturing the babies.

    A situation where a man still confesses to have married his wife solely for child bearing even after having begotten seven children from the woman with all of them without quality education is a mockery of the acclaimed advancement of this present generation.

    The state of health of the average Nigerian child is pathetic. Due to lack of adequate resources by parents, there exists a poor breast feeding culture in our rural areas. The urban centres with much better civilization is almost not better off in this aspect as most families, even among those in the high social strata, are guilty of this charge. In some states of the federation, immunization against the six killer diseases, which surprisingly this current crop of leaders deemed to make free, is discouraged, leading to all forms of childhood killer diseases. And when some of these children survive without going through the immunization process, some form of deformation sets in. The consequence of which, the society is reaping in the form of children without the requisite fundamental knowledge to contribute positively to the development of the nation.

    These days, children are left to grow up on their own without parental guidance. The desire to amass wealth has taken the burner in most urban homes at the expense of their families. It is not uncommon to find families where both parents leave home before the children wake up in the morning and return when the children are already asleep. Nannies and house helps play central roles in the upbringing of these children most of whom lack the necessary parental guidance as a result of the laissez-faire attitude of the nannies and house helps. The result is evident in the increasing number of wayward children in our society.

    Due to the desire to help the growing family size especially in rural areas, some children drop out of school in a bid to complement the meagre income of the parents and help their younger ones. In such situations, since they have no handwork with which they could eke out a living as they were not even afforded the opportunity of learning a trade, they take to wheelbarrow pushing or other menial jobs just to ensure that their large family, which could be yet inconclusive as a result of the desire of the father and mother to still give birth, gets food on its table.

    With time, these children, who have become adults by providence, learn from their fathers and mothers and become parents of their own. Marriage in this case is out of the question as all they need to start their families is to, for the boys, impregnate a girl, and for the girls, become pregnant for a man and then move in with him. With this, the circle of indiscriminate child bearing continues.

    As a consequence of the above scenario, it is not uncommon to find children, who barely qualify as adults to have two or three children of their own with no means of livelihood. This gory picture is more pronounced in rural areas where a girl child of barely seventeen years already has two or three children of her own and still leaving with her parents. The parents of this ‘girl’ are still very much in their reproductive age and are still in the business of child bearing having not attained the age of forty five. With time, the children of this ‘girl’ get to puberty stage and the circle starts again. Thus, youths become grandparents at such early ages with no foundation for any of their offspring. The society reaps the benefit in the form of a growing population without a corresponding technical know-how for the progress of the nation.

    The child is promised a better future by their representatives in positions of authority in return for their votes during periods of electioneering campaign. With the desire for a better tomorrow, the child is left with no option than to vote for the politician with the highest give-away prices in the form of rice, garri, salt etc during elections with the belief that when the said politician gets into office, the status quo will continue. To the child, reprieve is finally coming her way. As is often the case nowadays, their hopes are dashed as the politician pounces on their ignorance to get power and amass wealth for only himself and his immediate family without consideration for the poor masses that voted massively for him.

    Angry and with no gainful employment, the child takes to the streets and tries to avenge herself of the injustice by resorting to kidnapping and robbery of those who are said to have amassed wealth. Not only that, the child also vents her anger on the society at large by trying to become rich through the back door.

    With time, nemesis catches up with the child and she is made to face the wrath of the law. She is punished for all her crimes against her society while the real culprits, who are the genesis of the child’s problem, are the ones to even melt out the judgement on the child.

    With the demise or imprisonment of their bread winner, a vacuum is created and another child, irrespective of the age, steps in to fend for the family. The circle continues and hopes continue to get dashed. The children take responsibility for family upkeep while he or she jettisons his or her lofty dreams for the good of the family.

    Such has been, and is still is, the challenge facing many young families. The remote cause of the above chronology of the Nigerian child could be said to be lack of education and the remedies lies in the hands of our leaders.

    If leaders, since the attainment of independence had made good their promise of a progressive Nigeria, perhaps the challenges faced by youths of this present dispensation would not have come to be. If the desire to amass wealth and get to positions of authority by all means is jettisoned and replaced with the desire for the emancipation of its populace from the ambiance of poverty, the gory situation of the Nigerian child would not have been.

    The child is dying and succour seems far from sight. Corruption and shady tendencies reign supreme. The few lucky youths at the corridors of power have borrowed a leaf from their older counterparts and are now even worse than them.

    The challenges facing the Nigerian child will continue to persist until our present crop of leaders reflect deeply and tackle without delay, the unemployment question that they have continued to shy away from. The child is dying at such unprecedented rate. Until the status quo and legislation change in favour of the youths of this distressed generation, the hope of a rewarding Nigeria may be a mirage.

     

    Philip is a Corps member, NYSC Jalingo

     

  • Every child must be educated

    One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education first.”  The line was the concluding words of Malala Yousafzai in a speech she delivered before the United Nation Youth Assembly sometimes last year.

    Malala, who has now become a global icon after surviving a gun attack by the Taliban in her home country of Pakistan last year, has doubled her efforts in advocating education of the girl-child and enforcement of the right of every child to education.

    Given her activism, the United Nation declared her birthday, July 12 as “Malala Day” and just recently, she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her activities.

    The education rights activist was in Nigeria a couple of months ago to plead with the government to secure the release of schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok, a village in Borno State, by Boko Haram fighters last April. But months after she left, the Chibok conundrum is yet to be solved. The Federal Government is still confused on the whereabouts of the girls but assuring that nation that it would ensure the “safe return” of the girls.

    It is a pity that the nation is still finding it difficult to locate the girls, after six months of their abduction. While these girls are being kept away from school by Boko Haram, the government considered it necessary to roll out drums to mark its “giant strides” and achievements that hardly have any positive effect on the people.

    The series of protests and campaign by #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group notwithstanding, the tears and sorrows in the heart of the girls’ parents will never dry while their children remain in captive. Who will console these people?

    It took the government six months to decide whether to negotiate the girls’ release with Boko Haram or to use force to free them.

    Pray, for how long would the nation cope with the reality of missing 219 girls? I certainly pray that the girls be eventually released to take up the scholarships given to them by the government of United States. While the government churns out inconsistent statements on their whereabouts, don’t we think the abduction could discourage the girl-child education in our society?

    Nigeria country is yet to uphold the fact that education is the right of every child (gender difference notwithstanding) as entrenched in the United Nation’s declaration and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sadly, some parts of this country still harbour the barbaric belief that girl-child education is a wasteful venture.

    I feel very sorry for a little girl called Aisha, who was lucky to be selected amongst three other children to be sponsored through school by a humanitarian organisation, but she unfortunately lost the golden opportunity to be educated due to her culture that demands her to be whisked to a man’s house at a tender age of eight all in the name of child marriage.

    Aishah’s case is just one out of thousands of innocent girls, who have been robbed of their dreams to become educated and more useful and productive to themselves and the nation at large.

    Despite the fact that insecurity is the beast ravaging our society and making it rather unsafe to send children to school, the fact remains that acquiring education is vital to development. It is the Chibok case that has gained international attention because of the number of girls involved.

    Do we know how many other girls like Aisha being made to suffer untold hardship because of one reason or the other? Even the ivory towers are no longer safe for the students, considering the height of insurgency that we are currently facing in the country. I strongly pray for a safer and better Nigeria, but it is time we combated the scourge called illiteracy.

     

    Halimah, 300-Level Law, UDUS

     

  • Free maternal/child care in Enugu

    Free maternal/child care in Enugu

    Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime has said he is determined to make the Free Maternal and Child Health (FMCH) programme initiated by his administration the best of its kind in the country.

    He spoke while inaugurating 13 vehicles donated by the state government to the Ministry of Health for use in ensuring effective supervision and implementation of the programme in all local government areas.

    Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, Chime revealed that the programme was introduced in 2007 to enable it to achieve the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the state.

    Chime noted that presentation of eleven Hilux vans and two Toyota buses would complement the recent employment of new personnel for the seven health districts in the state comprising 20 medical doctors, 150 nurses, five pharmacists and five medical laboratory scientists.

    Others, he said, included 10 radiographers, five medical record officers, 30 security and clerical officers, 15 drivers and five messengers.

    He recalled that approval has recently been given for payment of consolidated salary structures (CONMESS) to medical doctors in the system, adding that the rest would follow soon.

    The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr George Eze praised the vision of the Governor in paying prompt attention to the needs of FMCH, noting that Enugu State was the first to embrace the programme, a feat which has earned the state high ratings as far as health care delivery in the country is concerned.

    Dr. Eze further said the vehicles would ensure that services were extended to

    people in the rural areas, emphasising that ”no woman would lose her life because of inadequate treatment or attention during child bearing in the health districts of Enugu State.”

    He also urged the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the districts to reciprocate the government’s gesture by living up to their responsibilities in their areas.

    He commended the Department for International Development (DFID) and other agencies for their supportive roles to the FMCH programmes.

    Speaking on behalf of other partnering agencies, a representative of DFID, Prof. Eddy Nwobodo praised Governor Chime for placing high premium on the health sector.

    He revealed that the state government has spent the sum of N7 billion on the FMCH programme since its inception. He called for concerted effort to ensure the success of the programme at all levels.

    Top government functionaries and politicians, including Chairman of Health Management Board, Dr Arthur Chinedu Idoko and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr Moses Otiji, among others.