The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Coping

  • Coping with laptop batteries

    Coping with laptop batteries

    Technology change has happened both quickly and imperceptibly. The very first connections between computers, nearly 50 years ago, have been transformed into a wave of connectivity that covers the planet. New devices and innovations have given way to harnessing the power of connectivity and functionality unimagined. With these have come challenges with laptop batteries. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on how to cope with these challenges.

    The experience could be harrowing, especially when laptop battery starts malfunctioning; when a 10-hour battery life device depreciates to serving for one hour or less.

    Insight from the Research and Development Unit of Yudala, Nigeria’s fastest growing composite e-commerce outfit, shows that while laptop batteries often depreciate over time, misuse or wrong usage often makes this to happen within a short period and at a time when the user should still be deriving optimum utility from the laptop battery.

    According to research, laptop batteries are usually made from lithium-ion: a lightweight, high-power battery often used in computers and mobile phones. Lithium-ion batteries come in various shapes, although a flat rectangle is most common in smartphones. It is lighter than the nickel cadmium battery and the nickel metal-hydride battery, thus accounting for its lightweight nature. Lithium-ion batteries work by the movement of lithium ions through a membrane and are clearly different from lithium batteries.

    Whereas lithium batteries contain lithium metal and are not rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries do not contain lithium metal and are rechargeable.

    However, lithium-ion batteries do not last forever. Each lithium-ion battery will have an average of 600 charge cycles and will work optimally for between four and five years without a drastic depreciation on battery life. Hence, the laptop battery should serve well for at least for between three and four years depending on how frequently it is used and recharged.

    Research shows that frequent travelers only get a couple of years out of their laptop battery because they tend to charge intermittently and keep their laptop unplugged when on the move which kills the laptop battery faster.

    However, to get maximum life out of the laptop battery, the following tips from Yudala will go a long way in helping you save the cost of investing in a new battery at short intervals:

    Eschew putting laptop on soft surfaces

    It is easy to place your laptop on your thighs or bed while working at home or during your rest time. Many users are guilty of this. However, if you need your battery to last long or have a stronger life span, it is advisable to place the device on hard surfaces such as tables or desks in order to avoid over-heating.

    Research has shown that heat is one of the biggest obstacles to battery’s longevity because the laptop fan can’t circulate air properly when the machine is placed on a soft surface.

    Storage of laptop battery

    This cannot be over-emphasised. It is advisable to store laptop in a cool place with less heat. This tip is directed especially at people who keep their laptops in their cars where it can get really hot when it’s sunny. Laptop batteries do not work well with heat and might stop working if exposed to excessive humidity. Research shows that, if a stored battery is not charged, it starts to lose it energy and might get damaged.

    Also, for travelers who leave their laptops behind, it is advisable to store the battery with a 40 – 60 per cent charge instead of a full charge because study has shown that fully charged batteries depreciate faster than half-charged batteries.

    Do not leave laptop dead before plugging

    There is said to be a problem called ‘battery memory’ which, causes batteries to ‘forget’ their full charge capacity and start charging at lower levels; charging to 100 per cent and discharging to 0 per cent. Current research indicates that this problem doesn’t exist anymore and we have the modern lithium-ion battery to thank for that. It is important to point out that the problem here is not over-charging your laptop, which makes us believe that letting your battery charge more than 100 percent will make the battery wear out faster. A research study by Battery University shows that, modern devices are designed to stop charging at 100 per cent hence, keeping them plugged in doesn’t impact the battery’s lifespan. However, a lot of us wait until our laptop dies before we plug it in, which isn’t good for our battery. Therefore, avoid letting your battery drain and discharge below 20 per cent, else, it would reduce the charging capacity of your battery.

    Show love to laptop

    This starts with your battery. Your battery is the powerhouse of your laptop. Abandoning your laptop battery and just letting it do its job without paying much attention to it won’t cut it. Make sure to take care of the battery contact points; the battery contact connects the battery to the laptop. If the contact point gets dirty or damaged, it may reduce or disrupt the flow of power to the laptop.  If you have a removable battery, you can carefully wipe your battery with a soft cloth to get rid of dust. However, you have nothing to worry about if your laptop battery is sealed.

    Update laptop

    As underrated as this may sound, an outdated hardware may reduce the performance of your laptop thereby affecting the laptop battery. The cells in laptop batteries degrade over time, and it is totally normal for old laptop batteries to hold charge less than an hour. Current laptops can achieve up to 10 hours of standard usage because of the software that comes with the perk of a new laptop. Henceforth, upgrading your laptop hardware will significantly improve your laptop battery life.

  • Coping with wet season

    Coping with wet season

    With the rains here, a naturopath, Dr. Idowu Ogunkoya, speaks on how to cope with the season. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes.

    Protecting oneself from the cold may be extra work but being comfortable and warm during the wet season is a   pleasant experience.

    According to a naturopath, Dr. Idowu Ogunkoya, staying warm during the wet months is not always easy, but with proper clothing and nutrition, cold weather doesn’t have to turn one into an invalid.

    Idowu said many people know that eating  well in the wet season is important to fend off colds and the flu, but people do not know it might help keep them warm, “Eating extra healthy fats during the rainy season can help rev up metabolism, which in turn heats the body. If your New Year’s resolution was to drop a few calories don’t worry- you can always skip the extra fat and try eating warmer foods and drinks. Try soups, spicy foods, hot coffee and teas to fend off the chill.

    “Something as simple as a hot cup of herbal tea can give you the calm you crave for when feeling cold. Teas made with lemongrass, ginger, lemon balm, sage, or lemon verbena served as antiviral sore-throat soothers. Lemon is full of vitamin C, which can help reduce the duration and severity of symptoms if you already have a cold.

    “New research at Harvard University shows people who drink five cups of black tea a day for two weeks transform their immune system T cells to pump out 10 times more cold and flu virus-fighting interferon. Packed with nutritious compounds and natural caffeine, tea can serve as a nutritious and healthy alternative for coffee, sugary juice and soft drinks in the season. Enjoy the mild flavors of plain or sweetened and hot rather than cold tea because drinking hot tea in this season has a few minor advantages when compared to cold tea.” said Ogunkoya.

    Ogunkoya said staying warm is a big priority with the constant rainfall and chills that permeate everywhere. “Wear an under-layer. This is an easy way to stay warmer without having to do much. Common under-layer items include stockings, leggings, thermal shirts, and long underwear. It is important to keep in mind that having this under-layer can become uncomfortable if you are in a warm room if you have outer layers on. Wear a waterproof outer layer. When you know there will be chances to get wet, it’s important to have a waterproof layer to stay warm. If the water penetrates through your clothing, your clothing will only make you colder. Wear clothing made from wool, such as cardigans, sweater if you can.

    “Protect your extremities. It is not completely true that you lose a certain percentage of heat from your head or your feet or whatever. However, it is true that leaving these areas uncovered can make it tough for you to stay warm. So when you are outside, try to keep your head, hands, and feet covered with a scarf, hat, gloves, and thick hairy socks and boots. It is very important for all of these items to be waterproof, since these are the areas where you are most likely to notice wetness and added cold. Do protect yourself from the elements. When you are forced to go outside, stay as far away as you can from things like rain or wet places,” Ogunkoya said.

    He called for proper dressing during the season: “When your clothing fits tightly, it can’t keep you warm or comfortable. Instead, if you want to stay warm, make sure the clothes that you’re wearing fit loosely. This creates a protective layer of warm air between your skin and the environment on the other side of that fabric.

    “Move around to create heat. If your clothes themselves can’t keep you warm, let your body create heat. Moving around will burn energy in your body, which gets expressed as heat. Try exercising or at least try not to stand still,” Ogunkoya said  .

  • Coping with Lagos’ rains

    Now that the rains are fully here in Lagos, it is important to put certain things into proper perspective to enhance our understanding of related issues and most importantly intimate us with helpful safety tips. The first thing to consider is the topography of Lagos. A critical feature of Lagos topography is that it is essentially made up of low lying terrain up to 0.4 percent below the sea level. Naturally, this constitutes a huge drainage challenge for the state. If this is added to the volume of rain being experienced in the state lately, it might be really difficult to rule out flash flooding, especially in some areas.

    Second is the fact that experts across the world have made it clear, long before now, that the intensity of this year’s rains will be much more than what we had in the past. For instance, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had earlier predicted “extended rains of three to eight days for areas in and around Adamawa, Ogun, Edo, Niger Delta and low-lying areas such as Lagos. Recent developments have, indeed, come to authenticate this position, especially with regards to the volume of rains being presently experienced across the country.

    Furthermore, it is important to emphasise that in-spite of government and other critical stakeholders’ preparedness at mitigating the effect of heavy downpour in the state, the impact might not be fully felt except the citizens totally shun negative practices that could promote flooding. For instance, some illegal waste agents being patronized by a few residents indiscriminately dump refuse in canals and large drainage channels.

    This often results in blockage of free flow of waste water, resulting in flash flooding whenever it rains. This is often rampant in markets and other commercial centres as well densely populated areas of the state. Often times, the effects of such poor sanitary habit on affected residents are unquantifiable and devastating. Some have been rendered homeless and miserable, no thanks to human induced environmental hazards. Thus, we all need to fully embrace the culture of proper waste disposal, comply with building regulations, tap into alternative energy use, and pay necessary attention to sanitation issues among others.

    In order to appropriately educate the citizens on proper means of coping during periods on intense rainfall, NGOs, Community Development Associations, the media, members of the Civil Society and all well-meaning individuals and groups in the state need to partner with the state government to achieve  the required attitudinal change towards the environment. At present, the state government is combining public enlightenment strategies to sensitize Lagosians on this development and had taken the time to proffer solutions so that the rains being currently experienced won’t have devastating effects on lives and property.

    Similarly, the state government has continued to vigorously pursue its policy on the environment in order to create and ensure a cleaner, healthier and sustainable environment that will promote economic growth and well-being of the citizenry. As always, the state government is committed to a cleaner environment and quality public health through implementation of community based solid waste management, flood control, vegetal control and high standard of home and personal hygiene, sanitation, control of environment pollution (air, water and noise), beautification and advertisement control. Consequently, its approach to tackling the issue of flooding in the state is multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. It includes dredging, massive construction and expansion of drainage channels, desilting and excavation of silts to dumpsites, regular repair, clearing and cleaning of drainages, canals and collector drains across the state.

    Whenever it is observed that the intensity of the rains is much, it is essential that people, especially children stay indoors to reduce movement to the barest minimum.  In fact, if it could be avoided, it is better not to drive while it is raining heavily.  Similarly, we need to maintain strict personal and environmental hygiene at all times to avoid being victims of water borne diseases. Also, to mitigate the effects of cold, we must ensure that children and the elderly are properly clothed with warm clothing during the rains. It is only when this is done that we will be able to curb the spread of rain induced health hazard such as cough, cold and other related ones.  Additionally, this is the time to embrace the culture of taking plenty of thoroughly washed fruits in order to boost the immune system. This is in addition to drinking water from only trusted and well tested safe sources.

    Since we now live in a hi-tech information age, it is also imperative that people listen to news reports and information on weather situation from various available credible mediums. This will really aid in planning movements and avoiding flood prone locations. Also, in view of likely destructive thunder strikes that usually accompany windy rainfall, Lagos residents are strongly advised to always disconnect all electrical appliances whenever they want to sleep or go out. This will go a long way in checkmating rain induced electrical debacles. Similarly, children should be discouraged from touching electrical equipment when wet.

    In as much as it is beyond human powers to stop rains, being a natural phenomenon, we should, at least, do things that are in our powers to lessen the negative consequences of rains. This includes regular clearing of gutters and drainages in our areas, making use of suitable services to dispose waste, reporting anyone dumping refuse in drains, gutters and canals to appropriate authorities. We should consider moving immediately to higher ground when flooding is imminent wherever we are, staying away from submerged electricity cables, cleaning and disinfecting everything that gets wet, staying away from canals and drainages evacuating or leaving danger zones immediately, calling 767 in case of emergency among others.

    On a final note, it is essential that the federal government, through its relevant agencies, collaborates with states that have peculiar flooding challenges to determine areas of assistance. This must be done as a regular preventive measure and not after the havoc has been done. In as much as it is true that we cannot stop rainfall, together we can mitigate its effects.

     

    • Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Coping with the odds

    To be or not to be. That obviously is the question you ask yourself when you want to go into a new venture, a relationship or a career path. First you need the conviction to go on because that would be the foundation on which so many other things would be laid.

    Once you are sure that you are on the right path, and then it would be smooth sail. But if for some reasons you just cannot find a good answer to your question or questions, then you may be at the crossroads.

    This scenario also plays itself out in our relationships. Most times, a lot of lovebirds are at affection’s crossroads. Yes, you admire someone very well but there are some unanswered questions.

    This is exactly the stage in which Lauretta is at the moment. She has a crush for this guy but there are so many odds against the survival of that relationship. Should she forget this dream or pursue her heart’s desire and damn all the other consequences. Somehow, she decided to be a dreamer and the dream came with memories of gains and pains.

    Scroll down memory lane and you find her recalling some of the happy moments.

    It started on a bright afternoon at a Lagos registry with some friends. Wedding bells were certainly ringing in style here and in a couple of minutes these lucky hearts were tied together and admonished to live happily together forever. They were happy for a while but it was not forever.

    Riveting in your mind are questions about the real status of lovebirds. Are they truly in love? Would they be ready to make the necessary sacrifices required to make it to the end? Or could this just be a public show of affection, a show that would likely come to an abrupt end.

    Well, the truth of the matter is that it takes only two hearts to determine how far they are going to go in a particular relationship. It can be a continuous marathon love race if they are both sincere, determined and have the same emotional dreams about the future.

    Even though you just couldn’t take a look at the different hearts to know exactly what they are thinking or imagining, you realise that this lucky fellows have finally scaled the first hurdle.

    Also at another registry recently, you find Kate and Henry hanging onto each other so passionately. They walked out of the registry smiling and smiling.  The photographer clicked on and on, trying to keep the memories for posterity. Images they could turn to and remember the very beginning. Images children from the union are likely to laugh about, pass the usual comments and compare notes.

    Apart from the smiles, there was nothing really interesting about the new couple. They looked so different in outlook and you wonder if they were really meant for each other or was it one of those arrangements? All this may not really count; the most important thing is if the hearts were united.

    United in love forever. They are not alone. It’s D-day and 12 marriages have been fixed and everyone is eager to sign the dotted lines. Take a deep look into the crystal ball and you find gaps in different areas of their lives. These include age disparity, height, weight, class and dress code.

    Anyway, what has age got to do with love? It is just a number and it does not guarantee whether a relationship is going to work or not. If you have two people who are both in the same age bracket, you would expect them to share certain things in common. Interestingly, this does not guarantee the success of their relationship, there was some other cogent reason to hold on to each other in love.

    Also when you talk about the height of the couple, you can also imagine what people dream or desire. Women naturally would want a guy who is taller than they are whilst the prince charming would prefer same height or slightly shorter than he is. But the truth of the matter is that all these grand rules of affection have been broken and replaced with other reasons based on the expectations of the lovebirds. It is always important to weigh the options and select what would be best for you. It is not about sympathy, you must make sure that you are going to fit in and enjoy this new beginning.

    When you finally make up your mind, then you are in charge. If this is not the case, then we can say that you have been boxed into an emotional corner. It is not the best because you are going to be complaining and grumbling all the time.

    So it is better to cross check and be sure that you have played the right game, you need to be sure that your heart beat is chanting the right love anthem and this would help to reconcile your love account.

    But if the love pendulum is not balanced, then the lovebirds need make use of the positive love currents to get back on track. It is a very pertinent stage and you must be sure that it is what you really want.

    For all you know, it may just be mere infatuation, something that would only carry on for months or a few years. When it lapses and you may just want to run away. However, the truth of the matter is that you would have created a big vacuum, a vacuum nothing or nobody can ever fill again.

  • Coping as a single dad

    Single parenthood may happen because of death, divorce, separation, abandonment, among others. In spite of the circumstances surrounding the family situation, being a single dad can be very stressful and challenging. By nature, men are different from women in dealing with the issue of raising children.  Therefore, some men find it very difficult to take up the full responsibility of raising their children alone.

    Single dads face a lot of challenges, and their children also encounter problems. Bringing up children can be difficult under any situation and without a partner, the stakes are even higher. Now, the issue is how should single dads deal with the challenges of single parenting?

    Have a good structure in place: Create a daily routine for every member of your family to follow, such as regular time for food, study time, play time and bed time.

    Religion: Get them involved in your religion. Pray with them and make them participate fully in all religious activities. When they grow up, they will not depart from the values you have imparted to them. This will help your children and other members of the family to know what to expect. It will also give you room to have time for other things. In a situation where you have domestic workers or family members assisting you, assign duties and supervise them properly.

    Communication: Maintain a good relationship with your children. Talk with them, not at them, and listen to them when they are talking to you. Interact with them. Be their best friend; let them see you as a dad that they can tell everything, and the only way you can achieve this is by being free with them.  In the case of divorce or separation, always let them understand that it has nothing to do with them because children in dealing with divorce cases always feel that the separation or divorce is as a result of their faults.

    Create family time: Set time aside everyday to have quality dealing with your children. Bonding with your children as a single dad is very important and the only way you can achieve it is by spending time doing things together as family. This will  give you the opportunity to know your children’s individual personalities, their strengths and weaknesses in other areas like academics and so on. Remember to set boundaries as well as consequences involved, if not obeyed. Ensure you follow up, otherwise they will not take you or the boundaries seriously. A law-abiding adult is one who has been taught to have boundaries as a child. Word of caution: set realistic boundaries.

    Role model: Being the only parent makes you their number one role model. Be a good example to your children in every way.  Don’t do anything you don’t want them to do in their presence. Practise what you preach. Children copy their parents because they see them as their role models. If you find yourself, exhibiting behaviour that you don’t want your children to copy , it’s a sign that you should change how you react in certain situations.

    Show affection:  Some know how to express love, while some don’t. Don’t let a day go by without you saying “I love you” to your children. Hug and kiss them to show emotion. A hug for a child often makes him feel loved, safe and able to count on you.

    Make birthdays special: Children are God’s greatest gift to us. Each child is different in how they see themselves and the world around them. All children are gifted- each in his special way. Celebrate their uniqueness and make their birthdays special with affordable resource.

    Praise and reward:  Don’t forget to praise good behaviour because it is as important as discipline. Don’t underestimate the positive effect that your praise can have on your children. Again, be specific when doing your praise. Let them know why you are praising them. Appreciate their efforts and successes, especially in areas where they have struggled.

    Keep yourself healthy: For some dads, separation or divorce, for example, is one of the most stressful life events they ever go through. That pressure may be amplified by custody and financial issues which can bring out the worst in people. So discovering ways to manage your own stress is very essential. Keeping yourself  physically and emotionally healthy  can help combat the effects of stress. You will then be in the best shape to take care of your family.

    Create time for yourself:  Have moments of relaxation, meaning time to do what you enjoy doing. Make out time to kick back and relax.  Rest is very important, especially as a single dad. A good rest will make you feel refreshed.

    Help: Learn to interact with other single dads who have gone through the same situation.  Learn from their experiences. You can also seek the help of a counsellor, therapist, or  friend, if need be.

    Financial struggle and well-being of the children: Because most dads are the breadwinners of their families, the financial responsibility falls mainly on them with little or no assistance from anybody. A  single dad must learn to be able to balance his career or job and the affairs of the children in order to maintain a healthy home.

    Harriet Ogbobine is a counsellor and  motivational speaker. Send in your questions and suggestions to her on bineharriet@gmail.com. You can also follow her on twitter@bineharrietj or txt messages only to 08023058805.

  • Coping with headaches of Abacha, Lugard, Boko Haram

    If you couldn’t sleep, developed headache and high blood pressure after you watched Nigeria’s Centenary Celebration Awards, or Boko Haram’s war in Borno and Kaduna weeks ago, I’ll tell you in a few minutes how to help your health and ride the storm.

    I, too, was put in bad shape by the Presidential election of 1979 and the literal meaning of the disappointing Supreme Court Judgment that it is possible for two-thirds of a human being to exist and function biologically and rationally as a normal human being. Of course, the rest of the world laughed at Nigeria as it did again when President Ebere Jonathan honoured the late Gen. SanniAbacha (rtd) two weeks ago.

    During Gen. Abacha’s (rtd) military regime, many Nigerians were murdered by State agents. Some newspapers were shut for at least one year. Democracy was scuttled. Many Nigerians fled abroad to become refugees. Gen. Abacha (rtd) kept huge amounts of money he stole from Nigeria in practically every country. Remember Ken Saro-Wiwa? He was a latter day Isaac Boro, who with bare hands fought the Nigerian government to salvage his people’s crude oil resources from predators. Isaac Boro fought in the creeks of South-South region of Nigeria to stop the plunder of crude oil and damage to land and water and recover for them the wealth from crude oil which Mother Nature endowed them with for his people sustenance. The oil was coveted by people in Nigeria and abroad. Isaac Boro died in the struggle. Ken Saro-Wiwa took over the struggle. I recall vividly as I write the shouting match between him and Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), a former Military Head of State of Nigeria, after Ken Saro-Wiwa responded to Gen. Gowon’s keynote address at one of The GuardianNewspaper’s Annual Lectures. This event took place at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Victoria Island, Lagos. I do not remember how what could have led to a physical bout between both men was averted. It was the first time I’d come close to Ken Saro-Wiwa. He had taken the Niger Delta ( South-South) battle to the United Nations, claiming Nigeria wanted to exterminate his people, and asking the world body to help his people control their resources and land blighted by crude oil spills.

    It was over this struggle that Ken Saro-Wiwa was hung under Gen. Abacha regime, after a count found him and some of his co-fighters guilty of the murder of Pro-government activists in the region World leaders had appealed to Gen. Abacha to spare Ken Saro-Wiwa’s life. But he bluffed them, and the hang-man did his job. President Ebere Jonathan is, like Ken Saro-Wiwa and Isaac Boro from the South-South, the golden goose which lays Nigeria’s golden egg, from where the Pig’s in George Orwell’s Animals Farm overthrew Mr. Jones, owner of the farm and kept the milk, and perharps the egg as well, exclusively for themselves. I am sure President Jonathan, like Isaac Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa, would like to free his people, but he doesn’t know how to. He has explored the Seven-Year, Single-Term Presidential tenure, hoping this would give him time to stabilise and act. But his balloon has been punctured. He has tried to woo the South-West but cannot cut a path through the monolith which responds to only good governance. He has tried not to be like President Olusegun Obasanjo, who did not have a home base in the South West region by trying to make Bayelsa State his launch pad. Oil wells previously owned by Rivers State have been given to Bayelsa, his home people state. Rivers is up in arms quite naturally, creating a fracture in South-South Solidarity. He has granted State pardon to his former boss in Bayelsa, Alameisiagha, under whom he was Deputy Governor. Alameisiagha would, therefore, be expected to use his money energy and time in holding Bayelsa steady for President Jonathan. He has not stabilised electricity supply and has not stopped Boko Haram. Jobs are vanishing.

    How, in these circumstances, would President Jonathan complement the struggles of Isaac Boro and Ken Saro-Wiwa? He has toyed with a National Conference, the delegates of which are to be handpicked, as many military regimes did, behaving, in my view, that the fighter South-West region which made him Acting President and President would go to ‘war’ again, but he did not seem to understand how Nigeria Constitutional conferences under the British colonists took place, or the only wanted a time- buying talk shop that he could keep going with money, since Nigerian love money.Unfortunately, it would seem the South-West has seen through that, for it is lukewarm. There are at least three pathways open to him in this project

    • Follow the pattern of the pre-independence conferences.

    Opinions we aggregated at the provincial levels and there were harmonised at regional conferences, the outcomes of which were further reconciled at pan-regional or National conferences in London.

    • A presidential draft constitutional amendment placed before a referendum.

    • The Boko Haram demand. Understandably, a President sworn in to uphold the Constitution would object to this. Didn’t Winston Churchill, a British Prime Minister say he would not preside over liquidation of Her Majesty’s Empire? But is that empire not gone today? Boko Haram says it wants Northern Nigeria to become an Islamic Country. Under international law, this is a legitimate demand. Pushing it with force and barbaric killings is what is abominable. But the powerful owners of 85 per cent of South-South oil wells will not agree. It will be suicidal for them to agree, because, once the north and the south disengage, the oil wells may revert to a new ownership in a different country. The United Nations (UN)can run a plebiscite in the North. If Boko Haram loses, then it should renounce the struggle, or the UN should pump troops into the North to stamp it out. If Boko Haram wins, then it should guarantee freedom of religion to the Christians in the North. It may be necessary to keep United Nations troops in the North for at least 50 tears to guarantee this.

    Meanwhile, more of this is on President Jonathan’s cards, and a presidential election is only a matter of months away. He has to court votes from populous states. And Kano State is a populous state. So, Al-Mustapha, General Abacha’s man who was alleged in court to be behind some State murder, became a free man against public expectation, according to President Jonathan’s critics; for no reason other than that he is from Kano. General Abacha himself, from Kano, has to be honoured with a National Award. It is intriguing that, in response to Nigeria’s honour for General Abacha, the United States government promptly announced it that it was in possession of $458 million Abacha loot kept in the U.S. Isn’t that a way of saying a “you idiots are honouring a common thief?”And, as punishment for that idiocy, the U.S. government says it has frozen the money and would not give it to Nigeria. Four hundred and fifty eight million U.S. dollars ($458m)is a mountain of money in Nigeria. It should link all Nigerian state capitals by modern fast train, create hundreds of thousands of jobs and opportunities, relieve the roads of the wear and tear of heavy traffic burden, reduce the rate of road crashes and needles deaths, improve transport time, efficiency and cost and, thereby, lower inflation rate in addition to expanding the volume of business and prosperity, among other benefits. But can anyone blame the Americans on this money? What happened to other mountaneousAbacha loot countries handed Nigeria? What happened to the petroleum subsidy money President Jonathan promised would be invested in reviving the economy? I always say I am familiar with what cocoa money did to the economy of the Western Region of Nigeria’s First Republic. It built Nigeria’s first skyscraper, the 25 storey Cocoa House in Ibadan. It built skyscraper Western House on Lagos Island. It set up the rubber plantations and farm settlements. It built Nigeria’s first housing estates in Ibadan (Bodija Estate) and GRA in Ikeja, Lagos. It built the University of Ife, the world’s biggest university in terms of land mass. It funded free primary school education. It built the industrial estates in Ikeja, Apapa, Ilupeju, Yaba, Matori etc. Cocoa money also provided Western Nigeria a television station, the first in black Africa, and Liberty stadium in Ibadan, Nigeria’s first modern stadium. But for the military take-over of government in 1966, cocoa money was to have built a sea port at Ilaje, in Bariga, suburb of Lagos. Who knows what would have become of Epe, Badagry and other coastal towns in the region?What can we point out petrol subsidy money has done in terms of a performance ratio analysis?

    When the States eulogises and enthrones common thieves and non-performers as our role models, it only helps to remind one striving for nobility of spirit of some of those spiritual teachings which have helped me to maintain sanity in these sad times, without over grazing jagging rapidly from anger or sadness or both…

    In the Perfection and Wisdom of God

    • If I didn’t deserve to be a Nigerian, I wouldn’t have been one.

    • If I am, therefore I am here with kindred souls to experience my nature through theirs. They are the mirrors through which I see myself. I can then take a cue from them, pure myself of what I loathe in then, If many of us do that, our nation will change for the better.

    • If leaders come from the ranks of the people they lead, bearing the strongest traits of their kith.

    • If, in other words, a people get the leaders they deserve as a consequence of their nature.

    • If over time, whatever is false will collapse and, from the ruins, an up building will progress, sproit, flower and fruit, human contraptions called nations not founded on the foundation of the Will of God will collapse.

    I am not sounding as a government apologist like Chief Kehinde Sofola (SAN) who says President Jonathan is an unfortunate inheritor of Nigeria’s problems. Presidents see their country’s problems before they become Presidents and were elected presidents to solve these problems. Nevertheless, President Jonathan is a captive of the Nigeria system in which the states are asked to recommend their crème – de – la – crème for national honours. If Kano State threw up General Abacha, Presidents Jonathan would have to have guts to say no. He lacked those guts in the state pardon he granted Alamieyeseigha.

    Lord Lugard

    As for Lord Lugard, I believe the President was wrong to have honoured him with the Nigerian Centenary Award. The award is meant to thank people who did well for Nigerian people. What did Lord Lugard do for Nigerian people? He was a civil servant sent by Britain to govern the Northern Protectorate and the Southern Protectorate, which were two different countries as it were. Britain was exploiting them for her welfare. Lord Lugard found that the South was paying for his British administration but the North could not pay its bills. So, mindless that these were different people, he joined them together to make the South pick the bill of the North so that Britain doesn’t incur any cost while micking the two protectorates! He amalgamated them. Amalgamation, according to the dictionary, is not unification. They are joined at a contact point not united, and have remained, un-united and disunited till this day. That is why struggles for power within the artificial Nigerian nation has led to massacre of hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, since Britain granted this country political independence since 1960. The massacre of Ibo’s in the North in the 1960swas horrendous. It was as cold blooded as the massacre’s of Christians and Southerners in the North by Boko Haram in the last few years. Millions of people must have been killed needlessly in the marriage of strange bird fellows which Lord Lugard put together as a nation called Nigeria to serve the economic interest of his own country. Is that what we are honouring him for? So, Lord Lugard served British interest. He has put us all into trouble. Nature put people with affinity for one another together as a linguistic nation. For in homogenity lie peace, balance, stability, strength and motion. See the birds when they fly past homewards in the evenings. They are homogeneous. Look at your body. The cells of your liver are homogenous and different from the cells of your eyes, which are also different from the cells of your tongue. Homogenous cells form homogenous organs. There will be trouble if the cells of the endometrium, the lining of the womb, grows in another part of the female anatomy. This trouble is called endometriosis. The great biologist, Mendel, carried out an experiment in which he tried to produce hybrid plants which mother nature did not create by joining the genes of various plants together. Beautiful hybrid plants emerged as the offsprings, alright. But by the third and fourth generation, these beautiful hybrid plants reverted to the different original species of plants, indicating that it is not possible to work against the law of nature in respect of the creation of various species. In the deep, whales and sharks do not mix. In the forest, lions and elephants live in different colonies. Otto Von Bismark, the German Iron Chancellor, recognised this in the days of the Astro – Hungarian Empire which comprised Austria, Hungary and Germany. He pulled Germany out of the Union by force and gave to France a French part of the empire called ShleswigHostein. Germany became homogenous and stronger. Homogenous countries are peaceful and world leaders. Look at Germany, Japan and China. But make no mistake. Homogeneity is not all about language or culture. Shared values also provide the basis or homogeneity the European Union is an example of this. In Nigeria, values are diametrically opposite in many ways. To prevent a boiling over which this situation may generate, a loose federation is a beautiful pathway. General Yakubu Gowon rejected this after the Aburi peace talks in Ghana where the regions agreed it. So, how does Lord Lugard deserve praise for caging the people of Nigeria to serve British Interest?

    If you find yourself troubled by these events, you may develop incessant headaches, insomnia or other sleep disorders, elevated blood pressure and wracked nerves, among other poor health conditions. Many people will not be able to tune off Nigeria, waiting for what is false about it to collapse naturally for an up building to begin. They may be involved in patch work remedies, such as the containment of Boko Haram, to steady the boat. False friendships, like false marriages collapse. So, too, do false nations when the time is ripe.

    If these events hurt you to the bone marrow as I was shaken by the 122/3 decision of the Supreme court, which that court was later to say should be expunged from Nigeria’s legal citations, you may develop high blood pressure, be unable to sleep well and have nervous problems which may invite other troubles to its train as the nerves are central to many health questions. The first step to take to offset these problems is to try and get a good night rest from deep sleep every night by taking care of the brain, from where the nerves derive their origin. We know that when someone is bereaved and sad, or when someone has money troubles or is going through divorce, the mind is constricted and, soon, shows on the body. What doctors do is get the patient nerves to relax and make him or her to sleep.

    The drugs prescribed for this purpose, such as Valium, often have depressant effect on the brain and, so, may be dangerous and habit-forming. There are foods and herbs and food supplements which do the job better. Lettuce has a slightly sedative effect, especially if taken with dinner. Vervain (verbanahistata) also supports sleep apart from helping the liver and the gums. Banana has some tryptophan, a chemical substance in the brain which the body converts, first to 5-HTTP and from 5-HHTP to serotonin. Serotonin calms the brain and prevents it from overheating. When night falls, 5-http converts to serotonin which induces sleep. People who suffer from sleep attacks during the day are known to have excess serotonin during the day, Stress consumes lots of tryptophan, 5 http and serotonin in the brain, and this is why a supplementation of these brain and nerve nutrients is important during stress.

    One of the herbs I enjoy most for supporting restful sleep is Valerian root. In the minerals category, magnesium, one of my best options is Magnesium citrate. The product named Natural Calm has helped many people I know who had sleep problems suffered from muscle spasms, such as muscle pulls, period pains or palpitation of the heart Sometimes, headache, including migraine, are caused by nerve and soft muscles spasms in blood vessels. People who suffer from premature ejaculation or who urinate in their briefs before they reach the small room may be suffering from nerve and muscle spasms that can be helped by magnesium. We shouldn’t forget the help of Omega-3 essential fatty acid for brain health. This may be obtained from credible fish oils or from plant sources such as flat seed. One of the best proprietary blends is Udo’s Oil. Another is Ultimate Cal. If there is throbbing headache bordering on Migraine, feverfew or Skullcap should help. One of the products just arriving in the Nigerian market which would like to suggest is Alga vera Av-Silver. It is an earthing bed sheet of sort. There is sort of silver cabling which runs through it and are connected to an adaptor in which the negative and positive wiring are plugged, leaving the earth cable. When the adaptor is plugged to the mains, the earth wire drains all negative or dangerous ions from the body into the earth and enables the absorption of healthful ions. We develop negative biochemistry when we are angry, saddened, worked up, or come under other forms of stress. We do not have time to drain these off in sleep before the heirly burly begins again next day. See how politicians, in particular, live their lives. They are always thinking of eliminating their ‘foes’ legitimately or otherwise. They are awake most of the night hatching plots.

  • Coping with the complications from diabetes

    Coping with the complications from diabetes

    A healthy body makes an active mind. But when the reverse is the case the individual is usually not at his or her best. Hereditary factors, lifestyle and some other factors usually predispose people to certain aliments. Experts, however, advise that it is better to prevent certain illnesses if we can. For many, the fear of diabetes is the beginning of wisdom. It is for this reason that they avoid certain foods and drinks even though they would have loved to taste and eat them on daily basis.

    So what is the big deal about diabetes, you ask? It is a disorder that talks about the body’s ability to change glucose (sugar) into energy. Glucose is the main source of energy for a person. When food is digested it converts into proteins, fats, or carbohydrates.

    The food that affects the blood sugar is carbohydrates. When digested, carbohydrates convert to glucose. Examples of some carbohydrates include bread, potatoes, corn, and pasta. If you have diabetes you can eat carbohydrates, but the intake must be limited. The glucose that is made from the carbohydrates is transferred to the blood and is utilised by the cells for energy. To have glucose transferred from the blood into the cells, insulin (a hormone) is required. Insulin is made by the beta cells n the pancreas (organ that produces insulin). Those who have diabetes cannot perform this process. Their pancreas is unable to produce proper amounts of insulin for the body.

    The most important thing about diabetes is to know which type you or your loved one has. Once you know which form of diabetes you have you can build a treatment plan with your doctor.

    Diabetes is a common group of chronic metabolic diseases that causes high blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body due to defects in insulin production or function. Diabetes is also known as diabetes mellitus, to distinguish it from a relatively rare metabolic disorder called diabetes insipid us that doesn’t affect blood sugar. Symptoms of diabetes occur when a lack of insulin or insulin resistance stops glucose from entering the cells and fuelling and energising the body. The resulting spike in glucose can result in symptoms such as increased hunger and thirst, weight loss, fatigue, and frequent infections. Long-term complications include kidney failure, nerve damage, and blindness.

    Interestingly, diabetes is categorised into two main categories and one subcategory, but all are typified by problems of insulin resulting in high blood sugar levels in the body. The first type of diabetes is categorised as an autoimmune disease and occurs when the body’s misdirected immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Although genetic or environmental triggers are suspected, the exact cause of type 1 diabetesonce referred to as insulin-dependent or juvenile-onset diabetesis not completely understood.

    Experts, however, inform that the second type of diabetes most often develops gradually with age and is characterised by insulin resistance in the body. It is because of this resistance that the body’s fat, liver, and muscle cells are unable to take in and store glucose, which is used for energy. The glucose remains in the blood. The abnormal buildup of glucose (blood sugar) can result in hyperglycemia and impaired body functions. Type 2 diabetes occurs most often in people who are overweight because fat interferes with the body’s ability to use insulin, but it also can occur in thin people and the elderly

    We also have what is called gestational diabetes, defined as blood-sugar elevation during pregnancy and is known to affect about three to eight percent of women. Left undiagnosed or untreated, it can lead to problems such as high birth weight and breathing problems for the baby. Gestational diabetes usually resolves in the mother after the baby is born, but statistics show that women who have gestational diabetes have a much greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes within five to 10 years.

    There is also what experts call Prediabetes. This condition is marked by blood sugar levels that are too high to be considered normal but are not yet high enough to be in the range of a typical diabetes diagnosis. Prediabetes increases not only your risk of developing diabetes but also heart disease.

    Once you discover that you have diabetes, then you need to manage it properly. A lot of people with diabetes need to make healthy food choices, stay at a healthy weight, and move more every day.

    Taking good care of yourself and your diabetes can help you feel better. It may help you avoid health problems caused by diabetes such as heart attack, stroke, eye problems, nerve damage, kidney problems as well as gum disease and loss of teeth.

    When your blood glucose is close to normal you are likely to have more energy, be less tired and thirsty and urinate less often. In addition, you would find yourself healing better and having fewer skin, or bladder infections. High blood glucose can harm your heart and blood vessels, kidneys, feet, and eyes.

    The goal for most people with diabetes is below 130/80. To cope well, you will also need to eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, fish, lean meats, chicken or turkey without the skin, dry peas or beans, whole grains, and low-fat or skim milk and cheese. You would be at your best when you eat foods with more fibre such as whole grain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, or pasta.