The Nation Newspaper

Tag: death

  • ‘How my best friend was beaten to death

    ‘How my best friend was beaten to death

    Dave’s room and broke the door and entered inside and dragged him outside. I went outside and asked what was happening but they didn’t tell me what was happening. They didn’t tell me, so I begged them to leave Dave alone. After being dragged outside, Dave managed to escape and ran to one of his friend’s place. After Dave escaped, they started to beat me because I was begging them to leave Dave.”

    He added that the next morning, he went to the staff of the hotel to inquire as to why his friend was beaten, only to be told that he was rude to them.

    After David’s lucky escape the previous night, Kalu said that his friend returned to the hotel two days later to collect personal items but was again set upon by the hotel staff.

    He said: “I don’t know what he did to them because they said that he was rude to them but I don’t think that was the reason. That Saturday night, he escaped and came back two days later which was a Monday. That day, I was in school when he called me. I told him to come and submit his textbook, and that we were in school but he said he was not done with it.

    “I wasn’t around that Monday because I slept in the school but when I came home on Tuesday, people told me that Dave came around and they started beating him again. This time they were about six in number but he escaped again. When I came around that Tuesday, I didn’t know anything had happened to Dave until after I finished writing my exams.

    “I became curious because I didn’t see my friend in the exam hall and that was when I started calling everybody to know where he was. That same day, I went to the CSO to make an official complaint. I called his parents and created awareness.”

    Kalu, who described his experience as traumatic, said he is “completely shattered” and might not perform well in his examinations. He described the deceased as a “lively character with whom I spent over 60% of my day whenever I am in school”.

    He said: “David was my best friend and we were in the same department together, studying Electrical Electronics at FUPRE. David is a person I spent over 60% of my day with whenever I am in school. I don’t know how I am going to cope right now. I am passing through hell, with my examination. I don’t even know how I’m going to perform in my examinations because right now, I am psychologically and mentally down. David is a good and very lively character. I cannot believe David is no more.”

    The three suspects, William Odiete, Ahwaritoma Tega and Abubakar Ogbebor, admitted to attacking the late David on two occasions but denied that they killed him.

  • Varsity refutes story on death of six students

    The Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, has refuted a story being circulated about an accident that allegedly claimed the lives of six of its students.

    A statement signed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru ?noted that the accident did not claim any life.

    “Actually, there was such an accident involving our students two days ago.  However, there was no death recorded as a result of the road traffic crash. As at today (Wednesday), only one female student is responding to treatment at our clinic and she is nursing a deep cut.

    “The accident as depicted in the picture of the affected bus that had gone viral in the social media has therefore not claimed any life,” the statement read in part.

    The statement further appealed to the students and other members of the university community to desist from spreading “dangerous rumours” but seek clarification on issues.

  • Pius Ikedia escapes death in Holland

    Pius Ikedia escapes death in Holland

    Former Nigeria star Pius Ikedia is now in hospital in Amsterdam after he collapsed playing in a friendly for ex-Ajax Amsterdam stars on Saturday.

    According to Dutch newspaper Telegraaf, the 36-year-old winger had to be revived on the pitch after several attempts before he was later rushed to hospital for proper care.

    The ex-Ajax stars known as ‘Lucky Ajax’, were leading 7-2 in an exhibition game to the mark the 50th anniversary of the Haarlo Sports Club when the incident happened late in the game.

    Some of the other former Ajax stars on parade in that game included Kiki Musampa and John Bosman.

    “It was a close shave with death for Pius,” a top source further informed.

    Ikedia has been living in Amsterdam since he quit football with plans for him to soon return home to Nigeria.

    The petit winger was a Nigeria international between 1997 and 2004 and featured for Ajax between 1999 and 2005.

    He featured at the 2002 World Cup and 2000 Sydney Olympics.

  • Breast feeding can reduce children’s death

    The Kebbi State EU- UNICEF C4D Consultant, Mr Idris Nagia, has called for improved awareness about the benefits of breastfeeding. Briefing reporters in his office, Nagia said breastfeeding can reduce the death of children under five, adding that only 36 per cent of infants less than six months old are exclusively breastfed in the state.

    “With so much at stake, we need to do more to reach women with a simple, powerful messages like: Breastfeeding can save your baby’s life,”.  Also,   “no other preventive intervention is more cost effective in reducing the number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthdays.”

    He called for more advocates  to be cultivated, using new and creative ways to communicate with mothers and families.  “Raising awareness beyond the confines of the maternity ward is critical to reach these broader audiences,” he said.

    According to him, “initiation of breastfeeding within 30 minu-tes after birth saves mothers from the risk of  maternal death and exclusive breastfeeding on demand in the first six months of life without water or any other food will start every baby on healthy path in life, providing all the nutrients the baby requires for optimum growth and development’’.

    He added that UNICEF has   embraced the idea of using all means of communication and encourages others to do same by using the opportunity of World Breastfeeding Week to trigger action through out the year.   He said this year’s world brest feeding  day has  emphasised the role that every member of society can play to raise awareness about breast-feeding – a natural and best way of feeding babies.

  • Lagos Abattoir, purveyor of disease and death

    If you are fed up with life, wish to become diseased and die young or early, come and live near the Lagos Abattoir. Located on the Old Abeokuta Road in Agege Area of Lagos, it was meant to be a central slaughter house for cows and other animals in Lagos. When these animals are killed under hygienic conditions, their meat is transported in special vans to different beef markets in Lagos. The waste products of this operation would, thereafter, be discarded, also as done world-wide hygienically, as in modern abattoir.

    In time, this abattoir became one of the biggest job providers and gold mines of business in an otherwise squalid Lagos suburb where the average school leaver once aspired to become no more than a sub-urban bus conductor. But somewhere along the line, the dreams of the founding fathers derailed. Modern machines are no longer used for the operations. It is either that the operators found them culturally unsuitable for their work, or too sophisticated for them to handle, or that, characteristic of the Nigerian business psyche, these machines were not well maintained, broke down, were abandoned, and the operators resorted to self-help at their own level of technology. I wish to speak about only one of the operations, and to wonder why the government of Lagos State is pretending that the crudeness of this operation is not endangering the health of people who live near the abattoir.

    When I raised the later point at a small discussion group which was trying to find a solution to the health hazards that the abattoir was creating, someone with a legal mind told us about volenti non fit injuria. In Latin, this means it is impossible for a sensible person to injure himself or herself. It is a legal platform for a journalist sued for libel or defamation to defend himself or herself. If the person complaining before a judge about a publication voluntarily provided the information which led to his or her injury, what moral rights has he or she, indeed, to successfully claim damage(s). ? So, as this gentleman reasoned, if the abattoir is providing the government of Lagos State fabulous tax income every day, and some top officials of the Government have interest in the abattoir, wouldn’t it be better to look the other way and let sleeping dogs lie?

    WHAT I am about to say should infuriate or annoy millions of people in Lagos and other parts of the country, and save their lives. It is all about Ponmo (Yoruba) or cow skin.

     

    Ponmo (Cow Skin)

    As a boy, I looked forward to the day my step mother would cook ponmo in Egusi (melon) soup. I do not remember now if the white ponmo or the brown was the more exciting to the palate. It was difficult then to tell the difference between them. Even now, I can only guess that the white is a purveyor of white fat cells, which do not burn easily, increasing the load of body fat, and the brown, the more thermogenic, which, in the body, burns easily on its own irrespective of exercise or any other physical activity. As a young man, I learned that the consumption of animal skin was dangerous to health. In Europe, India and the United States, where health awareness is more robust than in Africa, the skin of fish or chicken is removed and discarded before the fish is eaten. If fish skin, as flimsy as it is, can be considered dangerous to health, how more dangerous would animal skin be, thick as it is, sometimes thicker than the thumb? Some of my fears are conformed by Dr. Isuwa Adamu, director-general, Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology (NILEST), who is quoted in www.vanguardngr.com as saying “animal skin can be suffused with disease-causing germs, chemicals and other toxic substances.” The thought that many animals have skin diseases and the fact that toxic drugs used to cure them have not expired their life spans before these animals are slaughtered are enough to deter anyone from eating it. But more worrying should be the way ponmo is cured in Nigeria before it is sold in the market. At the Lagos Abattoir, animal skin is burned in a heap of tyres set ablaze, presumably with kerosene or petrol or diesel. The bonfire yields a thick toxin smoke which, in billows, spread out to various neighbourhoods, poisoning people who inhale the air. Tyre bonfire are a menace in the United States. The experience of Americans should be a warning to us. We do not have to invent the wheel in this regard, as they say. We are helped in this in http://lexbirahviewsoftheworld.com, we are advised in the article KILLER BLACK SMOKE, WHAT BURNNG TYRES REALLY DOES:

    “I have heard enough of this tyre burning now and so too has  every-ore I have spoken to. Black plumes of smoke cover the skyline day and night trying in vain to scare people away. But it’s not the tyres that scares me more the after effects of all the toxic fumes we are inhaling. Do you know they are over two gallons (seven litres) of petroleum and oil in one tyre alone, numerous chemicals, including chlorine, styrene, butadiene and more than 20 different heavy metals. I was stunned to learn this. Styrene and Butadiene are both suspected of causing cancer, the extender contain carcinogenic Benzene, derivations and the metals like lead, chromium, cadmium and mercury don’t even burn away, they just get released into the atmosphere as fragrant ash. Tyre smoke contains high levels of toxic heavy metals, 407 percent more Chromium, 372 percent more lead, and 1448 percent more Arsenic, than coal, and the Carbon black is a fine particulate matter produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, now that’s scary.  “So, having learned that mush, I then continued with my research and found that Dioxin, which are by-product of Chlorine, once released into the air, can travel long distances before settling onto the soil, water, plants and animals, miles away from the fore source sometimes, where it remains and becomes absorbed. “Dioxin does not break down. It just accumulates in the fatty tissues of animals (and humans) that consume the contaminated vegetation, meat, chickens and decay products. In humans, these dioxins can lead to reproductive impairment, development injuries and increase and an increase in the risk of diabetes. The Canadian Contario Ministry of Environment and Energy (MOEE) carried out a survey in 1991 on a tyre fire site and noted that contamination was seen in vegetables growing 100 to 200 metres away from the site and, furthermore, it remained in the soil 200 days after the fire. ‘Now the heavy metals that I spoke about earlier, and 20 different ones do not break down either, and so, they, too, build up into an alarming concentration level within the soils. They reduce crop yield and eventually destroy lots of agricultural land. The side effects to human exposure to these toxins in our food chain can lead to serious health conditions. Lead poisoning destroys human nervous systems, can cause retardation, learning difficulties, bone narrow deficiencies and stunned growth in children. Zinc can cause birth defects, Chromium and Arsenic cause cancer. When the fire is burning, we expect the smoke plume to contain hazardous substance, not did you know that, even when the fire is cooling down, it still releases other poisons and the Benzene produced in this process, once inhaled, ingested or touched will lead to symptoms such a dizziness, euphoria, giddiness, headache, nausea, weakness, drowsiness, respiratory irritation, pulmonary edema, pneumonia and skin, eyes and mucous membrane irritation. Smells like sulphur occur when tyres are being burned. But it is the odourless gas, Carbon monoxide that worries me the most. When this is unknowingly inhaled, it interfere with the transfer of Oxygen in human tissues and leads to CO (Carbone Monoxide).  This can be extremely dangerous and sufferers experience nausea and dizziness, but if not realised quickly enough people collapse into Coma and then die.

    Now if one burnt tyre contains seven litres of petroleum and untold amount of toxins, how much is released into our atmosphere every time someone decides he wants to set off a road block with a tyre fire of, maybe, 10 tyres or more in one go? What becomes airborne after rioters have thrown hundreds of petrol bombs at the police or set fires to gas cylinders? The website http://lexbirchviewoftheworld.com has more information to give us, which makes robust our understanding of what the Lagos Abattoir is doing to our health. Now, many youngmen and women who go to enjoy themselves at their favourite joints where they “chill” out eat lots of ponmo which they wash down with their favourite drinks. Believing that they are civilised people eating civilised food, they do not know that their ponmo is poisoned by tyre fire smoke.  Dr. N.W. Walker speaks of such people in a cell (Tissue) salt therapy which he wrote about in a healthy and damaged colon chart when he says:

    “For the guidance, benefits and use by colon irrigation and lavage establishment operators, and for the education of the layman. Civilized life means an artificial life; civilized people, living in a civilized manner and eating civilized foods, cannot, in every nature of things, have truly HEALTHY COLON. Health and sickness have their roots in the COLON.

    In www.lesspollution.org/learn.html, we learn of 15 good reasons why tyre fire is dangerous to health. It says the pollutants place children especially at risk, as small particles settle in the lungs. When breast milk is contaminated by them, the poisons are transferred to breast-feeding babies. Even fetuses are not spared. The elderly and asthmatics come under fire. So are people with lowered immunity. Heart problems may escalate.

    Now, I speak through the experiences of some families who live in the catchment area of the Lagos Abattoir tyre fire smoke. Around this abattoir are beautiful housing estates such as Millennium Estate, Oke Oba GRA scheme 1, Maplewood Estate, Sunshine Estate, Awoniyi Estate, Labak Estate and others. Many estate families are “dead” asleep when the tyre-burning begins at about 3am. Some members of the family are woken up from deep sleep, choking or coughing. All the bedrooms are infiltrated. The air is rotten, smelly. Electric fans may help a little. Air conditioners help out. Some come out of their flats for fresh air but discover they fare no better. I know of someone who is woken from sleep and finds his room so darkened that he can hardly see the electric lamps in the ceiling. What of people who smell the pollution in their kitchens? How will they cook without these particles falling on their food? Some people go out of their homes in the mornings but return at about 9pm or 10pm to find the air thickened again with tyre fire smoke. Apparently Ponmo sellers at the Lagos Abattoir cure the cow skin with tyre fire about two or three times a day, the premium time being in the night. My friend, George Uberg, a health-conscious fellow who lives somewhere on Iju Road, says it is a “terrible experience”. I advised him to wear a nose guard, day and night, take Orange peel powder to detoxify regularly.

    So does Diatom.

    So does Cilantro.

    So does Chlorella

    Which chelate heavy metals and other toxins out of the blood. Where breathing is affected, orange Peel powder taken with water, juices or meals help. Someone told me of a recipe for kidney cleanse the other day. It is a vegetables the Yoruba call Efo ebolo. When I searched for the popular English name, what I got was Yoruban bilogi. It is macerated and boiling water is poured over it in a container. When the infusion is cool enough to drink, it is served and taken, says this fellow who calls himself Bush Sense or Bush Doctor. This recipe complement our regular kidney cleansers and tonics such as Bell’s Kidney  Cleanse and function Tea, Nettle, Yarrow, Water melon seed tea, Kidney Rescue, Dandelon e.t.c.

    Blood cleansers are indispensable. So are nerve building tonics. The liver should not be forgotten. Burdock root should be added to a compendium of herbs which should include Milk Thistle and Liver Balance among others. If I find myself menaced by the Lagos Abattoir, I would design a regimen for the night hours which would place antioxidants on guard in my system day and night. Meanwhile, why have both the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) not come to the rescue of the neighbourhoods of this abattoir since many of the residents do not even know the danger in which they live. LASEPA and FEPA appear to be slow organisations. In the 1980s, when I was Editor of the Guardian, The Science Editor, Mr. Seun Ogunseitan, who discovered the KOKO toxic waste dump, wrote an article saying that underground water in Ijesha area of Lagos was polluted by heavy metals to the tune of more than 3,000% above World Health Organisation (WHO) safety levels. More frightening was his suggestion that no Nigeria water works systems had a device to remove heavy metals from drinking water. In other words, people who live in Ijeshatedo area of Lagos continue to drink heavy metals-polluted water with the risk of developing cancer and other terrible degenerative diseases. Last week, however, that is about 30 years after, LASEPA announced publicly that it had tested underground water in wells in 20 Local Government Area of Lagos State and found all heavily polluted with heavy metals. That means that, if there is still no device to remove heavy metals from water (boiling does not do it, it only worsens it by concentrating them),  it would mean that all the “pure” water we drink in Lagos, and all the bottled water too, have heavy metals inside them. These is frightening, especially as there may be a correlation between these sources of drinking water and a massive growth in the rate of cancer in Lagos State. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode should act immediately. Formal Governor Babatunde Fashola wanted to relocate the abattoir from Agege but he could not before he vacated power to Ambode. Nevertheless, he tried to sanitise the operation and he extracted land from the abattoir area for a beautiful housing estate which the government may be unable to sell because of the menace of the abattoir.

  • Akpabio’s wife escapes death in Germany

    There is but a thin line between life and death. For Unoma Akpabio, life almost gave in to death after a major surgery in a German hospital. Unoma was said to have slipped into coma after the surgery, prompting friends and family members to launch into serious prayers for her to regain consciousness.

    While the nature Unoma’s surgery remains yet under wraps, it was said to have been a major one. Unoma is a major player in the politics of Akwa Ibom. So influential is she that the emergence of the current governor of Akwa Ibom State as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is credited to her. As Akpabio himself would later confess during the PDP governorship campaign inauguration in Uyo in the build-up to the last general election, Udom was nowhere in the picture until he was recommended by his wife and then first lady of the state.

    Akpabio, who on the occasion described Unoma as ‘Mother Theresa’, spared no adjective as he showered praises on her for spotting for him, a worthy successor in Udom.

  • Paracetamol abuse can lead to death

    Paracetamol abuse can lead to death

    Adults should not take more than six tablets of paracetamol (acetaminophen) daily, the founder and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of  Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Dr Stella Okoli, has said.

    She gave the advice at the 30th   anniversary of Emzor paracetamol, where a special pack was unveiled in Lagos.

    She said most users have ‘staggered’ overdoses after taking paracetamol in other forms, such as caffeine drinks or panadol, thereby failing to realise that the amount they have taken could be fatal in a few days.

    According to her, 500mg tablets   – the equivalent of 4g – should be the maximum dose daily, warning that any one who exceeds this dose will be endangering his life.

    She said some people may have  complaints, such as vague abdominal pain and nausea. With time, signs of liver injury – low blood sugar, low blood pH, easy bleeding, and hepatic encephalopathy- may develop. Some will be spontaneously resolved, though untreated cases may result in death.

    Mrs Okoli, who pioneered the production of Emzor paracetamol, explained that a damage to the liver, or hepatotoxicity, results not from paracetamol itself, but from one of its metabolites (the chemical processes that occur in a living organism to maintain life) Nacetylp-benzoquinoneimine  (NAPQI).

    NAPQI decreases the liver’s antioxidant glutathione and damages cells in the liver, leading to liver failure.

    NAPQI, inactivated by glutathione, prevents harm. When glutathione stores are depleted to less than 30 percent, NAPQI reacts with nucleophilic aspects of the cell, leading to necrosis. Necrosis occurs in the liver and in the kidney tubules. Toxicity is increased in patients with induction of the P450 system through drugs such as rifampicin, phenobarbital, phenytoin, carbamazepine and alcohol. This also occurs in patients with low glutathione reserves.

    “So, I always tell our people not to take paracetamol with alcohol. This is because risk factors for toxicity include excessive long-term alcohol intake, fasting, lack or loss of appetite for food (anorexia nervosa), and the use of certain drugs, such as a synthetic compound used as a bacteriostatic drug, chiefly to treat tuberculosis (isoniazid). It is important to remember that, when used at therapeutic levels, paracetamol is usually safe and effective,” she said.

    She added: “Over the years, Emzor Pharmaceutical has gone the extra mile in ensuring that affordable healthcare is readily available to everyone. This has made the company consistent in delivering time valued quality products and services to the delight of our customers.

    ‘’Ultimately, we see a world where unlimited wellness is available to all and affordable by all. We call this new world WELLOCRACY. It is our belief that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Therefore, we are giving the gift of wellness to our people, our nation and our world,” she said.

  • 12 passengers burnt to death in Ibadan road crash

    Eleven passengers and the driver of a commercial bus were burnt to death yesterday in an accident in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The accident occurred at about 4pm at Academy area of the city, when the 18-seater commercial summersaulted.

    It was learnt that the bus was being pursued by a task force of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for picking passengers by the roadside, instead of taking his turn at the approved motor park.

    The driver was said to have lost control due to the pressure mounted on him by the task force members.

    Two female passengers managed to escape by forcing their way through the back windscreen before the vehicle caught fire.

    An online medium quoted one of the survivors, who identified herself as Kemi as explaining that the driver of the bus was on his way to Lagos when the accident occurred.

    “We boarded the bus at Oremeji/Agugu. After boarding, we discovered that he was being pursued by the task force of the NURTW. The task force members, we were told, were not happy with him for contravening the laws of the union.

    “He was not supposed to be picking passengers by the roadside. He was supposed to register at any of the designated garages and parks.

    “So, after picking us, they started to pursue him. We begged him to stop, but he refused since we were about 14, including the driver in the vehicle,” Kemi said.

    The bus and the occupants burnt as sympathisers watched helplessly.

  • Avoiding sudden death: Silent killer diseases to watch

    Avoiding sudden death: Silent killer diseases to watch

    First it was the sudden death of ex-Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi, on the day he was booked to travel abroad, that sent shivers down the spines of many Nigerians. Four days after, news followed of another ex-Eagles coach, Shuaibu Amodu, who died in his sleep after medical treatment for high blood pressure the previous day.

    As if the tales of woe were not enough, death crept into the movie industry, snatching away Henrietta Kosoko, one of the wives of veteran actor, Jide Kosoko, who died after she slumped. As sudden as the death was, one gets a better impression of what might have transpired after learning that the late actress had battled diabetes for some time.

    Hypertension, hypotension and diabetes – these are the three known silent killers common among Nigerians, rich and poor. A biomedical scientist, Dr Bola John, said that a silent killer is a disease that a person lives with for some time not knowing he or she has it until it hurts enough to kill.

    Listing silent killers to include hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer and others, Dr John is of the opinion that there are many silent killers and the likelihood of anyone falling victim to at least one of them is very high.

    More than being a rich man’s disease like some people are wont to believe, hypertension and hypotension are among the most prevalent non-communicable diseases worldwide, even among the less-privileged. What makes the case worse in Nigeria is that health services have focused on treating infectious diseases such as Malaria and tuberculosis. Also, the harsh economy and the overburdened health facilities seem to have taken medical care beyond the reach of many who cannot afford regular medical check-up.

    Globally, hypertension is responsible for an estimated 45 percent deaths due to heart disease and 51 percent of death due to stroke, according to UNICEF statistics.

    Dr. Olukayode Fasekula described hypertension as a disease of the heart and blood vessels. He said: “When there is high blood pressure, it is usually above the normal range, which is 110/70mm of mercury to 140/90mm of mercury. Anything after that is hypertension. When it is about 150, it is moderate; when it is about 180, then it is abnormal. Hypertension is also related to diabetes. When somebody has diabetes, the blood vessel becomes thickened and the passage of blood would become forceful.”

    There are also two types of hypertension, noted Dr Babatunde Saheed, a Lagos-based medical practitioner. “The first is essential hypertension,” he said. “For this, a cause may readily not be available. For instance, it may be through hereditary. Hypertension can also develop on its own. Secondary hypertension could be caused by diseases in the body. It could also be through adrenal gland problem or kidney problem.”

    Dr Saheed added that hypertension can also be induced by pregnancy, obesity or smoking. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a person with a blood pressure of over 140/90 is said to be hypertensive.

    Proffering ways of managing the ailment, he said: “To manage hypertension, investigation has to, first of all, be made. The heart needs to be looked at, an EEG could also be done or eco-cardiogram to show the cause. Renal cause can also be checked, along with liquid sugar level. These will help to know the treatment to give such patient.”

     

    Causes and prevention

    An Abuja-based medical practitioner, Dr Dan Gadzama, said that hypertension has no specific cause. He however, added that there are risk factors as well as the modifying and non-modifying causes. He said: “For the modifiable causes, we have smoking, indulging in tobacco, obesity and sedentary lifestyle. And then for the non-modifying causes, the elderly are more affected, while for the younger ones, the female are more at risk than the male.

    “There are secondary causes that result from diseases risk factors like kidney disease because of retention of salt; a diabetic is also at risk too. When ones adrenaline produces lots of adrenaline tumours, it leads to hypertension.”

    Dr Gadzama advised that the best way to avoid hypertension is to adopt a healthy lifestyle by doing lots of exercise, and avoiding alcohol, tobacco and coffee.

     

    Hypotension: the opposite diagnosis

    Appearing to be the exact opposite of hypertension is hypotension, which is associated with low blood pressure. It is no less dangerous as it is also life-threatening. Symptoms to watch out for include dizziness and fainting.

    “When the blood pressure is below the normal range of 110/70mm, it could be even more dangerous when it is not easily managed.  It is as a result of hypo-volume of blood when we have shortage of blood (anaemia),” said Dr Fasekula.

    Another risk factor for hypotension could be the overdose of hypertensive drugs, from the explanation offered by Dr Saheed. “On the other hand, hypotension could be normal for some people. For others, it could be through overdose of hypertensive drugs. Such can cause a crash and it becomes a hypotensive situation. To manage this is to treat the cause.”

    On the causes, Dr Gadzama added that hypotension can be caused by excessive vomiting, bleeding and cushion syndrome, a metabolic disorder, and low tyrosine level in the body.

    Medical experts note that while hypertension can be hereditary, it can also result from diet and lifestyle habits. Smokers can easily develop hypertension because of the nicotine in the cigarette as well as alcohol addiction.  The doctors who spoke with The Nation said that anyone aged 35 years and above should watch his or her cholesterol level and reduce the excessive intake of eggs. Doctors recommend more intake of vegetables as it is said that vegetarians cannot easily develop hypertension.

     

    The link between high blood pressure and diabetes

    The occurrence of diabetes is a call to high blood pressure. Excess sugar, it was learnt, can line the blood vessels and make thicken such that when the heart is pumping, it becomes more difficult for the blood to pass through the blood vessel.

    Mrs. Christiana Adeyemi, a health care provider, said that diabetes increases the risk of developing high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems since it affects the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis. “The clogging of blood vessels (atherosclerosis) can cause high blood pressure, which, if not treated, can lead to further blood vessel damage, stroke, heart failure and heart attack. One thing people should know is that diabetes, if not managed well, can lead to hypertension.”

    Dr Bola John wrote that diabetes varies in type and may include excessive thirst, excessive urination, fatigue, slow healing wounds, blurred vision and weight loss. “Type 2 Diabetes generally results from pre-diabetes in older adults and takes a long time to develop. Symptoms may not emerge or be noticeable for years.”

    Children are also likely to develop Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes can be detected from a fasting blood glucose test using blood samples and by analysis of the urine for excess sugar. Left untreated, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) can lead to serious long-term complications such as kidney failure, blindness, serious skin infections, worsening of acne, gangrene, cardiovascular disease, disability, diabetic neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke, disability, sexual problems, erectile dysfunction, vaginal dryness, premature menopause, birth defects, bed wetting in children.

  • Death so cruel

    Death so cruel

    Three final year students of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, have died,  two weeks to their final examinations. SANYA BOLUWATIFE (500-Level Law) reports that one of them, Sodiq Junaid, was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver. 

    Their graduation is in two weeks, but they died before the day, which, like their colleagues, they had looked forward to. Their death has left, the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) on Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State in gloom. The late Gbenga Akinwande was a 400-Level Psychology student; the late Sodiq Junaid, the late Mariam Kolade, were 400-level Computer Science and Mass Communication students.

    According to some students, the most touching was Sodiq’s death. Unlike Gbenga and Mariam, who died during an illness, Sodiq’s was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

    The late Sodiq was returning from Jumat (Muslims’ Friday prayer) when he was knocked down by the motorist.

    According to eyewitnesses, the late Sodiq and his hostel mate, Ismail Oduneye, were on a commercial bike (known as Okada) when the bus came from behind and knocked them off the road. Ismail’s legs were broken; Sodiq died four days after the accident.

    Students accused a trader in Ago-Iwoye Market, Iya Foluke, of killing Sodiq. They alleged that the bus, which hit the students, belonged to the trader, an allegation Iya Foluke denied when she heard the rumour.

    Ismail, a 400-Level Law student, relived the incident when CAMPUSLIFE visited him after he was discharged from the hospital. He described his escape as “miraculous”, saying he passed out after the accident.

    He said: “Sodiq and I were hostel mates. We were returning to our hostel after we observed Jumat prayer. We rode on the same Okada since we were going to the same place. When we got to the car wash close to old Corporative House on mini campus road, the Okada man wanted to negotiate  the junction, we were on the side of the road when a bus moving on high speed hit us. The bus was trying to dodge pot holes. I lost consciousness. All I know was that, I could not get up to walk when I regained consciousness. I saw people everywhere. They carried us to the hospital. It was God that saved me.”

    It was gathered that the late Sodiq’s legs were smashed by the bus. A source in the hospital said Sodiq died on Monday from pains. “After he ate on Saturday, he started to wail as he writhed in pain. He didn’t say anything particularly as he was shouting. It was clear he was in pains,” the source said.

    After Sodiq’s burial last Tuesday, his colleagues marched on the Ago-Iwoye Market to harass Iya Foluke. The students alleged that she owns the bus, which knocked down their colleagues. There was chaos at the market as the woman exchanged words with the students.

    Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, a student, who gave his name simply as Oluwaseun, said: “Students, who saw the bus that killed Sodiq identified it and said it was owned by Iya Foluke. This is why we moved en masse to the market after the burial to see the bus. We have the responsibility as deceased’s colleagues and friends to meet with Iya Foluke, who, we heard, owns the bus that killed Sodiq.

    “When we demanded to see the bus, Iya Foluke created a scene and rained curses on us. She could not show us her own bus. She was just raining curses, saying we will all die too. We have reported the matter at the Ago-Iwoye Police Divisional Headquarters. The police promised they would produce the bus and the driver. But, we don’t trust the policemen. The matter, we fear, may be swept under the carpet.”

    When CAMPUSLIFE visited Ago-Iwoye Police Divisional Headquarters, an officer, Adio Alalade, a Chief Superitendent (CSP), said the matter was not “reported officially”. He declined to speak further on it.

    The news of Sodiq’s death threw the Faculty of Science into mourning. The Faculty’s president, Temitope Balogun, declared last Friday a lecture-free day in his honour. Paying tribute to him, Temitope said: “We dined, played and read together. You were looking forward to your final examination, just as we have a few weeks to round off our four-year study. But, death has deprived you of graduation joy and snatched you away from us. We will always remember you.”

    They were still mourning Sodiq, news also broke of the death of Mariam and Gbenga. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that they died during illness. Mariam died on June 7. Her close friend, who did not give her name, said: “Mariam was sick, but she did not have transport fare to go home. I saw her briefly when she came to my hostel and asked me for money, which I could not give her because I was broke. Her dad and aunt sent money to go home. That was the last time I saw her. I learnt of her death on Tuesday.”