The Nation Newspaper

Tag: killer

  • A killing but no killer

    Can murder happen without a murderer or murderers? This is the question that must be answered by the Kano State justice system concerning the murder of 74-year-old Mrs. Bridget Agbahime, a Christian of Igbo origin, in a Kano market in June following an accusation that she had been blasphemous. Her accusers had decided that she deserved to be killed for her alleged sin, and they wasted no time in actualising the deadly punishment.

    What happened, and how did the woman die? Perhaps the question should be rephrased more precisely: How was the woman murdered? Thanks to a published interview on November 13, disturbing details of the murder that happened on June 2 were provided by the victim’s husband, Pastor Mike Agbahime, who is still crying for justice. He recounted: “On the day my wife was murdered, a call came from one of our church members (who also has a shop in the market) while I was waiting for my wife to leave the shop so that we could go to the church. He told me on phone that some Hausa people were making trouble with my wife…It was then that I quickly packed my wares to go and find out the problem. As this was going on, I met the same man who was with my wife at the market. He said, “Daddy, don’t worry, they have left her (my wife).”

    He continued: “Later, my wife appeared. She told me that it was the same Dauda that did ablutions in the front of her shop. She said that she told Dauda, “Why won’t you allow me to finish packing before you start pouring your water for ablutions in my shop? After telling Dauda this, she told me that he held her hand and asked her, “Mekai fatah?” This phrase means “What did you just say?” My wife asked him, “What right do you have to hold my hand?”  She asked him to leave her hand. She stated that if he did not leave her, that she would use one of the plastic products in the shop to break his head. Immediately Dauda left her, he started shouting “Allahu Akbar.”

    Pastor Agbahime’s eyewitness account deserves to be highlighted for a clarifying picture of the murder. He went on: “I then told my wife that since Dauda had started his trouble again, that we should go and see Alhaji Mustapha, the owner of the shop. Alhaji Mustapha ushered us in. He (Mustapha) told us to go and come back on Saturday, June 4, 2016, so as to speak with Dauda and settle the disagreement. His office was upstairs. But as we were leaving through the staircase, we saw a teeming mob with weapons. Alhaji Mustapha tried to disperse them. He told them in Hausa that he would resolve the matter the next Saturday. They started abusing him, throwing stones at him. They called him kafir, meaning somebody who does not know Allah. When Mustapha saw that the mob was getting more aggressive, he opened his office, told us to go in and locked it. When they saw that Alhaji Mustapha had let us in and locked his office, they continued shouting Allahu Akbar. As they were shouting, many others joined them. It is painful to tell you that Alhaji Mustapha, seeing how aggressive they were, slumped. But before he slumped, he had called the police. The Divisional Police Officer of the area came in with two other policemen. The three could not calm the angry mob. The mob climbed up in their numbers, broke the window, and jumped in.”

    What followed was straight from hell. Pastor Agbahime painted a picture of incredible evil: “We were praying to God to save the situation. When they later entered the office where we were hiding, they hit my wife on the head with very heavy iron objects and she immediately slumped and died. Having completed their mission, they all went back. They did not touch me.”

    At this point, it was expected that lawlessness would be lawfully reversed. It is curious that the Kano State Ministry of Justice ordered the release of five murder suspects standing trial for allegedly killing Mrs. Bridget Agbahime. The alleged killers, Dauda Ahmed, Abdulmumeen Mustafa, Zubairu Abubakar, Abdullahi Abubakar and Musa Abdullahi, had been arraigned before a chief magistrate’s court on a four-count charge. A report said: “The charge sheet also noted that one Salawihu, Ibrahim, Dini, Isiaku, Mallam Sani, Sufiyanu, Yunusa and Mallam Umar, all at large, were part of the mob that carried out the dastardly act.”

    The trial took a strange turn and was terminated following the advice of the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Kano State Ministry of Justice. The state prosecution counsel, Rabiu Yusuf, who informed the court that the state was withdrawing the matter, was quoted as saying: “We received the case diary from the police on June 8, and having gone through it, the attorney- general of Kano State evaluated the facts in accordance with sections 130 and 150 of the criminal procedure code. The legal advice presented to the court, dated June 24, states that there is no case to answer, as the suspects are all innocent and orders the court to discharge all the accused persons.”

    It is intriguing that the accused were declared innocent by the DPP’s office when a trial was supposed to establish their innocence or guilt. It is unclear how the claimed innocence of the accused was established by the DPP’s office outside their trial.

    Now that the five suspects charged to court have been discharged based on the said legal advice, those suspects said to be at large may also have no case to answer. So the question is: Who will answer for the barbaric murder of Citizen Agbahime? Without question, there was a killing, and there must have been a killer or killers.

    Surely, it cannot be enough to simply declare the accused guiltless without further action towards unravelling the identities of those who killed the woman. This is why it is correct that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is demanding justice in this matter. Indeed, all persons of conscience should demand that the murderers in this case be apprehended and prosecuted.

    Murder, under any pretext, is objectionable and condemnable. Citizen Agbahime’s murder is particularly provocative because it is not an isolated instance. It is noteworthy that CAN observed in a statement: “As it stands today, there is no single prosecution record of any criminal who killed under the pretext of blasphemy in Nigeria despite the number of victims and incontrovertible facts showing that those killings were done in daylight and mostly by persons who live within the communities where these heinous crimes were committed.”

    The failure of law enforcement in Mrs. Agbahime’s specific case is inexcusable; it is a regrettable reflection of incapacity to ensure justice.

  • Hypertension: How to tame the silent killer (3)

    Disorders of hormones such as thyroid disease for example hyperthyroidism (overacting thyroid) may lead to raised blood pressure in individual sufferers.  High blood pressure very often coexists or be part of the disease of diabetes mellitus.

    High Blood Pressure in a Peculiar Situation (Pregnancy and in Children):

    As a junior doctor decades ago, I was witnessing a young lady in labour in a government hospital. She had become unconscious of her environment although she could still respond to conversations with her carers. Suddenly she started telling those of us who were present that she wanted to “fly” and that she should be allowed to fly away in the midst of labour. She got to this stage because of a deadly, brutal form of blood pressure that affects pregnant women. In her case, she was suffering from preeclampsia- a vicious killer of pregnant women.  Depending on the origin, hypertension in pregnant women may be pregnancy-induced hypertension, hypertension-in-pregnancy and both can lead to preeclampsia or eclampsia. The latter two constitute extreme medical  emergency. Therefore, all pregnant women should have their blood pressure measured as soon as possible and same should be kept in check in each antenatal attendance.

    High Blood Pressure in Children: Blood pressure in children is not expected to be raised except in rare circumstances.  Thus, a notice of high blood pressure in children is an indication of an underlying disease. The attending doctor is likely to raise an alarm on this finding and parents should take any raise blood pressure in children extremely seriously.

    Symptoms and signs of High Blood Pressure: Very frequently, there may be no symptom at all until late in the disease. Finding that a person has a raised blood pressure may be an accidental discovery by a doctor or a nurse who is checking for something else or it may be a discovery as part of routine monitoring. There is no blood test or imaging test that will say a person has high blood pressure other than clinical findings, although investigations may follow discovery of raised blood pressure as a step to finding the cause of the hypertension.

    Therefore, in most cases, the blood pressure is slow crawling and silent hence the name, silent killer.  When the pressure has been raised to a certain level that the body, kidney and heart or brain can no longer tolerate, symptoms may begin to appear.   If the symptoms were to appear, it comes in form of headache, visual impairment, dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, awareness of the beating of the heart or palpitation and vomiting, nose bleed as well as chest pain.  In some complex situations, the legs may be swollen especially if the heart is starting to fail.

    Dangers and complications of High Blood Pressure: The higher the blood pressure, the greater the risk of injury to the heart and blood vessels in major organs of the body such as the heart, the brain and kidneys. Overall, raised blood pressure is the most important preventable cause of heart disease and stroke in the entire world.

    If left untreated, high BP (Blood Pressure) can lead to a heart attack, an enlargement of the heart and ultimately can cause a stroke (blood in the brain or absence of enough blood/oxygen) supply to the brain. Hypertension is also known to cause kidney failure, blindness, and cognitive impairment.

    Treatment of High Blood Pressure: In a lot of cases, notwithstanding the age, raised blood pressure is treatable especially if it is detected early. The challenging part of managing blood pressure especially in Nigeria is the denial of the illness by the patient. This is complicated by religious indoctrination that denies evidence of existence of the disease.  The second problem is compliance with treatment. I have been asked to see a young patient who was brought to me listless and unconscious at the verge of death due to high blood pressure. The fundamental problem is not the fact that she has high blood pressure but of the fact that she denied the illness and refused to comply with the prescribed medications. After her near-death ordeal however, she learnt her lesson to comply with medications, in a hard way.

    That said, there are various medications that exist and are available to treat high blood pressure. Such treatment will be individualised depending on the person’s tolerance and acceptability of the therapy.

  • Low sugar drinks are deadlier killer drinks

    Over many years, I have met many people troubled by ailments which they and their doctors cannot pinpoint or address. Oftentimes, these conditions yield to detoxification, alkalization, mineralization, oxygenation and so on. The greens lead the way in this battlefield, for which reason I once wrote in this column LET’S DRINK GREENS, for the world is not green for the fun of it. They bind to the molecules of these culprits, drag them out of the body and replace the offensive molecules with theirs which are more homogeneous with those of the body. There has never been any doubt that diet, the environment, stress and negative attitude are behind these havocs.

    Today, I vacate the floor of this column for two bloggers who present testimonies about how ASPARTAME, found in many food products is wrecking the health of millions of people worldwide, especially in the United States, where it is well consumed.

    Aspartame, sold under different names, is a low or no-calorie sugar introduced into the diet system by sugar producers, after sugar consumers learned that the consumption of naked or white sugar may give them diabetes and other dangerous health troubles.

    In America, Aspartame is plentiful in Soda drinks which we call soft drinks or mineral drinks in Nigeria. In the course of sharing the following information about Aspartame, the identities of the two bloggers who originated them, have been lost. So, it is not possible to accord them appropriate credit for their work. Maybe this would be possible someday. Their work is shared nevertheless in the recognition that their intention is to save life.

    Please read on…

    A killer in your fridge ~ Sweet poison…

    A must read

    In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick she had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she was in so much pain.

    By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not determine what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick she just knew she was dying.

    She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance, etc., in her oldest daughter’s name, and made sure that her younger children were to be taken care of.

    She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.

    On March 19, I called her to ask how her most recent tests went, and she said they didn’t find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS.

    I recalled an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda? She told me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one open that moment.

    I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda! I e-mailed her an article my friend, a lawyer, had sent. My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could walk! The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn’t feel 100% but, she sure felt a lot better.

    She told me she was going to her doctor with this article and would call me when she got home.

    Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed! He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind. In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame in the diet soda.. and literally dying a slow and miserable death

    When she got to Florida March 22, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning! She is well on her way to a complete recovery. And she is walking! No wheelchair! This article saved her life. If it says ‘SUGAR FREE’ on the label; DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!  I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on ‘ASPARTAME,’ marketed as ‘Nutra Sweet,’ ‘Equal,’ and ‘Spoonful. ‘In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing this to be rampant. I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.

    I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.

    Many people were being diagnosed in error. Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, Methanol toxicity is!

    Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues it’s use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition. We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.

    In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, most of the symptoms disappear. We’ve seen many cases where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved markedly.

    This also applies to cases of tinnitus and fibromyalgia. During a lecture, I said, ‘If you are using ASPARTAME (Nutra Sweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting, pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain,

    Unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!’ People were jumping up during the lecture saying, ‘I have some of these symptoms. Is it reversible?’

    Yes!  Yes!  Yes!

    STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels! Many products are fortified with it! This is a serious problem. Dr. Espart (one of my speakers) remarked that so many people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice; a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence!

    Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually makes you crave carbohydrates.

    It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!

    These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used primarily to preserve ’tissue specimens.’

    Many products we use every day contain this chemical but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!

    Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once free of the ‘diet products’ and with no significant increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period. Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. We found that some physicians, who believed that they had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame. The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the other amino acids necessary for a good balance.

    Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE.. Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing various levels of brain damage, seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks, uncontrollable anger and rage. Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in non-diabetics as well. Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds in their behaviour when these chemicals have been removed from their diet.

    So called ‘behavior modification prescription drugs’ (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first place!  Most of these children were being ‘poisoned’ on a daily basis with the very foods that were ‘better for them than sugar. ‘It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of pallets of Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.

    Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects, i.e. mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early pregnancy. Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners.

    There are many different case histories to relate of children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of this deadly poison.’

    Herein lies the problem: There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was included in 100 different products and strong objection was made concerning its use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and still nothing has been done. The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets.

    Sadly, MONSANTO’S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED! There are now over 5,000 products in the market that contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced. Everybody wants a ‘piece of the Aspartame pie. ‘I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is.

    And isn’t it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Conference of the American College of Physicians?

    This has been recently exposed in the New York Times. These [organisations] cannot criticise any additives or convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry and are required to endorse their products. Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant women, children and infants.

    The bill would also institute independent studies on the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioural symptoms.  The bill was killed. It is known that the powerful drug and chemical lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you’re informed now!

    Note 1:  I have been studying health and nutrition for 35 years.  What I’ve learned in the past three years has been by far…the most valuable.  My husband was diagnosed with liver disease three years ago and that sent me on a very aggressive search for help.  I came across an article about Dr. Otto Warburg that said…he won the Nobel Prize in 1931 for proving that no disease including cancer, can survive in an alkaline body.  From there…a friend told me about a Japanese medical device that makes alkaline water.  She went on to tell me that since our body is 70% water, drinking alkaline ionised water is the easiest way to raise your pH.  It makes perfect sense…the health “puzzle” is made up of many pieces including water, diet, exercise, sleep, etc.  But since 3/4 of that puzzle is made up of one big piece…WATER, drinking enough of the “right” kind of water will have a HUGE impact on your health.  If you’d like to learn more, click on the link and request your FREE eBook on Healthy Water:   http://www.usakangenwater.net

    Note 2:  I’m just sharing the Aspartame article from another blog…I’m not the author.  I shared this article when I first started blogging and I didn’t know I was supposed to give credit to the original author. I can’t find the original so there’s no way for me to credit the author.  I’ve received tons of emails from people that had very similar experiences with Aspartame so I absolutely believe this is true. Hydration is my area of expertise.”

    BUBBLE TROUBLE

    When taken at face value, diet soda seems like a health-conscious choice. It saves you the 140-plus calories you’d find in a sugary soft drink while still satisfying your urge for something sweet with artificial sweeteners like Aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. But there’s more to this chemical cocktail than meets the eye.

    It confuses your body

    Artificial sweeteners have more intense flavour than real sugar, so over time products like diet soda dull our senses to naturally sweet foods like fruit, says Brooke Alpert, RD, author of The Sugar Detox. Even more troubling, these sugar stand-ins have been shown to have the same effect on your body as sugar. “Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain,” Alpert says.

    It could lead to weight gain, not weight loss

    Diet soda is calorie-free, but it won’t necessarily help you lose weight. Researchers from the University of Texas found that over the course of about a decade, diet soda drinkers had a 70% greater increase in waist circumference compared with non-drinkers. And get this: participants who slurped down two or more sodas a day experienced a 500% greater increase. The way artificial sweeteners confuse the body may play a part, but another reason might be psychological, says Minnesota-based dietitian Cassie Bjork. When you know you’re not consuming any liquid calories, it might be easier to justify that double cheeseburger or extra slice of pizza.

    It’s associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes

    Drinking one diet soda a day was associated with a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in a University of Minnesota study. Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of conditions (including high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, raised cholesterol, and large waist circumference) that put people at high risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, Bjork explains.

    It has no nutritional value

    When you drink diet soda, you’re not taking in any calories—but you’re also not swallowing anything that does your body any good, either. The best no-calorie beverage? Plain old water, says Bjork. “Water is essential for many of our bodily processes, so replacing it with diet soda is a negative thing,” she says. If it’s the fizziness you crave, try sparkling water.

    Its sweetener is linked to headaches

    Early studies on Aspartame and anecdotal evidence suggests that this artificial sweetener may trigger headaches in some people. “I have several clients who used to suffer from migraines and pinpointed their cause to diet soda,” Bjork says.

    It’ll ruin your smile over time

    Excessive soda drinking could leave you looking like a Breaking Bad extra, according to a case study published in the journal General Dentistry. The research compared the mouths of a cocaine-user, a methamphetamine-user, and a habitual diet soda drinker, and found the same level of tooth erosion in each of them. The culprit here is citric acid, which weakens and destroys tooth enamel over time. (Related: 20 Things That Can Ruin Your Smile)

    It makes drinking more dangerous

    Using diet soda as a low-calorie cocktail mixer has the dangerous effect of getting you drunk faster than sugar-sweetened beverages, according to research from Northern Kentucky University. The study revealed that participants who consumed cocktails mixed with diet drinks had a higher breath alcohol concentration than those who drank alcohol blended with sugared beverages. The researchers believe this is because our bloodstream is able to absorb artificial sweetener more quickly than sugar.

    It’s associated with depression

    A recent study presented at a the American Academy of Neurology meeting found that over the course of 10 years, people who drank more than four cups or cans of soda a day were 30% more likely to develop depression than those who steered clear of sugary drinks. The correlation held true for both regular and diet drinks, but researchers were sure to note that the risk appeared to be greater for those who primarily drank diet sodas and fruit punches. Although this type of study can’t prove cause and effect, its findings are worth considering.

    It may be bad for your bones

    Women over 60 are already at a greater risk for osteoporosis than men, and Tufts University researchers found that drinking soda, including diet soda, compounds the problem. They discovered that female cola drinkers had nearly four percent lower bone mineral density in their hips than women who didn’t drink soda. The research even controlled for the participants’ calcium and vitamin D intake. Additionally, a 2006 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that cola intake (all kinds, not just diet) was associated with low bone-mineral density in women.

  • Killer tariff

    •Federal Govt should assist local textile firms to compete favourably

    The charge by the textile manufacturers’ body – the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association (NTMA) – that local industries actually pay higher tariff than their international counterparts for the nation’s gas, although hardly surprising, merely exemplifies one of the more familiar paradoxes at the heart of the nation’s failed quest to develop its industrial base.

    Summing up the textile manufacturers’ dilemma to journalists in Abuja, NTMA Director-General, Hamma Kwajaffa stated: “The price of gas supplied to the local industry is pegged to the American dollar and was not reviewed after the drop in global oil and gas prices.

    ”The current domestic tariff at $7.38/mmscf is three times the price of gas in the international market. There is a need to review the tariff on gas supplied to the industries in naira, which should be affordable.”

    It’s hard to imagine that the Federal Government would require local industries to pay $7.38/mmscf at a time the international price of gas is no more than $2.5/mmscf.

    What is the basis for the differential? The need to fast-track development in the gas sector or what?  Shouldn’t the need to spur development in the gas sector be balanced with the concerns of the real sector already choking and chaffing under the inclement operating environment? Why subject a sector – long considered as endangered – to a price regime that is neither equitable nor fair, particularly at this time? Even if we concede that the price of gas, like crude oil, is dollarised, couldn’t a case have been made for the manufacturing sector and the textile sector in particular to ensure that the various initiatives being undertaken to revive the sector is not left to flounder? Today, we do know for a fact that the power sector enjoys some concessions on gas prices. Why not the textile and other sectors considered as equally strategic to the nation’s current plans to diversify the economy and create jobs?

    We say this because the textile sector is perhaps like no other both in terms of the capacity to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and also in terms of its capacity to save scarce foreign exchange. It has been said that its turnaround has the potential to save the nation the annual outlay spent on textile imports currently put at $4bn in addition to the ECOWAS market of 175 million people waiting to be served.

    As for the position of the manufacturers on the practice of pegging of the cost of gas locally to the American dollar, that position deserves no less sympathetic hearing. Indeed, the manufacturers’ argument that the dollar-pegged tariff has not only made the commodity unaffordable to local businesses but is in fact counter-productive makes eminent sense in an environment dominated by the influx of cheap textile imports from Asia.

    As against the scenario which obtained two months ago when the exchange rate was fixed at N197-N199/$, the plunge of the naira to the N314 –N320 band has meant some 60 percent increase in naira costs to the local manufacturer. For a sector already reeling under the combined weights of infrastructure deficit and terrible government policies, will the time ever come when the sector will be helped to compete?

    It should not be beyond the imagination of the Federal Government to find accommodation for the operators to mitigate the effects of the fluctuating currency. It should in fact do so without further delay. To leave the operators to the vagaries of the currency movements is to render nugatory the modest gains of previous initiatives.

    For a Federal Government sworn to create jobs and diversify the economy, saving the textile industry has become a task that must be done. The industry needs cheap energy – electricity and fuel – to attain the competitive edge; favourable fiscal policies to stimulate activities and measures to curb if not totally eliminate the influx of smuggled textiles. More than anything, the industry needs government’s help to overhaul the value chain.

  • When killer herdsmen visited my family

    Nothing prepares you for that kind of news. Nothing. Bedlam upon bedlam. Heart-wrenching tears and rage simply greeted the modern day war brought to our homestead. To my own blood.

    For several years now, I had joined the loud campaign railing against the slaughter of innocent lives by Fulani herdsmen- from Plateau, and louder still when the marauders moved their sceptre of genocidal dance to my home state of Benue, leaving in their wake hundreds of innocent dead, including women and suckling infants, especially earlier this year. Then Enugu, then elsewhere… I had no idea that my family or any of its members would be their next target.

    Friday, August 5, my elder brother, Obekpa James Onuh, same-father-same-mother as we put it in Nigeria, was macheted by two Fulani herdsmen during his visit to our village, Orokam in Benue State. He was riding on a motor bike and going on a visit to a cousin in a nearby village around Adupi, and was just leaving our village Ukalegwu, when two men he identified as middle-aged, gangling Fulani men (near one of their camps in the village), attacked him on the lonely path, one with a big stick, felled him from his bike and the other with a sharp machete, proceeded to hack at his neck as he lay struggling on the ground. He fended off several blows with his left hand and sustained deep cuts to his arm. But before he could make an escape to a nearby house, the machete man gave him a big blow to his forehead. How he managed to run to a nearby house, how he survived the profuse bleeding especially from several severed veins in his arm in a rickety village health centre till the next day and has held on to life in a hospital in Otukpo where he lives, has remained a miracle to us.

    So, compatriots, so this is it (deep breath): we are no longer safe even in our ancestral homeland. Place of our peaceful childhood visits, play grounds, farmlands, innocent mischiefs and sacred land of our ancestors around which we have jealously nursed so many sweet reminiscences and visited from time to time. Fulani cattle-rearers have set up camps all across our small village after being sent away from the nearby Okpoga village after a series of murder and rape cases followed by incessant clash with locals. But my village as I know it since childhood is a sedate, laid-back land with locals who greet you quietly and smile from ear to ear. A poor, agrarian community sandwiched between Enugu and Kogi State and claimed by Benue, cocooned by a million and one palm trees, perennially short-changed by pot-bellied politicians and long forgotten by government, yet no one wants trouble.

    But life sometimes is unfair, so, true to type, the herdsmen, on arrival, came with their baggage of trouble. Besides annexing ancestral lands with the connivance of a local chief, farmlands have been ravaged by their cows, our women have been raped and locals fear the Agatu ‘treatment’ (massacre) may befall them, so they hardly say ‘pim’. I now learnt some murders have occurred but many bury their unfortunate dead in silence, not wanting further trouble, until in recent times when the cattle rearers and the criminal elements among them appeared to have upped their murderous game, become emboldened and clearly stretched their hands beyond the tolerant limits of the fragile elbow. But clearly, no one knows what next to expect. Scary.

    My brother’s case was obviously not a robbery incident: nothing was taken from him. The bike which belonged to the wife of another cousin was found the next day at the spot. It is a criminal gang bent on unleashing terror for reasons that absolutely beggars belief, leaving with you with several puzzles.

    The security agencies? They are basically looking the other way. Though the case was reported at the local police post, no arrests have been made so far.

    Dear compatriots, why are herdsmen allowed to bear arms (including AK-47, automatic rifles in daylight) and in clear violation of the laws of the land and after so many cases of murder of their hosts across the country?

    Why has no one been arrested, tried and brought to book over the series of carnages across the country at least in the last one year? Why has the Presidency yet to issue a strong word of condemnation against these herdsmen for the heinous crime against humanity they commit across Nigeria?

    Why does the presidency choose to be silent in the face of most of these attacks that have left hundreds dead in their wake in some instances but would offer profuse tear-soaked condolences to other countries after terrorist attacks on their citizens?

    Why has the president ordered the Minister of Agriculture to go to governors, asking that ancestral lands be annexed to cattle rearers, when fellow Nigerians who are involved in similar private businesses like chicken, pigs, goats and rabbits rearing are not extended same privilege (meanwhile a bill on Grazing Rights that would also set aside special fund for the grazing reserves sits majestically in the National Assembly waiting to be passed to give legitimacy to it all)?

    Why is the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, seat of Federal Government now being besieged by herds and herds of cows eating away at flowers and ornamental plants, disrupting traffic, threatening commuters’ safety and messing up every corner with their ‘expensive shit’ while all the enforcement agencies headquartered in the same city look shyly away? The same city which chased away hawkers and Okada riders to enforce and ensure the sanity deserving of capital cities?

    I believe that President Buhari would be doing himself a lot of good, now and in the ever-hovering face of posterity, to rein in the cattle rearers and dispel these dangerous rumours and perceptions making round. He must put in every effort to dispel the general perception around his discriminatory treatment of his Fulani cattle rearer-kinsmen, run Nigeria like the secular, multi-ethnic state that it is. He must act, and must be seen to be president of ALL NIGERIA and not just of his Fulani rearer-kinsmen, or of the North alone.

    These extremities, these impunities are eating away quietly and steadily at the very fabrics that hold us together as a nation. An eventual conflagration would do no one, including the President himself, any good.

    The security of my peace-loving and soft-spoken teacher brother and indeed EVERY NIGERIAN is government’s preeminent duty as enshrined in our Constitution. It must be upheld. Nigerians and Nigeria must be safe!

    The governor of Benue and indeed of all the governors have a duty to protect their citizens. Random condolence visits and endless donation of relief materials are not enough. These are avoidable human disasters, avoidable deaths. The world is watching this silly and soulless spectacle unfolding in Nigeria. Some of us may be canvassing for non-violent solutions but can’t say of the same for our restless youths who witness this carnage all the time. There is certainly a limit to all forms of provocation. All lives are precious, much more than cows.

    I thank God for my brother’s survival. We have fears if he would ever be able to make full use of his left arm considering the level of injury but at least he is alive with us. If we his siblings and our parents are still in this deep shock, I can’t even imagine those who lost entire families in Agatu and several other communities across Benue, Enugu, Plateau, Adamawa and in several other states visited by these crazy fellows and in such gruesome and unprovoked manners.

    It is just crazy, crazy, crazy!

     

    • Abah is a citizen journalist and activist.
  • 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.

  • Your tooth paste is loaded with killer poisons…3

    Inevitably, this series has to jump the gun. This installment should be the second. But, last week, the Printer’s Devil was at work, and the first part of the series was mistakenly published as the second. If the series has to maintain the natural sequence, today’s installment will pass, also, as the second, and that would create confusion. The Printer’s Devil has created enough trouble with the misnumbering of the first as the second installment.

    Thanks, Mr. Erondu Obisike an agro-consultant of Aba, for calling me on the telephone to ask about when the first part was published. So, to avert new confusion, this second part of the series now goes as the third.

    Last week, this column, on the international discussion of the terrible poison toothpaste has become, and of how, in countries enlightened about this travail, many people are making their own toothpastes at home or switching over to more expensive and safer toothpastes made with natural products and not poisonous man-made chemicals. The public castigation of fluoride and other poisons in popular toothpastes underscores how science and medicine lead humanity to the ruin of human health today, only to discover their folly tomorrow, cry wolf the day after and try to salvage the wreckage they have caused. Many toothpastes are still advertised on Nigerian televisions as the best for dental and oral care whereas, in the countries from where flouridised toothpaste came into Nigeria, such toothpastes have been named as the culprit behind many diseases. These poisons are said by scientists to raise blood sugar, and lower insulin blood levels, thereby predisposing some people to diabetes, damage the endocrime system, cause hormonal imbalances, damage or discolour the teeth, cause canker sores and, in some cases, set the stage for cancer. One of the readers of this column said that, when he discussed the column with a medical doctor, the gentleman dismissed such possibilities with a wave of the hand.

    At a group meeting where we discussed this issue with the aim of reviving interest in Nigeria traditional ways of cleaning the teeth, gums and mouth, almost everyone who spoke felt sorry for this doctor. For it was either that he was an unbalanced person, a professional jingoist, pathologically indisposed to, or opposed to Alternative (or natural) Medicine or simply, an “educated illiterate”. It is disturbing to imagine that this is a doctor thousands of people depend upon to stay healthy.

    Why would he not examine the claims and investigate them before jumping into conclusions? Is he saying leading researchers and doctors in those countries whose views have influenced government and legal decisions are sub-professionals? Thankfully, many Nigerians now know that we live in a world poisoned by man-made chemicals, and that, it is better to return to Mother Nature in every matter which may affect their health.

    Natural Options

    Our discussion group recalled the good, old Nigerian chewing stick. Of the pack of many varieties, I remember four :

    • Ijebu chewing stick
    • Calabar chewing stick
    • Orin ata (r:m … r:r), the Yoruba name kagara, the peppery chewing stick from which medicinal extracts have been made for ameliorating symptoms of sickle cell disease.
    • Dongoyaro (neem) chewing stick.

    The discussion group wondered why these chewing sticks cannot be commercially produced and powderised.

    If you googlePakoIjebu (Ijebu chewing stick), it should present you with a study on this chewing stick and Orin ayan (r:m: .. d:m), also called Orin ata. The study involved 60 primary school children aged 12 years old. They were divided into three groups. One group was given toothpaste and toothbrush. Another group was given PakoIjebu (MassulariaAcuminata)The third group was placed on Orin ayan (benthamianus). The experiments to find out effects on the different mouth, gum and teeth cleaners ran for six weeks. At the end of it all, toothpaste exhibited no superiority over the others. The best results were achieved in the group which chewed Orin ayan.

    Mr. Azeez Oyeniyi from Ogbomoso, who lives in Lagos, reminds me that some people chew sticks from the stem of the mango tree or from that of Jathropha (IgiLapalapa, Yoruba). When I was a university student in the 1970s, I chewed the twigs of Neem tree whenever I had no toothpaste. Neem is medicinal. The French wife of former Senegalese President Wade once told me she made anti-malaria syrup for Senegalese children from the ripe seeds of Dogonyaro (Neem) tree. When Dogonyaro leaf powder is sprinkled in the corners of a room, the aroma chases away pests and rats. Dogonyaro soap clears skin blemishes and is antiseptic.

    ccording to www.m.webmd.com/…/neem/sources, “Neem has medicinal properties useful for bleeding nose, eye disorders, leprosy, fungal and viral infections etc. In 1992, the United States National Academy of Sciences published a report on neem tree ‘for solving global problems’ Neem is anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-pyretic, hypoglycemic (lowering blood sugar), anti-gastric ulcer, spermicidal (sperm killing in contraceptive) etc.

    When I survey with a bird’s eye view, the opportunities which abound in Nature for keeping the gums and teeth healthy without resorting to poisonous toothpastes, I cannot help wondering how stupid we are in this country. A lot of money is stolen every year from the public treasury. Maybe the thieves can be forgiven if they spend the loot to improve the wellbeing and health of the people they trample.

    In Lagos and some other Nigerian cities, local initiative is handsomely paying off. Two brands of powder mouth cleaners rule the dental and oral care market. One is called MAYOWA. The other is JIMS. On the product label, Mayowa is described as made from Calcium, Alligator pepper, Saccharin etc.

    Saccharin serves as a sweetener. How I wish it is not a part of the formula. For Saccharin is one of the ingredients naturalists object to in the regular toothpaste, for which reason some toothpaste manufacturers go for another sweetener which, unfortunately degrades into formaldehydes, a cancer-causing agent. JIMS is made from natural substances, as the product label says. There are alligator pepper and Aloe Vera in the formula.

    any Nigerians should remember wood ash and charcoal. Charcoal is a wonderful teeth whitener. Our mothers cleaned our teeth with it when we were children. If you wish to know how powerful against germs charcoal can be, watch Nigerian women. When they grind pepper in the market for cooking back home, they recognize that, in the time lag between when they leave the market and when they arrive home, germs can degrade the pepper puree. Evidence of this is the altered taste and aroma, in addition to a foam over the puree. Experienced Nigerian women would place a piece of wood charcoal on the pepper puree, and this would inactivate any degrading germ action. For mouth and dental care purposes, I would recommend Activated Charcoal. Activated Charcoal is purified charcoal. It is “magnetic” and attracts germs, wastes, poisons etc which it drags out of the body when it is consumed internally. Charcoal is not digested by the body. Thus, it is used as a marker to test digestive system efficiency. If it comes out in the stool about 18 hours after ingestion, the digestive system is said to work well. Many years ago this column suggested it be kept in the family medicine chest. When anyone complains of “stomach” pain and is given a charcoal capsule to swallow, or the capsule is unscrewed and the content is poured into the mouth and washed down with water, the trouble often subsides. Thus charcoal is a good oral health agent. It may be suspended, say, in coconut oil, another antimicrobial, and brushed across the teeth.

    According EDMARK

    “95 percent” of the world’s Toothpastes are Fluoride Toothpastes.

    Is Fluoride Harming Your Teeth?

    2007 – American Dental Association first warned the public that infants should not use fluoride due to fluorosis.

    2010 – Journal of The American Dental Association published a story that “fluoride is actually bad for your teeth”.

    U.S  Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state:

    ‘In children younger than 8 years, of age, combined fluoride exposure from all sources-water, food, toothpastes, mouth rinse, or other products-contributes to enamel fluorosis’.

    RISKS FROM INGESTING FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE INCLUDE:

    • Permanent Discoloration (Dental Fluorosis): Dental fluorosis is defect in tooth enamel caused by excessive fluoride intake during the tooth –forming years (age 0-8).
    • Stomach Ailments: poison Control Centres received thousands of reports in US alone due to excessive ingestion of fluoride toothpastes and other fluoridated dental products.

    Fluoride ingestion can cause a range of gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, pain and vomiting. In 2006, National Research Council in US called for research on the level of fluoride in the stomach to cause these symptoms.

    • Acute Poisoning: children who swallow too much fluoride toothpastes can suffer acute poisoning, even death.

    In the early 1990s (prior to FDA warning), 1,000 poisoning reports received each year from fluoride toothpaste.

    Today (after FDA warning), 23,000 reports a year are received from fluoride toothpaste.

    • Skin Rashes (Perioral Dermatitis): The use of fluoride toothpastes my cause or aggravate perioral dermatitis (a rosacea-like skin rash around the mouth. In addition, it may also cause Stomatitis (Mouth ulcers, “canker sores”).
    • Impairment in Glucose Metabolism: The use of fluoride tooth paste can cause an increase in glucose levels in the blood, and decrease levels of insulin. Increase in glucose levels can contribute to Diabetes.

     

    WILL YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH LEAD?

    Then why are you using fluorides?! Fluoride is more toxic than lead, and only slightly less toxic than arsenic.

    Replacing Fluoride with Xylitol and Chlorophyll

    Another recipe comes from everydayroots.com; teethwhite.com, offered by CLAIRE GOODHALL. He suggests strawberry, sea salt and Baking Soda with Coconut oil. Another is Baking Soda and lemon juice paste.

    Proprietary Blends on the Nigeria market today, there are some factory formulated natural toothpastes oil claiming to be fluoride free. They are sold on the network marketing. They may be obtained at cheaper costs by any-one who wishes to permanently change over to them one of these days. Aloe BRIGHT TOOTPASTE was introduced to me by Mrs MonilolaAiyesimoju. It comes from Forever Living Products in a formulation of Aloe Vera, the specialty of FLP, and Bee Propoles with spear mint and pepper mint for freshening flavor. Aloe Vera hardly needs any introduction as an anti-microbial, tissue regenerator and rehydrator. Propolis is the antibiotic, antiviral and antifungal substance, the honey bees coat their hives with, to keep infections agents away. This toothpaste certainly is much more health promoting than commercial toothpaste.

    When eternal network came to Nigeria, I gave the link to Pa Akinjide Shoboyede who should be Seventy Eight (78) or thereabout next year. From eternal he buys eternal toothpaste which he informs me has helped many people to stop their gums from bleeding. He told me last week: “Eternal toothpaste is the one I use.” The product literature says; it’s one tooth paste, but with triple cares!

    he first care is CIFC-free and moth-proofing: white Tea Essence CaGP Calcium glycerophosphate) + Xylitol (xylitol) compound Ingredients, which strengthens the tooth root and solidify the tooth. Thereby preventing teeth cavities.

    The second care is deep Cleanness: antibacterial TCS + high-quality clean tooth both abrasive, which make your oral cavity healthy and clean.

    The third care is consolidating the gums: strontium chloride + Aloe extract compound ingredients, which can strengthen the tooth root and toughen the tooth.

    The constituent ingredients are: Water, scorbic sugar alcohol hydrated silica, glycerin, sodium lauryl sulfate, xylose alcohol, essence, polyethylene glycol-32, cellulose gum, xanthan gum, saccharin sodium, tea, (CAMELLIA SINESIS) leaf, extract, aloe extract, triclosan, glycerin calcium, phosphate, chlorinated strontium hexahydrates mint kefone glycerin ketal, trisodium phosphate, mentol and sodium benzoate.

    ARGUABLY, SPLINA CHLOROPHYLL TOOTHPASTE FROM EDMARK is the latest natural proprietary blend in town. Among EDMARK’S well-known products from which this tooth-paste factored is SPLINA LIQUID CHLOROPHYLL. This product is made from ALFALFA (Arat) word which means father of all plants because it has about the longest root system (250 ft) which brings to the plant some of the rarest nutrients not found in other plants.

    Alfalfa is one of the richest plants in chlorophyll, a cleanser, detoxifier, antimicrobial e.t.c

    Xylitol is a chemical categorized as a polyalcohol or sugar alcohol.

    It is a 100 percent natural, safe and convenient sugar substitute with long lasting benefits. Xylitol-containing toothpastes have been adequately studied and have the potential for use in specific or generalised health programs to promote oral health and reduce tooth decay.

    The World Health Organisation has even given Xylitol its safest rating for food additives.

    In dental plaque prevention, xylitol has been shown to have an active protective effects by reducing tooth decay.

    Xylitol reduces the levels of mutans streptococci in plaque and saliva, thereby limiting the level of enamel-demineralizing lactic acid produced by these bacteria.

    Xylitol is superior to sorbitol (found in other toothpaste) in that it is completely non-acidogenic and non –carciogenic. It has actively prevented tooth decay.

    BENEFITS OF CHLOROPHYLL

    Chlorophyll helps improve oral health

    Aside from improving bone structure, chlorophyll can actually help improve the strength of your teeth.

    Chlorophyll can help kill bad breath “Halitosis”. It is rich in Magnesium and Iron that helps to reduce foul smells.

    Clears up pyorrhea (infection of the gums) and Gingivitis (bleeding gums).

    Chlorophyll reduces destructive acids which caused bacterial growth and tooth decay.

  • Your tooth paste is loaded with killer poisons…(2)

    The last thought on your mind when you are brushing your teeth and gums with your choice toothpaste is that, rather than clean and freshen them, you are actually loading them with poisons and instalmentally killing them and other cells in the body. Yet this is the truth. For almost all ingredients in today’s popular toothpastes are loads of poisons, according to many scientific revelations. And for this reason, many toothpaste producers do not make a full ingredients disclosure on the product label as the law demands they do. What are these ingredients? Why are they used to make toothpastes? And why, scientifically, are they considered poisonous?

    The ingredients:

    There are about seven of them in most toothpastes. Check the product label of your choice toothpaste for them. They are:

    • Sodium fluoride
    • Triclosan
    • Sodium Lauryl sulfate (SLS)
    • PROPYLENE Glycol, and
    • Diethanola, (mine DEA)
    • Hydrated silica
    • F.D & C colour dyes

    Sodium Fluoride

    This is a waste product from the manufacture of aluminium, a dangerous metal which damages the brain. When the aluminium industry couldn’t meet the huge bills of safety requirements for its disposal according to law, it sold sodium fluoride to dentists as a dental health substance. Dentists accepted it. And, to have the approval of dentists for their products, toothpaste producers factored sodium fluoride in to toothpaste. And the dental care market accepted the idea. Today, dentists educate us that sodium fluoride prevents tooth decay, builds strong teeth. But sodium fluoride appears in rat poisons and industrial pesticides. According to Akron regional poison centre in www.lifestrong.com:

    “Ingesting one per ten of an ounce of fluoride can kill a hundred adults, ingesting a small amount of sodium fluoride may cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Yet despite its dangers, sodium fluoride continues to be a staple in all leading brands of toothpaste”. Adults and children swallow small amounts of toothpaste every time the teeth and gums are brushed with regular, that is, poisonous toothpaste.

    Triclosan

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies Triclosan as a pesticide and emphatically suggests that it poses a health risk to humans and the environment. Research scientists describe Triclosan as a “chlorophenol,” a chemical said to be carcinogenic (cancer causing) in humans.

    Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS)

    Toothpastes need a foaming agent. This product serves that purpose in toothpastes. We are told it offers us detergent and cleansing help. It should be of interest to people who have vision challenges that Sodium Laurel Sulfate can damage the eyes, cause skin irritation and labour the breath. According to www.lifestrong.com, quoting the American College of Toxicology:

    “Sodium Laurel Sulfate may stay within the body for up to five days, accumulating in the heart, liver, lungs and brain. When combined with certain other chemicals, Sodium Laurel Sulfate transforms into nitrosamins, a class of powerful carcinogens that cause the body to absorb harmful nitrates.

    Propylene Glycol

    This chemical is an anti-freeze agent which serves as a wetting substance and surfactant in toothpaste. Yet the MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET, which advises handlers and users of chemicals about their safety or poisonous effects, says of PROPYLENE GLYCOL:

    “The chemical can be rapidly absorbed through the skin, with prolonged contact leading to brain, liver and kidney abnormalities. Yet it doesn’t stop the chemical from being used in common health, care products.

    Diethanolamine (DEA)

    This chemical is present in products which foam, including toothpastes. But DEA disrupts hormonal balances and produces cancer-causing nitrates. Dr. Samuel Epstein, professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois said, “repeated skin exposure to DEA can lead to increased risk of liver and kidney cancer”.

    Hydrated Silica

    Silica is used in toothpaste as an abrasive agent. Abrasive are needed to dissolve adhesions and make the teeth whiter. In the days of old when surgery was not as popular as it is today, micronised silica was used to dissolve tumors and other growths. For this reason, it has the accolade of the “homeopathic surgeon.” It is a hardener of connective tissue between cells, promotes digestion, chelates (binds to) poisons, germs, heavy metals etc and drags them out of the body through the stool. Besides, it reduces high blood sugar, high cholesterol levels, and promotes healthy skin, nail and hair apart from helping to alkalise the blood and tissue. But Silica would appear to be abrasive for the enamel of the tooth, which is known to be one of the hardest substances in the body.

    In www.tomsofmaine.com- “Hydrated silica is a mild abrasive which gives toothpaste a smoother gel quality” In www.ebay.com, SHIVERS international says: “Hydrated silica: a whitner that damages tooth enamel… is made from a crystalised compound found in quartz, sand, and flint. Tooth enamel remineralises daily from the supply of ionic calcium and phosphorus in the saliva. Scratching the surface of the tooth with an abrasive such as hydrated silica harms the enamel and prevents re-mineralisation, much like using sand to clean glass. Severe wear could eventually occur.

    Dr. Samuel Epstein, who is Chairman of the Cancer prevention coalition and recipient of the Alternative Nobel prize in 1998, states in his book… the amount of irritation caused by toothpaste is minimal but can include sore mouth and gums, wearing away of tooth enamel, sore tongue, and sloughing of mucous membrane. The public is cautioned against excessive use of products containing ‘dioforms, which are abrasive substances that can cause the breakdown of tooth enamel.

    Products containing the ingredients silica and cellulose in particular, should be avoided when disease, tooth decay, sensitivity gum and receding gums are present.

    While these ingredients can remove tartar and make teeth whiter in appearance, they also may do harm to dental health by altering the acidic balance of the mouth, gums and tongue, said Dr. warren Scherer, New York University College of Dentistry, as reported by the Naples Daily News.

    In www.ebay.com, we found a reference to FD & C colour dyes. The site says: ‘There are artificial dyes/colorings often found in familiar toothpaste brands and a wide variety of other products. Recent studies indicate that FD &C Blue Dyes 1 & 2 can trigger a wide number of behavioral, learning, and health problems.

    FD & C color dyes may also cause potential severe allergic reactions, asthma attacks, headaches, nausea, fatigue, nervousness lack of concentration and cancer. Using FD &  C Blue Dyes 1 & 2 is just like ingesting crude oil as it too, is synthesized from petroleum. These dyes were originally made from coal tar oil, which is black, sticky tar by-product of steel making and petroleum distillation, and is source of numerous complex chemicals. Through repeated human exposure, some of these isolated coal tar components were classified as active carcinogens, ultimately leading to US government regulations and restrictions.

    Nowadays, coal tar dyes are synthetically engineered rather than extracted from actual coal tar, thereby greatly reducing the possibility of being contaminated with carcinogenic residuals from the cola itself.

    However, the dyes still contain carcinogenic properties over several decades of use, some of these synthetic dyes have come under greater scientific and government scrutiny due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic activity. Because of this, they are still referred to in the industry as-coal tar dyes-according to the us FDA.

    “Even if toothpaste is never swallowed, these dyes can be absorbed within seconds through the skin on the lips, or through the mucous membrane in the mouth. According to the physicians’ Desk Reference, the efficiency of over 90 percent. Because of this, these carcinogenic gets into your blood, your brain, and your cells in no time at all especially when you consider most people use dental care products two to three times a day.

    Colgate toothpaste

    One of the toothpaste which medical researcher are waging war against in the United States and Europe is Colgate, which is said to contain some of the cancer linked chemicals mentioned above. Tiffany Kary says: For example:

    “Newly released document that supported the FDA’s 1997 approval of Colgate Total toothpaste include indications that its active ingredients, Triclosan, may distrupt hormone functions, says three scientists who reviewed the pages. The maker of Colgate – Palm Olive, says the FDA’s approval and annual product – safety update establish that Triclosan is safe and effective in toothpaste. The chemical Triclosan has been linked to cancer – cell growth and distorted development in animals. Regulators are reviewing whether it’s safe to put in soap, cotton buds and toys. Consumer compound are phasing it out.”

    Minnesota voted in May to ban it in many products. At the same time, milions of Americans are putting it in their mouths every day, by way of a top selling toothpaste that uses the antibacterial chemical to head off gum disease. Colgate Palmolive says, “Total is safe, Colgate is safe, Cuting the rigorous food and Drug Adminstration process that led to the toothpaste 1997 approval as an over-the-counter drug. A closer look of that application process, however, reveals that some of the scientific finding Colgate put forward to establish Triclosan’s safety in toothpaste weren’t black and white…and weren’t, until this year (1997) and made available to the public.

    Colgate, Total application include 35 pages summarising toxicology studies on Triclosan, which the FDA withheld from view. The agency released the pages earlier this year (1997) in response to a law suit over a freedom of Information Act request. Later, following enquiries from Bloombeg News, the FDA put the pages on its websites. The pages show how even with one of the U.S’s most stringent regulatory processes FDA approval of a new drug, the government relies on company backed science to show products as safe and effective. The recently released pages, taken alongside new research on Triclosan, raised questions about whether the agency did appropriate due diligence in approving Total 17 years age, and whether it’s approval should stand on light of new research, said three scientists who reviewed the pages at Bloomberg News’s request.

    “Among these pages were studies showing fatal bone malformations in mice and rats. Colgate said the findings weren’t relevant. Viewed through the prism of today’s science, such malformations look more like a signal that Triclosan is disrupting the endocrine system and throwing up hormonal functioning, according to the three scientists. Colgate application materials also show that the FDA asked questions about the thoroughness of cancer studies which are partly addressed in recently released documents. Some questions about Tricolosans potential impacts on people are, by nature, unanswerable, ”humans are exposed to dozens of chemicals that may interact in the  body, making it almost impossible to link one substance to one disease”, said Thomas Zoeller, a Biology Professor of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who specialises in how chemicals affect the endocrine system.

    Huge risk were a system

    Natural toothpastes all over the world, the movement for natural toothpaste is gathering steam. It is possible, going by findings of how chemicalised toothpastes damage health that they are in some ways responsible for the increasing waves of illness in Nigeria.Women suffer from hormonal disturbances and infertility more than in precious decades. For men, low sperm count, infertility and loss of libido are common complains. Some of the recipes for nature toothpaste aim at remineralisation of the enamel clearance of adhesions such as tartar and elimination of fungi and bacteria.

    From wellnessmama.com comes a combination of calcium powder, Diatomaceous Health (DE) and Coconut Oil, with myrrh and cinnamon or mint for flavor. The website acknowledges that a reader said DE may be harsh on the enamel and suggested Baking Soda and xylitol powder. Coconut oil is rich in Lauric acid which kills viruses, fungi and bacteria.

    Taken with meals, Coconut oil has been of great value to the health of HIV challenged people troubled by intestinal opportunistic diseases.

  • Widow demands death penalty for husband’s killer

    Widow demands death penalty for husband’s killer

    A widow, Bose Azees, is  demanding the death penalty for the man alleged to have beaten her husband, Ahmed Azees, to death.

    Kola Adegbite, a local  official of the  Amalgamation of Motorcycle Operators and Riders Association of Nigeria (AMORAN), allegedly beat Azees to death with charm penultimate Sunday at Bank Bus stop, Ifo, Ogun State.

    An argument had ensued between Adegbite, described as AMORAN ticketing officer, and the deceased over ticketing.

    What followed, according to eye witnesses, was that Adegbite struck Azees with a ring. The victim  slumped immediately.

    Bystanders rushed to his aid and were in the process of taking him to the hospital  when he gave up the ghost.

    Bose, who is still shocked by the incident, says all she wants is justice.

    “My  husband’s killer should be given the  death penalty,” she told The Nation as she recalled the circumstances surrounding his death.

    She said: “my husband was not into Okada business full time. He was a bricklayer and only used his motorcycle to carry passengers in order to complement his income.

    “He told Adegbite that he had no money to buy ticket, promising to do so as soon as he made some money later in the day.

    “My husband pleaded with Adegbite, but he won’t listen. It was in the middle of an altercation that the man (Adegbite) invited his colleagues to beat up my husband before hitting him with a deadly charm. He fell  down with his tongue stretching out. He  died on the spot.

    “My husband and I did not plan it this way. All I want is justice.”

    A close relation who does not want to be named  described the late Azees “as unassuming and hardworking.”

    A resident who asked for anonymity asked  security agencies and local government authorities to monitor  Okada riders in the community close to  prevent a recurrence.

    He recalled how three other commercial motorcycle riders were beaten up by AMORAN ticketing officials at Coker area of the town  a month ago.

    The suspect  was arrested by policemen from the  Ifo Police Station and has since been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta.

  • Campuses’ ‘killer-dressers’

    Campuses’ ‘killer-dressers’

    Higher institutions are waging war against indecent dressing. But many female students keep wearing skimpy attires exposing vital parts of their bodies. They dress in breach of the dressing code, which they claim is an infringement on their right. AFEES LASISI (200-Level Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University) reports.

    Students enjoy a lot of freedom and many have come to take it as a licence to misbehave. When it comes to dressing, many female students have gone weird. They wear skimpy dresses, exposing vital parts of their bodies. It is not that the men are better. They dress shabbily, provoking comments whether they are really students.

    The reign of skimpy dresses has turned many campuses to fashion runway.

    “Dress to kill” is now a popular slogan in lecture halls.

    Worried by this trend, managements of higher institutions introduced dress codes. While some higher institutions may have succeeded in implementing the rules, others have not.

    Besides, some students have been penalise by their authorities because what constitutes indecent dressing is not clearly spelt out. What is indecent dressing? Students differ on what constitutes this.

    Ayomide Fatumbi, a 400-Level Mechanical Engineering student of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, said: “Indecent dressing is an immodest and improper way of dressing that negates the code of dressing design by God. I dress the way I was brought up, and as students, I believe we should not only be taught how to read and write in schools, but also how to promote our culture and traditions in a decent way.”

    Mode of dressing is way of expressing freedom, said Sope Oyeniyi, a Food Science and Engineering student of LAUTECH. She said: “Everyone is free to dress the way he or she likes without hindrance from anyone or authorities. Restricting the way one dresses is unwelcomed and unacceptable to humanity. It is our right to dress the way we want. No one should compel others to dress in a particular way but if authorities believe they are not satisfied with the way some of us dress, they can instruct the security men at the school gates to disallow whoever dresses shabbily into the campus.”

    A lecturer at the Department of Local Government Studies, The Polytechnic Ibadan (IBADAN POLY), Mr Caleb Arulogun, said some dresses offend the ethics of the society. He noted that indecent dressing remained one of the causes of crisis in education sector.

    Arulogun said: “Higher institutions are not secondary schools where there is uniformity in dressing. Anyone who is admitted into higher institution is believed to be mature and to be able to differentiate his right from left.” He added that parents needed to teach their children morals, while institutions must strengthen its rules against indecent lifestyle.

    Olamide Sanusi, a final year student of Banking and Finance of IBADAN POLY, said there is a connection between dressing style and religious belief. “To me, I dress the way my parents do at home, and sometimes, it depends on the kind of friend people keep. Most students dress well at home, but when in school, they join bad company in ‘advertising’ their body,” she said.

    To prevent students from dressing shabbily while they study, regulators of some professional disciplines such as law and medical science have introduced a regulated dress code. While law students put on white shirt and black trousers or long skirts, medical students wear white lab coat on any clothes they have on them.

    Lawal Sulaiman, a 400-Level Mechanical Engineering student, LAUTECH, said: “Indecent dresses pose a danger for our society as we have witnessed many cases of rape and assaults of our female students. This type of dress promotes criminal acts.”

    A parent, Mr Omolewa Yunus, said school managements must ensure culture and tradition are preserved on the campus, saying students’ background contributed to the indecency pervading campuses.

    He said: “Most improper dresses start from home. Though some students change when they got admission but it should not be left only to the government and school authorities. I will support the implementation of dress codes for all students irrespective of their courses.”

    Corroborating Yunus, Adedoyin Akorede, a 200-Level Medical Rehabilitation student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, said the dressing style of students showed the kind of upbringing they had, adding that peer pressure and environment also contributed to the indecency on campus.

    “The way I dress most times speaks more of my upbringing. Though, there is pressure from friends on campus, but I can never bow to such ungodly dress of most female students put on,” she said.