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Tag: Poison

  • ‘Never shall ‘whiteman’s poison’ kill our children’

    ‘Never shall ‘whiteman’s poison’ kill our children’

    • Ignorance, cultural, spiritual beliefs spread resistance to children’s vaccination
    • Nigeria’s record as country with highest challenge of zero dose children globally sparks concerns

    Vaccination helps safeguard children’s health all over the world. But over the years, the lifesaving invention has continued to experience disturbing resistance not just among rural populace but also among urban dwellers who avoid it like a plague. Nigeria, with 2.2 million cases is home to the largest number of zero-dose children in the world, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The federal and state governments may need to embark on aggressive mobilization and sensitization, including introducing some incentives as Kano State is said to have started, to encourage more parents to present their children for vaccination. INNOCENT DURU reports.

    Trouble broke out in Seme area of Lagos State during the week when health officials visited some schools in the area to administer vaccines to the pupils.

    From the gates of the various schools, the health workers got more than they bargained for. They were seriously quizzed and angrily turned back.

    “The schools didn’t allow them to give any vaccines to the pupils because they feared that if anything should  go wrong, it is the school that the parents will hold responsible,” a resident who gave his name simply as Michael said.

    “The schools said if they want to give vaccines to the children, they should go to their houses to do that with the consent of their parents and not in the schools which risk serious penalties and possible closure if anything goes wrong,” he added. 

    There are palpable fears among some people in the community that vaccines could trigger health crises for their children in future. Chief among the fears is that vaccines are formulated to reduce the population of Nigeria by affecting the people’s reproductive abilities. 

    Unfortunately, people who choose not to vaccinate their children also put others at risk should such children fall ill.

    Local government authorities in Seme got wind of the treatment meted out to the health officials, stepped in and thus saved the pupils from possible health crises in the future.

    An official of the local government Olumide Julius, while confirming the development, blamed it on poor communication to the concerned schools.

    His words: “Some schools turned back health workers giving out vaccines because they claimed that they were not officially informed about it by the authorities.

    “The matter was reported to me and I had to go there and address the schools and encourage them to take it.  The schools promised to allow the children to take the vaccines the following day if they should come and they did that. ”

    He said the schools feared that being located in the   border community,   anybody might come and administer anything.

    “The problem is not really from the schools. It was the parents who advised them not to allow their children to take vaccines. When the information got to me, I told the schools to volunteer the contact details of such parents so that I could call and speak with them. I did just that and they agreed that their children should take the vaccines.”

    He observed that some of the vaccine resistant parents are from the north and “they just settled here in Zongo part of Seme. They were said to have previously attacked teachers for allowing their children to be given vaccines.   They resisted it because they didn’t want anything that would cause havoc. Part of their fears is that the vaccines will not allow them to have more children in the future and that some of them may not be able to have children again.  They feared that there was plan to reduce the population of Africa.

    I gave them the assurance that no evil will befall their children after taking the vaccines and they agreed,” the official said.

    To prevent a reoccurrence, he said: We are planning a meeting with the northern communities, and the concerned schools. We will do a jingle in Hausa language, and Egun  language. Some people from Benin Republic come here for business and when their children come here they send them to school.  The Beninoise who come to Nigeria  do say that the vaccines in Nigeria is different from the one in Benin Republic.  They always claim that the one in Benin Republic is the original and the ones given in Nigeria is fake.  That is their mentality. By the time we explain to them, their mind set will change.

    But the fear of vaccines is not confined to Seme and other rural parts of Lagos State.

    It is a general challenge across the state and the records show that the state has one of the highest cases of zero dose children.

    For instance, Alimosho Local Government Area (LGA), according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), had over 35,000 zero-dose children in 2021, the highest number of any LGA in Nigeria.

    “Kosofe, had nearly 17,000 zero-dose children in 2021. It also had around 17,162 partially immunized children, the second highest number for an LGA in Lagos State,” UNICEF said.

    Zero-dose children are those who are without any routine vaccination or are lacking the first dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis–containing vaccine. Based on global estimates from the World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund in 2022, Nigeria has the highest number of zero-dose children, with 2.3 million unvaccinated.

    Before now, Permanent Secretary Lagos State Primary Health Board, Dr Ibrahim Akinwumi Mustapha had told our correspondent how some of their vaccinators were beaten and harassed in some communities.

    “Like you rightly noted, before now, around early and mid-November, the schools, community members even beat our vaccinators. The schools shut their doors against us. Community members rejected us vehemently in the early days, but now it is getting better to the extent that some schools are the ones calling us to come and vaccinate their pupils.  The rejection is going down and we are vaccinating more now, but it is still not what we want.”

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    Dr. Ibrahim noted that the state government was spending a lot on vaccines, adding: “It is not just the state government; the federal government and their partners, like WHO and UNICEF, are spending a lot to ensure that our people get the vaccine.”

    He could not put a figure to the amount spent on the vaccine, but be said it was “a huge sum.”

    The challenge is not different in parts of Bayelsa State where parents also shield their children from taking vaccines.

    Although, it appears that more parents are now disposed to having their children be vaccinated, Noel Ikonikumo, the head of fishermen in Sangana area of the South south state said: “many people had unpleasant experiences taking vaccines in the past.

    “In the past, vaccines were given in the form of injection. That caused serious health crises for many people. Some in my village even had challenges walking.

    “Now that they have modernized it and are administering it orally, many people still have fears that it can cause a health crisis for them.

    “You know this is a rural setting. Some still don’t allow their children to take it but sometimes, the health workers meet the children on the way and administer the vaccines to them without waiting for the approval of their parents.”

    75 percent of Bauchi IDP camp not vaccinated

    Online search shows that North West and North East states have the highest percentages of zero-dose children.

    This much was confirmed when our correspondent reached out to the camp of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Tirwun area of Bauchi Local Government.

    The Chairman of the IDPs, Buba Musa Sheu said 75 percent of the children are not vaccinated.

    “We are about 66,921. Children are about 20,000. About 75 percent of our children don’t have access to the vaccines,” he said.

    Explaining why such a high figure of children are not vaccinated, Buba said: “We don’t always see people giving vaccines.  Everybody wants the children to take the vaccine but the problem is that we are not seeing the people that are giving it.”

    He regretted that “our children are always having measles, diarrhea and other challenges just like in other places in Nigeria. We have children dying but we don’t know the causes.”

    Ruling out resistance from any member of the community, he said: “If they (health officials) come to me and inform me that they want to give vaccines to our children, I will gather my people and tell them well ahead and everybody will be available for it.”

    Since health workers don’t come to their area, Buba said he often advises his people to go and get vaccines but “you can only advise but can never force anybody. Many of our people don’t have money to go to hospital or to go and get the vaccines. Everybody is running away from that because of the financial implications. We don’t have money. If we have the money or even have means of livelihood, our people will go for it. Prevention is better than cure.”

    Spiritual, cultural angles to vaccine resistance

    As a country with high spiritual and cultural attachment, checks showed that many people resist vaccines because of their belief.  Joy, a teacher in a faith based school, says the authorities of the school do not allow the pupils to take any form of vaccination.

    She said: “The vaccinators don’t come to our school because we don’t allow them to give vaccines to our children. They have tried coming a couple of times but when the authorities said no, they stopped coming.

    “The management must have their reason for doing that, but I don’t know why it’s against it. I do allow my children to take it. Even when I see them passing, I take my children to them for vaccination. They will only not take it within the school premises where it is seen as a taboo.”

    A respondent, who gave her name as Abigail, spiritualised the whole issue, saying: “polio or whatever health problems that come with vaccines will never be the portion of my children. How many children in villages take all these vaccines? I pray that education will not put us in trouble, because most of the things we are apprehensive about don’t worry villagers.

    “Go and take statistics of people in the villages and see how many of them take these vaccines. Once you eat healthily and maintain good hygiene, sicknesses will be far from you. That is my belief and practice.

    “I won’t allow my children to take what I don’t know about and then regret it. Let them go with their vaseline or is it vaccine you call it.”

    At Ikija, a rural community in Oluyole Local Government Area, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the residents are not keen on vaccines.

    During a recent visit to the community by our correspondent, it was found that water taken from a river popularly called Omi Eridu serves as their vaccines. They strongly believe that the water is potent against every kind of ailment.

    The river in question is tucked deep inside the community and almost covered by water hyacinth. Residents scoop water from a small portion of the river spared by water hyacinth, using a partly broken calabash dropped on the grass at the bank of the river.

    “What is vaccine?” the abore (traditional priest), Musibau Adekambi, asked disdainfully as he led our correspondent to the river, accompanied by the chief hunter of the community and a young girl said to be a devotee of the river.

    “We don’t take vaccines here in Ikija. Going to hospital is not our way of life. The water from the river is our vaccine. People are coming for treatment and they are receiving healing after using it,” he said gleefully as he scooped and drank from the river.

    “We use the water from the river to treat all kinds of sickness, including COVID-19. If you come here with COVID-19, you will be healed. It is not by our power but by the power that was used to found this community together with the powers of the deities and the river.

    “Go round the village and you will not find any sick person. The river will never allow any strange sickness to enter the community. Even if the person contracted the sickness elsewhere, once he enters here, it will not spread to any member of the community. We would rather heal him of the sickness he came with.

    “Even strangers who came to reside here have had all their sicknesses in their bodies cured.”

    How women are motivated to present children for vaccination in Kano- Nursing mother

    A Kano based nursing mother told our correspondent that the number of people turning up for vaccination of their children is on the rise in the state. 

    The nursing mother who gave her name simply as Mrs Tao said the improvement is as a result of   monetary rewards given to women who go to hospitals to vaccinate their children.

    She said: “Unlike in the south where immunization is very common, here, it is a challenge. People will tell you that they don’t have transport fares to go to the hospital.  Some will say that if they give immunization to their children, it will cause health problems for them.

    “Now government has made it easy for the people. They support women coming for immunization. For the first week, they give N1,000.  The more you go, the more the money you get increases. By the 14th week, they will give you N6,000. This happens in federal government hospitals and state hospitals too. I am not sure of private hospitals.”

    Sharing her personal experience, she said: “when I took my baby to the hospital for BCG recently, they gave me N1,000. I was even surprised. To get that, you will go through some processes like obtaining a card, taking photograph and thumb printing.

    “My sister has collected all the available money remaining that of the 14th month which is N6,000. After taking the vaccine, they will give you the money instantly. There is a card they will give you when coming to the hospital. Even if you don’t come with it, they will still give you the money to encourage you to come next time.”

    Continuing, she said: “If you give birth in a registered health care facility, they will trace you to your house, vaccinate the child and give you the money.

    “I remember when my neighbour did not go for immunization, they traced her to the house. They waited outside till she returned from school to immunize her child and give her the money. This works perfectly here in Kano and everybody is aware of it.”

    Nigeria has world’s highest number of zero-dose children – UNICEF

    Last May, UNICEF said that Nigeria had the highest global burden of zero-dose (ZD) children with Borno and Yobe States accounting for a disproportionate number of these unvaccinated children.

    Speaking during a one-day media dialogue in Damaturu to mark the 2025 World Immunisation Day, UNICEF Health Officer, Bashir Elegbede, highlighted the critical gaps in immunisation coverage across Nigeria’s North-East.

    He said: “the under-one population in Nigeria is estimated at 8.7 million, with 2.1 million of them (24 per cent) classified as ZD children. This highlights that Nigeria bears the highest global burden of ZD children. Reducing the number of zero-dose children—those who have not received any routine vaccination—is crucial for improving public health outcomes in Nigeria.”

    Elegbede said that around 400,000 children, aged one and above, have not received any form of vaccination across the North-East region. He attributed the high number of ZD children to factors including conflict, climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic, hard-to-reach areas, pastoral communities, urban outskirts, slums, and regions grappling with systemic health challenges.

    He warned that unvaccinated children are significantly more vulnerable to life-threatening diseases.

    “Children not immunised have been seen to have a relatively high risk of being infected and succumbing to vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, meningitis, yellow fever, and viral hepatitis, among others,” Elegbede stated.

    The global target, according to him, is to reduce the number of ZD children by 25 percent this year and by 50 percent by 2030.

    He stressed the importance of vaccines as a foundational health measure.

    “Across the world, millions of lives have been saved by vaccines. Globally, sadly, Nigeria has the highest burden of ZD children. A number estimated to be 2.1 million as of 2023,” he said.

    “With Borno and Yobe States having a disproportionate number of these children. UNICEF, alongside stakeholders in the health sector, has continued to work with the government to reduce the number of ZD children through improvement of routine immunisation coverage and approaches that strengthen the health systems across Nigeria.”

  • Poison on parade

    Poison on parade

    • How Nigerians are eating their ways into grave with artificially sweetened bread

    Many loaves of bread offered to consumers at eateries, shopping malls and roadsides may be poisonous. With the cost of sugar and other ingredients used for producing bread hitting the roof lately, many bakers have resorted to using artificial materials in order to cut costs, attract and retain customers. Experts say some of the artificial ingredients are unhealthy and could cause life threatening diseases in the long run, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    Vivian, an 18-year-old, loves eating bread. Hardly does a day end without her at least snacking on bread. But her fancy for bread is hinged strictly on one condition: it must be very sweet.

    “I love sweet bread. It is always as if I am eating chewing gum each time I eat sweet bread. There is a particular product that actually tastes like chewing gum and I always go for it. In fact, I can finish a big loaf of sweet bread at a go,” she said.   The danger in Vivian’s preference for sweet bread, however, is that she cares less about the materials deployed by bakers to make her bread sweet.

    Her words: “Whatever is used to sweeten bread is none of my business. My only concern is that the bread is sweet.

    “At a particular time, my mum stopped buying a brand that actually tastes like chewing gum, but that is the one I like. Bread is meant to be sweet and enjoyable. Once it is not sweet, it cannot be enjoyed as far as I am concerned.”

    Vivian is not alone in her craze for sugary bread. All the teenagers interviewed by our correspondent also expressed excitement about eating sweetened bread. This obsession for sugary bread may have been why bakeries are springing up everywhere and trying to outdo one another in the bid to produce the ‘sweetest’ bread. 

    Findings, however, revealed that some of the loaves in circulation are not baked with the usual table sugar. Many bakers are said to have resorted to using all manner of artificial sweeteners without minding their health implications because of the skyrocketing price of sugar.

    But beyond the rising price of sugar, Dr. Kavita Rao, writing on drkavitarao.com, points to the fact that the use of artificial sweeteners by some bakeries could be deliberate.

    She said: “Artificial sweeteners retrain the taste buds to require more and more sweetness.  As a result, people end up eating and drinking too much, becoming addicted to sweet treats, and gaining weight.

    “The truth is artificial sweeteners have dangers lurking beneath the surface, including links to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and a number of other health risks.”

    Disturbing as Dr Kavita’s warning is, it sounds like a fairy tale to Eji, who boasts that she often switches from one brand to another because of the level of sweetness.

    “Once I see a sweeter loaf, I will leave the one I was eating and start patronising the new one. In fact, I stopped eating a particular brand of bread because it was not sweet enough. I later got a sweeter brand which I also subsequently abandoned for a sweeter one,” she said.

    Like Vivian, Eji also does not care a hoot about how bread comes out sweet. 

    “No, no, no,” she shook her head vigorously in disagreement.  “It does not really matter to me. I will feel very bad if I am asked to stop eating bread.

    “There was a time my mum even asked me to stop eating bread because I was getting very fat, but I just cannot do without eating bread, particularly sweet ones.  It is not possible.”

    In the mind of Dammy, the desire for sugary bread also burns like fire.

    She said: “I eat sweet bread, and as far as I am concerned, the only bread that is not sweet in the market is Agege bread (local bread).  They are tasteless in the mouth. But other brands that are not Agege are usually sweet.”

    Shutting the door to further questions, she said in a tone of finality: “I like sweet bread because it is sweet and nothing more.”

    For Eucharia, life is sweet and any loaf of bread she would eat must be sweet.  She said: “Sweet bread tastes nice. I really don’t think there are any side effects to eating bread.  I may be wrong though.” 

    Prodded about the conditions under which she would consider unsweetened bread, she said: “if I have to eat a loaf of bread that is not sweet, I will have to do that with a large quantity of butter to push it through my throat.”

    The story is not different for Nnena, who spoke glowingly about her love for sweet bread.

    She said: “I like sweet bread because it is sweet and sugary. I can’t eat any bread that is not sweet. Never! It will taste bitter in my mouth and give me the feeling that I am suffering.”

     Bakers speak on using artificial sweeteners

    The rising price of sugar is said to be largely responsible for many bakers using artificial sweeteners in their bread.

    A baker who gave his name simply as Muri said:  “The cost of production has so skyrocketed that we hardly make profit these days. Sugar is an example. The price has gone astronomically high.

    “I used to buy a bag before but I later came down to buying half a bag. Now, I can’t buy half a bag anymore. I only buy a paint rubber of sugar. The price of a paint rubber now is almost the price of a bag before.” 

    To cut costs and remain in business, Muri said, “it is artificial sweetener that I use for production now. It was introduced to me by someone selling baking materials.

    “For our production, we only use the long part of a spoon to scoop the sweetener.  That small quantity is equivalent to one and a half paint rubber of sugar. Assuming you were supposed to use three paint rubbers of sugar, you can reduce it to one and a half and use a small quantity of the sweetener.

    “That small part of a spoon will make up for the one and a half paint rubber of sugar that you are removing. If you use it in a large quantity, the product will come out bitter.  That is why we use the long side of a spoon to scoop it.”

    Describing the nature of the sweetener, Muri said: “It is not a branded product.  The sellers said they used to buy it in measured quantities. They always package it in the way N100 sugar is packaged. But that quantity of sweetener is sold for N500.

    “When we buy it, we put a small quantity in water to dissolve, then we mix it with sugar. With that, you are going to achieve a good result.”

    Asked about the use of saccharin, Muri said: “I don’t use saccharin. Some people may be using it but I don’t. What I use to complement sugar in my production is what I have told you.

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    “I also don’t use bromate.  Most standard bakeries won’t use bromate.  It is local bakeries that can be doing that for reasons best known to them.

    “If we use only sugar, we will run at a loss. In fact, many bakers will go out of production and that will make bread scarce.

    Asked if he is aware that sweeteners have side effects, he said: “Sincerely speaking, I don’t know if it has any health hazards. I don’t know. But nobody has complained of any health problems eating our products.”

    Another baker, who gave his name simply as Adisa, said he does not use sweeteners. But he admitted that many bakers use them to cut costs.

    He said: “Most bread labels have ‘bromate and saccharin free’ written on them, but most bakeries use sweeteners.  I don’t use it because what I cannot eat, I won’t serve to another person.

    “Using sweeteners will make you lose your customers in the long run. When people eat a loaf of bread with regular sugar, they will end up dumping the one with sweeteners.”

    Speaking in the same vein as Muri, Adisa noted that bromate is commonly used by local bakeries. Bromate makes bread’s size rise. Each bakery’s oven and mixer have their capacities.

    “If your mixer and oven can take 20kg at a time and if that is supposed to ordinarily give you 40 loaves, you may end up getting 50 loaves with bromate.

    “Bromate is very deadly. It is not what bakers should be adding to their production. It is meant for animals.

    “When I worked as a livestock farmer, we used to mix bromate with what we compound to feed the pigs so that they can be very big.”

    Adisa noted that those engaging in the use of sweeteners are people who gate crashed into the business.

    He said: “Some people gate crashed into the business of bread making while some had industrial experience before setting up their bakeries.

    “For people like me with industrial experience, adjusting to changes in cost of production is very easy.

    “Now sugar is very expensive and that will make your profit go down.  The only substitute for sugar is sweetener, which I don’t use. I don’t use sweetener at all because it is not healthy.

    “Again, sweeteners give what I call after taste.  If you eat a loaf of bread made with sweetener and drink water, your mouth will taste like something that has been sweetened. For me it is a bad taste and it could make a mess of your production.”

    Continuing, he said: “You can’t as a baker increase the price of your product because of the rising cost of sugar. To continue to be in business, you have to sacrifice part of your profit to cover up.

    “You can’t be increasing price as the cost of production is rising on a daily basis.”

    Another baker, Grace Peter Okonkwo, said: “It was my landlord who made me to know that some people are using artificial sweeteners when he sent a video about it to me recently.

    “Because of the situation, they will add some quantity of sugar and mix artificial sweetener with it.

    “The first I knew about saccharin was when I went to buy ingredients for the natural drinks that I produce. 

    “The seller offered me something tied in a nylon bag and told me that instead of sugar, I should buy saccharin. , that it is sweeter than sugar and that is what everybody is using now. I was shocked.

    “I don’t even know whether that saccharin was N100 or N200, and they say it will go round a bag of flour.  I bought a bag of sugar for N82,000. because it  is better to use the right thing and increase the price than give people what will be killing them gradually.”

    She added that the use of artificial sweeteners is not restricted to bread. “They use it even in cake. At a seminar I attended recently they told us all manner of things that people do to double their cake.

    “That is why when I tell people my price they will scream ‘wetin happen. Your price too high’. Whatever I produce, my family eats from it.

     “I use sugar in spite of the price. The last one I bought was N82,000 a bag. The price moved from N60,000 recently to N65,000, N70, 000 and now N82, 000.

    “Before now,  a bag of flour used to be N10,000 while sugar was N12,000.”

     What are artificial sweeteners?

    The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, USA defined  artificial sweeteners as chemically synthesized substances that are used instead of sucrose (table sugar) to sweeten foods and beverages.

    It said: “Because artificial sweeteners are many times sweeter than table sugar, much smaller amounts (200 to 20,000 times less) are needed to create the same level of sweetness. The caloric content of sweeteners used in such tiny amounts is negligible, which is why they are sometimes described as non-nutritive.”

     Artificial sweeteners used in baking Saccharine, Acesulfame potassium, Aspartame and Sucralose are some of the artificial sweeteners used in baking.

    A report on allrecipes.com reveals that “Sucralose is made from sugar, but is not metabolised by the body like sugar. It is 600 times sweeter than granulated sugar. Granular sucralose is the form used when baking. “

    Dr Axe, a co-founder at Ancient Nutrition, described sucralose as a chlorinated sucrose derivative. “This means it’s derived from sugar and contains chlorine. Making sucralose is a multi-step process that involves replacing the three hydrogen-oxygen groups of sugar with chlorine atoms. The replacement with chlorine atoms intensifies the sweetness of sucralose.”

    Originally, Dr Axe said, sucralose was found through the development of a new insecticide compound. “It (sucralose) was never meant to be consumed. However, it was later introduced as a natural sugar substitute to the masses, and people had no idea that the stuff was actually toxic.

    Saccharine, according to allrecipes.com, is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar and Aspartame, 160 to 220 times sweeter than granulated sugar. “This sweetener (Aspartame) is heat-sensitive: it loses its sweetening power when heated, and cannot be used for cookies or cakes. The manufacturer does recommend trying it in no-bake pies and in puddings after they have been removed from the heat.”

    It added: “Acesulfame potassium is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is heat-stable, so it can be used in baking and cooking. Use acesulfame K in combination with granulated sugar when baking.”

     Why sweeteners are unhealthy – Health experts

    In spite of the unbridled use of sweeteners by bakers and others, health experts have expressed grave concerns about the implications.

    A holistic nutritionist and dietician, Obembe Oluwaseun, told our correspondent on the phone that sweeteners can be detrimental to health.

    He said: “Sugar is a delightful thing that gives taste in food. We have refined sugar and unrefined one. The refined one is the one substituting sucrose in the system. Then the unrefined one is the natural one.

    “The unrefined one contains a lot of components while the refined one has some components that have been removed and other ones added. This can constitute nuisance to the system and destabilise the body mechanisms.

     “I prefer the unrefined one because the unrefined one, when it gets into the body, the body has to work on it and break it down to sucrose so that the liver can instruct the pancreas to release insulin.

    “But the refined one is already refined. The body does not need to refine it again.

    What we are telling the body by its consumption is that once it gets into the body, they should release insulin instantly.

    That is why we have a high case of diabetes now because immediately you take it, the body sees it as already been refined and would just release insulin. This can damage the liver.

    “If the liver is affected, what else is left? Liver is the main refineries. Once it is affected, the whole system is down.”

    To validate his remark, Obembe said: “Let the government carry out a test on all Nigerians and you will be seeing different kinds of complications in people’s bodies.

    “People addicted to sugary food are sick. The sugar they take is unhealthy and very detrimental to health.”

    Speaking on the challenges of cardiovascular cases in the country and the place of artificial sweeteners, DR Olusegun said: “Well, that cardiovascular problems have increased is not in doubt at all. There are figures to show that risk factors have increased. Attention has increased with regards to where we were before. So, at the same time, now, the prevalence is ranging about 35%. In some places, up to 42%, 48%.

    “It used to be 30%  before but  now we are hitting almost 40% in some places, and even more than that in some other places. Diabetes has also increased, heart failure has increased, and stroke has also increased.  The leading causes of death and admission  in tertiary centers are  cardiovascular diseases; stroke, heart attack, and the likes. And these are not the way it used to be before.

    “Weather sweeteners are major contributors, research hasn’t really isolated it as a contributor solely on its own.  Research has not looked in that direction, but we know that, collectively, they are one of the factors that are kind of increasing cardiovascular risk factors and the likes.”

    Experts list alternatives to artificial sweeteners

    Experts have described the lust by bakers for artificial sweeteners as a misplaced priority. Instead of sugar and artificial sweeteners, they said, bakers could make use of natural sweeteners that are more healthy.

     “Do you know that there are other substitutes to sugar and saccharine?” Obembe asked rhetorically as he listed the substitute for baking to include coconut sugar.

    “It can be extracted in the form of caramel.  Then you have agave nectar.

    “Maple syrup is another natural substitute for sugar derived from boiling a tree sap.

    “They can get all these that are healthy instead of those adulterated sweeteners.  They will just make it in form of syrup and add it to what they are doing. Very simple.”

    Asked if the natural substitutes are cheaper, Obembe said: “Definitely, it is cheaper than sugar. Now, look at most of our fruits in the farms, everything is being wasted in the forest.

    “That is why we nutritionists, somebody like me, I’m advocating for post-harvest losses. Look at all the farmers, some of them do 30 acres, 40 acres.  Once they don’t have the ability to harvest, they just take the ones they can eat and leave the rest to rotten.

    “Look at the high cost of transportation which is worsening food scarcity. We don’t have a good means of transportation and almost all the rural roads are bad. All these have to be put into consideration.

    “I always tell people that nutrition is the foundation of every human’s health.

    You can’t do it without a nutritionist because the information we give is on healthy food and lifestyle. Most of these health challenges are just lifestyle diseases.”

    On her part, Dr. Kavita Rao wrote: “While it’s true that eating too much added sugar isn’t good for your health, there are many natural sweeteners and flavors that can enhance food without the need for artificial additives. Raw honey, stevia, vanilla, and cinnamon are all excellent choices.

    “Try to get creative with whole food recipes in order to discover the potential of naturally flavored food and retrain your taste buds to enjoy natural sweeteners in small quantities.”

     NAFDAC bans saccharin

    The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently shut down a bakery for using unfortified sugar and banned bromate in Sokoto State.

    The NAFDAC State Coordinator, Mr Garba Adamu, said the bakery was detected during a special raid by agency officials.

    “We discovered that the bakery was using saccharine, an unregistered foreign sugar, as sweetener along with banned bromate in their productions.

    “The items were seized for destruction, and the bakery is shut down until it complies with regulations and directives,” he said.

    Adamu emphasised that only fortified registered sugar containing vitamin ‘A’ with micronutrients and other vitamins is allowed to be sold and consumed in Nigeria.

    ”This is a Federal Government policy enforced by NAFDAC and other government agencies to ensure that consumers get the maximum nutritional and other health benefits from the produced products.

    ”Six other bakeries were also sanctioned for poor hygiene as enforcement officers led by Mr Buhari Manzo scaled up the routine inspection visits to bakeries across the state.

    ”Bakeries are monitored to ensure that they don’t use saccharine or other banned items as a substitute to fortified regulated ingredients,” Adamu said.

    The coordinator cautioned producers against using adulterated, counterfeit, unregistered, and expired items in their places, reiterating that NAFDAC would continue the enforcement at all times.

    Adamu said the operation would be extended to local government areas as part of the agency’s efforts to ensure that hygienic foods are being sold and the right products were in circulation.

    He called on the general public to be wary of patronizing unregistered products and always report any suspicious practices and contaminations to NAFDAC, and he reiterated the agency’s continues efforts to safeguard the health of the nation.

    Last month, the agency reiterated its stern position on the use of saccharin why debunking a viral video alleging that it had advised consumers to avoid bread.

    Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Christianah Adeyeye, said in a statement “The Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS) does not permit the use of saccharine in bread.

    “This is the same for the Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), an authoritative reference point for food additives, which also does not permit the use of saccharin in bread. Like other food additives, sweeteners usually undergo thorough risk assessments for safety by an Expert Body, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) before approval for use.”

    Also speaking, a cardiologist, Dr Olusegun Joseph, said artificial sweeteners are safe when consumed in moderation because they are replacements for raw sugars. However, he said “we know now that the sweeteners come with their own baggage. Most of them, aspartame, saccharin, and the rest, studies have linked them with cancers, heart disease, heart attack and the rest. Some of them have also been linked with diabetes and of course, obesity as well because when those things are consumed, one wants to take more of  them.”

    He added: “What we advise is that if you’re going to take sugars, the natural sugars may be better. For example, instead of someone putting saccharin or aspartame in a drink, they are usually in sodas, the person can take sugary fruits.  We know that diabetics should be careful about it because it can raise their blood sugar. But then, dealing with natural sugar, which are  fruits, is much more regulated and smoother than the artificial sugars and sweeteners.

    “So, by and large, they have their own baggage that they bring in and one has to be quite careful in consuming them.I usually wouldn’t advise people to consume the non-sugar sweeteners indiscriminately.” 

  • Experts warn against killing rodents with poison

    Experts have warned that rodents such as rats which eat poison could contaminate other food items in the home thereby making them dangerous for human consumption.

    Making this statement was Dr. Mutiu Oladele-Bukola of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), in an interview with The Nation.

    He said, “As rats move from one place to the other, they carry these poisons in their mouth and even their body; they contaminate food and water meant for other animals and man.”

    According to him, the dead mouse could decompose at an obscure corner and start smelling, thus making the environment uncomfortable for living, while becoming a breeding place for infection.

    “This is very dangerous to both animals and human because if such contaminated foods are consumed, they can cause ill-health or even death of the consumer,” he warned.

    Oladele-Bukola stressed that the use of traps was a good means of getting rid of rats.

    He added, “Traps are devices used for catching rats alive or dead; the process is facilitated by the use of baits such as peanuts, butter and cheese.

    “However, the effectiveness of any rat bait depends on the environment and the habit of the rats in question.

    “Rats are scavengers and the most effective bait is food. Instead of using rat poison at home and on the farm, metal rat trap boxes or rat gum, containing smoked fish or meat as baits, can be used.

     

    “The traps should be placed at strategic locations within the house to catch the mice alive or dead.

    “This can prevent the rats from dying around and messing up the environment,” he said.

    However, Bukola warned that dead rats must not be thrown around the surroundings of the house, adding that they should be buried so as to prevent the emission of foul smell and the transmission of diseases.

    “We should make sure that our environment is cleared of bushes and refuse; buildings should also be fenced round with wire netting so as to make them rat-proof,” he concluded.

  • Are you serving your child poison?

    Care givers indulging children with processed snacks and drinks are leading them in death’s path.

    Studies linking high sugar intake in children with obesity have shown disturbing health consequences for infants and young children hooked on snack foods such as cookies, sweetened cereals, soft drinks, salty crisps and candy.

     

    In a study on weaning practices among Nigerian women conducted by researchers from the University of Ibadan; it was discovered that children aged 6-18 months were given soft drinks a minimum of 1 time per day as a weaning drink. The study further revealed that older infants and preschool children are exposed to a highly cariogenic diet at an early age, with implications not only for oral hygiene but non-communicable diseases.

     

    “Chocolate beverages, natural fruit juice and soft drinks were the most commonly given drinks as 88.1%, 79.9% and 70.3% babies were said to be given these respectively. Over 57% of mothers sweetened pap with sugar. Forty seven percent of mothers added glucose to children’s drinking water. Over two-third (64.9%) of children ate biscuits several times a day. Soft drinks, commercial fruit juices and squash were consumed by 16.1%, 9.6% and 7.7% of the infants respectively on a daily basis,” the study quoted.

     

    The statistics from the research which attest to the high consumption of sweetened beverages among very young children in sub-Saharan Africa, was derived from a survey involving 700 volunteer mothers of young children aged 6-18 months resident in Ibadan, West Africa’s biggest city.

     

    Sugar has been identified as the key driving force behind obesity and associated ill health including type 2 diabetes, heart attacks,  cancer and tooth decay in children. Biscuits are a particular concern because frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates is a risk factor for dental caries.

    Weybridge, England-April 16, 2011. Large collection of junk food. Includes Skittles, Snickers, Dr. Pepper, MandMs, Doritos, Mike and Ike, Kit Kat, Hershey, Sprite and Jelly Bellys.

     

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has continually raise alarm over global increase in childhood obesity in developing countries.  In a report on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO), WHO described childhood obesity as an ‘exploding nightmare, adding that the number of children in Africa who are overweight or obese has doubled since 1990 (5.4 million to 10.3 million).

     

    Bold Initiatives to Reduce Sugar

     

    Ms Paula Johns, a safe food advocate was one of the speakers at the recently held World Health Assembly in Geneva. During a side event centered on initiative and success stories in reducing sugar, salts and fats to prevent NCDs, organized by Vital Strategies, an NGO, she condemned soda and ultra-processed cookies.

     

    Advocating that sugar alternatives like artificial sweeteners should also be discouraged, she canvased the need for care givers to teach children to learn to drink water in place of sugary stuffs. She also opined that many parents are being misled by the false claims on the front and back package of most snacks.

     

    “…Not even a PhD nutritionist can interpret those labeling. We really need to have forms of labelling that warns about the bad food package of those products. We need that as a policy linked with marketing for children. It is not fair that we should be blaming parents when you have to fight with totally unhealthy eatable products targeting our children,” she said.

     

    Training children’s palate 

     

    As Nigeria continues to grow into a mid-income country; the demands of survival have left many parents with less time to cook healthy meals for their children. It’s usual for parents to add carbonated drinks and biscuits to lunchboxes for school children. Many school environments also have kiosks were snacks and soda drinks could be easily purchased by pupils, often without adult supervision.  Some other parents erroneously believe soda drinks are healthy for children since they need sugar to boost their energy levels when in the real sense, fructose, a form of sugar found in fruits and honey is said to be enough energy boaster.

     

    In reducing sugar intake for kids, a testimonial show that training children’s palate to be sugar free has positive effects, as shown by Majeedah Salau, a school owner in Lagos. Initiating a new school policy on mid-day snacks in the school, Salau informed parents that four days would be for fruits and vegetables with only one day for biscuits, juice and other sweets.

     

    “Some parents didn’t like the idea, they believe the kids need sugar. Some others appreciated the policy since they have been trying to reduce their kids sugar intake which hasn’t been easy. Sensing the school’s determination, all the parents complied. I can tell you emphatically, we have not had any course to take a pupil to the hospital. We’ve had very few cases of diarrhea or stomach upset and even malaria fever is minimal,” she said.

  • Dapchi girls, enemy’s poison

    Dapchi girls, enemy’s poison

    Nothing can justify the Dapchi girls story, not after we were irate that Goodluck Jonathan was dancing Azonto in Kano while the goons carted away our Chibok schoolgirls. It is not enough that the President does not deny it like Jonathan or calls it a disaster. That is no solace for the mothers and fathers and the community who threw stones as Governor Ibrahim Gaidam’s convoy whirred by.

    Yobe Governor Gaidam may have displayed optimistic naivety with his first press statement celebrating the rescue of some girls. But the media was also naïve for using the word rescue when there was no narrative as to how it happened. Were there shootouts, casualties, arrests?

    I accept Gaidam’s apology but not stories of our security forces who had no inkling of what was happening in a long stretch of land. No security forces saw trucks carrying many school girls, even if we accept that they came looking harmless into the town.

    This is an era when the top men of Nigeria security forces are fighting turf wars in Abuja, while the president looks almost impotent.

    Gaidam is taking responsibility for what belongs to the DSS and inspector general of police all under the presidency. The governor does not control the police or intelligence forces yet we call him the chief security officer. Hence some of our northern governors now back state police. Facts, Charles Dickens writes, is compelling.

    Gaidam should save himself by naming those who misled his government. Or else he will bell another foe’s cat, or eat the enemy’s poison.

  • Poison on parade

    Poison on parade

    LAGOSIANS may be killing themselves in instalment through the sachet water they drink, investigation by The Nation has revealed. For three months, 30 sachet water brands popularly known as pure water were randomly selected in the five divisions of Lagos. A laboratory test contracted to the University of Lagos Consult Limited examined the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of each sample, which were coded to conceal their brand names. A registered public analyst and chartered chemist from the University of Lagos’s chemistry department issued an analyst’s certificate on each sample, in accordance with the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN).

    The test ran from the month of May to August. Out of the first batch of 15 sachet water samples analysed, only six met the recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) standard on potable water. The other nine showed high level of contaminants ranging from the presence of pathogenic bacteria and faecal coliform to high microbial levels, objectionable odour and low pH (acidity), which falls short of the minimum WHO pH parameter of 6.50. The names of the tested sachet water are: Maja Water, Makus Water, Unilag Water, Haars Premium Water, Skord Water, Le Harmonious Water, David’s Key, Fizco Water, Dis Day Water, Clock Water, Austin Water, Vic Water, Ray Queen Water, Troven Water and Vida water. Interpreting the health implications of the contaminants found in the tested water samples, a professor of Chemical Pathology at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof Oluwole Adedeji, stated that low pH in water represents acidity.

    “pH is the concentration of hydrogen iron which represents acidity. The neutral pH is seven. Anything below seven is acidic. Anything above seven is basic and denotes alkalinity,” he said. The consultant also described odour as a product of metabolism which shows some form of decay with grave implications for the human body if ingested through contaminated water. Asked about the health implications of coliforms and other forms of pathogenic bacteria, he offered that the coliform count in potable water should not go beyond a certain percentage.

    “Our intestines have what is called the resident coliform. But when immunity is reduced, they become a problem. Adding more from outside means exposing the body to higher risks of toxic effects, especially when a person is stressed,” he said. At risk of diseases and terminal illnesses Beyond water borne diseases such as typhoid, diarrhoea, cholera and hepatitis, drinking contaminated packaged water can also expose the body to carcinogenic agents, The Nation learnt.

    This happens when the polythene bag used to package the water is of low quality whilst being exposed to sunlight or stored in an unwholesome condition. Findings revealed that the drive for profit often makes many sachet water manufacturers patronise low quality polythene bags, which causes dissolution of chemical into the water. “Most of these bags have pores. They have holes which may not be visible to the human eye, which allow some elements in the environment to diffuse gradually into the water.

    The chemicals can be very carcinogenic,” Prof Adedeji intoned as he connects poorly packaged sachet water with cancer and other terminal illnesses associated with the lungs, liver and the heart. With the acute water shortage in Lagos owing to the inability of the state’s Water Corporation to supply potable water to majority of residents, there is a high reon sachet water as a means of potable drinking water by over 70 per cent of the citizens. In a twitter poll conducted by the reporter on potable drinking water source for Lagosians, 44 per cent of respondents chose sachet water as their source of potable water while 39 per cent chose boreholes.

    Another 12 per cent voted bottled water and the lowest vote stands at 6 per cent, representing those who source potable water from the Lagos State Water Corporation. Majority of sachet water producers interviwed by The Nation source their water from boreholes. Although there are strident measures laid down by regulatory agencies such as the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission; enforcement to these standards is not often adhered to, findings have revealed. Kabir Ahmed, an architect and chairman of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, an agency responsible for regulating water supply and wastewater management, told The Nation that indiscriminate sinking of boreholes and wells have negatively impacted on the quality of ground water in Lagos. Ahmed said: “Underground, we have four aquifers of water. As we speak, the topmost aquifer has been polluted by human activities. As recent as 25 years ago, we used to fetch water from shallow wells in Lagos to drink. Now, water from that depth of 0-12m is not drinkable because it is practically impure.” Lamenting the fact that many borehole drillers in the state use substandard equipment which drips oil into the underground water, Ahmed further stated that sinking of soak-away and pit latrines close to water source is responsible for the presence of coliform in some water sources across the state.

    Cheap death channel At N10 per sachet and N150 for 20 pieces, ‘pure’ water in Lagos appears a cheaper alternative to bottled water. A 75 cl bottled water sells between N50 and N100, depending on the brand. However, low costing sachet water might be bait to a cheap death channel. Data exclusively obtained by The Nation from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, showing the prevalence of water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid and cholera in the 25 general hospitals in Lagos, revealed higher rates of water-borne diseases in areas of the state faced with the most pressing cases of inadequate Water Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) facilities. Such areas include Badagry, Ikorodu, Epe and Orile Agege. In 2014, General Hospital Orile Agege recorded a total of 1,690 cases of typhoid fever and 3,213 cases of diarrhoea. The ijede Health Centre recorded the highest cases of cholera with 48, followed by General Hospital Epe with 15 cases. Also, in the year under review, The Massey Children Hospital also recorded 2,612 cases of diarrhoea while the General Hospital, Epe treated 893 patients out of a total diarrhoea prevalence rate of 12,413 in 2014. Diarrhoea prevalence rate in Nigeria, put at 18.8 per cent, is one of the worst in sub-Sahara Africa. Although data from 2015 and 2016 showed a slight reduction in the prevalence of water borne diseases in the state, local government areas such as Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry recorded highest prevalence rates.

    The Orile Agege area, which follows closely, is one of the most densely populated urban slums in Lagos. Also, areas such as Epe and Badagry are urban isolated bubbles in Lagos where manufacturing of counterfeited sachet water is common. While the results of the tests of the sachet water samples selected in Ikorodu recorded cases of contamination with acidity, those of Epe and Badagry are being awaited and would be published in the second series of this report next Saturday. Shocking source of unhealthy sachet water The most shocking results of the scientifically tested sachet water samples was the one produced by UNILAG, which recorded a case of coliform and high microbial load on two separate occasions.

    On May 15, our reporter purchased three sachets of UNILAG’s water at the Iya Ibeji store located at the campus shuttle park. Another set of samples of sachet water purchased from the same outlet on August 1 and subjected to laboratory test showed the presence of high microbial load, with the analyst recommending that the water should be treated to make it potable. Confronted with the result, officials of the university debunked the claim, saying the tested water samples selected could be counterfeited products smuggled into the campus illegally.

    The University’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Toyin Adebule, told our correspondent that the university had been having a running battle with fake sachet water producers who counterfeited the university’s brand. Adebule said: “Our Department of Chemistry on a weekly basis conducts quality assurance test on UNILAG water. There are fake UNILAG water around, and the authority is clamping down on the perpetrators.” The Nation paid a visit to the UNILAG factory penultimate Wednesday. At the door post, a banner displaying good water storage practices greets visitors.

    The UNILAG water factory which started in 1995 was privatised recently and is now managed by the University of Lagos Holding Company Limited. Speaking with our correspondent, the General Manager of UNILAG Ventures, Mrs Oyewunmi Onanuga said: “We challenge anyone with claims to contamination of our water to buy directly from our factory and subject it to laboratory tests. Only last year, we had a case of adulterated UNILAG water counterfeited by some people. “We also emphasise to retailers that storage condition is important. If the water is left under the sun, on the bare floor or stored for a period exceeding validity, then there could be possibility of contamination.”

    Another ironic twist also occurred with Troven Water, a sachet water brand sourced from the central cafeteria of the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja. Produced by Treasured Rocks Ventures, Troven Water, which also has a LWRC registration number, recorded a low pH of 6.20. Damming verdict…Pathogenic Faecal Coliform The laboratory sample which recorded the most damming verdict was Fizco Water, produced by Akanji Ola and Sons, located in Mushin, a densely populated suburb of Lagos.

    A very popular brand in the area, the sample was selected at an open market in Mushin and taken to the lab on May 17. When the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics were analysed, it showed the presence of pathogenic bacteria totalling 1.50x 103, exceeding the WHO limits of 1.0×101 in threefold. Also, the total coliform count was 3.0×101, a far cry from the WHO recommended 0.00 limits. The pH (acidity) was also high at a record 5.60 against the WHO recommended maximum of 6.50. Fizco Water is registered with NAFDAC registration number B1-5761L. According to a study by the African Journal of Food Science and Technology, Faecal coliforms are bacteria found in the faecal material of humans and warm blooded animals. Diseases such as typhoid fever, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, dysentery and ear infections can be contracted from waters with high faecal coliform count, the study further revealed. Faecal coliform bacteria can come into surface water through improperly treated wastewater.

    Last month, there was an outbreak of diarrhoea in Lagos State where two people died and 25 others were quarantined. The incident occurred in Shomolu, the locale where Ray Queen Water, another brand contaminated with high acidity, was sourced from. Findings show that Shomolu/Bariga is also a hub for counterfeited sachet water. NAFDAC investigates, urges proper storage of packaged water The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), regulates and controls the manufacture and distribution of food, drugs, chemicals, medical devices and packaged water. A summary of the results of the first 15 samples were directed to be submitted to the pharmaco-vigilance arm of the agency. Also, NAFDAC ran a cross check on the registration status of the selected water samples. A particular brand, Vic Pure Water, produced by Kroxxing Ventures in Abule- Egba, was not in the agency’s record of registered sachet water producers, even though the sachets has the registration number C1- 4773L printed on its sachet.

    Another brand, Dis Day Water, was registered as Oniks Water while Austin Water produced in Fatai Atere has an expired registration status. NAFDAC’s director of Special Duties, Dr Abubakar Jimoh in a chat with The Nation cited issue of storage and counterfeiting as reasons why packaged water registered by the agency may turn out to be contaminated. Dr Jimoh said; “Even if a product is registered but it is stored in bad condition, it will return as poison. Bottled water has a life span of one year and sachet water is two months. “Secondly, the fact that a water company carries a NAFDAC registration number does not mean it is registered. We have arrested printers who printed labels for those adulterating fast selling sachet water brands. “Then the third layer is where the real owner of the product would be compliant when seeking registration but lower their standards once they get registered.

    We are also warming people not to buy packaged water from hawkers because of the exposure to the sun,” he submitted. How corruption and multiple taxation affect quality of sachet water Nothing gives the indication that Dame Clementina Ativie, the National President of the Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), is a feisty woman until she took hold of the microphone to state the grievances of packaged water producers in Lagos at a stakeholders’ meeting on taxation and revenue generation, convened by the state’s Ministry of Finance on August 1. She lamented the fact that water producers are vulnerable to tax and revenue collectors from both local government and state levels.

    The development, she said, is forcing many water producers to relocate to suburbs where there is ease of doing business. She hinted that multiple taxation could be the reason for low quality sachet water in the state. “Consultants and touts are used to threatening us both at the local government and state levels. As I speak, we have over 20 people all going for revenue collection from water producers. More than six agencies alone from the state’s Ministry of Environment, each with an independent letter, with the Lagos state government letter-headed paper. “Ninety-nine per cent of the money goes into private pockets because there are no receipts.

    When government says pay N5,000, the touts will tell you, ‘Give us N2000 and forget the balance.’ The N2,000 is not remitted to the state’s coffers. “With the way things are going, those that can continue to pay will start cutting corners with the quality of water,” she said. No respite for the poor On a hot sunny day in Maryland, Lagos, John Nwordi, a pharmacist carries a fast food branded polythene bag, heading back to work to have lunch after a hectic morning duty. Asked if he would wash down the food with sachet water, he gave a sharp retort; No! Said John; “Gone are those days I drank sachet water.

    These days, I don’t. Some of the sachet water I have bought in the past had funny outlook and sometimes you’d see substances flying inside the sachet.” Not far away, a teenager and aspiring rapper, Micheal Odion, flags down a sachet water hawker. Asked if he’s not afraid of contamination, his response, “The blood of Jesus covers me!” Odion’s response resonates with the thought of many Lagosians who continue hope for a spiritual force that will cover them from diseases after drinking sachet water. A purified water source is beyond the purchasing power of many Lagos residents. •Reporting for this story was supported by Code for Africa’s impactAFRICA fund and the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation.

  • JSS II student commits suicide over boyfriend

    Jessica Beer, a Junior Secondary School (JSS)  II  student of Gyegeh Memorial College Logo1 , Makurdi, Benue state, has committed suicide.

    The female student according sources drank substance believed to be poison and was rushed to a clinic in Akpehe, before doctors confirmed her dead on arrival .

    A close friend of the deceased, who would rather want to remain anonymous, told the Nation that the girl committed suicide  because her boyfriend by name Labi, a pork meat seller at Wurukum Market in Makurdi impregnated and abadoned her and then impregnated another girl.

    Residents of Akpehe who were startled by the news rushed to the clinic to catch a glimpse of the remains of the girl.

     

  • Man allegedly poisons neighbour’s pot of soup in Lagos 

    Man allegedly poisons neighbour’s pot of soup in Lagos 

    The police in Lagos are investigating an alleged attempt by a man Gordon Daniel to kill his neighbour’s family over electric bill disagreement.

    Daniel, a resident of Ajegunle was accused by the neighbour, Mrs. Saidat Shakiru of putting insecticide in a pot of soup she was cooking on Tuesday.

    It was gathered the woman had left her soup pot on the fire to attend to another issue only to return and discover that the soup reeked of sniper, a poisonous liquid insecticide.

    The woman was said to have accused Daniel who was the only resident of the compound at home when she was cooking.

    She was said to have alerted the landlady who resides on the topmost floor of the storey building as well as her husband who was at work before the matter was reported to the Baale of Aiyetoro street, Saheed Fakunle.

    According to a resident: “Sadiat and the suspect were at home when she was cooking the soup. The woman allegedly went outside to buy something and before she came back Daniel had doused sniper into the soup she was cooking.

    “When the woman opened the soup pot she perceived an offensive odour from the soup and she sensed foul play. The angry woman drew the attention of the landlady to what she had observed.

    “Her landlady asked whom she suspected. Since there was nobody at home, she accused Daniel of the deed. When her husband, Shakiru returned from work, she explained her predicament about the soup she was cooking and the matter was moved to the Baale.

    “After carrying out investigation, the Baale handed over the suspect to the police alongside the pot of soup.”

    The Nation gathered that the suspect, who blamed his actions on the devil, said he was angry because the woman usually insulted him over electric bill.

    “The woman has been insulting me over electricity bill. I don’t know what got over me so I decided to put sniper inside their soup to punish her. I am sorry. I regret what I have done. She insulted me so much because of the electricity bill if not I don’t have any problem with her and her husband,” he said.

    The owner of the house, Taiye Aroyewun frowned at the suspect’s action, calling him a madman.
    He said: “The man must be a madman to have attempted to wipe out an entire family. Now that he has been caught, he’s pleading and trying everything possible to settle the matter. Everybody refused because he is a wicked man who committed a wicked act. If I forgive him today, supposing he chops my head off tomorrow what would happen?”

    A source at Ajegunle police station who hinted on the arrest said the case file and suspect will be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti.

  • Be careful with rat poison, pest controllers tell public

    The Pest Control Association of Nigeria (PECAN) has called on Nigerians to be  cautious using rodenticides (rat poisons) as rodents control measure in their buildings and vicinity, especially in the wake of the Lassa fever outbreak which has made rodents control more pertinent.

    According to Dr. Kehinde Kembonta of the Department of Zoology, University of Lagos, pests are organisms found in the wrong place at a particular time. They are destructive and unwanted organisms that are harmful to plants and animals. Included in this category are rodents, fungi, nematodes, weed, bacteria, and mycotoxins.

    Kembonta identified Leptospirosis, Lymphocytic choriomeningitis, trichinosis, typhoid, dysentery and Lassa fever as some infectious diseases carried by rodents. Mouse urine, she further explained, can trigger asthma in sensitive people.

    She said rodents were the most stubborn pest, as they make babies fast, and are most active at night.

    PECAN President Ayo Ogunyadeka said: “Anticipate that many Nigerians will rush to procure rodenticides, which are brazenly displayed on roadsides and shops by quacks as the fears of Lassa fever epidemic spread across the country.”

    Rodenticides are pesticides that kill rodents. Rodents include not only rats and mice, but also squirrels, porcupines, and grass-cutters, among others. All rodenticides can be toxic when eaten. Most rodenticides are also toxic when inhaled and when they come into contact with skin, Ogunyadeka added.

    He said to effectively combat Lassa fever, which virus is borne by rodents, it is best to deploy an Integrated Pest Management Approach (IPM) that includes chemical and non chemical methods.

    Another effective way to rodent control is the removal of internal feeding sites, such as spillage immediately, avoiding  overflowing waste bins and stagnant water.

    According to Ogunyadeka, there is the need to conduct regular internal inspections of possible harbourage sites, including voids above ceilings, ventilation ducts, lift shafts, cavity walls and partitions. He also advised that Nigerians should ensure good cleaning routines and removal of damaged containers and products, and give appropriate access for cleaning and inspection.

  • Why environment must be protected from poison, by don

    Why environment must be protected from poison, by don

    To build healthy communities, poisons and other harmful substances must be controlled from polluting the environment, a don, Prof Francis Ezeonu, has said.

    He was delivering the 25th inaugural lecture of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State.

    The event, held at the university auditorium, was attended by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke; a former vice chancellor of the institution, Prof. Ilochi Okafor, principal officers and academics.

    Ezeonu, who is of the Department of Biochemistry, delivered a lecture titled: Poisons in the Nigerian environment: Within our reach, beyond our control. He described poison as a substance that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when absorbed in sufficient quantity by the organism.

    According to the lecturer, people who lived in traditional African societies enjoyed a healthy life and a safe environment. He said they contended only with natural hazards, which he said could arise from animal poisons and plant toxins.

    Ezeonu said: “European contact with Africa has increased the black man’s burden on poisons through man-made hazards. Industrialisation and consumerism have imposed enormous strain on traditional habits and practices, leading to a large dependence on foreign drugs, foods and chemicals.”

    Processes associated with modernisation and industrialisation, he said, had compromised Africa’s safe environment. The don said African environment had been poisoned with chemical wastes, herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertiliser and oil pollutants imported. The condition, he said, was worsened by poor sanitation, poor solid waste management, pollution, soil degradation and declining aquatic life, among others.

    On why the nation could not control harmful substances, Prof Ezeonu said there has not been quality research to make it happen. He said: “Nigerian universities are poorly rated, largely because they lack the necessary tools and equipment for quality research. Our laboratories are poorly equipped and lack the requisite instruments to identify poisons. Nigerian research institutions are not sufficiently equipped to meet the challenges of regulating poisons and this should call for concern.”

    He urged scholars to rise up to the challenge to save the country from imminent danger being posed by presence of uncontrolled harmful substances in the environment.

    •The Nation’s Management Accountant, Mr Abdulhameed Odunaye (middle) with Afolabi Olatunde (left) and Norbert Amu during their Convocation for Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG)
    •The Nation’s Management Accountant, Mr Abdulhameed Odunaye (middle) with Afolabi Olatunde (left) and Norbert Amu during their Convocation for Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG)

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Joseph Ahaneku, described the lecturer as a world-acclaimed scholar, noting that the lecture had opened the eyes of members of the audience to the danger posed by poison in the country. He urged collaboration to rid the environment of harmful pollutants.

    Highpoint of the event was the decoration of Ezeonu and past inaugural lecturers by the VC.