The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Silent

  • Freed judge: Police silent on ransom

    Freed judge: Police silent on ransom

    The police in Niger State have refused to confirm whether or not ransom was paid before  the release of a kidnapped  Sharia Court Judge, Abubakar Mohammed.

    Mohammed was freed on Sunday. But the family also did not say if ransom was paid.

    The judge was abducted at Jerimiya in Rafi Local Government Area while returning to Pandogari from Alawa in Shiroro Local Government Area,  on Thursday.

    Sources close to the family said that Mohammed was released by his captors after an undisclosed amount was paid to his abductors.

    However, the judge would not confirm to reporters if this is true.

    But he described his experience in the hands of his abductors as harrowing.

    Mohammed said he was given bread and water, blindfolded with his hands tied during his four-day captivity.

    State Police Command also said that they were not aware ransom was paid.

    Spokesman Mohammed Abubakar Dan-Inna, who confirmed release of the judge, said the command’s anti-kidnapping squad were trailing the abductors.

  • State police: Nigeria’s silent albatross

    State police: Nigeria’s silent albatross

    The Nigeria Police Force is a creation of statute by virtue of Section 214 of the Nigeria Constitution of 1999, as amended which states that:

    There shall be established a force to be known as The Nigeria Police Force and subject to the provision of this section, no other Police Force shall be established for Nigeria, or any part thereof”.

    The Constitution of Nigeria is a product of the collective will of the people of Nigeria. The preamble to the grundnorm also states:

    “We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having firmly and solemnly resolved: to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God.

    And for the purpose of promoting the good government and the welfare of all persons in our country…do hereby make, enact, and give to ourselves the following Constitution

    Therefore, the provisions of the constitution which is a reflection of the general will and a collective aspiration of the people of Nigeria is sacrosanct and upholding the spirit and intendment ought to be a religion. One of its intendments is that the Nigeria Police should be an institution to foster unity.

    From its amalgamation into a national force on April 1, 1930 under the command of an Inspector-General of Police, the force has fostered and nurtured unity. It is pertinent to mention that Nigeria did not spontaneously declare a civil war in 1967. Rather, it treaded with care and caution by taking police action to make room for peaceful negotiation.

    It is also pertinent to advert our minds to the abuse of the native authority police in the 1960s that led to the Agbekoya uprising against the federal authority, the Andokas, a police local authority controlled by the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) which was misused against political rivals. This led to the Willinks Minorities Commissions that visited Nigeria from 1957-58 and reported to the Constitution Reform Committee in London. Thereafter, it was resolved that the control of the Police should rest on federal hands.

    When an existing law is to be amended, the mischief to be cured must be identified. In the instant case, the fear of the absolute control of the police is allayed by Section 215 sub Section (4) where it states that: subject to the Provisions of this section, the Governor of a state or such Commissioner of the state as he may authorize in that behalf, may give to the Commissioner of Police of that state such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and order.

    The above express provision is adequate for the provision of security for the citizens of the state. It is adequate when the intention is with respect to the maintenance and security of public safety and public order.

    The above provision is powerful enough and sufficient to execute lawful duties, control crime and secure public safety and order, it is only inadequate when the executive has his own purpose to serve.

    Let us analyze this provision a bit with reference to the interpretation of statutes. In his book Drafting Conveyances and Wills, C. O. Adubi emphasizes the deep difference between SHALL and MAY when he states:

    The use of “SHALL” indicates that the legal subject is under an obligation to act in accordance with the terms of the provisions; if an obligation is not to be imposed, shall should not be used. The proper word to use is MAY. The use of MAY gives the legal subject authority to do the specified act; but the legal subject MAY or MAY not do so according to his discretion.

    It is doubtful if the absolute power being sought for now under State Police is for crime control, securing of public safety and public order within the state.

    The reason for this doubt is that before the chief executive of any state will decide that an act of commission or omission is a crime in a state, he is expected to have consulted his Council of Traditional Rulers, his security council and advisers, all of whom he has the power and access to consult before giving such order to the Commissioner of Police or “such Commissioner of the government of the state as he may authorize in that behalf”

    Assuming but not conceding that the consensus of all the levels of assessment and advisers is wrong, the Commissioner of Police is not to openly disobey the chief executive.

    But the provision of section 215 (4) gives the Commissioner an escape route. It states;

    Provided that before carrying out any such directions under the fore-going provisions of this sub-section, the Commissioner of Police may request that the matter be referred to the President or such Minister of the  Federation as may be authorized in that behalf by the President for his directions. 

    It is reasonable to infer from the above that “such Minister of the government of the Federation” in this context is principally the Inspector-General of Police.

    It is pertinent to draw attention to the express provision of section 215 (5) which states:

    The question whether any, and if so what, directions have been given under this section shall not be inquired into in any court. This is an ouster clause that denies the court jurisdiction in this executive decision. Jurisdiction is at the threshold to any judicial enquiry. It is fundamental.

    The second leg of the provision of section 215 (4) gives the Commissioner of Police an escape route to avoid disobeying the chief executive and protects him from carrying out unlawful or politically motivated directives. Hence, the use of the word MAY as opposed to the word SHALL in the first leg.

    If the Commissioner of Police refers the matter to the Inspector-General of Police, and the Inspector-General of Police takes directions from the President after all due consultations, that decision is final.

    In what circumstance can the spirit of this provision be invoked?

    If some squads of criminals in Maiduguri are moving towards Government House to attack it, can the second leg be invoked for the Commissioner of Police to turn a blind eye, take transport to Abuja for consultation before stopping them, even when he knows this a crime? The answer is no. Also, if some criminals are about to rob a bank, should the Commissioner of Police standby and run to Abuja before he can prevent the crime? He will be guilty of ineptitude, act of omission etc. Hence, these two provisions are adequate and sufficient to provide public safety and public order for the citizens of a state.

    The growth and development of Nigeria’s constitutional reforms have created an enduring flexible constitution that can cope with the diversity of Nigeria’s cultural differences and thereby strengthen the unity needed for Nigeria as a strong member of the African comity of nations. This is without prejudice to the fact that we have to jointly and collectively confront and remove injustice by harnessing our collective will and iron determination, to evolve strategies and action to confront injustice in the polity. Goodness is goodness and badness is badness. No other name for each.

    Even now that the deployment of the Nigeria Police is still subject to constitutional provisions and processes, thugs sponsored by subterranean   mentors still invade and scatter Houses of Assembly in Nigeria.

    Even with the control provided by section 215 (4) as stated above,  suspected agents of a state executive still invaded a court of law and disturbed judicial proceedings. Yet, some Nigerians are demanding for unfettered power for state executives. This is why Stephen F. Hayward in his book Churchill on Leadership says “health, intelligence and shrewdness are all good things in the abstract but they are bad things, in a bad person. Health, intelligence and shrewdness were bad things for Hitler because they enabled him to serve evil ends”.

    We should not behave like the moth fly. The moth fly hated its husband and threatened to burn its pregnancy. Anywhere the moth fly sees light in the village; it would struggle to enter the flame and would get stuck to the lantern or the flame. The moth fly ends up destroying itself before destroying the pregnancy that belongs to the husband.

    Do not make laws ad-hominiem – laws made with a particular person or group of persons are usually not objective.

    Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the legend and apostle of Nigeria’s unity says: I would rather be on the side of unity than to be on the side of disunity.

    At present, more than 50 percent of the population of the rank and file in a Police State Command is either indigenes of the state or of its neighbouring state and can speak the predominant language in the state. This is the cadre that interacts more closely with the indigenes and more conversant with the customs and traditions of the area. The senior officers are there to ensure that the custom and traditions are not repugnant to equity and can be of universal application, fairness and good conscience.

    To set up State Police between Nasarawa and Benue States or between Cross River and Imo around Iwukem /Azumini is to bury a time bomb.

    Let us not be copy cats at all times. Our constitutional development must be a reflection of our past experiences and hope for a united Nigeria devoid of oppression and injustice. That is what should demand our priority attention for now our constitutions must endeavor to be autochthonous.

    Between 1985 to 1986 during the time of trial and error with the Police Force. The fourth columnist came up with the novel and plausible policy that all police men from the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police be deployed to serve in their state of origin. In less than a year thereafter there was a national complaint of tribalism and nepotism against most of the officers. No sooner the policy was tried than it was reversed. Security is not a trial and error affair in a country in which a permanent Secretary could not safely travel from Osun state to Abuja before she was trailed, shot on the head and matcheted. A country where worshippers could be callously shot and killed desecrating a sanctuary.

    While there may be some who need State Police to attain some positive ends, one cannot rule out some who need State Police to enable them lock up their political opponents three days before election only to get such detainees released after election, given the propensity of some African leaders to engage in the breach of the constitution rather than its observance.

    What a relief when a traveller to Bayelsa State runs into a group of policemen along the Zaria-Sokoto highway and he hears one of them say; anua e or te bra or Teju ke imomu menenghan or Te ke memuniya . Similarly when a Sokoto traveller runs into a team of policemen between Port Harcourt-Yenagoa highway and one of them says yaya kake or ina zua – or where are you travelling to? At least the traveller will feel at home for that moment.

    The most beautiful and attractive birds in the forest are the multi-coloured.

    We should emphasize those things that unite us and collectively confront the vices that divide us. State police is a step backwards. It is a retrogressive step toward nepotism and tribalism; it is a blind march towards disintegration.

     

    • Mr. Abayomi Oluwaoje Akeremale, a retired Commissioner of Police practices Law in Abuja.

     

  • Malnutrition: A silent child killer

    Malnutrition: A silent child killer

    Consider these statistics: every year Nigeria loses 2,300 children under five years of age to child killer diseases; in a year 145 women of childbearing age also die. Out of the children’s casualty figure, 500 die of malnutrition. A survey is also said to show that two out of five Nigerian children are stunted, while almost 30 per cent are underweight. Again, blame it on malnutrition.

    This is of great concern to medical authorities. Malnutrition is gradually becoming a silent killer of children, apart from harming them in other ways.

    The Niger State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Amina Isah giving the nutritional status of children in the state during a capacity-building workshop organised by the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), said 409,993 children in the state are stunted, 65,815 children are wasted while 186,655 children are underweight, adding that in the last three months, 9,040 children have been diagnosed to be suffering from acute malnutrition.

    She expressed concern that Niger State has moved from medium burden to high burden state which has placed it as a priority state for nutrition intervention in Nigeria.

    Malnutrition is said to be a condition when the right amount and type of food including nutrients are not consumed. A lot of children suffer from malnutrition these days which results to stunted growth, wasting and being underweight.

    Nigeria has been rated as the country with one of the highest burdens of malnutrition in Africa and globally. One of the reasons for malnutrition can be the fact that only 17 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first six months while 70 per cent of children aged six to 23 months are not receiving the minimum acceptable diet.

    Proffering the way forward, Isah said that the state can stop malnutrition if the government and relevant health partners adopt a comprehensive costed state multi-sectoral nutrition strategic action plan, ensure adequate funding,  comprehensive response treatment and prevention programmes.

    The Project Director of the Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Mrs. Beatrice Eluaka said that stunting is now a global indicator for measuring country’s development adding that Nigeria’s indicator is not encouraging; she said that the percentage of children malnourished in the country have not been stable over the last decade.

    She said that for the nation to adequately address malnutrition, there is the need for the implementation of the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition (NSPAN) adding that NSPAN would save 123,000 lives yearly and avert 890,000 stunting in children under five years if implemented.

    Eluaka said that $912 million is needed to operationalize the National Strategic Plan Action for Nutrition (NSPAN) by the federal government stressing on the importance for government to ensure the implementation of the document which should have been in operation since 2014.

    Commending the Federal and state governments for improving on the allocation to the health sector, she said that the only solution to nutritional problems in the nation is for the government to implement, fund the roadmap already designed and create more provisions for the child and family health needs of the people.

  • 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.

  • Silent stories of a deaf actor

    Silent stories of a deaf actor

    Ever witnessed a play by a group of deaf actors? This was the spectacle recently at a live drama performance in Lagos by Magic Finger Entertainment, a group of deaf actors and actresses doing the hitherto unthinkable. Just how do they manage to achieve this feat? Yetunde Oladeinde caught up with the team leader and originator, Richard Ezekiel, an energetic, never-say-die  actor who sees no barriers. Through an interpreter Ezekiel spoke of his silent world, challenges, memorable moments and early life.

    For me, every day is interesting. The first thing I do when I wake up is to replenish, go for a walk and then go straight to my laptop to check and reply emails. There I confirm appointments, which include rehearsal appointments; I also chat, do indoor planning and research. At other times, I just read stuff and engage in occasional creative writing.

    One basic challenge I have with the computer however is the abbreviations and special codes.

    On the road, it is a different thing entirely because I have had to master how conductors pronounce different destinations especially in Lagos. Most times our conductors call bus-stops as if they have hot moimoi (bean cake) in their mouths. This also poses a challenge when one wants to flag down an okada (bike), or board a vehicle during rush hours; and when I am on board, what I do is type out where I am going on my phone to a passenger. Sometimes, you get understanding people to help, but most times it is vice versa. But in spite of everything, life has been fun and very challenging. But then Challenge is a bus-stop in Ibadan, where I was born and bred.

    My advent into acting

    My flair for acting is purely in-born. As a kid, my dad didn’t provide television at home even though he could afford it. So my brother and I used to sneak into our neighbour’s living room to watch TV, and always got serious lashing if we got caught. Luckily the primary school I attended, God’s Grace Nursery and Primary School and my secondary school, Monatan High School both in Ibadan gave me opportunities to act during end of the year parties. I later joined the school literary and debating society.

    My mum also sings cultural songs a lot and that encouraged us to be active in church drama and choir. When I lost my hearing and switched to Methodist Grammar School Deaf Unit later in 2001, I was in social science and my subjects were limited. So I had to focus on learning sign language and adapting to the deaf culture. It was not easy at first; it took me a decade to finally accept that this is who I am and there are certain things in life that we can’t change. But if you are determined, then you can manage the situation properly.

    After secondary school, I always visited my friends who were then freshers at the University of Ibadan. They lived in Kuti Hall, which was so close to the Theatre Arts Department; so, often, when they went to class and I couldn’t follow them, the department of Theatre Arts was where I was attracted to. There I read several write ups on the notice board and also used the opportunity to scout for auditions that I could attend.

    Initially, it was tough but in the long run, I auditioned for a stage production and it was successful. Luckily an interpreter friend of mine Friday Azanor, was also casted in the production, which comprised mostly students of the department. I was in rehearsal and when it was my turn to block, Friday will interpret for me and I was given a role as a best friend of the lead character and as a deaf.

    During one of the rehearsals, Dr. Remi Ademola Adedokun was there to criticise the work as they normally did; thereafter he asked about my background and invited me to his office.

    For weeks, I was scared and thought I had broken some school rules and was afraid I’d be humiliated. I became sick with fear that I was going to be cut off from something that made me happy and left for home. But Friday kept telling me they were asking after me, so I went back and met Dr. Adedokun whom I came to understand was the HOD. He asked me ‘Why don’t you apply for Diploma through UI DLC?’

    Like a hormone-driven adolescent, I rushed to get the form and enrolled for the 2006/2007 session as the only deaf student in the Theatre Arts Department, University of Ibadan and without an interpreter. I still hold that record till today. However, this was one of the most challenging years of my life, as I had to lip-read and take notes. All my classmates and lecturers were aware of my deafness, but that didn’t earn me any preferential treatment or sympathy.

    My lecturer and mentor, Dr. Tunde Awosanmi, who also casted me in most of his productions always asked me why I was in the department when I knew I couldn’t cope. Whenever I told him I couldn’t do something, he would challenge me to get it done or carry-over the course. And since all eyes were on me both by the deaf students who believed I would be booted out of the department in time and my colleagues, who always wondered how I coped, I always ended up doing things even I didn’t believe I could do and got applauded. Now, anytime I look back at the situation and how everyone in the department took me like a brother and encouraged me to challenge myself, I’m just full of gratitude.

    I am also the only deaf person in the drama department of TREM (Vision House) in Utako, Abuja, where I also acted and have an amazing group.

    I have acted in so many stage plays that I have even lost count. I even played the lead role in Shakespeare’s play more than once and got a standing ovation. Since then, there has been no going back and I just keep pushing and doing what’s expected of me; and the more I do the thing I love, the more I realised I can do better, and the more I unleash my potentials. In trying to surpass my own expectation, success for me becomes a habit and old habits die hard.

    Tell us about Magic Finger Entertainment?

    Magic Finger Entertainment Productions was approved in July 2014 as a registered company and endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation same year. And since then there has been no going back. Entrepreneurs with no special needs will tell you things are not easy, you can then imagine what entrepreneur with Special needs like me would be going through.

    I choose the name Magic Finger because of how deaf people move our hands when communicating. Our Sign Language is a beautiful art and very fascinating. Hearing people who understand sign language will attest to this. I also think the name fits because it is a deaf-owned business and our focus is also to put the deaf individual in a better light where entertainment is concerned by encouraging and working with those interested in showcasing their special talents to the world.

    Rough road to fruition

    I always wanted to own my business and be financially independent, because I don’t believe everyone must wake up, wear suit and tie and go to a job expecting salary. My dad owned a catering business, he included our names to fill key positions even when all we did was just to count money, clear the table and wash plates. Then during my years at the University of Ibadan, I decided to add Theatre Management in my final year as a major, I was also opportune to go with student troupes who were already managing their own entertainment company successfully. Along the line I got little theatre contracts here and there, but my clients always asked if I was registered with the CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission). I told my dad about it, but the process he reeled out put me off. After school, I went to Abuja for the first time in 2010 and joined Silent Afro-Mime Troupe owned by another deaf man. There I learnt on the job for a few months and then returned to Ibadan with intention to further my education. Unfortunately, that didn’t click and I got stuck in Ibadan.

    During that interval, I was contacted by the president of Speech Pathologist and Audiologist Association of Nigeria through a friend in the Special Education Department to prepare drama interludes for their upcoming conference. There and then, I decided to start focusing on alternative communicating form of entertainment, something to put people with special needs, most especially the deaf in good light, as against all the stereotypes out there. I discovered there was almost no entertainment outfit in the country doing anything like that.

    Before Magic Finger Group, we had operated by different other names. Last year after working for a few months in a hotel in Abuja as a House Keeper, I was able to raise some money and decided it was time to get registered. I met a lawyer who guided me through the registration process. He was very amazed to meet a deaf person who wanted to do business registration.

    Deafness not a barrier?

    I would say that being deaf is not a barrier to creativity. In fact, Sign Language has proven that. If you don’t understand me, visit a deaf church and watch the choir sing in Sign Language. You will understand exactly where choreography evolved from. Magic Finger is using Sign Language to command attention through the aid of the whole body and majorly the hand to ‘magically’ express and dispense information to the anxious audience in an entertaining way.

     

    Major projects we have undertaken

    I have been directly and indirectly involved in a lot of projects, especially stage productions. I have also done lots of ‘waka pass’ roles. I recently played a role in a yet-to-be-released movie produced by Peculiar Communications. I am still working hard on my skills and learning on the job with every production. I am trying to expand my horizon in the field of entertainment to be able to one day say ‘I am a producer;’ and also to be able to thrive and bloom with my knowledge in the Arts.

    Major challenges faced

    You may be surprised if I tell you that my number one challenge is money. We wake up every day and go about our business because we want to make money to fulfill our needs and pay our bills.

    I have escaped being hit by cars and bikes without headlights at nights. I have been insulted when I went to follow-up on proposals and the secretary not knowing my mission, took me for a beggar and  offered me 10 naira. I have had people laugh and made jest of me because of my situation, but if I keep thinking about that, I would still remain in my shell. I’ve got lots of plans and things I want to do, but money is a big issue – to eat, to move, to cloth, to go to hospital, to be in a relationship and to be responsible. Money is not everything but it is part of everything.

    In a few weeks, I’d be going on internship with a deaf theatre company in Europe, Sweden to be precise, where I hope to learn and work for a month. I am presently running around for sponsorship to make that a reality for me and my interpreter. Whatever I learn will be impacted on other deaf people when I return. My admission after five years of trying to further through Distant Education is also there and that means money too.

    One other problem is that of harassment by law enforcement agencies and security operatives, who’ll deny you of entrance into important places just because you are deaf. To them, once you have a disability, then you have come to ask for financial assistance. I have missed a lot of appointments because I had to spend time in police stations and police vehicles trying to explain myself.

    Memorable moments on the job

    My first major stage performance outside Ibadan was when I was cast in Wole Soyinka’s KONGIS HARVEST as directed by Dr. Tunde Awosanmi and we went to perform at June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta. That night, the hall was jam-packed with who is who in Abeokuta since it was a command performance for Prof. Wole Soyinka’s birthday celebration. After the performance, Yemi Shodimu shook hands with all of us; as he was trying to tell me something, one of the casts quickly informed him that I am a deaf and he instantly became speechless and was just staring at me.

    A few years later, we took the same performance to Yar’Adua centre in Abuja and it was filled with beautiful memories. On our way back, it was late and we had to park our buses inside Federal College of Education at Okene. Because we couldn’t find a place to sleep, we decided to start a gyration that ultimately woke up all the students. That night was mad fun!

    There was also the production of IBOJI OKU, the Yoruba adaptation of Solomon Iguanres THE GRAVE ENCOUNTER, directed by Abraham Oladipupo. I was casted roles with very long speech that a lot of my casts started doubting if I was indeed a deaf. I wanted to give up that rehearsal because at every moment, someone would correct my pronunciation and I got really tired; but the director wouldn’t have any of that. I must say my time at University of Ibadan really taught me a lot about discipline, timing, focus and staying true to the course, as the show must go on!

    I was also fortunate to attend a dance workshop organised by Mr. Qudus Onikeeku of QDance Centre, where we had the dance maestro, Ijodee in attendance. You can imagine what I learnt in two weeks with these dance professionals. There was also an occasion in my final year at the university when my group adopted one of my short film scripts for shooting in our project work, and on set, the director had to come to me occasionally to ask for understanding of some scenes and in the end we got good grades. Life at UI contributed a lot to what I am today and where I am going. I am proud to be an alumnus of Recte Sapere Fons.

    Life as a deaf activist

    I moderate Deaf World, a WhatsApp forum and also serve a ‘gateman’ for another forum that discusses matters relating to deaf advancement in Africa. I am a Special Adviser to the Excos of Ikotun Deaf Development Association in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos. Currently, I am also PRO for Deaf Resources Centre, Nigeria. I was among those who pioneered NUDSA (National union of deaf Students Association in University of Ibadan, and I am an entertainment consultant and youth leader for NNAD (Nigerian National Association of the Deaf) at national level. It’s not really easy doing all these but I am always pushing myself to the limits for whatever cause I believe in.

    My other fancies

    I read a lot. I also try to be creative by writing; I have a few uncompleted works from prose to drama and screenplay that I have been working on for years. I am a composer too and I look forward to having a collabo with any singer someday by giving them my work. All I do in the music video is sing along using sign language and dance because having had the opportunity of living in the two worlds, the deaf and hearing, I don’t believe music is music until I see deaf people grooving successfully to its beats and lyrics. This can be achieved by a hard danceable beat and sign language in music videos and I look forward to experimenting with it someday. Note that I used to be a juvenile choir leader in church; I lost my hearing prior to my transfer to the main choir. I strongly believe it is normal to be different. I spend time online too looking to network with people on the international level most especially deaf entertainment practitioners. I also read a lot about business management, African History, entertainment and politics. And occasionally when I have the chance, I engage in sport. I play soccer, walk soccer and I swim as a hobby.

    My family, my pillar of support

    They have been very supportive to the best of their capabilities. Being a first child comes with its own challenges. Through thick and thin we keep walking. Family is important to me because at the end of the day, they are the ones by your side. It got to a point my parents realised that I have my own dreams and they just had to let me be. Today, they keep reminding me how very proud they are of me. Aside my blood family, I also have some wonderful people who today consider me as family.

  • The amazing silent world of the deaf

    The amazing silent world of the deaf

    Seun Akioye, who joined the Deaf Supporters Group (DSG) in its end-of-year party, writes on the peculiar challenges faced by people with hearing impairment, their lives revolving around the sign language.

    Inside the drab, dilapidating buildings of 3/7 Kakawa Street, Lagos Island which housed the Deaf Supporters Group (DSG), an association made up of hearing impaired persons – the excitement had reached the highest pitch. As the uniformed crowd of DSG members continued to pour into the venue, there were hugs, from friends and acquaintances, backslaps and a general shout of excitement.

    The President of the DSG, Afolabi Dahunsi was at the centre of the excitement, dressed in a matching uniform of purple ankara, a flowing agbada and a fitting cap to match, he laughed, pumped hands with the members and obliged the many requests for photographs and to give out his business cards to the guests. The President has a special business card complete with phone numbers and emails. But curiously, a caveat was employed at the end of the telephone, it says “text message only”.

    At the gate, the security agents had a herculean task controlling the crowd; a curious observer might wonder why the organisers could not get a more professional security agency to handle its affairs. But this was no ordinary event; it was one which would only yield to people of its kind. As the guests were all deaf and dumb, only security agents of such inclinations can adequately cater for them.

    Inside, loud music blared from a section of the arena, but it made no difference to the excited crowd of the deaf as diverse conversations went on from one small group to the other. It was silent conversations, one which was accompanied by sight and not sounds. Sometimes the eyes popped up in amazement at some exciting news and then all the emotions which spoke all that was needed would rush into their faces. The members of DSG resided in a world of their own, one which is open to only a few outsiders, a world reduced to grunts, groans and signs.

    How does one empathise with the deaf? How does one understand his emotions and frustrations? Living under a terrifying economic circumstances is bad but being handicapped, unable to hear the sound of the world as it whistles pass and unable to hear one’s own voice surely adds a new dimension to the frustration. The deaf and mute of the DSG have little love for their hearing counterparts, somehow, one gets the impression they feel the hearing society ‘owes’ them and when such debts are not paid, they feel persecuted by the world  and are constantly in conflict with the larger society.

    That is why they have acquired the reputation as possessing fiery temper and ill-manners. It was in order to debunk these stereotypes and prove that the deaf and dumb have brains and can contribute positively to the society that the DSG was founded. And every year, they come together for a few hours to furnish themselves with the universal happiness which has been given to all humans irrespective of their disability.

    Though, it was the beginning of the year, the members of the DSG chose to celebrate their end of the year events.  For some years, this event had unfailingly held at the same venue but the date depended on the charity of “hearing” philanthropists and kind-hearted public servants. This year, the charming philanthropist has been Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    At 11:00am, the Compere, Wole Ekundayo who had been an interpreter for the deaf for 17 years, breathed heavily into the microphone, an action that signified an end to the loud music.  But the end of the music did not stop the loud chatter coming from the members. Immediately, three interpreters placed themselves at different positions facing the crowd and began a furious spate of interpretations using sign language. One of them, Adeyemo Steven has volunteered for the DSG since 2005. Ekundayo darted round the assembly speaking and furiously using his hands to call for ‘silence’.

    When calm was restored, Ekundayo announced that there would be the singing of the national anthem. A cue was given and the anthem blared from the loudspeakers. All the members stood at attention, some placed their hands across their breasts while others made a sign of the salute. Though they could not hear the words but followed every line from the interpreters who used the signs to communicate the wordings. Though, no words were spoken, the anthem as rendered by the deaf seemed the sweetest and the most genuine ever sang.

    When it ended, Ekundayo made a sign to them to applause.  When the message was understood some merely raised their hands to the heavens while others waved them. The event proceeded in a slow and sluggish manner, understandably so because every word spoken by the compere had to be interpreted jointly by him and the interpreters. But he tried to make the event lively, making fun and jokes, switching from signs to speech.

    The President, Dahunsi was lavish in his praise of those he called “Friends of the Deaf.” He said the organisation has made significant improvements in the lives of its members: providing employment and improving access to education and health. He also said some of their members have gained employment with some local governments while others have been granted financial assistance.

    He then solicited further assistance from the public which include: a generating set, office equipments and training and empowerment of its members. But as much as Dahunsi tried to be optimistic, it was clear all was not well with the deaf in Nigeria. The National Coordinator of the DSG, Okiki Adeyemi was visibly angry when he took the microphone.  He accused many corporate organ-isations of “refusing” their request for help. A flurry of furious sign language followed and there was a general groan of disagreements.

    “Help us to explain to our leaders,” Adeyemi yelled, turning to the journalists. “The deaf wants to contribute positively to the nation but we need help. We need to set up our members in trade so they could stop begging on the streets”.

    Some members from the northern part of the country, who sat differently from the others, rose up when they understood what Adeyemi said and gave him some applause by raising their hands to heaven. But Adeyemi was not done. “We sent letters to some corporate organisations to support our organisation with Christmas presents so we can share to our members. We asked for food items and we got letters sent through the courier saying they cannot help us. If they had sent us the money used to send the letter, we would have bought the bags of rice,” he said.

    Adeyemi said the DSG had sent letters to Shell Petroleum Company, Lekki Concession Company, Dangote Foundation and Julius Berger Construction Company and they all sent letters expressing their regrets at not been able to grant the groups requests. With that, Adeyemi threw down on the table one of the packages used in ferrying the letter.

    More groans, grunts and signs

    Comfort Asare took centre stage afterwards. She was a tall, beautiful woman with penetrating, but charming eyes. She began by establishing that the deaf beg because there are no jobs she said the deaf do not have a dedicated police that understand their plight or medical personnel that can help them. “One of us died in Berger last week on the street, with his begging bowl beside him. We have to fight for our rights, we are special, and for how long will we be begging? The deaf are dying, please fight for us, we are not useless.

    “The deaf in America, they are equal, but here we have graduates but don’t have jobs, we want our own police, we want our own doctors; those who can understand us.”

    Asare was very angry. The crowd yelled. It was again that unusual yell accomplished in groans and grunts. When that seemed insufficient, they clapped. It was the first time they clapped since the event began.

    Kingsley Njoku, who graduated from the University of Ilorin in 2011, said, as soon as potential employers know you are deaf, “they quickly dismiss you”.

    But Alhaji Sulaiman Dagbo, a lecturer at the Federal College of Education (special) tried to encourage his people. He insisted they must not use their disability as an excuse, he said they are better than beggars and they possess one of the best brains in the world. The people listened to him, but few were placated.

    The deaf children

    The children of the deaf are generally referred to as deaf children. Though all of them present at the event could hear, they are also proficient in the sign language. Tayo and Boluwatife Ogunwale followed their deaf mother, Funke to the event, they seemed happy with their mother and declared that they are not ashamed of her. “We learn the sign language and we communicate well. She is our mother and we are not ashamed,” they said. There were others too. In the midst of the silent world their parent’s lives, they serve as the inaudible voice in the world of silence. Life for them is two- faced: One spent in silence and the other spent in hearing.

    Hope in disability

    Senator Tinubu brought a message of hope. Represented by Mrs. Salau Bashua, the wife of Lagos Island East Local Government said, despite the present challenges, they can be useful to themselves. She enjoined them to think higher and have greater goals in life. The compere had his own version of the speech. “Don’t say you can’t do anything, you can do more than those who hear.” The crowd yelled; there was silence.

    Senator Gbenga Ashafa brought more message of hope. For many years he has patronised the group and sent two representatives to the event. “We are here to support you, Senator Ashafa has always supported the deaf and we shared in your aspirations. Next year, we will provide the canopies and all the food that you need,” Otunba Lekan Adebayo, who represented the Senator, told the excited crowd.

    An American, Erica Mcvey said she is in the country to see what assistance she can render to the deaf. “I have made lots of contacts and I hope I can use my experience and resources to help them. I love the people,” she said.

    To show ability in disability, the Refuge Dancers were called up. Four young men took to the floor and choreographed to a gospel music with amazing precision and timeliness.  Though, they did not directly interpret the song, they however made it their own and gave it a new meaning. Their manager, Gbenga Sodehinde said: “We teach them through signs and counting of beats and tempo. We are available to entertain at any function”.

    The music began again. Ekundayo moved to the centre and began to dance; it was a clue to the deaf to join in the show. Many came forward, beautiful young girls, dancing away to the latest dance-hall music. Even though, some danced out of tune, they looked normal. Soon, the dance reached a crescendo and the dancers twisted and turned, performing all manner of erotic maneuvers. Men abandoned their dance to feast their lustful eyes on the deaf dancers.

  • Silent killer diseases

    A silent killer is a disease that a person lives with for some time not knowing he or she has it until the disease has hurt enough to kill. There are many silent killers and the likelihood of everyone falling victim to at least one of them is very high in this our present world. That is why I like that Nigerian expression: “God forbid bad thing! Who knows all the bad things that are lurking around us and even inside us. OGK – only God knows.Annual medical check-ups are useful for saving oneself from silent killers.

    Silent killers include: hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis, obstructive sleep apnoea, heart disease, breast cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, colon cancer, and rectal cancer.

    Hypertension can be a silent killer. A person with high blood pressure may not have any symptoms or discomforts but the high blood pressure may be slowly damaging vital organs such as the heart and kidney until a major incapacitation occurs. If any symptom occurs at an early stage it may be in the form of headache which the victim may easily attribute to other causes.

    Delicate blood vessels may burst under high pressure leading to such thing as nose bleeds, uterine bleeding, blindness, stroke, etc. Some other symptoms that may be observed include: tinnitus (ringing in the ears), dizziness, confusion, fatigue, shortness of breath, etc. Many adults (as many as 25% in the US) may have high blood pressure. Early detection can keep it under control through therapy and lifestyle changes. Blood pressure tends to increase with age therefore your doctor will let you know what is beyond limit for you.

    High cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia or hyperlipidemia) is another silent killer. The victim may observe no symptoms until the disease precipitates heart disease, stroke, or heart attack. One noticeable symptom is xanthoma, a collection of cholesterol under the skin producing yellow discoloration. There may be yellowish patches round eyelids (in Caucasians), and whitish edges of the cornea of the eyes. However, high cholesterol is usually found by blood tests.

    Diabetes symptoms can vary by type of diabetes and may include excessive thirst, excessive urination, fatigue, slow healing wounds, blurred vision, and weight loss. Type 2 diabetes generally results from prediabetes in older adults and takes a long time to develop. Symptoms may not emerge or be noticeable for years. Gestational diabetes in pregnant women may also lack symptoms other than excessive thirst and excessive urination. Type 1 diabetes develops quickly, often in children, and symptoms are obvious. Having annual medical examinations helps us catch the disease. 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. Complications of untreated gestational diabetes in pregnant women include the development of preeclampsia in the mother. The baby may have developmental problems, excessive growth and may be born with respiratory distress syndrome. Severe life-threatening complications of high blood sugars (hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome (HHNS), diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)) require emergency treatment.

    Heart disease includes angina which manifests as chest discomfort, chest pain, brief pain episodes of about 2-5 minutes, worsening of the pain with exercise, and relief of the pain by resting.Shortness of breath is a condition that is associated with symptoms such as indigestion, palpitations, chest pain, arrhythmias (irregular heart beats), light-headedness, and fainting.

    Depression is another silent killer disease. Whatever precipitates the depression: loss, failure, trauma, physical pain, psychological suffering, social events, etc., depression results in loss of ability to enjoy life and living. Work and family life, good food, sex, hobbies, and other normally cherished and enjoyable aspects oflife lose their values and effects on the victim. Extreme depression can turn a person into a “living dead”, unable to appreciate life and make progress in life. Depression can be managed through good counselling and therapy if it is not curable.

    The silent killers above are common diseases but knowing about them helps us avoid them, fight them, overcome them, or cope with them. Nobody prays to have such diseases. Knowing about them also helps us to be good to those who avoidably or unavoidable end up with such diseases, especially members of our own families.

    Dr. ’Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910.

  • Silent governors

    Silent governors

    We shall not from the outset call them absentee governors, for that will imply that we have already reached a judgment that three governors in this democracy are guilty of gross misconduct. It will mean they have criminally transmuted their personal infirmities into excuses to abscond from their duties or violate the law of the land.

    But questions abound, and at stake is not only our respect for the rule of law, but also the finer issues of decency, honour and constitutionalism. The three governors at issue are Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Liyel Imoke of Cross River State and Danbbaba Suntai of Taraba State. It is important that we disabuse any Nigerian about government offices and taboos. It is no offence and there should be no opprobrium about anyone taking ill. We are all human and therefore vulnerable to the frailties that the environment, culture, age, the pressures of duty and even heredity impose on us.

    But in our society, which still chafes at the idea of openness in personal matters, the refusal of the three governors to be transparent about the nature and gravity of, and the level of recuperation in, their ailments demonstrates how we have fallen short of an important tenet of democracy: the concept of an open society.

    So the three governors, who are supposed to be icons of this struggle to free our society from ancient stranglehold of culture, reflect how far away we have veered from a set standard.

    But we have no choice in this matter. While the partisans on the side of the governors have cohabited with their bosses to keep the truth out of the public glare, their opponents – both partisan and neutral – have called for transparency. What, for instance, is the nature of Governor Chime’s affliction? He was last sighted in this country reportedly on September 20, 2012. Where has he been? If he is in the hospital, where is that hospital, what country, city or neighbourhood?

    If he is sick, shouldn’t we know whether he is making progress, and what kind of progress? Was it not a disgrace that the state was teased into a tension of expectancy when it was wildly rumoured at the end of last year that he was returning home but it became an elaborate hoax? We had the same drama of lies in former president, Umar Yar’Adua’s sad days of infirmity. He was expected every other week until the spin-meisters’ resourceful imagination came to seed. When he came home, we realised by hindsight that he came to die.

    We do not want to play out this sort of drama again. But that seems the story playing itself out in the southeast state.

    In Cross River, Governor Imoke handed over and proceeded to the United States reportedly for a treatment, stating he is away for two months’ accumulated leave. But that is all we know. If he is out of the country, we still need to know the specifics. What is the hospital? Where in the United States is it located? What kind of progress is he making? If he is not making progress, we need also to know. Just as in the case of Governor Chime, Governor Imoke has not lived up to the billing of law and decency on this matter.

    Governor Suntai, whose illness arose from injuries associated with the plane crash late last year, reportedly is in a German hospital. But that is the much we know about him. He had circulated a few weeks back picture of himself and his family of twins with a view to presenting himself as in good health. In the late Yar’Adua saga, we witnessed similar public relations moves. In his case, the former president’s voice was transmitted to the public to demonstrate, with nowhere close to success, the virility of the first citizen. Suntai’s family picture was no doctor’s report and there is no art to tell a person’s health in a photo.

    One of the ironies of this matter is that all three are presumably receiving medical care on the sponsorship of their states. They are not using private funds but taxpayers’ who hardly enjoy such privileges when they suffer afflictions of presumably less seriousness.

    The most tragic part of this saga is that the steps that the law, in spite of its inevitable ambiguities, prescribes have been ignored. One of them is that the speaker of the state house of assembly should set up a medical panel, according to section 189(4) of the 1999 constitution.

    Why have we not had that? The constitution stipulates that it should comprise five persons, including a personal physician of the governor. So serious is the matter that in Enugu State, a group that calls itself Save Enugu Group, is in the vanguard for transparency, although it has canvassed a few wild options. What that group can do is to ask the court, through a motion of mandamus, to compel the speaker to appoint a medical panel. We need similar steps in the other states.

    One of the fears of the governors and their votaries is the impeachment sword. But that does not come until it can be proved that the governors have committed gross misconduct, which is a difficult charge. But other than that, the law also sees permanent incapacity as a ground for a governor to vacate the seat. Also, we do not know enough.

    We are in cloud over these affairs because the principals and their minders have shown lack of transparency. This is a principal bane of our democracy. We crave its grand ideals but are not willing to abide by some of its simplest pleas.

    It is about transparency; but more than that, it is about the rule and sanctity of law. It is about constitutionalism; but more than that, it is about honour and decency.

    The three governors should realise that it is not about politics. It is about running a good society.

  • Silent tremors in Turkey

    Silent tremors in Turkey

    Turkey is gradually changing in such dramatic ways that were the country’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938), to rise from the grave, he would probably drop dead from shock. The change is not recent; perhaps it was even inevitable. After founding the Republic of Turkey in 1923 on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire, Ataturk embarked on cultural, economic and political reforms to transform the former Ottoman Empire into a westernised and secular state. The epicentre of the reforms was secularism, which sought to preclude unhealthy religious influences on politics. Specifically, in 1927, courses relating to religion were excluded from the curriculum on the excuse that non-Muslims also lived in Turkey. Between 1927 and 1949, no religious instruction was permitted in the school system to prevent the sort of abuse of Islam that contributed massively to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Armed Forces stood as guarantor of that secularism, that is, until the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came into office in 2002 and began to slowly and more palpably roll the curtain back by, among other things, introducing religious instruction in school curriculum.

    Now, after a long time, and after series of turbulent struggles with ruling parties that introduced non-secular policies into governance, the Turkish military has finally bowed to public policy by allowing the inclusion of elective Koranic courses in the curriculum of military high schools. This is not only surprising; it may in fact presage a steady surrender of the republic to religious influences in line with significant public opinion. But whether that opinion will serve the republic well in the near and distant future is not clear. It required the firm hands and ruthless conviction of Ataturk to resist the yearnings of Turks for Islamic influences in Turkish life, whether in education or in politics. The situation is now changing in favour of non-secularist policies, but the military, for which Kemalism is both a doctrine and a nostalgic way of life, still remains largely insulated from religion. Indeed, the rollback became sharply evident after the 2007 elections, which the AKP won more emphatically than it did in 2002. First was the controversial election of Abdullah Gul as president, in spite of his past involvement with Islamist parties. (The presidency is ceremonial, as effective power resides in the office of the prime minister). And second was the proposal of the government that same year to lift the ban on headscarves in universities.

    Of all the issues bifurcating the Turkish Republic, the headscarves controversy represents perhaps the most poignant. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had in the 2007 elections made electoral promise to lift the ban on headscarves. On winning, he caused the parliament in February 2008 to amend the constitution to that effect. But the opposition, at the head of widespread public protests, applied to the Constitutional Court to annul the amendment. The Court upheld the appeal and retained the ban. By 2010, however, the ban was no longer enforced, even though the law remains in force. For a society that is 95 percent Muslim, it is instructive how they respond to the controversial issue of religion, especially against the backdrop of the secularist principles adumbrated by Ataturk. For now there are enough forces to safeguard Kemalism and keep Turkey on the straight and narrow path of secularism. But the tide is changing, albeit slowly, almost like silent tremors, and with religion constituting a dangerous undertow to the continuing modernisation and stability of the republic.

    A majority of Turks appears to recognise the salience of the Kemalist doctrine of separation of roles between religion and politics as a factor in modernisation and social and political harmony. Turkey was fortunate that as the Ottoman Empire disintegrated, Ataturk came along with his visionary leadership and forceful personality. He was prescient enough to appreciate the drawbacks of the past and the high ground Turkey must climb in order to take its pride of place in the modern era. That great lesson is lost on Egypt, Iran, present Iraq, and sadly Nigeria. The case of Nigeria is particularly depressing. Having never tasted modernisation, it has also failed to produce leaders who knew where to draw the line and strike the right balance. This is why the northern part of Nigeria is in turmoil, and why, if the Southwest does not take extraordinary measures now, it could also become susceptible to the destabilising forces of retrogression masquerading as religion.