Tag: stop

  • Shippers Council to stop ‘arbitrary port charges’

    The Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) is determined to stop arbitrary charges to make the ports attractive for business, The Nation has learnt.

    The NSC, sources said, was determined to resolve the problem caused by the concessioning of the seaports to private investors about 13 years ago.

    The council was taken to court by terminal operators and shipping companies after the government named it as the port economic regulator. The case is yet to be determined by the Supreme Court.

    A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT) said the council and the ministry were resolute to achieve efficiency at the seaports.

    The source said the era of imposing arbitrary charges was over.

    The council, it was learnt, is worried that the operators are not increasing charges without following due process. Part of the agreement, the source said, was to call a stakeholders’meeting during which such charges would be discussed and approved before implementation.

    The operators and shipping firms, the official alleged, introduced new charges in the past without calling such a meeting.

    “These people went to court to challenge the appointment of the NSC as the port economic regulator. Despite the fact that the appointment of the NSC has been gazetted, they are still claiming that there is no law backing its appointment.

    “But they have forgotten that the agreement they signed with the ‘NPA was a mere agreement that has no single law of the federation backing it up and they have operated the port now for almost 13 years, without being gazetted not to talk of the law of the National Assembly.

    “It was this that prompted the agitation for the appointment of a commercial regulator to oversee the activities of stakeholders, including providers and receivers of shipping services. The freight forwarders had on many occasions gone on strike to protest the action of the service providers in increasing charges and for other deplorable conditions in the system. They had argued that this was so because there was no regulator to check the activities of the terminal operators and shipping companies, most of whom are sister companies of the terminal operators. It was based on this problem that stakeholders applauded the Federal Government when it approved the Shippers’ Council as the economic regulator,” the official said.

    Some stakeholders said it was time the government reformed the maritime sector, and reviewed it’s agreement with the operators.

    The  Chairman, Ports Consultative Council, Otunba Kunle Folarin, said: “If the port industry truly deserves to be productive, competitive, and earn a hub status in the region, it must reform and stop deluding itself.

    ”The colossal growth in traffic, environment and empowerment, which we deserve,will forever elude the country unless the entire industry is reformed to meet the performance level of the ports in the sub-region now husbanding Nigeria destination cargo traffic.

    “There is much more to do to achieve the objectives of unbundling and creating efficient and competitive ports environment.

    “The reforms must start now in an all-inclusive way; it must be total. That is the only way, and that is the way forward,” he said.

    Folarin, who was not happy with the situation of the port, said a typical shipping company’s debit note in Nigeria contained at least nine different elements of charges.

    These include: shipping line charges, container cleaning, container deposit, Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) charge, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) sea protection levy, MOWCA fee, freight levy, document release, demurrage charges, NIPOST stamp tax, and Value Added Tax.

    Currently, eight of these charges have generated dispute between the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and the shipping companies, while four are a source of disaffection among importers, exporters and the terminal freight forwarders.

    Also, another four charges are being contested among shipping companies, importers, exporters and freight forwarders.

    Ports cost is a collective responsibility for both government and the private sector.

    Total port cost per a given cargo unit include Customs duty/taxes – 70 per cent, and Ports Terminal Operators – 13 per cent. The Nigerian Ports Authority’s share is negligible (+/-1%) excluding Customs duties, and comprises costs of handling, storage and delivery.

    To address the problem, Folarin said there was a need for deliberate government policy to reduce Customs duty and taxes; set up an effective and efficient single window platform; regulate infrastructure development especially in the port environment and common users’ areas.

    He emphasised the need for a stakeholders’dialogue, and encourage Public-Private Partnership in ports business, invest in modern facilities, and provide good quality human resources.

    The Executive Vice Chairman, Sifax Group, Taiwo Afolabi, said: “We are convinced that these are matters of immediate and practical concerns to every Nigerian, and more so to the regulatory authorities that need to harmonise and balance the conflicting viewpoints to the satisfaction of the stakeholders.

    “I recall as an industry player that the exchange rate (Naira to dollar) in Year 2016, for instance, when we became ports concessionaires was between N125 and N131 to a dollar. How much is the exchange rate today?

    “In other words, since many of the operations are expected to be discharged to the lessee in dollars, how much naira will be enough today to purchase the required dollars.

    “Thirteen  whole years after the historic concession, how do you generate that amount of naira in today’s national economy?

    “By what percentage will the cost of service be adjusted upward to reflect the astronomical changes in the foreign exchange regime? So many questions seeking answers,” he said.

    Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Associations of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup said the operators were not to blame for the astronomical increase.

    “Some people are putting all the blames on terminal operators and I feel very disappointed.

    “The truth is that leadership is the problem. The government is the problem. I am not talking of this present leadership, the whole thing started from time immemorial. There was no sincerity on the part of government itself.

    “If you look at what is happening in Apapa today, there is no enabling environment.

    “The operators are losing money. We have invested heavily and what do we get back in return?

    “When we took over, dollar was N125, and today it is N362.

    ‘’NPA is there, Shippers’ Council is also there. What NIMASA charges is one of the highest in the world. Policy summersaults everywhere.

    ‘’Do we sit well and think deeply before changing policies?

    “There are whole lots of government agencies in the ports with a lot of charges, even stamps.

    ‘’You will see the government going around talking about Ease of Doing Business, are we supporting him? Is government supporting itself?

    ‘’Ports should be a one-stop shop, but I am sorry we are far from it because there is no sincerity on the part of anyone,” she said.

    Bello expressed optimism that the council would deliver on its mandate.

    The council, Bello said, was determined to meet the expectations of Nigerians in terms of port operation, efficiency and port charges.

    He assured genuine importers that irregularities and arbitrariness in the ports system would be addressed.

    The NSC, he assured, would look into the high cost of doing business at the ports, and what was responsible for the diversion of goods meant for ports to neighbouring ports of Cotonou.

    The immediate past President, Association of Nigerian Customs Licensed Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, urged the council to review charges imposed on importers.

    Shittu noted that numerous charges were being imposed arbitrarily without due consultations among stakeholders, while soliciting for appropriate consideration for the importers/exporters whom are the basis for shipping because they generate cargoes.

  • Safe Towers’ project: Judge rejects banker’s bid to stop EFCC

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a fundamental rights suit by Safetrust Mortgage Bank Chief Executive Officer Mr. Akintayo Oloko seeking to stop his arrest and possible prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN), Mr. Kunle Ogunmefun and Currant Limited are the other defendants.

    EFCC launched an investigation against Oloko following a petition by Ogunmefun alleging fraud and massive diversion of funds on the Safe Towers project.

    The developers, represented by Oloko, Safetrust Mortgage Bank and Macbosh Properties Limited, sought a mandatory order compelling the respondents to return forthwith the Safe Towers Estate title deed registered as 37/37/2444, covered by Survey Plan BAS258/2013/130-116(3)/LA owned by Macbosh Properties Limited, but allegedly seized by the respondents.

    They prayed for an order compelling the respondents to tender written and public apology to them and to pay N500million as general and exemplary damages for Oloko’s arrest and alleged violation of his right to personal liberty.

    In a supporting affidavit by Oloko, the applicants said due to misunderstanding, parties agreed to terminate their agreement as contained in a memorandum of understanding on the estate project.

    They said it was on the condition that the developer would repay the amount invested along with the interest of 16 per cent, adding that EFCC’s intervention was outside its mandate.

    But, Ogunmefun and Currant Limited argued the applicants were not entitled to damages having failed to substantiate their claims.

    Besides, they said EFCC did not violate any law when it investigated the applicants based on Ogunmefun’s June 20, 2017 petition.

    In his verdict, Justice Muslim Hassan held that the applicants’ originating motion was unmeritious and that EFCC was empowered to investigate any person for fraud without a court order.

    The judge held that there was a petition against the applicants for obtaining money by false pretence, which EFCC was validly investigating.

    Justice Hassan awarded N20,000 cost in favour of each of the respondents and struck out the AGF’s name from the suit because no reasonable cause of action was disclosed against him.

    The judge noted that the applicants could not expect a judicial fiat to prevent the EFCC from doing its work neither could they be shielded from criminal investigation by the court.

    Conceived in 2013, Safe Towers is a three-block high rise building comprising 16 units of three bedroom apartments and executive five-bedroom pent duplexes (plus utility room) with swimming pool. The project was to be delivered within 24 months.

    To buy one of the blocks for N710 million, Ogunmefun executed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 with the developer and made instalmental payments amounting to N550 million.

    He, however, petitioned EFCC about an alleged criminal intent to defraud him.

    EFCC’s intervention resulted in Oloko’s arrest, following which he sued.

     

  • Stop using our movie poster to deceive fans, says Jaye Kuti

    Tross-over actress and producer Jaye Kuti, who is presently on location for a new project titled ‘Iya Afin’, has called on those using their movie posters to deceive their fans in watching the wrong movies online to cease from such acts, considering the hard work put in producing movies.

    With two of her movies recently released, Jaye revealed that people had already seen the wrong movies with the belief that it was her work.

    Uploading pictures of her sleeping on a mat, she wrote: “I was indeed tired and truly asleep on the set of ‘Iya Afin’ when uncle Yemi Solade took the pictures. My point now is this; some bastard will now pirate the job and not stop there.”

    “‘Once’ the poster is out, they will put it on the movies on YouTube so that people can watch thinking it’s the original movie of yours.

    “Check my movies Olori Amolegbe and Omolakeji, people were already watching wrong movies because my poster(s) were on the movies; resulting to many people seeing it before your movie is finally out.”

    “They do this to many movies. My prayers to God is to reward our hard work and crown us with success. Straight from the heart.”

    Meanwhile, a fan responding to the post blamed the high rate of piracy on the government. He stated: “Jaye, seriously I am one your addicted fans… Your ordeal in the hands of pirates who feed fat on your intellectual works is obviously becoming too unbearable and pain-inflicting, but who else can we blame here order than our government.

    “Piracy law needs to be enforced and prosecuted offenders need to face a death penalty for destroying, robbing and killing others by stealing their intellectual properties. But it’s a pity in this part of the world that our lawmakers and law enforcers see nothing wrong in someone gradually killing others by stealing their intellectual properties, is it not absurd that they can propose death penalty for hate speech, but why can’t we have the same for those who steal someone’s intellectual property?”

  • Video: Police stop $4million robbery attempt

    Video: Police stop $4million robbery attempt

    POLICE in Florida, USA, have taken down three suspects in an alleged plot to rob and kill armoured guards.

    The dramatic sting operation carried out by dozens of officers was caught on police video in the middle of I-95 in Martin County, Florida.

    According to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, the three men were planning to murder two armoured car employees in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and make off with millions of dollars in cash.

    The police operation took two years to complete, authAorities said, and was done in conjunction with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Port St. Lucie Police, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. The take down took place at 9 a.m. on Feb. 20.

    Police helicopter video shows dozens of vehicles swarm the suspects on I-95 just hours before authorities said the suspects were to pull off the heist. Police forced the three suspects out of their vehicle, arresting Daryl Canady, Alger Lee Ellison and Martiavius Leon Williams.

    A police affidavit said the trio were to rob an armoured car outside a PNC Bank, kill the employees and then had planned another similar robbery and killing. One guard working on the truck was in on the plan to take the truck’s $4 million, the affidavit states. It also says the three men competed a “dry run” of the robbery five days earlier; however, a confidential informant tipped police off to the operation.

    “So you see in the video actually we have cars in front, cars in the back, vehicles on the side, and we just slowly tightened the noose, stopped the vehicle, and get them out. Nobody got hurt,” Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said.

     

  • Stop the killings in Benue, others, group tells govt

    Stop the killings in Benue, others, group tells govt

    The Nigerian Centre of PEN International, otherwise known as PEN Nigeria, has condemned the violent killings and other acts against humanity being meted out on the citizenry by insurgents and cultists in Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau and Rivers.

    The group, in a statement by its President, Folu Agoi, decried the killings, describing it as an “inferno”.

    “Nigerians are daily inundated with news of scores of citizens killed and many more maimed, besides precious property destroyed in virtually all the states of the federation, particularly Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau and Rivers. PEN Nigeria, hereby expresses, in absolute terms, its condemnation of the raging conflagration that seems to have taken root in Nigeria, threatening to engulf the entire country. The inferno – which manifests itself in carnage, kidnapping, robbery, rape, maiming and sundry other acts of barbarism carried out mostly by suspected itinerant cattle herders, besides suspected insurgents and suspected cultists – is, sadly, inflamed by the failure of the Federal Government to go beyond paying lip service to its understanding of – and commitment to – its basic obligation, as enunciated in Section 14(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), that: ‘The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.’ The group, therefore, called on government to take more drastic steps to put an end to the menace before it engulfs the country, while observing that the growth of violence shows the failure government’s commitment to its responsibility to its citizens.

    “PEN Nigeria, thus, urges the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive action to stem the tide of incessant attacks of innocent citizens, and demonstrate genuine commitment to the safety and welfare of all citizens. Sincere effort must be made to sanitise the country and remove its name from the list of states in which the sanctity of human life is an anathema.”

  • Vigilance group to stop kidnapping in schools

    The Lagos Command of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) has unveiled plans to combat kidnapping, robberies and ritual attacks around primary and secondary schools in the state following the resumption of academic activities.

    The Command, which yesterday inaugurated seven executive members including the Deputy State Commander of Operations, said it had restrategised to achieve maximum impact in securing schools and other places.

    VGN State Commander, Mr James Udoma, who spoke at a stakeholders’ conference in Ikeja, said the rejigging would ensure that experienced individuals were fixed in the right positions to direct security affairs at the community level.

    He said stemming the increasing spate of social threats in urban areas could only be possible with the cooperation of the Police and government.

    Udoma said the group was willing to augment the efforts of critical security agencies, noting that it had leveraged on the idea of attaching members to familiar terrain to effectively unearth looming crimes and their perpetrators.

    “Community policing is a collaboration of community members and the police. With the concept of the establishment of vigilantes, they are domiciled in their area of operation and understand their terrain, topography and even speak the language. These are people who will understand security challenges in their area and call for solutions,” he said.

    Stressing the need for the National Assembly to expedite the legal recognition of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, the Director-General Institute of Security, University of Lagos (Unilag) Adebayo Akinade, said a local government law promulgated during the military regime already backed the establishment of the VGN to operate in their community.

  • Who will stop the rot in Kogi?

    SIR: Kogi State is in a state of coma and economic doldrums that require an urgent attention. On all fronts, Kogi State spells failure. The indices for any vestige of development remain abysmal. Poverty rages, unemployment increases in astronomical dimension, infrastructural facilities are in decay, education sector is struggling to survive, salaries are unpaid, hunger, despair and destruction now haunt the state.

    The people are indeed living in very trying times: dissatisfied with the present and face the future with much trepidation. If Kogi State today were a living entity, it would be perceived as a blind entity groping aimlessly without direction while pretending to be on a purposeful mission of institutionalizing the change agenda.

    It is obvious that there is a vacuum of leadership in the state. What the Kogites bargained for is not exactly what they got. In the place of giant of yester years, Kogites tolerated and accepted poor substitute foisted on them either by the power that be: courtesy of some agents in APC or by providence to pontificate in crude manner over the affairs of the state.

    The domain of governance is suffused by those who engage in vulgar despoliation of social political and economic heritage of the people in the confluence state. Governor Yaya Bello has betrayed the confidence reposed in him particularly by the Nigerian youths and Kogites at large through his crude bastardization of commonwealth of the people, debasement of principal elements of public trust and good governance.

    Governance is not an abstract concept. Governance all over the world is about people therefore it must be germane to people’s lives by promoting their standards of living. If governance is not capable of improving people’s well -being and quality of life, it is at best an empty concept at worst a hoax.

    According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) the principal elements of good governance include accountability, transparency, inclusiveness, responsiveness, efficiency, effectiveness, participatory and leadership rooted in integrity. And public trust would be gauged and evaluated on the basis of these elements because they constitute veritable means through which better policies and programmes that will enhance better life can be actualized, maintained and sustained.

    The style of governance adopted by Yaya Bello negates all of these principal elements. Why on earth would a governor remain insensitive and unresponsive to the plight of workers of the state who are being owed several months of salaries and arrears?

    In Kogi State today, budgeting processing is now carried out in opaque and corruptive manner. Contracts are awarded to political cronies without tender and publication for public bidding. These have bred despondency, cynicism and loss of hope among the citizens.

    The education sector that supposed to be the bedrock of development is in disarray. Incessant strike actions and closure of tertiary institutions because of non- payment of subvention by the government have all combined to make nonsense of education in the state. Most of the tertiary institutions in Kogi State today cannot boost of potable water; even some areas in Lokoja the capital city are facing the same problem despite the waters surrounding the state. Roads are abandoned, health care services remain the shadow of its former self, the state’s chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress is demobilized and demotivated from pursuing the yearnings and aspirations of workers and endless screening of civil servants now characterize the civil service. What a government!

    The people of Kogi have come to critical point in their political lives where decisions they make will either make or mar their political destinies. In doing this, they should use their voice as an instrument to suppress the high-handedness of the mighty, activate their socio- political conscience, come out of docility and utter passiveness and demand accountability from the government. They should ask what the government does with the resources they have been empowered with, how well these resources have been utilized, through what process and more importantly, whether there was sufficient value-for resources obtained. Kogi State government should explain how it expended first tranche of N20bn and second tranche of N11.5bn bailout funds, the internally generated revenue and several months of federal allocations to the state’s treasury and other account of activities through relevant and constitutionally approved channels.

    Bello and his political acolytes should stop engaging in brickbats, mudslinging and creating an enemy where there is none. He should call expanded stakeholders’ meeting of Kogites both at home and in the diaspora to re- draw the map through which the government can travel on its journey of putting Kogi State on pedestal of excellence.

    The clock is ticking and posterity will soon judge and put Yaya Bello on either right or wrong side of history.

     

    • Usman Okai Austin,

    Biraidu Abocho,

    Dekina LGA, Kogi State. 

  • Stop divisive speeches, Ooni tells youths

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has warned youths to stop making speeches that can cause division among the nation’s ethnic groups.

    The monarch advised them to engage in activities that promote the unity and peace.

    Addressing reporters at Ile-Ife, Osun State, on this year’s Youth Empowerment Summit organised by the Young Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (YEN), the foremost Yoruba monarch advised youths to shun social vices that dent the image of the country.

    Oba Ogunwusi reiterated his commitment to the empowerment of youths, describing them as the mirror of the nation.

    He noted that hate speeches and blame games would only endanger the survival of Nigeria.

    The monarch implored youths to go through Nigeria’s history to get the requisite inspiration on nationhood.

    According to him, the survival and growth of Nigeria as a nation-state depended on the forthrightness and pro-activeness of youths.

    He said: “I completely support the positive initiative to empower Nigerian youths and make them responsible.

    “All the hate speeches and blame games should stop; they are not good for this country. We need to go back to history and learn how our forefathers started the struggle for the nation’s emancipation in 1920s and 1930s.

    “I am urging leadership of YES to challenge other youths for positive things and build a country of our choice and desire.

    “Let us stop hate speeches. I want to implore youths: let us come together and work together. Let youths come together and support the government. Nigerian youths should wake up from slumber. We should stop being used and dumped by politicians.”

  • Why we should stop eating wheat foods

    We will take a brief vacation today from the ongoing running series on CHRONIC INSOMNIA AND TRAINLOAD OF TROUBLES, which has run in two parts. The series is yielding ground to two publications, which have been making the rounds in many chat groups on the social media, including some of the friendship groups to which I belong.

    When I first read about the dangers of eating wheat, I almost responded like a Doubting Thomas. Wheat?, I wondered. We have eaten wheat since goodness knows when! Until the Nigerian bread market became fraudulent, mixing white flour with wheat flour and passing it off as whole wheat flour and bread, I ate wheat bread for breakfast almost everyday. The shocking discovery is that man has now done to wheat what they have done, and are doing, to other food crops, modifying them from the way Mother Nature gave us these food crops and transforming them into states that would make them grow faster, more resistant to infections, keep longer and yield more money in the market. Quite naturally, the transformation alters, also, the natural ratios in which the constituents co-exist, and yield new radiations which the body now has to adapt to.

    The second article, on asparagus, a long-known kidney cleansing herb, is considered for a mention in this column in the state in which it has been lifted from the social media because it may have, as suggested, an important role to play in the cure of cancer and other diseases which plague us today not only in Nigeria but worldwide.

    My apologies go to the authors of these articles and to other original sources, which may have been lost through posting and reposting on the social media. Because of this it is not possible to give them their due credit for the publication. Nevertheless, I thought of republishing them because it is the wish of this authors and sources that this be done because of the health they believe doing so will afford the health of humanity…

    The wheat

    Belly…

    Read this article it will change your life if you remove all the (wheat) bread; roti, cakes, biscuits, pizzas, Samoosa etc from your diet.

    Dr. Tandweer Khan

    Healthaholics

    • Do You Have A “Wheat Belly”?*

    A renowned cardiologist explains how eliminating wheat can shrink your belly…and save your health.

    • Cardiologist William Davis, MD, started his career repairing damaged hearts through surgical angioplasty and stents.
    • That’s what I was trained to do, and at first, that’s what I wanted to do,” he explains. But when his own mother died of a heart attack in 1995, despite receiving the best cardiac care, he was forced to face nagging concerns about his profession.*

    “I realised how silly it was,” he says. “I’d fix a patient’s heart, only to see her come back, and back and back with the same problems. It was just a band-aid, with no effort to identify the cause of the disease.”

    So, he sailed his practice toward highly uncharted medical territory–prevention–and spent the next 15 years examining the causes of heart disease in his own patients.

    The resulting discoveries are revealed in Wheat Belly, his New York Times best-selling book, which attributes many of our nation’s physical problems, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity, to our consumption of wheat.

    He spoke to us this week about how exactly eliminating wheat can “transform our lives.”

    • First of all, what is a “wheat belly”?*

    I make a lot of arguments about the dangers of wheat, one of which is that it raises your blood sugar dramatically. In fact, two slices of wheat bread raise your blood sugar more than a Snickers bar.

    When my patients give up wheat, I see that weight loss is substantial, especially from the abdomen. People can lose several inches in the first month.You make connections in the book between wheat and a host of other health problems.

    How did you come up with this theory?

    Eighty percent of my patients had diabetes or pre-diabetes.

    I knew that wheat spiked blood sugar more than almost anything else, so I started to say, “Let’s remove wheat from your diet and see what happens to your blood sugar.” They’d come back 3 to 6 months later, and their blood sugar would be dramatically reduced.

    But they also had all these other reactions:

    “I removed wheat and I lost 38 pounds.” Or, “my asthma got so much better, I threw away two of my inhalers.” Or “the migraine headaches I’ve had every day for 20 years stopped within three days.” “My acid reflux is now gone.”

    “My IBS is better, my ulcerative colitis, my rheumatoid arthritis, my mood, my sleep…” and so on, and so on.

    So what is it about wheat that you think causes all these problems?

    When you look at the makeup of wheat, it’s almost like a group of evil scientists got together and said, how can we create this god-awful destructive food that will ruin health?

    First, amylopectin A, a chemical unique to wheat, is an incredible trigger of small LDL particles in the blood–the number one cause of heart disease on the United States.

    When wheat is removed from the diet, these small LDL levels plummet by 80 and 90 percent.

    We’ve had a situation where the national advice–to cut fat and eat more whole grains–is advocating a diet that causes heart disease.

    You also talk about the “addictive” properties of wheat.

    Wheat contains high levels of gliadin, a protein that actually stimulates appetite. Eating wheat increases the average person’s calorie intake by 400 calories a day.

    Gliadin also has opiate-like properties in the brain, so it’s not surprising that when some people remove wheat from their diets, they literally go through a period of withdrawal where they feel terrible.

    Food scientists have known this for 20 years, and they’ve used it to their advantage. If you go up and down the supermarket shelves, you’re going to see wheat flour in the most improbable places—everywhere from Campbell’s soup to granola bars.

    Is eating a wheat-free diet the same as a gluten-free diet? I know that’s a major trend right now.

    Gluten has negative, inflammatory properties, but it is just one component of wheat.

    In other words, if I took the gluten out of it, wheat will still be terrible for you since it will still have the Gliadin and the amylopectin A, as well as several other undesirable components.

    They’ve come out with all these foods that are gluten free: gluten-free multi-grain bread, gluten-free bagels, etc.

    Those are made with 4 basic ingredients: corn starch, rice starch, tapioca starch or potato starch.

    And those 4 dried, powdered starches are some of the very few foods that raise blood sugar even higher than wheat does!Sounds like all the “fat free” foods that came out 10-15 years ago. People thought “these cookies are good for me because they don’t have fat.”Perfect analogy. Yes, it’s the same kind of blunder.

    What about the the health breads and the sprouted breads?

    No. They still retain too much of the adverse wheat compounds–leptins, amylopectin A, gluten and gliadin. You might reduce the amount of some of the compounds, but they’re still there.

    I encourage people to return to real food: vegetables and nuts, unpasteurized cheese and eggs and meats in all forms, avocados and olives.

    People have been eating it for thousands of years, why is it suddenly such a problem?

    Wheat really changed in the 70s and 80s due to a series of techniques used to increase yield, including hybridization and back crossings. It was bred to be shorter and sturdier and also to have more gliadin, a potent appetite stimulate.

    The wheat we eat today is not the wheat that was eaten 100 years ago. Wheat has also become a much more central part of the American diet.

    What if I remove the wheat, but I’m still eating carbohydrates?

    So, for example, I stop eating my sandwich every day, and I start eating rice with chicken and vegetables. Will I still have the health benefits? Will I still lose weight?Most do, yes. Because rice doesn’t raise blood sugar as high as wheat, and it also doesn’t have the amylopectin A or the gliadin that stimulates appetite. You won’t have the same increase in calorie intake that wheat causes.

    That’s part of the reason why foreign cultures that don’t consume wheat tend to be slenderer and healthier.Does everyone need to stop eating wheat, or are some people more at risk for these problems than others?

    If you ask me, everyone should stop eating wheat. This is the closest I know of to something that will transform your life.

    Does Asparagus hold cancer cure hope?

    When I was in the USN I was stationed in Key West, FL. I worked at the clinic at Naval Air Station on Big Coppitt Key just a few mile north of Key West. The hospital at Key West was for out patient only for retired armed forces personnel that lived in the area. If you needed to be hospitalized you were sent to Homestead AFB Florida. I had the day off and just went inside the hospital(Corpman barracks were next to hospital). There was a retired navy man that worked in the lab and he was very interesting gentleman to talk with. He was a retired biochemist from the USN. he asked me what was going on that day and I  said I had the day off. I wish I was working as the crew on today was taking a sailor to Homestead as he had a very bad kidney infection.

    Now this elderly gent told me the man should have eaten more asparagus and he wouldn’t have that problem. I asked why? I’ll never forget him saying do you eat asparagus and I said yes, I love them.

    He replied you notice how your urine stinks after eating asparagus? I said well I never thought it was what I ate but yes it does have a pungent odour. It is because it is detoxifying your body of harmful chemicals!!!

    This was back in 1986 when I was stationed there and to read this email again I had to share this story…Eat more asparagus my friends.

    Asparagus — Who knew?

    My Mom had been taking the full-stalk canned style asparagus, pureed it and took 4 tablespoons in the morning and 4 tablespoons later in the day. She did this for over a month. She is on chemo pills for Stage 3 lung cancer in the pleural area and her cancer cell count went from 386 down to 125 as of this past week. Her oncologist said she will not need to see him for 3 months.

     

    THE ARTICLE:

    Several  years ago I met a man seeking asparagus for a friend who had cancer. He gave me a copy of an article, entitled “Asparagus For Cancer” printed in the Cancer News Journal, December 1979. I will share it here, just as it was shared with me: I am a biochemist, and have specialised in the relation of diet to health or over 50 years.

    Several years ago, I learned of the discovery of Richard R. Vensal, D.D.S. that asparagus might cure cancer. Since then, I have worked with him on his project. We have accumulated a number of favourable case histories.

    Here are a few examples:

    Case No. 1, A man with an almost hopeless case of Hodgkin’s disease (cancer of the lymph glands) who was completely incapacitated.  Within 1 year of starting the asparagus therapy, his doctors were unable to detect any signs of cancer, and he was back on a schedule of strenuous exercise.

    Case No. 2, A successful businessman, 68 years old, suffered from cancer of the bladder for 16 years. After years of medical treatments, including radiation without improvement, he began taking asparagus. Within 3 months, examinations revealed that his bladder tumour had disappeared and that his kidneys were normal.

    Case No. 3, On March 5th 1971, a man who had lung cancer was put on the operating table where they found lung cancer so widely spread that it was inoperable. The surgeon sewed him up and declared his case hopeless. On April 5th he heard about the Asparagus therapy and immediately started taking it. By August, x-ray pictures revealed that all signs of the cancer had disappeared. He is now back at his regular business routine.

    Case No. 4, A woman had been troubled for a number of years with skin cancer. She developed different skin cancers which were diagnosed by the acting specialist as advanced. Within 3 months after beginning asparagus therapy, the skin specialist said her skin looked fine with no more skin lesions. This woman reported that the asparagus therapy also cured her kidney disease, which had started in 1949. She had over 10 operations for kidney stones, and was receiving government disability payments for an inoperable, terminal, kidney condition. She attributes the cure of this kidney trouble entirely to the asparagus treatment.

    I was not surprised at this result as ‘The elements of materia medica’, edited in 1854 by a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania , stated that asparagus was used as a popular remedy for kidney stones. He even referred to experiments, in 1739, on the power of asparagus in dissolving stones. Note the dates!

    We would have other case histories but the medical establishment has interfered with our obtaining some of the records. I am therefore appealing to readers to spread this good news and help us to gather a large number of case histories that will overwhelm the medical skeptics about this unbelievably simple and natural remedy.

    For the treatment, asparagus should be cooked before using. Fresh or canned asparagus can be used. I have corresponded with the two leading canners of asparagus, Giant and Stokely, and I am satisfied that these brands contain no pesticides or preservatives.

    Place the cooked asparagus in a blender and liquefy to make a puree. Store in the refrigerator. Give the patient 4 full tablespoons twice daily, morning and evening.

    Patients usually show some improvement in 2-4 weeks. It can be diluted with water and used as a cold or hot drink.

    This suggested dosage is based on present experience, but certainly larger amounts can do no harm and may be needed in some cases.

    As a biochemist I am convinced of the old saying that ‘what cures can prevent.’ Based on this theory, my wife and I have been using asparagus puree as a beverage with our meals. We take 2 tablespoons diluted in water to suit our taste with breakfast and with dinner. I take mine hot and my wife prefers hers cold.

    For years we have made it a practice to have blood surveys taken as part of our regular checkups. The last blood survey, taken by a medical doctor who specializes in the nutritional approach to health, showed substantial improvements in all categories over the last one, and we can attribute these improvements to nothing but the asparagus drink.

    As a biochemist, I have made an extensive study of all aspects of cancer, and all of the proposed cures. As a result, I am convinced that asparagus fits in better with the latest theories about cancer.

    Asparagus contains a good supply of protein called histones, which are believed to be active in controlling cell growth. For that reason, I believe asparagus can be said to contain a substance that I call cell growth normalizer. That accounts for its action on cancer and in acting as a general body tonic In any event, regardless of theory, asparagus used as we suggest, is a harmless substance. The FDA cannot prevent you from using it and it may do you much good. It has been reported by the US National Cancer Institute, that asparagus is the highest tested food containing glutathione, which is considered one of the body’s most potent anti carcinogens and antioxidants.

    Just a side note…In case you are wondering why this has not been made public, there is no profit in curing cancer!

    Please send this article to everyone in your Address Book. The most unselfish act one can ever do is paying forward all the kin(truncated by WhatsApp)

  • ‘How to stop heart attack deaths’

    ‘How to stop heart attack deaths’

    Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the major cause of death worldwide. The disease is on the rise in Nigeria, raising  demand for care.

    This was the submission of medical experts at the inauguration of Gray’s Cardiology Centre at Ikeja Lagos. The centre which is dedicated to providing comprehensive cardiovascular care in Nigeria.

    Taking the lead, the centre’s Medical Director, Dr. Soe Moe Aung, said there were modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors that cause cardiovascular disease.

    “ Majority of cardiovascular diseases  is caused by risk factors that can be controlled, treated or modified. However, there are also some major risk factors that cannot be controlled.  Some risk factors such as family history, ethnicity and age, cannot be changed nor modified while the six main controllable risk factors for cardiovascular disease include: smoking, High LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and low HDL, or “good” cholesterol, uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure), physical inactivity, obesity, uncontrolled diabetes and uncontrolled stress and anger,” said Dr. Aung.

    Dr Aung said the alarming rate of the jump in the prevalence in cases and deaths from CVD compelled the Reddington Group to set up the centre in G.R.A, Ikeja) so that more people can be reached and helped.

    “The Reddington Group has always been the pioneer in cardiovascular care in Nigeria. The first Cath lab in Nigeria was established in the Reddington Hospital in 2009. Since then we have been providing diagnosis and treatments in all aspects of cardiology. In terms of interventional cardiology, we have been offering various procedures including coronary as well as peripheral angiography, angioplasty, stenting, percutaneous closure of ASD and permanent pacemaker and ICD implantations,”  Dr Aung said.

    The centre’s Clinical Director, Dr. Usim Okechukwu, said people would not die from CVD if medical help was readily available, as cases could be managed by a dynamic team that could help save so many lives from an early or untimely death and restore them back to a productive healthy life.

    Okechukwu shared some cases the hospital had managed:

    “Many times we listen to news to hear about the sudden death of one important personality or the other. From the sudden death of a Vice Chancellor who collapsed in his office to that of a banker who slumped while jogging on the streets and had his life cut short because there was no immediate rescue. Our stories today showcase individuals who have been saved by team effort and appropriate care despite the many limitations in the workings of our country.

    ‘’Time is muscle we say in matter that concerns the heart. Damage to the heart is an ongoing process. From the development of chest pain, we usually aim to effect lifesaving treatment within six hours or at most 12 hours. The heart is slowly and irreparably damaged.

    “I will share the firststoryof a director in a commercial bank in Nigeria. Late morning at about 11am while in a board meeting, he developed a severe left sided chest pain. He immediately knew something was wrong and being a well-informed gentleman, headed straight to the hospital in Victoria Island (VI). We did some quick investigations including an electrocardiogram and cardiac enzymes which confirmed he was having a heart attack.  He was immediately taken to the Cardiac Catheterisations suite where our Interventional Cardiology team had just completed the first morning intervention. He immediately had an angiography where the blockage of one of the main heart arteries was confirmed and identified. He had wires passed immediately to reopen the blocked artery and a stent (metal device) was inserted to permanently keep the artery open.

    ‘’He had a complete resolution of his symptoms. He had received this life saving procedure in about three hours from the onset of his symptoms. He has since gone back to work, living a healthy life and having a distinguished career.

    ‘’Our second story is about an Indian gentleman, a worker in one of the factories, who while on his way to work developed a severe left sided chest pain. He had a history of diabetes and hypertension. He was also wise to know that chest pain ought to receive immediate help. He was brought into the emergency room of the hospital and series of investigations confirmed an ongoing Myocardial Infarction (heart Attack). Our Interventional cardiology team was quickly assembled and he was taken straight into the catheterisation Lab where he had coronary angiography and angioplasty with stent deployment. He went home a day after, completely symptom free, hale and hearty.

    ‘’The third person was a 66-year-old gentleman resident in Abuja. He had recently had a heart attack and though he survived, he had a recurrent left sided chest which made his life miserable. His doctors referred him to us for further treatment and he was flown down. He had a coronary angiography which identified the blocked and narrowed arteries which was fixed. His relief was so heartfelt that his gratitude to the team is still resounding in our minds. And he still calls to say a word of thanks’’.

    Minister of State for Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the Grays Cardiology centre is a welcome development in country.

    “Grays Cardiology Centre sets the bar higher, in that it goes beyond the routine, to bring state-of-the art diagnostic and intervention capacity to Nigeria. We are proud that services that would have been found only in the top hospitals of technologically advanced countries, can be rendered right here, in the country, without need for passport, visa, airfare or other hurdles and expenses”.

    “I wish to congratulate the Board and management of Reddington Hospital for this bold and commendable step and my best wishes go to all who provide and receive treatment here.”

    Dr. Osagie tasked the Reddington team to expand their service across the country, “There is more to be done. With a population of 170 million people and the well-known needs of Nigeria, other entrepreneurs are invited to come in, and Reddington is invited to expand. Along the pattern of the Apollo hospital chain in India, I ask you to consider developing a model in which you can also provide services to indigent patients, subsidised by your paying patients, as your corporate social responsibility.”

    The CEO Reddington Hospital, Dr Yemi Onabowale said what brought about the creation of the Gray’s Cardiology Centre and why it was established on the Lagos mainland is due to the, “impact of our services in the communities that we serve over the years. We found out that the need for cardiac care irrespective of age remains compelling. The fact that most med-technology driven healthcare centres are located on the Island. So Reddington Group took a decision to establish an independent cardiology centre on the Lagos mainland named Gray’s Cardiology Centre.

    “It is an obligation of improving patients’ chances of healthy survival, bettering the quality of their care, and giving more people the tools and education they need to prevent cardiovascular disease in themselves and their loved ones in an ethical and affordable manner,” he said.