The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Stress

  • Experts stress financial inclusion

    Experts stress financial inclusion

    FINANCIAL inclusion is key to achieving sustainable socio-economic development in the country.

    This was the submission of a cross section of experts at this year’s edition of the annual Business Day Mobile Money Roundtable held in Lagos.

    The event, which had in attendance mobile money operators, regulators, consumers, among other stakeholders, also hosted Mr. Valentine Obi, CEO of eTranzact International PLC, Mr Sim Shagaya, CEO of Konga.com, Mr Niyi Ajao, Executive Director (Technology & Operations), NIBSS, Mr Olaoluwa Awojoodu, CEO, CashEnvoy and Mr Emmanuel Okoegwale, Principal Associate, Mobile Money Africa, amongst others.

    Firing the first salvo, Obi, whose company owns PocketMoni, a Central Bank licensed mobile money service which enables users create an e-wallet on their mobile phones for making payments, fund transfer, as well as for receiving money), shared lessons that eTranzact has learnt so far in its financial inclusion efforts across the country

    He said, “Financial inclusion without value addition will not work, and every day at eTranzact we are working on unique solutions that continue to add value to the end consumer.

    “Over the years, we have worked hard to understand and deploy strategies that have truly helped mobile money grow, and though we have been hit with challenges along the way, we continued to invest financial, educational and other resources to ensure we can reach both the banked and unbanked.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Shagaya, CEO of Konga.com, stressed how China is a good example of how financial inclusion can truly be achieved in an economy that is largely rural.

    He said, “Human beings are economic animals, and they want value and convenience. We need to rethink mobile experience even on the hard ware basis, and the power of mobile money will truly come alive. Today 70% of Nigerians will rather pay on delivery, and even though we do not have a problem with this, most of these people still insist on paying cash, but until we can solve some of these underlying issues, we will not be able to truly unlock the potential of mobile payments.”

    In his own assertion, Alao said: “Mobile is a critical technology needed to achieve inclusiveness. Some of the challenges I see are in the way the mobile money solution is communicated to the average man on the street. We at NIBSS are committed to ensuring the success of mobile payments in Nigeria, and we have been working closely with providers like eTranzact and the banks to ensure that we truly achieve the set out goals for mobile money.”

    Mr Emmanuel Okoegwale, Principal Associate, Mobile Money Africa, spoke about the importance of collaboration among the players if the true potential of mobile payments is to be achieved.

  • NDIC stresses need for microfinance training institute

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has lent its support to the establishment of a world-class microfinance training institute in the country to enhance capacity building in the banking subsector.

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive of NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, who made this known , also advocated the incorporation of All Women Microfinance Bank (MFB) to be wholly owned by Women non-governmental organisation (NGOs) in the country, to protect the interest of small depositors and boost public confidence in the microfinance banking sub sector.

    Ibrahim, who made the call when he hosted the Executive Members of the National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) in his office, said NAMB’s request for unit MFBs to have multiple branches and operate cash centres in local government areas of their operations was before a joint committee, and it must be critically analysed and judged based on its merit. He, therefore, advised the association to await the recommendations of the committee on the matter.

    The NDIC boss reminded the association of the fundamental role of MFBs as grassroot business units toward enhancing financial literacy and consumer protection in promoting financial inclusion.

    He emphasised that only happy and satisfied depositors could guarantee the much needed public confidence in the banking system, saying that the NDIC had put in place a 24-hour toll free Help Desk to respond to all enquiries from depositors across the country.

    Ibrahim lamented the low level of payment of assessed premium among the MFBs which necessitated the need for a tripartite agreement between the corporation, MFBs and their correspondent banks to facilitate prompt collection of premium in the subsector.

    He advised MFBs to avoid the extreme situation that would warrant the withdrawal of NDIC insurance cover on erring MFBs. Such a move, he said, would not augur well for the advocacy of financial inclusion and development of the subsector.

    According to him, the purpose for which the corporation set aside N16 billion intervention fund to rescue technically insolvent MFBs and Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) was based on defined criteria instead of the wrong impression that it was meant as a form of financial stability fund for MFBs.

    He reiterated that N2.5 billion of the fund was used to reimburse the depositors of 103 MFBs liquidated in 2010 and, therefore, advised the NAMB to take a cue from the deposit money banks (DMBs) by mobilising resources for the establishment of a financial resolution sinking fund.

     

    He informed the association that the NDIC in collaboration with the judiciary and the police had concluded plans to prosecute operators and debtors who were culpable for the breach of trust and abuse of office that contributed to the collapse of the 103 MFBs in 2010.

    A case in point, he said, was that of Integrated MFB which accounted for over 60 per cent of the fund lost in the subsector. This would go a long way to institute the right attitude and financial discipline in the subsector for the future.

    Ibrahim also emphasised the need for adequate risk management framework and sound corporate governance practices as well as self regulation and market discipline to promote confidence and stability in the subsector.

  • How to manage stress

    It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have more control than you might think. In fact, the simple realisation that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management. Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, and the way you deal with problems

    Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.

    To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

    Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?

     

    •Culled from: www.helpguide.org

     

  • Management of Stress

    We know that we all pass through stress occasionally,frequently, continually, etc, depending on who we are and on our environments. Since stress is a universally experienced phenomenon, we need to know how to manage stress so that we emerge from any stressful experience sane, healthy, and fit and the stress bears some fruit in our lives.

    Prevention is always better than cure. One reason why we get stressed up is because we do not think enough about our choices. We don’t have to accept every invitation, take every opportunity, experience everything good at once, achieve recklessly, etc. Being careful, orderly, and timely are easy ways to handle excess work, hard work, and deadlines. However, these are not easy qualities to have. Often, the “spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” and we end up with bad habits such as procrastination, sloth, desperation, frustration, cluttering, confusion, anxiety, etc.

    To dominate ourselves (weaknesses), it is useful to do some meditation. Either religious or therapeutic meditation can help us pull our brakes and take a better direction. Meditation should be a regular aspect of life. We all need to reflect and rediscover our purpose, our direction, our goals in life, etc.

    Then it is necessary to break the chain of stressors and the power of stressors. If we do not identify the stressors, this is difficult. If we know the stressors, then we need to make changes. In our work, we may need to change methods, means, environments, etc., to make things less stressful. Change may be temporary, as a way to break stress. People and relationships can become “toxic.” Sometimes you even need to get away from your friends for a while. If you live in a place like Lagos and have to drive through 1-2 hours of traffic jams every day, you will notice a great difference in yourself when you leave Lagos for a few days. In a different place, perhaps you feel fresher and more energetic when you get home in the evenings. You may find your day is not over the minute you step into your door because you did not bring exhaustion in with you. People change residence, jobs, alliances, property, etc., for more conducive ones. Sometimes, we do not need to change or exchange anything but we need to face them, use them, or experience them differently. Whatever the case, do not allow a stressor to dominate your mind, body, or spirit, or your entire life.

    Then it is necessary to give yourself recovery. One of my favorite poems is “Leisure” by the Welsh poet, W.H. Davies: “What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare…” Stress deprives our life of beauty and richness. We miss a lot that is good in life. We need to force ourselves to stop and return to life and enjoy life. When I was working in California nearly ten years ago, my boss once told me angrily: “have a life!” – obviously realizing I was missing out on socials and non-work matters. Everybody needs to “have a life”: time spent with family and friends, relaxation and fun, hobbies and interests.

    Mental recovery from stress can be gained through watching television, listening to music, reading interesting material, playing table games such ludo, snakes and ladders, cards, scrabble, monopoly, chess, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, or other activities such as gardening, billiards, and sports which engage our minds, passions, and emotions differently from our commitments, work, or profession.

    Physical relaxation is important: resting, sitting, or lying in a relaxed position to release muscle strains, sleeping enough, spending some time in a more comfortable environment such as an air-conditioned room or breezy or sunshine outdoors are examples of ways to gain physical relaxation. Sometimes a few minutes of change are enough to break the power of stress.

    Sex is important in marital relationships. To love and be loved is a source of much peace, pleasure, joy, and fulfillment. Unfortunately, too many couples mess up in this matter.

    Laughter has been described as the best medicine. It is indeed one of the best medicines. Finding good ways to laugh every now and then takes our focus off the hardships of life momentarily and breaks the cycle of stress.

    Stress is always related to an excess – an avoidable or an unavoidable excess. Often things get beyond our own power, capability, knowledge, intelligence, virtue, time, or resources. Spiritual connectivity with our source of strength, wisdom, and virtue is important for recovery. Retreating from our cares a few minutes a day or for longer periods is both a prophylactic (preventive) measure and a therapeutic measure (cure) for stress.

    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

  • Stress and health (3)

    The Boston Marathon of 2013 will go down in history for many reasons. For the first time in history, a city was locked down and its inhabitants were ordered to shelter-in-place for a whole work-day, a few days after the double bombing that shocked over 26,000 runners going the 26.2 miles and also shocked the rest of the world. In the pursuit and gun battles between law enforcement and the two suspects, a 26 years old suspect was gunned down and as well and a 26 years old police man. When I look at these numbers and discard coincidence, I cannot help thinking that the numbers are ominous. Besides, how comes a whole city, a mighty city, is held under siege by just a nineteen year old, a youth, with the full capacity of the ordinary law enforcement plus extraordinary war squads and machinery (tanks and all) in the streets after him. Surely, there are events in the course of history that seem to have such a strong supernatural component (good or evil) that no human effort (intelligence, security, military might, etc.,) could avert such. Are we in our times ready for such surprises, unexpected stressors, or “travails.” Last week, I was not ready for such a stress.

    I had planned my trip to Boston a long time back and I was to travel to that city on Wednesday for a scientific conference. Therefore, it was with shock that I saw the Monday Boston Marathon bombings on TV while I was still in Lagos. I travelled with the “everything under control” impression of Wednesday, to arrive in Boston on Thursday and wanted to have a full day’s rest and enjoyment before the conference. My day of rest became a day of fast as I was caught in the “shelter-in-place” which meant that you stay and lock yourself in where you are and you do not open the door for anyone who is not in uniform. There was also the “lock-down” which means the city was not workingand absolutely no public transportation was available for you. The vending machine in the building I was in did not have proper food and I got tired of the synthetic bites it provided. The stomach pangs converted my day into a day of prayers too as I joined the city in praying the suspect at large would be caught that day. There was no way my fast should continue till the next day or that the conference should be cancelled, so I joined the city in prayer. In the absence of food, I was savouring the American expressions that I had never heard before: “lock down”, “shelter-in-place” until I heard the best one: “we garim!” They got him and everybody was relieved.

    The world change on 9/11. We started a new era of mental health. In the days that followed, ordinary people could no longer live and go about life innocently or naively. Depending on who you are, you can no longer trust your neighbour. Anybody and everybody became an informant, a suspect, a spy, an enemy, or some other key player in the new status-quo. Our brains and minds work differently now.

    How aware are we individually or socially of this tension and how prepared are we for the unpredictable stressors that are so bent on showing up in the midst of society every now and then? At the social level, we see Americans with emergency response and excellent communication services. In many other countries, such a double bombing of a crowd would have left dozens of people dead from excessive bleeding and inadequate emergency response.

    We do well to learn tips about first aid and emergency response, for ourselves and so as to be useful to our companions or possible victims. We need to be prepared for mental stability so that we do not become part of the problem and add to the problem and rather we can be supportive to other people.

    The technological and scientific advancement of our times, on the flip side of its goodness, has created the new dangerous individual, powerful and able to vent “justice” at will. It has created a new war or tension of good versus evil within us as individual human beings and amongst us within society. It is easy to respond to any and every stressor beyond control because of the availability of power. Indeed, the bus driver that picked me up from the airport in Boston was talking about the recent events and to my surprise, her conclusion was (thinking of protection): “we have to become our own gods.” I thought this would be a greater problem. However, the need for spiritual development and wholesome balance and connectivity with our origin and end and the purpose of life is a challenge for today’s world if we want to preserve freedom and sanity within society.

     

    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

  • Stress and health (2)

    Stress and health (2)

    This Monday, I had a long day with enough work for me to just come home and rest. My coming home meant my coming to darkness because of lack of electricity, a stressor. When power came on, the TV came on with news of the Boston Marathon bombing in the USA. For me, it was a shock but unlike that for those at the scene. More than 140 people were wounded, some maimed, and two died. I considered that if a hundred people are wounded or maimed physically, perhaps, watching from their television, hundreds of thousands or persons would be “wounded or maimed” mentally and millions of persons would be “wounded or maimed” spiritually. The next day, as I was considering penning more of the topic: Stress and Health, I thought to myself, “Evil is the greatest of stressors”. Evil indeed is with us, in us, around us and has a way of popping up every now and then, in small presence and in great presence and is a source of much stress within us and outside of us. Indeed, Jewish and Christian wisdom tells us to do good and avoid evil through King David and the apostles Peter and Paul (Psalm 37: 27; 1Peter 3; 11; Romans 12: 9) and I wonder if I would ever perfect this principle in this life. Indeed, I do not know any Christian who believes in it. Other faiths and ideologies may teach the same but we human beings in general do not believe in it. Stress affects our physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing, and if we recognize any evil as a great stressor we do well to avoid it, if we can.

    However blatant evil is not what we routinely deal with. For many of us routinely, the expected stressors are those factors that cause physical stress is on our bodies through exhaustion, lack of food or unhealthy eating, lack of sleep or unhealthy sleeping, exposure to hazards, and unhealthy posture or conditioning. Motivational speakers and counsellors are forever teaching us about time management, planning, and the habits of busy and successful people. Indeed, sometimes we cannot avoid extra work or long hours of work and all the time we need to know our own capacities and how these events affect us and how to manage ourselves well.

    One important biologic implication is psychosomatics. The extra activities of our mentality, translated into extra activities of our nerves and in turn translated into extra activities of our body organs can have deleterious effects or cause pains arising from an affected body organs. A major nerve that controls many body organs is the vagus nerve. In fact its name is from the same root as the word vagabond; it goes everywhere in the abdomen.

    Stress-induced hyper-stimulation of the nerve makes the stomach to secret more acid. For people who have weak stomach protective lining this acid becomes corrosive to the stomach wall causing ulcer. If you need to work extra hard and for long periods or if you find yourself skipping meals, it is helpful to keep some snack around: nuts, biscuits, bites. Snacking on such will give any acid in your stomach something to digest instead of your own stomach wall.If you do not protect your stomach from acid stress and also fail to sleep well to allow your body to undergo healing and recovery, you may set the stage for chronic ulcer. Some ulcers can turn into cancer.

    Getting carried away with work can make us skip meals. Lack of nutrition can affect us in many ways. For example, we become weak in our body defences and this can make us prone to catch infectious diseases. Some of these diseases may be chronic diseases sticking to the victim long after the job is done. One weeks’ unmanaged stress of hard work can result in years of chronic infection. For women under stress and menstruating, skipping meals can precipitate anaemia and pathologic weakness because of lack of blood.

    Some works take a toll on certain parts of our bodies. Eye strain, back ache, neck pain, and stiffness, are often results of long ours in the same posture and doing the same thing. Taking breaks or breaking the stress is useful to limit such stress. Resting one’s eye, getting up and standing for a few seconds every now and then, for example, can break the posture stressors. The essential factor is breaking the stress instead of letting it be continuous.

    Psychosomatics include effects of continual stressors on vital organs such as the heart and blood vessels. In the cardiovascular system, this can lead to build up of blood pressure. To avoid such build-up, breaking the stressor by taking breaks is also important. A few minutes’ relaxation or fun every few hours may be helpful.

    Therefore one important aspect of preventing damage to our health through physical stressors, is to recognize the stressors and to break up their influence instead of letting them be continuous.

     

    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

     

  • Stress and health

    Stress and health

    Top executives facing deadlines and targets to deliver a job or project are often heard dropping phrases such as: “I only slept three hours last night”; “I am under stress”; “There is a lot of pressure on me”. I quite understand this situation as I have been there every now and then for various reasons. In fact, everybody gets to that point for various reasons. The mother with several young kids will sometimes lose sleep and have piled up house work. The trader trying to net in some opportune profit from a seasonal sale will lose some sleep and work to exhaustion. The student anxious to pass a difficult examination can throw himself or herself into a state of stress. Politicians in an elections season need miracles to stay in good mental and physical health. When life moments hit us: a birth, a death, an accident, an illness, a loss, or a catastrophe in the family, the members of the family may end up in stress.

    Last week end, I found myself home alone and with some urgent work to deliver from my laptop. There was no electricity. The generator was dead and I had neither the interest nor the time and money to involve myself with a generator mechanic again. I decided to rush the work on the 2h battery life remaining on my laptop. It might have been alright if I did not have a bright idea to cook some chicken for lunch at the same time. Should I not have set the timer on my cell phone to remind me to check the cooking? As I was in the bedroom tucked into the work I was doing, the smell of smoke jolted my memory. I ran to the kitchen. I got rid of the smoke and then studied the chicken.The chicken was cremated. Hard and black, it neither felt nor looked palatable. Surely not destined for my stomach, I offered it a place in the trash. I proceeded to Plan B to cook and not cremate another lunch, considering the economic loss of a cremated chicken and the effect of smoke on my lungs. The laptop battery died in its own time.

    We never know what kind of stress, what effect of stress, what consequences of stress, we are scuttling into when we take up extraordinary, excessive, or overwhelming tasks.

    There are different kinds of stress. Stress affects our physical, mental, and spiritual health and wellbeing, respectively or altogether. When everything is affected, the effect is akin to being overtaken by a demon. One has lost control.

    Physical stress is on our bodies through exhaustion, lack of food or unhealthy eating, lack of sleep or unhealthy sleeping, exposure to hazards, and unhealthy posture or conditioning. Mental stress is on our minds through existence of threat; fear of failure;apprehension of punishment, penalty, or discredit; deadlines unprepared for, inability to cope, etc. Spiritual stress involves temptations to shut cuts, cheating, quick fixes, or desire for magic bullets, and such attitudes that leave our consciences troubled and in turmoil.

    Tension headache, muscle spasm and body aches, irritability and aggressiveness, stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, and malnutrition are the common health problems that stress precipitates. We will look at these in relation to stress and consider how to avoid such stress-related health problems.

    When we get ourselves stressed up, it does not only affect us as individuals, it runs over relationships and our environments, especially the family. The members of the family may become the shock absorbers. It is therefore important to know how to manage oneself when under stress and how to manage other people who we are involved with and who are under stress. We will also look at possible consequences of stress in our environments, especially within the family.