NIGERIA HAS DECIDED

Finally! The collation of the much awaited and anticipated results of the presidential elections of Nigeria 2015 is over and we have a winner in the person of General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB), despite many troubles caused by both parties. Nigerians and the world can breathe at last. In my experience, this is one election in Nigeria that got almost everyone involved. Many friends fought verbally on facebook and twitter, unfriending themselves and so on, even family members were opposing themselves. People were glued to their radio and television sets with their pen and paper, writing out the results as it is being announced, myself included. (We didn’t need any foul play at all!)

Prior to the elections, I had no idea that to win, a candidate was required to have 25% of the votes in 2/3rds of all the states. Let’s take a look at the results for each of the state. This is for the benefit of mostly the Non-Nigerians, Nigerians in diaspora and the very few Nigerians too busy to get in contact with a radio or TV. 

*Please these results are strictly for APC (General Muhammadu Buhari – GMB) and PDP (Goodluck Ebele Jonathan – GEJ). For the results of other political parties, kindly visit a news blog or online newspaper or INEC website. Thank you.

State                              APC                             PDP

Abia                                   13394                             368303

Adamawa                         374701                           251664 

Akwa Ibom                       58411                              953304

Anambra                            17926                             660762

Bauchi                             931598                            86085

Bayelsa                              5194                               361209

Benue                                373961                             303737

Borno                               473543                              25640 

Crossriver                         28368                               414863

Delta                                    48910                              1211405

Ebonyi                                19518                               323653

Edo                                     208469                               286869

Ekiti                                    120331                              176466

Enugu                                 14157                                553003

FCT                                    146399                                157195

Gombe                              361245                                  96873

Imo                                    133253                               559185

Jigawa                                885988                               142904

Kaduna                              1127760                              484085

Kano                                  1903999                                215779

Katsina                               1345441                                  98937

Kebbi                                   567883                                 100972

Kogi                                       264851                                149987

Kwara                                  302146                                  132602

Lagos                                   792460                                  632327

Nasarawa                              236838                                 273460

Niger                                     657678                                   149222

Ogun                                      308290                                 207950

Ondo                                      299889                                   251368

Osun                                      383603                                   249929

Oyo                                         528620                                   303376

Plateau                                  429140                                    549615

Rivers                                      69238                                   1487075

Sokoto                                      671926                                   152199

Taraba                                    261326                                    310800

Yobe                                           446265                                     25526

Zamfara                                  612202                                     144833

TOTAL:                                     15424921                               12853162

The interpretation: PDP got 25% of the votes in 25 states and APC got 25% in 27 states. However, GMB had more votes than GEJ with a difference of almost 2.6 million, hence making him the winner of the 2015 presidential elections and president elect of Nigeria.

Permit me to analyze the entire campaign and electoral process till date, In my opinion, GEJ shot himself in the face. While the APC campaigned with manifesto of what they intend to do if they are elected, PDP campaigned with things they thought they have achieved. For example, you can’t come out and tell me that you have improved power by 4000megawatts or so and I don’t see light for up to 7 hours in a week. He also campaigned against APC with GMB’s past, throwing more light on GMB, portraying him as a formidable contender. The Final blow was becoming so desperate it pissed off many of his supporters. The areas that I think GEJ failed are in fighting corruption, providing power and security. I have to pay my respects to 2 important people that made this election a success;

• Firstly to Prof. Attahiru Jega for the best elections held in the history of Nigeria. Thank you, Sir, for a job well done.

• Also, kudos to you Sir, GEJ, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for conceding defeat honorably to forestall any unnecessary violence.

My elder said something that I think we should take away from these elections, “never give up”. GMB has refused to give up since 2003 and now he has made as the president of Nigeria. Congrats to GMB! Long live Nigeria! Let’s wait for the next four years. If we get an unsatisfactory result sheet from GMB, then we also vote him out.

Salut!

REPURPOSING CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS FOR MARCH

Second post for today, and I'm pretty much excited. It's just a few hours to we get into the month of April, the month of the a-z blogging challenge and 5 days to Easter sunday. I realized that I was thinking of easter decorations, then it suddenly hit me that I hadn't written a post for the month of March! 

So, without wasting any more time, I’d let you in on my ideas for repurposing your Christmas décor for the month of March. March has almost no significant holiday except for the international Women’s day. So, I had a few ideas for the month of March. Here they are;

• A parade: a march pass, how about arranging your decorations like they are on a parade marching down the street.

• A second thought though almost irrelevant was arranging them in the shape of a “match stick” or a fish for "pisces".  It’s a hilarious thought but it’s all about being creative right?

• Last and final thought that came to mind was arranging your decorations like they were playing a football match. Better still, a football match pitching the feminine characters against the masculine characters of the decorations. This was my best. 

That’s all for this month, have to run, I have a challenge to prepare for tomorrow. Hoping to get the post for repurposing of Christmas decorations for the month of April out on time.

Cheers….

NIGERIANS AWAIT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS

Finally! The elections havecome and gone *phew*. Jega and the INEC (independent electoral body) are busy collating the results while Nigerians have their hearts in their throats. So far, nobody knows whih way it will swing. Especially not when Jega gets up every 1 hour, to take an almost 6 hours recess, after reading results for less than 10 states.  I wonder if he is pregnant. Anyway, so that we don't die from hypertension before the end of the collations, some very talented Nigerians decided to ease off some of the tension. Check out what they have done.

One thing is certain though, come tomorrow, there will emerge a victor. I'd love to encourage you to spread word of peace no matter the outcome. #votenotfight

Cheers......

15 PROBLEMS WITH GMB's FAKE LAB TESTS

Over the weekend, some lab results surfaced on the internet, supposedly said to belong to one of the candidates running for the position of the president, (general Muhammadu Buhari). When I saw them, my heart sank. Not out of sympathy for him or anything, (because the results are fake). But out of pity for a country that I call home. It reminded me of the reason why many good people of Nigeria leave the game of politics for those who can get their hands dirty. The reason why politics in Nigeria is viewed as a "do or die" affair. The reason why we are still in this backward movement with corruption thriving like no man's business.

Any medical doctor with half a brain, any good lab scientist, infact, any properly trained medical personnel who sees this results should know that they have been fabricated. Whether the fabrication was done by a very jobless individual as a prank, or whether it was a well plotted plan by the opposition, it makes absolutely no sense. We should focus on a better tomorrow no matter who wins the elections come February, 2015.

For the benefit of millions of the non-medical Nigerian population who wouldn't know what the interpretation of this report could mean, I have decided to analyse it. The first report is that of a kidney function test and prostate test. Let's start from the form;

1. For starters, there is no such hospital in Nigeria as "Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital",  what we have is "Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital".
2. When you are unsure but almost certain of a diagnosis, you query it. That 'query' is written in form of a question mark, before the diagnosis not after. So, it's supposed to be "?prostate cancer" not "prostate cancer??".
3. The department should have corrected a mistake like "chemical pathology report from" by now to "form". 
4. Results of kidney function tests (e/u/cr) is gotten within hours even in a very small private hospital (like the one I worked in). Unlike the 4 days indicated in this lab report. 
5. On the other hand, a psa (prostate specific antigen) result can take up to a week to get ready, but let's assume that they are extra fast in processing psa results.
6. In analysing the e/u/cr report, first the values and even SI unit of some of the parameters are wrong e.g. the SI unit for creatinine is in umol/l not mmol/l. The range of potassium is (3.5-5.0) not (30-5.6). Correct values.
7. Notice that there is no result for chloride.
8. At a potassium of 7, the patient would be dead not campaigning around the country 3 months later. 
9. A psa result is non-specific for a cancer of the prostate. Also, certain procedures elevate its values, e.g. passing a ureturethral catheter or performing a digital rectal exam before blood samples are collected. 
10. You don't suggest a diagnosis in a chemical pathology report. But, even if you want to, wouldn't you draw attention to the sinister e/u/cr, rather than a psa?

1. Again, the above report for a "histology" of a prostate biopsy belongs to an institution that is clearly not in Nigeria.  *wrong name of institution*. 
2. The is no request for this prostate biopsy, which is why I put histology in quotes in number 1. For all I know he might have requested a cytology.
3. The request is also staging the disease. You can't stage cancer of the prostate before biopsy ( before confirmation of a cancer), and definitely not by a DRE. Staging is done using bone scan, MRI, CT Scan e.t.c. 
4. The staging is also wrong. There is nothing like prostatic intra-epithelial neoplasm, it's not the cervix. The TNM method is used. Besides that "DRE" done, the person should be thinking more of stage 2 or 3, not a pre-malignant stage. Haba! 
5. Finally histology reports in Nigeria take weeks not 4 days to get reported. Unless, again, ABTH is so fast.

This is the correct ABUTH histology request form.

Please Nigerians, this is not a get in or die trying situation. The Niger-deltans are already threatening fire and brimstones should GEJ lose and the bokoharam, well, will continue their terror should it go the other way. What should other tribes who have never been given an opportunity to rule the country do then? Burn it to the ground? Please let us #votenotfight. If you kill yourself over election wahala, remember that the politicians would still be alive and well, chopping the money that you are hoping to get a pinch of. Be wise!

Cheers....

HOW TO ACHIEVE THE SLENDER FIGURE

Hello everyone!!!...

Happy new year!!! After my last moody Christmas post, I actually got some excitement from the season, especially the new year's eve which I spent with my new family. I was actually anxious about how it was going to be spent, but at the end I just had fun! So, I am here to welcome you to the new year with some good news. A few days ago, I saw the photo below on my friends blackberry display picture. Initially, I just had a very good laugh, but as I thought about it, I realized that a lot of people do gain some weight around the festive period. The sad part is, that weight isn't as easy to lose, especially as not everyone hits the gym on new year's day despite all the new year resolutions.  Lol

A few months ago, I wrote this post on how to achieve a fuller figure, I got some sincere suggestions that some people actually want to be slim and that some men do indeed prefer them slim. To that I said "thank you +Agbani Darego for winning the miss world and giving black African women and men a change of thought". I decided then to write this post, but nothing has prompted me to do so more than now that people have almost no choice but to add to little weight that can't be easily lost. So, if you fall into the category of persons who have inevitability gained some over the holidays and you are in no hurry to hit the gym this new year, then here are some tips for looking trim like you did before the holidays.

• Ladies, it's time to bring out your pencil skirts.  If you didn't have one, then I guess it's time to do a tiny winy bit of shopping. A pencil skirt gives you that elongated look, making you look taller and very sophisticated too.
• Secondly, if you must wear clothes with stripes, then go for those with vertical stripes.  They also create the slim look by making you look taller.
• slide into the new year with some heels. Something a bit higher than what you are already used to.
• When deciding what colors to go for,  make them dark with a pop of color (an accessory- bag, shoe, scarf, whatever).  
• Assymetrical cuts are the in-thing at this time, whether they are the trend or not. Also it doesn't matter if it is a skirt or a dress or even a top.
• The neckline of your outfit is extremely important, especially if you are busty. Go for V- neck or assymetrical cuts like the shoulder style or a bow on one shoulder. 
• Create a waist by cinching it in with a belt. Also, a peplum top or dress with the cut on the waist rather than the actual waist gives you the slim tall look.
• Long flowy dresses are also for you at this time. It not only makes you look taller, but also hides any excess baggage perfectly. 

DON'TS

• No excess embellishments,  no ruffles, no ruching, it ends up adding unnecessary bulk to your frame.
• No flared skirt
• Nothing with bold prints, if you must wear prints, go for tiny ones. Definitely no horizontal stripes.
• Don't go for one-size too big or one-size too small in an attempt to hide the weight. Guess what? It will further enhance it.
• Be careful with that have the A-line cut or an empire waist dress. It can have the effect of making you appear taller when worn properly. It can also have the opposite effect of making you look shorter, especially if it is a short dress or skirt. 

That said, I hope this goes a long way to making you look and feel good as we move on in the year until you can find yourself in a gym, (please hurry and do so).

Yours truly, 

Cheers.......

W.H.O DECLARES NIGERIA EBOLA FREE

"Free at last!" are the words that came to mind when I heard the news of Nigeria being declared Ebola-free by the world health organisation (W.H.O). I recalled all the terrifying emotions that most Nigerians, including me went through when we confirmed the first case. The fear was palpable. For the first time since my adulthood, I saw Nigerians act as one,  (well, almost if you count those who would have sabotaged our efforts by remaining in hiding or running away).

The fear of ebola made many Nigerians fall victim to some rumors like the kolanut cure, and the salt water bath. We decided at that point that it was time to start fighting it and set out to educate people on proper prevention as there was and still has no known cure. It looked like all hope would be lost when we heard of a new case in Port-harcourt. The fear came again when the necessary protective gears were not provided for health care workers and again when it was time for children to go back to school. 

When the case showed up in the United States, to tell you the truth, my heart dropped! Why? Because what if a stable individual who has already contacted the virus, but is stable walks into our country today? That is exactly what happened in the case of America. The patient was fine. He only developed the fever after he was in the country. No fever scanner could have detected him as ebola positive in the airport. We (Nigerians) were lucky because our index patient collapsed right at the airport.

So, dear Nigerians, YES!!! we should be proud of ourselves this time. We conquered ebola. We should pop champagne and celebrate, but, in the midst of all the celebrations, we should remember that the battle is not over until it is truly over. Liberia, Sierra leone and Guinea are our neighbours. The threat is not over. We should "keep calm and watch out!" Our level of vigilance shouldn't dwindle at this time.

Doctors, Please continue wearing your protective gears. Everyone, please continue regular hand-washing, it saves you from a host of other diseases on the long run. continue using your hand sanitizers. Continue to spread the news and educate as much people as you can. In short, continue monitoring until we rid the world of ebola. The battle continues.....

Cheers......

PROS AND CONS OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA

Hello there everyone,

In the last month or two, a lot has happened and I realised that the social media is the best way to carry any form of information (good or bad). Since the onset of ebola 2014 and it's arrival in Nigeria, a lot of information have circulated on the internet, some good, others not so much.Take for example, the issue of drinking and bathing with salt and water mixture as a cure for ebola. An issue that hit mainstream and spread across the country like a wild fire taking some lives with it, and hospitalizing others.

After that incident, two people came out to claim responsibility. One, a young lady from Lagos; another, a traditional ruler in Jos.  It turns out that maybe the lady lied to get a little fame, as most of the casualties following this information were recorded in Jos.  When the news of drinking salt and water as a cure for the Ebola disease broke, my first thought was of the side effects. I remembered the hypertensive patients, worse among them, being the undiagnosed ones or those with poor control. One day later, my fears are confirmed, two hypertensives die, many others hospitalized, some with ulcers - gastric corrosion. (This is what Nigerians called "double wahala for dead body") because this is a case of running from death and reaching it even before the people it is about to claim. I say this because, even though lives have been claimed following the outbreak, precautionary measures would have prolonged their lives. Following this incident I decided it would be a good idea to share my views on the pros and cons of using the social media.

The social media can be a powerful weapon. It has its good and bad effects as we are about to find out here;

PROS:

• The social media has become a great tool for connecting with people, ( long time friends and family members). Take facebook for example. All you have to do is search for their names, place of work, confirm with their photos and add them. For blackberry users, you just have to have a pin or phone number. Others include Skype, this enables you to video call for free.
• It is cheap. It reduces the amount of money spent on some unnecessary calls and sms in a month. For example, just yesterday, I was chatting with a friend who was in a different city but watching same show as myself. What we were basically doing was discussing the characters in the show. When I had to leave for a few minutes, she kept me updated. That is not the kind of discussion you want to me having on lengthy phone calls.
• Creates awareness people can now record videos of injustice as it is been committed and upload on youtube. Some criminals have been brought to book by identification via social media.
• Helps to promote businesses. It is the reason I brought my business into blogging. It gives you a larger range of clients.
• It can help create job opportunities, directly or indirectly. Directly, for those who have taken to full time blogging and other forms of generating an income online. Indirectly, through contacts made online. Even now, some interviews are conducted online. (Less travelling, less money spent on job hunt in different locations, less stress)
• Finally, for website owners, it improves traffic, helps you interact more with your clients and get instant feedbacks. The evening, I called the customer care line of my mobile network MTN as usual they were marketing their products while I waited to speak with an officer. Then I heard I could get instant replies using their twitter handle, @MTN180. I tried it with little hope of a reply, but I must say, they were prompt with their response, They followed me immediately and solved my problem.
• It can serve as an avenue to spread information fast, and be educative as long as the correct information is gotten. As an educative blog, I try to stay within the limit of what I know, Have experienced, or have researched.
• You can interact with your bankers without have to enter the bank. In Nigeria before, to open a bank account, one had to go to the bank to find out the requirements, then go back after getting them and then go back another day for account details. Now, almost everything you need is in cyberspace, you go to the bank prepared. less time wasting.

CONS:

• Hacking: Many of us have at one point or another had accounts that have been hacked. There was a time on facebook when people you already had on your friend list start re-adding you. An enquiry always showed that they didn't send another request or open a second account.
• Stalking: Because some people details are made available on some sites, some people might access your information and start stalking you. On bbm in Nigeria, we call them monitoring spirits. It can be much worse. Some may attempt to steal their identity, abduct a person or even kill a person. This actually happened to a girl via facebook. She thought she was meeting business clients and she wound up dead.
• Spreading wrong information and rumors, case in point, the salt and water drinking episode earlier discussed.
• Poor performance of students in schools as they are too busy surfing the internet, (mostly for stuff not relevant to school work).
• Time consuming: You have to have spare time to be constantly on the web. To be able to interact with your clients, especially for feedback or enquiry purposes.
• Conversation killer and poor live interaction. I went to a party once, a friend's birthday and I was expecting a lot of old time gist and catching up, dancing and just having fun, What I met was a bunch of people, men and ladies holding on to their phones and chatting with people that where not there at the time. It was the most boring party!
• It has been known to be a very good way of cunning people. Don't forget the 419ers.

So guys, even though the benefits of the social media may be numerous, we should be careful and watch out for the cons.

Cheers.....

HUMANS MAY BE WORSE THAN THE EBOLA VIRUS!!!

Hello boys and girls,

I know this title sounds very harsh, but well, I had to get a catchy title and then please allow me to explain what I mean. I'll begin by stressing that ebola is a virus, so basically, it is a non-living thing until it comes in contact with living tissues. It is not capable of  transmitting itself. It has to be transmitted from person to person. When I started thinking of writing this post, I wanted to blame it all on the Liberians, afterall, they are the ones that spread it to Nigeria and now the United States of America. Then, I thought about the reactions of the Nigerians when it hit us (not very helpful). I now remembered how the Americans transported the infected doctors back to the USA for treatment and finally, the missionaries from Spain. I decided it was a human problem.

Let me now begin the gist by saying that at the onset of the outbreak, the Liberians didn't believe that ebola was real. They believed it was a plot by their government to get funding from the west. And truly I don't blame them for that. My explanation and possible excuse for their reaction is written here. Because of their lack of belief, ignorance, and maybe fear, they continued to mingle with people who had been infected. They went as far as bursting them out of the quarantine centre. The disease continued to spread like wild fire.

Then, ebola came into Nigeria via a traveler from Liberia. He knew he had come in contact with people that had or died from the disease, still he travelled to Nigeria hiding this information. In his mind, he wanted a better treatment (or so said his wife). When the Liberian, Patrick Sawyer collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, he didn't volunteer the information and he even denied that he was travelling from Liberia and that he came in contact with an ebola patient. The diagnosis was made on a high index of suspicion and lab tests. The news broke and some people who had come in contact with the index patient were quarantined. Still, a nurse who should have known better, escaped surveillance and travelled to another part of the country exposing more people to the virus. Even a Nigerian diplomat did the same and a doctor helped him conceal it. As you'll find here.

It seemed Nigerians and the world had it under control until it showed up in America via a traveler from Liberia. He too didn't volunteer the information that he had been to Liberia recently or had contact with an ebola patient when he developed a fever. This is the latest issue of the ebola spread that is holding the world to ransom. A few days after that, I heard of the nurse in Spain that caught it from attending to the missionaries that travelled from Sierra leone.

This whole story reminds me of an animated movie I watched "Osmosis Jones". It's funny that the movie depicted the virus as the culprit. It was made to have a mind of its own and a set target. What is also great about this movie is that they made us understand that it was the human who took the virus into his body, knowingly or unknowingly. This ebola virus has no emotions or brain. It has been built that way to replicate and destroy once it comes in contact with living cells. Finally, we humans are to blame because through various means, we have aided the spread of the disease. While the blacks are spreading it through fear, disbelief and ignorance, the whites are spreading it through overconfidence in their ability to combat it.

To me, the best way to fight it and win, is to take the war to where it all begun and not trying to rescue a few injured men at a time. Send the relief to the affected countries and deal with it there. The war is not over until it is truly over.

Cheers......

AIRLINE FRAUD

Two days ago, I posted this article, (something about stolen goods from checked in luggage in some airlines in Nigeria arik air to be precise). That was my personal experience, along with a few other people's. Today I want to share my husband's experience, which until now, I didn't know happened to my father and brother on their way to my wedding. My brother brushed that experience aside thinking it was a trick until he heard what happened to my hubby. 

MY HUBBY'S EXPERIENCE:

On his way to the east from Abuja, he decided to take a flight (aero contractors) to Owerri (the closest town to the village). He got to the airport a few minutes before take off, and was told by the lady at the check-in counter that he had already missed his flight. He immediately decided to buy another ticket to travel, while he paid the necessary charges to postpone/re-route the already missed flight. Since the current flight he missed probably didn't have another one for that morning, he decided to buy the air ticket from a different airline, or travel to another close location by the same airline. As he approached the second airline (arik air), some workers from the first one (aero) told him to buy a ticket from them. They said there was now an available flight leaving in an hour to Owerri. He bought the ticket (of course at a higher price with the help of the boys from the same lady that told him he missed his flight). At this point he was beginning to suspect foul play. He was given his boarding pass, rushed through the checking in point with the idea that the plane was about to take off. When he got to the final check-in/scanning point, he asked the man there about the time of take off. He was told 1 hour. He then decided to compare his receipt of the old flight with his boarding pass and realized that it was for the same exact plane that he had been told he missed. All hell broke loose. (My hubby is the calm type, so if something made him loose it, enough for him to say "he raised dust in the airport"; then it can't be good).

The man immediately denied any form of association with the guys he procured the ticket from. They insisted that he won't be allowed into the flight for patronizing touts. When they saw that he wasn't going to relent, somehow, they "knew" the boys and collected his money. When he presented the boarding pass they gave him, the airline people decided to tell him that it was a fake. Understand this please! in other words, we now have "agberos" (touts) in the Nigerian airports. I was shocked, pissed and fuming when he narrated his experience. It brought up the bitter bile I forced myself to swallow after my experience. I just couldn't bring myself around to swallowing it again, hence this out-pour.

The gist about the last blog post came up in the family and that is how I got to hear of my brother's experience. Almost the same scenario, a few minutes to take off and he is told that he has missed his flight. This time it was arik air. (I wonder why it is only arik air that flies the Benin - Abuja route. He told the officer in charge that it wasn't possible and an argument ensued. The check-in counter officer asked him if he hadn't received the sms that was sent a day prior, informing them that the flight has been moved forward. My brother went back to ask my dad if he received any such sms. They looked through his recent messages and saw nothing. He went back to the counter and told them that there was no receipt of such an sms. The guy simply said sorry but you have missed your flight. My brother, (calm as usual) said to him, "go over there and tell my dad that he has missed his flight because he didn't get your sms". The young man look around my brother at my dad, look back at my brother and said "hurry! the flight would soon take off". Now can you believe that? That a flight is on ground and we are constantly been told that it has taken off, just because we can't see the tarmac to confirm for ourselves.

Our airports are now a den of liars, thieves and fraudulent persons. The airline staff and operators are no different. Why should the excuse for the fact that my wristwatch that was stolen from inside my checked-in luggage be that I should have carried my valuables on my person. The last time, I asked you who determines what is valuable or not to me? I didn't get your response to that, so I say this (especially to the airlines and its managers);

• If I decide to carry a bag of stones because I need it at my final destination for something important, does it not become valuable?
• Are valuables only things of high monetary value?
• On my way back from Seychelles, I carried with me some shells I got at the beach to decorate my home with. In terms of monetary value, those shells were expensive in Seychelles. Now, if it was stolen, have you not stolen something valuable to me? In case you don't know, you have stolen my time and energy and of course money, for I may decide to make something with it and sell at a profit.
• What if I carry a roll of tissue with me, I get off the plane and I'm on my way home and my stomach decides to act up, the only place close by doesn't have tissue to spare. I remember that I carried one with me and I run to get and it's missing. Does that bit of paper not become valuable? You have just stolen my dignity and respect.
• How about I have a Dolce and Gabanna suit worth $6000, It's an outfit right? (does outfit fall under the non-valuables?) Anyway, I put it in my luggage and it is stolen! What does that amount to?

The problem I have realized, with a sad heart is the fact that many of us Nigerians are too complacent. We give up too early even before thinking to do anything about the situation. A lot of these people continue doing the wrong thing, and sadly, most of the time, they get away with it. Yes! we live in a corrupt society. Yes! our leaders (no matter the position they hold, are usually oppressors). This doesn't mean we can't rise up together and take a stand for the right thing. Think about it.

Cheers.....

NIGERIA: STILL UNPREPARED FOR EBOLA

August 25th, 2014, the Nigerian medical association (NMA) called off their almost 2-month old strike amidst insult from the general public and a threat to be sacked. One week later, the residents were called back to work by the federal government. I thought that would be the end of the problem until I referred a patient to the teaching hospital in my community and they came back a few hours later, unattended to. Further enquiries revealed that though the strike has the called off, the staff of the hospital weren't working. That was very odd and disheartening at the same time. Because, even though the doctors were on strike, those of us in the private sector were still working with whatever little we have.

To clarify, the private hospitals in Nigeria are more like clinics. They have little or no specialized equipment and almost no specialist. My centre, I must say is one of the best you can find but not as good as the teaching hospitals. So, now I'm you can understand my predicament when I learnt that the doctors/staff of the teaching hospitals weren't accepting patients.

When ebola viral disease came into the country, many doctors thanked God for the strike. The explanation is simple. The first point of call for the primary victim would have been the teaching hospital where most likely a house officer would be ask to see. That house officer would have easily made a diagnosis of severe malaria. Admitting or discharging the patient of course would depend on how the patient looked. Bottomline, the diagnosis of EBV would have been delayed or never made, thereby endangering far too many lives.

The greatest fear for doctors when the strike was called off was our readiness to combat ebola effectively. I have worked in a teaching hospital before, (although as a house officer). At some point I had to get a box to put all my "work essentials" like gloves, spirit, cotton wool, syringes, sample bottles and even continuation sheet. Items that should ordinarily be readily available in the wards. I carried that box (carton) everywhere for fear of it "getting missing". I didn't want to start running from ward to ward when I needed any of them.

Now, look at this, right now, to examine any patient, I have to have on my improvised PPE (personal protective equipment). This includes gloves and face mask at least. A gown and goggles if you are at a higher risk of coming in contact with bodily fluids. Imagine a situation where even these have not been provided for medical personnel to work with. This is exactly the case at the teaching hospitals across the country. Yes, the government has set up a centre for the disease control in Lagos. Yes they are even checking temperature with infrared device, the one where the people using it don't know the actual temperature value they should look out for. (One of the airport people put my hubby aside for a temperature of 37.2C, which is normal by the way).

Further probing led me to a website where I got this screen captured photos above. Apparently, the minister of health has denied that the money approved by the federal government to contain the virus was infact meant for the ministry and it was to aid them in the purchase of cars and drugs and other items already ordered for. Money that would have be put into some good use for once in the history of Nigerian has been successfully cornered once again.

Anyway, the doctors as well as health workers have decided that NO PPE, NO WORK. Afterall they say the fear of ebola is the beginning of wisdom right now.

Cheers.....

Photo: http://www.ekekeee.com/1-9billion-naira-buying-cars-ebola-chukwu-tries-explain-released-fund/

EBOLA VIRUS NOW IN PORT-HARCOURT

I was relaxing this evening when I got the same shocking text message from three of my contacts saying there is now ebola virus in Port-harcourt, Rivers state. The message said that another ECOWAS diplomat who was in contact with the primary ebola victim, Patrick Sawyer escaped surveillance and travelled to Port-harcourt for treatment. He survived, but the doctor who treated him died last Friday and his wife raised the alert to the ministry of health. Two questions immediately come to mind.

• How did that happen? I mean how did the diplomat escape surveillance?
• What made the doctor act the way he did?

Typically, I would have started apportioning blame by now. For instance, blaming the government or the minister of health, the travel agencies that allowed him to travel. I'm pretty sure he didn't disappear and reappear. However, this is not a time to apportion blame, neither is it time for name calling.

While everyone was and is still busy working hard to prevent further spread of the virus, a doctor was harboring another in secret and doing what the general public would see as heroism. During this strike period by the Nigerian doctors, I have heard repeatedly from people how we have abandoned our Hippocratic oath, despite not fully understanding what it entails or how it has been revised over the years. Yes, it says "first do no harm" right? That's exactly what my colleague was doing by treating this diplomat. Now, I guess he made a mistake as no one knows his reasons for not alerting the public when he had the chance.

I will continue to stress the fact that we need to be more proactive, in order to effectively combat this virus and set our country free from it (conspiracy theory or not). Do not think that the virus is not yet in your vicinity just because it hasn't be announced in the news. Prevention is better than cure everytime. 

The name of the hospitals and hotel mentioned in the text messages I received are as follows;

• Samstel clinic, Rumuokoro, Port-harcourt
• Good heart specialist hospital, Evo road, GRA, Port-harcourt
• Mandate Hotel

Finally, so far 15 cases have been confirmed. We must commend ourselves, while continuing to strive for the best. So, if you show any symptoms or know anyone who has symptoms. if you have visited any of these places or know of anyone who has done so recently, please kindly report to the River State Health Ministry for risk assessment. Do not hide and put both your family and the general public at risk.

FG WAGES A WAR AGAINST MEDICAL DOCTORS IN NIGERIA

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, the federal government of Nigeria waged a war against the medical doctors, in particular, the ones in residency training. This is how the story went down. For more than a month now, the medical doctors in Nigeria have been on strike over many issues. These issues have been highlighted in here. Negotiations have taken place between the federal government and the NMA (Nigerian Medical Association) with no much head way. Then, came ebola disease and the doctors were asked to resume work to help combat the problem. An emergency meeting was held on Wednesday, 6th of August, 2014 by the NMA, from which a rumor spread that the strike has been called off. The next day, that rumor was refuted. It was said that the president of the association made them (people present) cast a vote, from which he drew the conclusion that he favored and walked out on them. It was also said that the doctors present got miffed and started to plan his impeachment. The next story that circulated to the media was that he resigned and he was again re-instated. It was right in the middle of a training that residents who have been on strike received the news of the termination of their appointment.

Initial reaction? Fear! Fear of the unknown, fear of been broke, as it is we aren't earning enough. Questions began to come up, people started making decisions before even analyzing the issues and thinking about the future. Their future, as well as that of their generations unborn. Repeatedly, I have begged for an answer to these questions; What work do those in power do exactly to earn what they earn? How much studying have they done? My single answer? Not much. So pray tell, what gives them the right to make such decisions on issues majority of them have no clue about?

Permit me to take a bit of your time to explain the much needed. The general public believe that doctors are been cruel by going on strike. They believe that the reasons for the strike action are selfish (all we want is more money for ourselves, which by the way, I see absolutely nothing wrong with). Many believe it's just about fighting johesu for who should be the chief medical doctor (that shouldn't even be an issue, to me it doesn't hold water). Follow me down the road a bit more please. Many  people believe that doctors earn so much money, they probably don't have enough bank accounts to hold them. Currently in Nigeria, the federal institutions are the highest paying hospitals followed by the state. I don't work for any of the above named institutions. I work for a private hospital and my salary is about 60-70% of theirs and believe me when I tell you this, many doctors are earning much less. Now, the essence of residency training, is to make you a better doctor so you don't kill all your patients. We have seen that compared to our counterparts abroad, it is not enough to just be a medical officer with no further training. We still have a very long way to go. 

The residency training doesn't just involve going to work and coming back and learning under the supervision of the consultant or professor, contrary to public believe. No!! far from it. We go to lots of updates and revision courses as a requirement for your exams. You write exams at different stages. These courses we attend are not for free, they are quite expensive, and it is not held once a year. This year alone, I have attended 4. The exams you also have to pay for. These courses are held in different parts of the country. If I tell you that in the last two months, I haven't earn a salary, would you believe me? Probably NO. But this is the truth, because even though I am been paid, it all goes into the training. We, residents have to travel to parts of the country where you don't know a soul, in this time of poor security. We have to pay accommodation bills and feed ourselves (especially night meals). When I wrote the primary exams (the exam that qualifies you to start the program) 5 years ago, the fees were approximately N20,000 for revision courses and exams each. Now the courses range from N30000 - N50,000. The exam is N60,000. Did I forget to mention that we have to register with the college and pay yearly dues? We have to pay to renew our licenses every year? After all these payments, if you fail the exam, you start again because the courses expire. Let me not add other personal and family responsibilities (many of us are married with children). So I ask, where is the money exactly? In short, passing out of medical school just places you at the bottom of the very long ladder to achieving your goals.

Amongst the things doctors are fighting for is for a better health care system for us and especially generations yet unborn. For how long will these people who call themselves our leaders continue to ride on us? They or their family members fall sick and they travel out of the country for care. We fall sick, we are left to rot in an almost non-existence  facility. A very good example, my younger brother took ill, the correct diagnosis was made, (already half way there right)? The necessary medicines for treatment were not available in the country. If not for the grace of God and his provision, I would have been one brother short. We had to be flown out eventually, when he was deteriorating and he could do nothing. Not for lack of knowledge, but for lack of resources. Another very good example, the first lady #PatientDameJonathan took ill ( minor illness oh!), she was flown to Germany for treatment. What happened to national hospital? You see these people make laws that don't affect their comfort in anyway. A part of the reason for this strike, is for a better working environment to enable adequate and prompt treatment of the citizens of this country. Of what use am I to you, if I know everything about your illness and can't save your life? The very job I am been trained for. We are at another revision course now, we are given the latest trends in treatment of certain conditions, then we are told "it is not available in the country now". I went to India and I saw things that prior to, I had only read about in those big textbooks. Imagine that. What is wrong in asking for things to be set in place? The average life expectancy of a Nigerian is 54 years, Is that normal?

The public is quick to judge the doctor now, but not so fast, wait until you have successfully trained one, then, watch him/her go out everyday and come back worn out. Wait until you see them been constantly, exposed to different forms of health hazards and you are the one at home praying for their safety. Wait until you have to beg to get a bit of their attention, because they are always in the hospital, working (my parents can attest to this). Then you can judge. I know lots and lots of doctors who basically trained themselves, with no aid from the government I might add. Abroad, there is room to loan and pay back when you start working. Many medical students have to photocopy textbooks from those that can afford it, so that they have what to read. Many residents still continue to do this and it is much worse now, because we have even more books to buy and definitely more responsibilities. 

As residents, we continue to train ourselves while rendering service to the community and this is how we get paid for asking for a better working system. We are under contract, with no guarantee of a full employment when we eventually pass and become consultants. The resident has no right to gratuity. With the outbreak of ebola, the doctors are scared to their bone marrow which is one of the reasons they don't want to go back to work now. The FG is huffing and puffing and issuing threats and sack letters, Have you put systems in place to guaranty our safety? Do you send a soldier into combat without ammunition? The doctor that is currently sick with ebola now in Lagos, what is his hazard allowance? N5,000. What compensation does he or his family get from him being at the war front? Is that N5,000 able to make a dent in his required treatment? Please oh! this is not a case of David vs. Goliath.

My fellow colleagues, this is not the time to start running helter skelter. It is not a time for those not in the training to see it as an opportunity. In this case, "opportunity doesn't come but once". This is not a time to be intimidated by the politicians. This, I say, is a time to come and stand together. They want to dismiss the residency training program, allow them to get doctors from outside the country and see how much more they'll pay them (ask the people and Delta State Hospital, Oghara). Agreed, many may argue that they have not had a place to train since they passed their primary exams, whose fault is that? Many are already planning to apply as locum doctors, let me tell you something you aren't aware of, that is exactly what the FG wants, to tear us down. Don't allow it. You take the job now, under whatever terms and conditions they come up with, what happens down the road a few years later? I tell you brethren! you will pay the price. Today, this offer may sound and look good, what about tomorrow? Do not be like Esau in the bible who sold his birth right for food.

For those who have said "why have doctors not merged together to build a standard hospital in Nigeria to rival the government ones, now you are privy to how much we actually have left at the end of the month. And if not for fights this in the past, doctors would be nowhere today. If the federal institutions can't handle the load of doctors graduated each year, I believe they would do well to reduce the number of medical students admitted each year. But alas, they can't can they? Not with the godfatherism that continues to plague us till this day, the reason many people haven't gotten a space to train after passing, and why some pay institutions to train them (minus all the expenses enumerated above). The governors, senators, ministers, and other rulers have list to submit at every level.

Finally, Is it possible to cancel the postgraduate training in a university? Because that is what stopping residency training implies. ASUU went on strike for 6 months last year, why weren't they sacked? Doctors, this is the time to make use of the social media. It is not only for celebrities and businesses. Tweet, retweet, hasgtag, facebook, google+ share and reshare and let everyone know that we are together. My pipo! (people) na awa (it's our) workshop dem they play with so oh! Afterall, na where you they work, naim you dey chop. Shikena!!!

#FGCan'tStopResidencyTraininginNigeria
#NigerianDoctorsFightForYourRights

Cheers.....

HOW TO GET THE FULLER FIGURE

Hey there! I have a little confession to make. Caught your attention now, didn't I? Anyway, let me go ahead with the confession of yester-years. As you know, I love fashion. I am one of those people that pride themselves as having a very good dress sense (notice I didn't say "good", I had to add "very good"). Well, I wasn't always that way. I was just OKAY when it came to dressing. For those who knew me, they'll tell you that I was a proper "tom-boy" back in the days. They would also tell you how very skinny I was, (I used to weigh 53 kilograms (approximately 116 pounds (lbs) at a height of 1.72 meters. In other words, I was underweight. That didn't seat well with me, my family (especially my parents) and my peers, (I used to be a source of ridicule amongst them in secondary school). If you understand the African mentality, then you already know why. However, for the benefit of those who do not, it's basically for two reasons; 1)because the African men preferred full-figured ladies to skinny ones and 2) it was believed that the fuller, the figure you had, the more money you had to feed, in other words, you weren't poor.

Canoe-shaped neckline

Round neckline

Embellishment on the top

As I grew up, I guess I accepted me for who I am, regardless of what people said. I decided to embrace whatever shape I had and flaunt it. I went about it the wrong for quite a while without realizing. To me, it was the "in thing". Later, down the road as I matured, I realized that I had to dress for my shape. I am not what you can call "very well endowed", (even though I dey try for my mind), but I preferred deep plunging neck lines, body-hugging tops and tight jeans (boot-leg though). It was a drastic change for anyone who knew me and I now understand their plight. Imagine moving from baggy jeans/joggers with big t-shirts, lumberjack guy shirts to tight, body-hugging clothes. Lol. Right now, I'm seriously wishing I had those photos in soft copy to share with you.

Turtle neck style or button-up

Square neckline

Sweetheart neckline and A-line pleated skirt

Now, I can say I am confident in myself. However, not everyone else is. It is for this reason I wrote on creating cleavages and I'm writing this one now. There are a few basic, very simple things that you need to note when it comes to dressing to create a fuller figure.

• This point is very important please! Just because you want to appear fuller, doesn't mean you should wear loose fitting clothes. (That is the conception of my parents, the looser the outfit, the more it hides your thin frame. Lol).
• You also don't need to wear smaller sized, very tight clothes, so you can show off how skinny you are (for those that like been thin). The key is MODERATION.
• Three major factors act to create a fuller figure for anyone, whether they are aware of it or not, include

1. Cover up: By this, I simply mean, cover up most part of your chest and bosom. You don't have the cleavage afterall, so there is nothing to flaunt. Wear clothes with a round, square, sweetheart or canoe neckline. A turtle-neck style is also good for cold seasons. It doesn't always have to be a t-shirt.
2. Buy tops that have embellishment like ruffles, beads/buttons, folds in front of it. Be careful with this though, too much embellishment may have the opposite effect. You can also try out artificial round neck collar accessories. (Those ones that look like mini bibs).
3. Create a waist: This is very important. It doesn't make you look straight. You can create a waist in these simply ways; firstly, by use of a belt. This is the easiest way , believe me. I can't tell you how many belts I own. Secondly, make sure the clothes you buy have darts in certain strategic places that makes the waist appear smaller. Lastly, the latest, is a trend that hit the markets last year. Dresses made with 2 different colors in vertical position with the middle portion already tailored to have a figure of 8.

1. This is the oldest in the book. Wear clothes with bold designs, be it graphical, flora or polka dots. Also clothes that have horizontal stripes. White is a color people complain about, but it can give your figure that extra boost.
2. Finally, for the bottom, use mostly A-line, flared skirts, skirts with pleats, fringes or ruffles. You can also wear straight or pencil skirts, but ensure that something is done about the top and waist. Use mostly straight cut or bootleg trousers or jeans. To me, skinny jeans should be used when a proportion of your bum is covered.

These may seem a bit much right now, but I can only say this. I changed my dress sense, and I started winning awards for best dressed. People have come to me severally to take them to the places I shop. i have no issues with that at all. Afterall, I can't buy all the clothes in the market and the retailers have to eat. But I always tell them this;

• It's not about where I shop, it's about what I shop for, and how I put them together. In other words, the cloth doesn't make the lady, the lady make the cloth.

Cheers.....

MY CONSPIRACY THEORY ON EBOLA

Lately, there have been a lot of talk about the Ebola disease worldwide, of course more in Africa. I personally thought the Liberians to be quite unserious when they insisted that the ebola scare was just a conspiracy by their government to get foreign aid. I was shocked when Nigerians proved more difficult. They became impossible when it was discovered that there was a possibility of cure with the appearance of the drug #Zmapp in the scene. Nigerians decided it must be a conspiracy theory when they asked for the drug and a "NO" was the response from the United States of America on the basis that it was an #experimentaldrug. The agitation tripled, when it was discovered that the priest in Spain had gotten it yesterday. When the Liberians got it today, the media was abuzz with conspiracy theories.  I have even come up with my own conspiracy theory. (Of course this post isn't a serious one, just something to get the edge off).

So, about my theory or should I say my friend and I's? We were gisting generally (of course about ebola), when the word bioterrorism entered the discussion. Infact, the discussion went as follows;

Friend: " I read somewhere that the way this disease is spreading is what oyibo will call bioterrorism".

Me: Shey?!! the close meaning I can get in English is "that may be right"

Friend: It's true now, how did the disease appear in West Africa? I thought it had been contained in Central Africa for almost 40 years now.

Me: I don't know oh! I've thought about it before. Is it possible that someone escaped from containment and flew to Liberia?

Friend: Hmmm....

Me: No, I don't think so. They said it was gotten from Monkeys in Lofa. The boundary town between three initially affected countries. (refer to this post to see the video).

Friend: Abi oh!

Me: They also said that it was in the monkeys from that same forest that they discovered HIV II.

Friend: There is nothing that is not in that forest.

Me: So, if the monkeys had ebola since, why didn't they have an outbreak all these years in Liberia, Guinea or Sierra leone? At least, they have been eating and playing with the monkeys all these years.

Friend: No wonder the people don't believe that ebola is real. Will you really blame them? See what is happening here (Nigeria) now. To stop eating bushmeat, na war.

Me: Well, prevention is better than cure. But ehn, if it was gotten from the monkeys, is it that the monkeys travelled from Central Africa and landed in Liberia? It would have had to pass through all them Cameroun, Togo, Benin, Ghana, e.t.c. to get there. Abi, did someone travel with it from Congo to Liberia as a pet via Plane or Ship?

Friend: My dear, I don't know oh!

Me: You know, I watched a movie (I think it's mission impossible) where one scientist weaponised a virus, created an antidote. He then wanted to use it as a means of terrorism. They killed the guy, of course that's only a movie. What if someone actually tried it in real life? Maybe, not weaponise it, but harvested it and inoculated it in the monkeys in that Lofa forest?

Friend: It could even be a laboratory experiment gone wrong.

Me: Shey you saw that abandon research centre for monkeys in that video? (in this context, shey = I think).
Anyway, We are in the hands of God with this one. Did you hear about that Zmapp drug? They said they won't give us, that it is still in the trial stages.

Friend: Is it not what we were talking about yesterday? And you where siding with the Americans.

Me: When?

Friend: During class

Me: Really? I was just stressing that all we Africans know how to do is wait for finished product. In this day and age, why couldn't we have gone into the research of producing a drug for it. It is even an original African problem. It is the same thing we are doing with Lassa fever. Waiting and relying on the west for everything. Next thing now, we'll ask them to give the drug for free. Their corporate organisations are already pumping in money to see to more production of the drug.

Friend: Why didn't they try the drug on the Liberians? They had to wait for hundreds of people to die, then they couldn't wait to give their citizen.

Me: Did the Liberians produce the drug? But wait oh! this is becoming something else oh! So they had the drug all this while sha? Na wa o! Do you know that I just got information that they have giving the priset in Spain.

Friend: You see?

Me: Did you hear that Ghana has also possibly gotten their first case? One very sick man from Burkina Faso oh! Carried across the border by his family members.

Friend: Almost the same way the Liberian knew he was sick and came to Nigeria in the name of diplomacy.

Me: Are the big African countries being targeted?

Friend: Don't ask me oh? I don't know.

My people that is how that discussion ended. No conclusions drawn, just hypothesis. Lol. It was a nice brain storming session, wouldn't you say? Anyway, conspiracy theory or no. Africa!! Nigeria!! this simply shows it is time for you to wake up, get up, and start working hard!!!

Cheers.....