Ba Turanchi!

I met Haraura on a typical work day. She is 17 years old and she came to register for ante natal care. I became endeared to her because of her diction. She spoke English with confidence like a properly educated lady. I pried further and she shocked me! She didn't have a formal secondary school education. I was perplexed. I asked more and more questions and her replies dazed me. Her father couldn't afford to send a daughter to secondary school, so she stopped in JSS2. But she had a desire to learn and so she checked up new words in dictionaries, read books, and with the advent of Internet availability, she surfs the Web and gets information. I was impressed. This was a shift from the Norm. I had become accustomed to hearing ' ba turanchi' ( no english) from beautiful young women who came in with an infant in one hand and usually another little one growing in their wombs. Haraura and I exchanged numbers and we keep in touch often. I hope to someday have a chat with her husband in whose hands lie her future and encourage him to help her dream come true. Believe it or not, girl child education is still a challenge in some parts of Nigeria. I meet at least 2 young ladies that can't communicate with me in English at my Mpape Clinic every day. I have met mothers who can't make decisions that would save their children's lives without getting permission or money from their husbands. The importance of the girl child education can never be over-emphasised. The Educated woman is an asset to her husband, her children, her community and her country! Girl child education will reduce some health care indices like Maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. An educated girl is likely to marry at an older age and have less amount of children, just to mention a few. Today is the 85th day after the Chibok abduction! Those young women were abducted from their schools! What better way to wage war against the education of the girl child? Please help educate that young woman in your vicinity. Yes you can, by starting with your maid!

War against 'Rice politics'

On more than one occasion, I have been asked if I am an indigene of Ekiti state. I announce to them that I am proudly Ijebu! I go ahead to explain that I just happen to have a popular surname that cuts across almost all South-Western states. I have always respected the people of Ekiti and I still do. They have a vast array of educated fellows. They pride themselves as having the largest amount of professors in the region. It is no wonder the state slogan is ' Fountain of Knowledge!'. Their tenacity, which some will call stubbornness is also common knowledge. Never get into an argument with an 'Ekitian'. They almost always win. However, for weeks now, I have tried to understand what happened on the 21st of June 2014. It still seems like a mystery to me. I welcomed the thought that maybe a powerful spell was cast in the spiritual realm, that bewitched the indigenes of Ekiti; but a friend of mine who is also an 'Ekitian' informed me that the people knew what they were doing till the very last moment. They were not mesmerised as they thumb-printed against their choice on the ballot paper. They made a 'conscious' decision. If this is so, then a lot of questions arise in my brain, some of which Gov Fashola and some other writers have asked in several articles. I shall not bore you with my questions. What I want to do is to challenge everyone that cares about the future of Nigeria. It is clear that the majority that matter might not be rightly informed about the things that are important. It is obvious that poverty might have eroded the values that were once upheld and passed on to us. It has become apparent that we need to get involved and salvage the future of this country. So this is what I propose: Let us not 'siddon look'. Let us not put on our 'I don't care' garments. Let's get informed and actively educate the uninformed masses around us. Let's purposefully engage the fish seller, roadside artisans, or your gate man in informative discussions. Let us intentionally drop the right facts and figures on their laps. Let's help them understand the importance of securing the future at the expense of satisfying today's hunger and wants! No right-thinking parent will mortgage his/her children's future for a kilo of rice that will be passed out as faeces the next day! Let us carry social media to the streets! The people that matter the most are not on twitter or Facebook! It's time to get involved and educate the voters. Let's not wait till it's too late. Do not wait till the naira notes and bags of rice begin to flood our streets. Let's form a defence against this virulent strategy. We can stop this aberration from becoming the norm! Get informed and pass on the right information. Get the masses empowered to make the right decisions! It begins at your doorstep!

Last Minute Substitute!

As I fought the urge to plunge into a depressed mood thanks to the dailies and news updates, I switched to the Quarter finals match between Netherlands and Costa Rica. I hoped to get a boost of my morale! I was tired of all the chaos going on in the world. I caught the last minute substitution of the Dutch keeper as their coach prepared for the imminent penalty shoot out. I wondered if this new substitute was going to make a difference. And if you saw the match, you'll agree that he did. The words of the commentator didn't particularly support the Dutch either. The substituted Goal Keeper Tim Krul had faced 20 penalty shoot outs in his club Newcastle United and had saved only 2. That isn't an inspiring record! The team had never won a penalty shoot out in the world cup finals, and so far in all the Brazil 2014 shoot outs, the team that took the first strike won the match. All these commentaries were in favour of Costa Rica. But the flying men of Holland changed History yesterday. The Last minute substitute made a difference and recorded his name in the history journals of football. Louis Van Gaal made a decision, some called it a gamble, and this decision paid off! By the way, we Manchester United fans are looking forward to a better season with LVG in charge. Watch out for us as we put this last season behind us! Gush! What a terrible season it was. Here's the Lesson I gleaned: It doesn't matter if you just got in, it doesn't matter that they got there before you, it doesn't matter that it hasn't been done before, it means little that history is against you; All that matters is that you are there now, and can make a difference. You are a part of the system now and are expected to do something right now. Let's make a difference in our system this New week.

Lawless law enforcers!!!

Lagos state is a wonder-filled state. One of its mysteries is the constant traffic gridlock. Some of it can be explained, others just seem supernatural. You never find the cause of the 'hold up'.

This wasn't the case this morning, as the famous Ikorodu road came to a standstill at the Palmgrove axis. Today's traffic could be tagged ' vengeance'.

Soldiers that are supposed to be in Sambisa forest looking for our sisters, besieged the road and turned into vandals. Destroying BRT buses, setting them ablaze and beating whoever attempted to capture the moment. 
This was an avenue to express their grievances.

It was reported that a soldier was killed this morning in an accident that involved the deceased, his bike  and a BRT bus.
I don't know if the BRT bus was in its lane but if so, then what was this man looking for in sacred territory? 

The man hasn't been officially confirmed dead, but his colleagues have disrupted the peace in the midst of crazy Lagos

How can law enforcement officers so easily and blatantly flaunt the same laws they are supposed to uphold?
They should know better! 

They should go and face BH in Sambisa forest and not add to the trouble of Nigeria! 

If Agberos decide to retaliate and defend the injured civilians, we can imagine how many more properties would be destroyed, and lives lost!

I assume that Brigadier General Chris OluKolade will have something reasonable to say about this cowardly expression of grief by our men of the armed forces; but please let them put a leash on their dogs.

An idle man, is indeed the devil's workshop. If they were in the thick forest of Sambisa, fighting BH, mysterious snakes and bees, they wouldn't have been able to constitute a nuisance to my Lasgidi!

Eko o ni baje o!

Strikes! Strikes!! Conspiracy!!!

Strikes ,strikes, strikes. At the thought of strikes, authorities used to bulge to demands, but that was then. Nowadays, at the mention of strikes, they only roll their eyes and laugh at the labour unions. And this isn't surprising, because I believe, the power of industrial actions have been abused! Apart from the abuse of this once-upon-a-time effective weapon, we also have a group of leaders who have grown thick skins to the plight of the masses! If this isn't so, how then can we explain the 10 months' old strike by ASUP( the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics have been on strike since 3rd of October 2013) Or the incessant strike actions by health practitioners? Two major sectors that have engaged this labour tool repeatedly are the health and educational sector. And these sectors are by far two of the most important sectors in our country. Maybe it's a conspiracy.  It is a well known fact that if you want to destroy a people, or keep them in subjection, then keep them in ignorance. So maybe this is an attempt to hold us back. To ensure that the Giant of Africa remains a ' once-upon-a-time giant'. Health they say is wealth isn't it?  Then what better way to keep a people in penury if not by destroying their health sector? How can they think of savings and investment when they can't even afford a decent 3 square meal? An average Nigerian family settles for 0:1:0 or the likes. Not because they want to keep fit, but because that's what they can afford. ( no wonder Rice politics is the working formula for election campaigns now). The ongoing NMA strike makes my heart bleed. It's just very painful that the shrubs bear the brunt when two elephants are at war. Not to talk of 3 ( NMA, JOHESU and FG)! The shrubs and grass have no chance of survival. These, I have begun to accept as the sad reality of the Nigerian state. When a patient deteriorates from malaise to lethargy ; from lethargy to apathy, I know that if something different isn't done, as the doctor, the next responsibility would probably be to write a death certificate. Nigeria is at the stage of Apathy. I hope that soon, we won't be sharing aso-ebi to attend her funeral.

Way forward? Anyone?

How many of you remember this song? " ilu yi sumi, ewa funmi ni visa!" meaning ' I am fed up of this country please give me a visa!" I remember laughing about the song back then. The young man was tired of Nigeria in mid 90s; that was the era of university strikes, light outs, unemployment took a catastrophic rise, corruption was on the rise, crime rate was really high! I wonder what that young man would sing now! He'll probably question God about making him a Nigerian at such a time as this! Who wouldn't? I mean, it's mentally exhausting! As I type this, my astrocytes are exhausted. How do we deal with the news of bomb blasts daily in a country that isn't at war? Those that were maimed and injured from yesterday's blasts, in Maiduguri and Kaduna, probably didn't get adequate medical care. I mean, doctors are on strike. So who's going to treat them? Let the JOHESU members go ahead and treat them abi? I mean, who are the government sef? Where are they? What are they doing? What's the use of rebasing our economy and being the largest economy in Africa If it has no effect on its people? Abeg I don tire!!! I am proudly Nigerian, and I believe in the GEMSTONE 2025 vision. But, Chai! I am beginning to wonder. If not for my faith, I would probably be singing that song! I am tired of ranting. Tired of being angry. My fuse box is almost burnt out. My whole body aches! Is it a crime to live in and love Nigeria? I know this is a phase and it will pass,but please, what can we do to help our leaders? What are we to do as followers? Cause it seems to me that our leaders are at a loss about a way forward!

Listen to your doctors!!!!

I got my primary school education from the staff school in one of the South Western Federal Universities. And on several occasions, we were turned back at the university gate 'cause the students were rioting!  I remember the joy and excitement I felt then that I had to skip school. Sometimes when I had an outstanding homework, I would pray that the University students would have gone on another rampage and hence save me from my teacher's cane ( God never answered those prayers!) Anyways, I referred to those days, 'cause in present times, that's how a lot of doctors feel when there's a strike; whether National or State or Local. It's not that we do not love our jobs. Some of us do, in fact most of us jumped for joy when we got admitted to study Medicine. We were our parents' pride. But when you have to practise Medicine in Nigeria, trust me, you gradually lose all the excitement. The facilities are on the downward scale, the patients can't afford the basic investigations that will help you make a proper diagnosis let alone buy the drugs you've prescribed. The nurses are aiming their verbal lashes or stirs at you, the janitor doesn't care if you spent donkey years in school, all he knows is that you were born yesterday and so can't give him orders. And then you are mobbed by the relatives of the patient who just gave up the ghost! All because you bear that title Dr. I could go on and on. The worst part is that you are overworked and extremely exhausted, hence there is no time for any other thing. You'll be lucky to have time to rest sef! And the whole residency program? It's a shadow of itself. Fast falling into the dunghill that our educational sector has dived into. So why won't we breathe a sigh of relief at the slightest whiff of an industrial action? The populace will try to play the Hippocratic oath card and say we were trained to save lives! That's true. But wait till you marry a doctor and he can't afford to send your children to the school of your choice. Then you'll realise that doctors are Nigerians too. Not super humans. We also have responsibilities, and the title Dr doesn't pay our bills, it doesn't make our needs disappear; instead sometimes, it increases them. The other day, I branched at a stall in the market and alas, it was my patient's stall. After a few pleasantries and free consultation, I priced what I had to buy. She didn't reduce the price cause I was her doctor o! After all this is business. While I sympathise with the patients that might be affected by this strike, I'll like to request that again, we should engage our government! For once, let the Nigerian populace listen to us and understand our plight. Let them stop seeing doctors as Florence Nightingale. We all have families too. School fees, hospital bills, Nepa bills, DSTV bills, Vigilante bills, church or mosque pledges, family contributions etc to pay and every other responsibility you also bear. We also want our profession protected and it's dignity restored. Let the government listen to us. Let the people listen to us. We are the victims here!

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