Fasting is nothing out of the ordinary amongst we Nigerians. Indeed, we fast for several reasons ranging from religious to cultural to even political reasons. We also engage in different forms of fasting, which include dry fasting, water fasting, fruit fasting, and even white fasting. Some fast to consecrate themselves for a particular cause. Others fast because they are instructed to. Some even consider fasting as punishment to the body. However, have you ever really considered some of the positive ways fasting can affect your health? Well, here are five of them.
Ageing has to with gradual changes in your body that leads to a decline in bodily activities. Recent researches have shown that one of the underlying factors of this process is the accumulation of damaged cell over time, and fats and sugars have been found to be key players in the process of cell damage. When these nutrients are too many in your body cells, they overwork them and lead to what’s called oxidative stress, which eventually destroys those cells. Fasting, however, can lower the rate of these cell destruction, and thus slow down ageing.
When you fast, you deprive your body of glucose, which is the major source of energy for many organs, and your body is forced to make use of fat stores. The brain also utilizes glucose, and during fasting periods, it has to find an alternative source of energy. Ketones, which are made from fats, are therefore used as substitutes. Ketones have been proven to be better energy sources for the brain, and this is why the brain functions are improved during fasting. Asides this, some researchers have found fasting to help in inhibiting inflammation of brain cells. This improves brain functions too.
If you’ve ever thought about getting rid of some extra weight, you’ve probably thought about fasting. Fasting is indeed an effective way of shedding weight and even maintaining a healthy weight. As earlier stated, when you fast, you deprive your body of calories in form of sugars and fats which compels your body to deploy your fat stores. As a result, you have higher chances of losing unhealthy weight, as long as you don’t go back to consume twice the calories you lost while fasting.
One of the major reasons behind cardiovascular diseases like myocardial infarction and even heart failures is the build-up of fats in the coronary arteries which supply the heart. When you fast, however, the amount of fat in the blood is regulated and this prevents the clogging up of the coronary arteries by fats. This way, your heart will healthier, and you will have lesser chances of developing heart diseases.
Apart from protecting some specific organs, fasting protects the body as a whole. It does this by inducing a process known as autophagy, which involves the clearing up of debris from cells and the removal of toxic or any potentially harmful material from the body. Researchers also believe that autophagy prevents progression of diseases like cancer and Alzheimer disease, etc. Consequently, the body is protected.
Ogungro Alice Iyabode Olori is a beautiful, talented 45years old Nigerian actress and movie producer. Born on the 21st of December 1977. She was born into the Ogunro Adekunle family. She's the only female sibling among two male children of her parents. She's from Southwestern part of the country (Nigeria), Ogun State to be precopr. Iyabo Ojo was birthed and raised in Lagos, Nigeria.
Iyabo Ojo gained her foundamental education in Lagos State. She didn't stop there, but moved forward to get an OND in Estate Management from LSP (Lagos State Polytechnic).
Iyabo Ojo has since started acting right from when she was very young( 20years back) she has been actively involved in acting since then. She even joined a play club back then in secondary school, which helped her in her acting career. After getting an OND (National Diploma) from LSP, she fully went into acting in1988. She then decided to associate with AGN (Actors Guide of Nigeria) and there she gained more attention and connections and was able to meet too stars in the movies industry. She appeared in the popular movie "Satanic" and it was her stepping stone to her success journey in her career and ever since then her light has not dimmed. She has acted and produced many movies so far.
She later released her first movie "Silence" which she featured notable movie stars. She has also acted several Yoruba movies as well.
Iyabo Ojo has been a great gift to the Nollywood Industry, as she has put her talent into great use. The beautiful actress is indeed a successful woman and has gained many awards as well as nominations as a reward for her labor.
Iyabo Ojo is a pretty young actress and mother of two cute children. She had those children at a very young age. They've been separated for 8years now. The major reason for their divorce was because of incompatibility, and other reasons which are not really clear to members of the public.
Iyabo Ojo is a well known actress and successful woman too. She has many assets to include; cars, an eatry, houses to mention but few. Obviously, the pretty actress enjoys good living and she ensures she gets it.
Among various movies she has acted includes:
She has a Net-worth of over $500,000.
By Taofeekat Adigun
International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated annually across the world on 23rd September every year along with International Week of the Deaf in order to raise awareness on the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf.
Mrs Temilola Ogundeji is the Director of Language of Hands Centre, a consultant interpreting firm. She is the lead interpreter at the office of Executive Assistant on disability matters for Oyo State Government. She is also the National Vice President for the Association of Sign Language Interpreters of Nigeria (ASLIN), as well as a worker in News Interpreting Department on BCOS.
In this interview with Taofeekat Adigun, She shares insight into challenges faced by deaf people, inclusion of Sign Language and the role society has to play.
Tell us a little about yourself ma?
I am Temilola Sakirat Ogundeji, popularly called Lola interpreter. I am a prolific consultant interpreter, and the Founder of Caring Climate Interpreters Ventures (train the trainers outfit). I am a lead mentor for deaf community. I have worked with different organizations both in Nigeria and it's diaspora on Sign Language usage. Some of the organisations include; DFID, USAID, C4C, UNIFEM, INEC, NASS, JONAPWD, NNAD, IRI, VSO, UKaid, Osun State Govt., FORD FOUNDATION, PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL, AIT, amongst many others.
Also, I am a film producer. I have produced 2 films "Ayike Omo Oko" (subtitled in English and Sign language for the deaf) in 2008 and "Igbo oba" produced in conjunction with National Parks Service in 2012.
Tell us a little about your organization and the achievement it has garnered over the years.
Caring Climate Interpreters Ventures, popularly called Language of Hands was established in 1991 but came to limelight in 2005 after my participation during confab. It is a consultant interpreting NGO where we offer sign language interpreting service for people, company, schools and the likes. We offer training for people interested in sign language free of charge. Some become an Interpreter after 9 to 12 months, depending on their interest and seriousness.
Some of our achievement so far, we have trained many interpreters who have trained other interpreters as well. We have mentored many interpreters who are doing well in the profession through our different training programs and field jobs. We have worked with so many organisations both in Nigeria and abroad to offer sign language interpreting service. We have participated in different programs,both national and international.
What spiked your interest in sign language?
I did my NCE program at Federal College of Education (SPED), Oyo, where I studied Special (Deaf) Education. I was passionate about learning Sign Language. The peculiarity of the language, where your hands represent your mouth and your eyes represent your ears was fascinating to me. I learnt sign language via a Deaf man in 1986 because of my passion for it and to communicate with him well. The Deaf man later became my husband in 1989.
We hear people say "Hearing impairment/ Deaf people". Which Term is more appropriate to use?
The Deaf is the general term. It covers both hearing impaired, speech impaired and hard of hearing.
What challenges do Deaf People face in the society and how can we tackle them?
Communication problem is the major problem. Sign language is not a universal language that most people know or are aware of. There is also the issue of NEGLECTS because deafness is a hidden disability.
Generally, there is also the issue of misplaced priority. For example, when people think of empowerment of persons with disability, the first thing they plan for the deaf is sharing of hearing aids whereas not all deaf people can use it. The usage depends on the decibel and a lot of factors need to be considered.
The deaf needs education opportunities. There are schools with unskilled interpreters who end up teaching the children wrongly. Also, a lot of deaf people are highly educated with no jobs. Providing employment opportunities, various skills acquisition and vocational jobs will go a long way.
What are your opinions on including Sign Language in the school curriculum?
I honestly believe Sign Language should be integrated in the curriculum. It will immensely bridge the communication barrier experienced by deaf people. Sign Language is a subtle and unique language. If we all have a deep understanding of the language, it would go a long way in making life better for the deaf.
What advice do you have for parents with deaf children?
Acceptance is a huge factor. Parent should first accept them and show love. See them like every other children. Enrol them in special schools early as a child so as not derail their education, and overall, let them be independent. Parents should try as much as possible to learn simple basic sign language well as to communicate with their children.
How can government help solve the plight facing the deaf community?
Inclusion and integration is the only way. Let there be interpreters at hospitals,court of justice, police stations, interpreting service centre like the legal aid council. Thank God Oyo state govt.is trying in that area.There are News interpreter on BCOS as well as interpreters in the office of the Executive Assistant to the governor on disability matters.
Providing job opportunities for those who are educated and vocational relief materials for those who have various skillset.
What advice do you have for people on relating with deaf community?
Firstly, deafness is not by choice or will and disability can happen to anybody. People tend to have the "Thank God For My Life" mentality when they encounter deaf people. This should stop.
Let people recognise sign language, embrace it, learn it, and use it.
Let them be FODA (Friends of the deaf adult). Let them encourage and accept intermarriage between the Deaf and hearing. Deafness is not contagious.
What is your final advice for deaf people on surmounting all odds against disability?
"In every disability, there are abilities". God created them with special abilities and potentials.
They should not allow their disability to be a barrier for achievement and realising their purpose. Educational pursuit is very important, no matter how little. Begging is not the answer.
Nobody can make them inferior without their consent. They should not allow anybody to downplay or look down on them. They should be hardworking, confident and focused.
According to H.L.A Hart in his book, ‘The Concept of Law,’ few questions concerning human society have been asked with such persistence, and answered by serious thinkers in many diverse, strange and even paradoxical ways as the question: ‘What is Law?’
Generally speaking, the concept of law may mean different things to different people. The physicists speak of the law of gravity or Newton’s law of motion, the economists - the law of supply and demand, the biologists - Darwin’s law of evolution, inter alia.
According to John Austin, laws are general commands issued by a sovereign to members of an independent political society, and backed up by credible threats of punishment or other adverse consequences (sanctions) in the event of non-compliance.
The German jurist, Von Savigny, opposed this definition which, according to him, is a condition precedent to the right understanding of the science of all law. To him, law is derived from the SPIRIT of the people (the volksgeist) just like language and culture. In other words, law developed from popular consciousness and traditional values of the society.
Austin was an English lawyer who was the first lecturer of Jurisprudence at this the University of London and thus the most influential figure in English jurisprudence for the last third of the 19th century and for much of this century. He was a positivist. Positivist school, though deals basically with human laws, derived its ideas from the biblical command by God to the first man and woman not to eat from the tree planted in the middle of the garden, and he backed it up with credible threats of punishment which was death as in Genesis 2:16 & 17.
They flouted the order and faced the consequence.
Similarly, He gave the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 and listed sanctions in Exodus 21 & 22. As a matter of fact, the punishments for murder and manslaughter are contained Exodus 21:12; for kidnapping in Exodus 21:16.
Most of these laws were as strict as the common laws of England. The common laws of England were the origin of most laws of the common law countries which established Savigny’s definition of law. I am not particularly concerned about definition: according to Felix Cohen, ‘good deal of fruitless controversy has arisen out of attempts to show that a definition of law… is either true or false. A definition of law is useful or useless. It is not true or false, any more than a New Year’s resolution or an insurance policy.’
The Common Laws of England were strict, formal and full of legalism. They were judges-made laws. These were itinerant judges who moved from one region to the other to administer justice. As a historical fact, England had no unified system of law prior to the Norman conquest of 1066 and the subsequent enthronement of King Williams I. Actions were originated through royal writs which were inadequate and ineffective since some rights were not entrenched in the writs which were expected of any applicant to obtain. Even those that were entrenched could not provide the aggrieved party adequate remedies. The only forms of remedy were damages in form of monetary compensations just as death was the only form of punishment for whosoever sinned in the old testament of the Christian Bible.
As a result of this obvious harshness, grace was introduced by God as contained in the New Testament while equity was introduced to mitigate that of common laws of England. Grace means unmerited favour which was inaugurated following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Equity was introduced following the decision of Earl of Oxford’s case (1615)1 Rep. Ch. 1. In that case it was ruled that in the event of conflict between a doctrine of equity and a rule of common law, equity should prevail. Similarly, with grace comes mercy, and according to James 2:13 mercy triumphs over judgement.
One would think that equity has come to destroy the law, whereas, equity follows the law. Maitland wrote, ‘the two streams have met and still run in the same channel, but their waters do not mix.’ Cardozo in Graf v. Hope Building, 254 N.Y.I at 9 (1930) states that ‘equity works as a supplement for law and does not supersede the prevailing law.’ Similarly, in Matthew 5:17, ‘do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.’ Jesus said this so as to bring to the attention of his people that obedience to law is expected of them while cautioning them not to get carried away by abundance of grace.
Finally, both equity and grace have limitations. A maxim states that, ‘he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.’ This shows that equity will not favour whosoever has his hands soiled. Just as every law has its exception(s), equity does as well. Hence, the question raised in Romans 6:1 that, ‘… shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?’ Then the next verse, ‘God forbid.’
Keep God’s commandments and endeavour not to abuse His grace!
ADESOKAN AKINADE
[Dove]
LL.B 5
Faculty of Law
Obafemi Awolowo University
Child health is the physical, mental, social and emotional well-being of a child. The health status of the mother during pregnancy also need to be checked and be in good status for the sake of the child's health. In recent years, the rate of death of newborn children is over millions every year hence, there need to be a different.
What the UN should do differently.
Firstly, the health of the girl child is what should be checked out first because she becomes the mother and the state of her health will tell on her child. The girl child should be protected from all forms of danger such as violence,forced marriage at tender age, sexual harasement etc.
The pregnant women also need to take good care of their health for their child's sake. They shouldn't engange themselves in activities that could make them feel stressed such as; long hours spent on domestic chores, job kind and it environment etc.
Sometimes, we look at the year and ask many questions. If you had known the uncertainties in this year, you'd probably not bother laying out any plans or visions of hope at the beginning of the year. In 2020, it was the COVID-19 Pandemic and the National unrest in October. In 2022, it is the prolonged ASUU strike. Each time, your expectations and calculations are nothing but a mirage. If you do not use the binoculars of the future, you may end up feeling so unfufilled and pained.
Sophia soliloquizes bitterly as she waits for the salesgirl to package the groceries her mum had sent her to buy. She sighs and sights a newspaper on a crate of soft drink. She exclaims at a shocking headline that caught her attention. Two of her Faculty's old lecture theatres which had still been in use while in session, were reported to have collapsed into crumbles and some passersby were seriously injured in the process.
''I think you might now want to add, 'Scholar with a gratitude in the heart' to your business card' the salesgirl says, chuckling as she hands over the groceries to Sophia. She had overheard Sophia's lamentations.
Sophia takes a deep breath, maybe it's time she started viewing certain situations with a new lens.
It is a common belief that human beings tend not to see beyond their nose, such that every situation always seem like the end of the road. This feeling tends to cause worry and anxiety about what the future holds. When you find yourself worrying about a situation because you are picturing a negative outcome, you are, in effect, saying, “I can predict the future.” But, the fact is, you can't, and you are worried about what may happen, or what may not happen.
However, when you begin to see beyond the present situation, you save more energy to engage in other profitable ventures and make the best out of a weird situation.
I'll be sharing some tips that can help you wear a 'binocular lens' that will aid your seeing beyond the present and help you act accordingly.
Nigeria can make you lose hope but you must understand that it is only those who see the positive side of a bad situation that make the best the possible best out of it. Have maximum conviction and confidence that things will work out in your favour. Don't be that person who is always carrying about negative vibes. Optimism will actually help you think and perform better.
Take one step at a time towards personal development, everyday. Ensure that this improvement is all round i.e spiritually, academically, financially, socially. At least, those areas you feel still needs some adjustments and only you can discover this for yourself.
Human beings are insatiable, which means that no matter the rosy situation, we still look for more, thinking that will make us happier. However, no matter how the present situation seems, find a reason to be happy. Just reflect a little, maybe if things didn't turn out the way it did, you wouldn't have thought about that business you started or that job or course you pursued, or that niche you carved for yourself, or those skills you acquired, what about those values you added up? Or those life changing friends you met? And those moments of revelation and self discovery...the list might be endless.
📌 Even if things didn't go perfectly to plan, you must have learned and grown stronger from the experience. The experiences you've had will make you grounded and prepared for what the future has to offer.
Celebrate your small wins and keep hoping for the best.🌹
Simone Biles has shown us how to effectively reject the "Strong black women tag" and prioritize our mental health and self-first.
In an ever-chaotic world where we are all dancing to overwhelming tunes, trying to fit in, impress the world and exude excellence , Simone Biles shows us it's okay to quit and quitting sometimes is winning.
In a system impacted with white supremacy and patriarchy, it’s a double-edged sword being black and being a woman. Throw in the mix of "The Strong Black Women '' tag which creates harmful stereotypes and holds women to astronomical standards, burdened and pressured to be strong always, embrace adversity and never showing vulnerability.
The "Strong" trope's tag stems from raising black women to be incredibly strong and resilient, rooting their identity in how well they persevere in a harmful environment without showing vulnerability. While the 'S' tag shows women's resilience and ability to weather the storms, it has its downside and negative impacts on their health and well-being forcing them to prioritize others, push themselves too hard, seeing vulnerability as weakness, burnouts and rendered zero support. It is empowering to see Simone Biles prioritizing her mental well-being above short-term wins by walking away. Mental health struggles get downplayed and opening up about mental health are seen as signs of weakness. In an overwhelming space of racism, pandemic, femicide and gender-based violence, with women held to higher standards, go through doubts and burdensome emotional load, being self-aware and knowing when to prioritize oneself and take a break is vital for mental well-being.
While the word "Quitting" is synonymous to failure and has a lot of deeply held stigma attached to it, Simone redefined quitting as being self-aware to prioritize oneself. Quitting is an essential lifesaving skill, knowing when to exit a toxic relationship, crappy job, and saying 'NO' is a sign of strength. Overcoming the fear of criticism, blame , retribution, denouncing the "S" tags and showing vulnerability shows true strength
Four Ways to prioritize your mental well-being.
1. Put yourself first.
It's okay to be a little or too selfish and prioritize yourself every time!!! It's easy to fall into the trap of 'S' tag by putting other needs first, but there's no Olympics awarding a medal for the world's best strong woman. Assert your needs always!!!
2. Prioritize self-care routine.
Secret rituals, Me moment, Self-love, have a self-care routine you indulge in. Take time to nourish yourself , body, mind and spirit with rituals that renew your energy. From listening to music, meditation, reading, yoga, inspiration mantra, movies, a meal with girlfriends, taking a walk, or just an off day lounging on the couch.
3. Ask for help.
Do not be an emotional hoarder hoarding your emotional baggage and that of others. Asking for support when you need it is not a weakness. Surround yourself with supportive relationships where you can be vulnerable and feel safe to ask for support.
4. Above all, don’t be afraid to quit.
While giving up may be ascribed to failure, quitting can be life-saving. Sometimes, the best option may be to practice intentional quitting, trusting your intuition and taking a leap of faith to end a relationship, quit a job, break off a friendship, and end a project. Quitting can be necessary to make room for positive change, protect your mental health, and can be an opportunity to develop and grow.