Category: Articles

Dyslexia has been around for quite a long time and has been defined in different ways. In 1968, the World Federation of Neurologists defined dyslexia as “a disorder in children who, despite conventional classroom experience, fail to attain the language skills of reading, writing, and spelling commensurate with their intellectual abilities.” The International Dyslexia Association offers the following definition of dyslexia:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in children and persists throughout life. The severity of dyslexia can vary from mild to severe. The sooner dyslexia is treated, the more favorable the outcome. However, it is never too late for people with dyslexia to learn to improve their language skills.

Dyslexia can go undetected in the early grades of schooling. Children can become frustrated by the difficulty in learning to read. It is important to note that other problems can disguise dyslexia such as a child may:

• Show signs of depression and low self-esteem
• Have behavior problems at home, as well as at school that often manifest
• Become unmotivated and develop a dislike for school, and their success may be jeopardized if the problem remains untreated

Children with dyslexia have difficulty in learning to read despite traditional instruction, at least average intelligence, and adequate motivation and opportunity to learn. It is thought to be caused by impairment in the brain’s ability to process phonemes (the smallest units of speech that make words different from each other). It does not result from vision or hearing problems. It is not due to mental retardation, brain damage, or a lack of intelligence.

The causes of dyslexia vary with the type. In primary dyslexia, much research focuses on the hereditary factors. Researchers have recently identified specific genes identified as possibly contributing to the signs and symptoms of dyslexia. This research is very important because this may permit the identification of those children at risk for developing dyslexia and allow for earlier educational interventions and better outcomes.

If you’re still reading, thank you! As a reward, we would be giving you some mind-blowing facts about dyslexia High-performing dyslexics are very intelligent, often out-of-the box thinkers and problem-solvers. One important thing to Note; you don’t outgrow dyslexia, once you’re diagnosed, it is with you for life. However many great celebrities you know today have dyslexia, in fact the great Muhammad Ali is one of the people you would never had suspected due to his great oratory and boxing skills. Yes, it also left me in shock, lol.

Many great personalities in history were dyslexic, some include; Winston Churchill, Steve Jobs, Thomas Alva Edison, Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci and many others. Even Tom Cruise, the popular stuntman in the movie ‘Mission Impossible’, is dyslexic. So if you have a dyslexic friend, colleague or child, you could actually be looking at a super hero.

Thanks for reading through, we hope you enjoyed the ride. Please let’s know what you think about this in the comments.

If you’re sick of hearing about the NFTs, you’re not alone; I’m so tired of the ‘overhype’ that’s why I decided to undertake my own research and simplify it so that even people with non-technical knowledge can grasp it.

So, what exactly is NFT?

 It means Non- Fungible Token. Something that is non fungible cannot be replaced, recreated, or copied by another person.
The majority of us assumed NFTs were all about images, and we were accurate. NFTs, on the other hand, cover all types of digital content, including movies, audios, and images. Let me now provide a lengthy explanation.

NFT (Non Fungible Token) is a unit of unique data that uses technology ( based on unique data identification) to enable digital assets (films, games, photos, audio, and so on) to be saved, recorded, and validated on crypto currency blockchains, especially the Ethereum blockchain.

What’s Blockchain?
Blockchain is a way of recording information in a way that makes it difficult/ impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.

There are two things we usually talk about when discussing NFTs; Smart contracts and Assets.

Smart contract
Imagine you design a program and you give it an instruction to send your images to your client only when they pay 50$. This is an instruction set and the program won’t initiate any transactions until that requirement has been met. This is almost how a Smart Contract works.
A Smart contract is a computer program that automatically carries out (execute in technical language) instructions, or documents important actions according to the set ‘Terms of contract/agreement’.

Assets
This could be regarded as the digital product itself, do I really need to explain further 🤔?  Okay, it’s usually regarded as the art; usually NFT creators are called artists and their artworks are the most common product sold on the platform.

Note: Only the smart contract is stored on the blockchain, the artwork/asset isn’t because storing that much data is too expensive and requires much labor.

What Makes NFT So Funny – It’s how they operate, which leads to the next question.

How do they function?
The content/asset is owned by the person who purchases the non-fungible token, yet it can still travel through the internet. An NFT can gain popularity in this way since the more it is seen online, the more value it creates (that’s what they said o). When the item is sold, the original creator receives a 10% cut, with a tiny portion going to the platform and the rest going to the current owner.
On an NFT marketplace, creators mint their works such platforms include; Opensea, superRare, Foundation etc.

The act of minting is the creation of a smart contract on an asset, such as NFT, which will be stored in the blockchain. The smart contract:

1. identifies the creator of the artwork;

2. ensures that the artwork’s creator and other parties are paid royalties each time it is sold.

What are the sources of income for these platforms?
The smart contract provides them with a modest percentage of royalties. This method, however, is not without flaws, and some parties may end up with no royalty.

Relevance of NFT
Its main importance is that it makes owning and selling digital contents easy

Obstacles and Challenges

1. Minting Fees: The cost of minting an NFT as an artist is pretty high, and guess what? The cost of minting rises as the Ethereum network becomes more crowded and more labor is required.
Gas fee is the financial expense of this effort.
It currently costs between $60 and $150, depending on the complexity of the project. On average, it costs around $70.
Platforms like as Polygon have recently opened up options for something called Lazy. minting. This minting may be done for as little as $5, but there are other stories to go along with it.

2. Theft: some artists who chose not to generate NFT or who lacked the resources to do so have had their work minted by unknown parties, and only a few sites truly authenticate the originator of a piece before selling it.

3. There is inadequate data to determine if NFTs assist only a select few or the entire population.

My next article is going to be on the difference between NFT and Crypto currencies. Thanks for reading through, hope you enjoyed the ride🤗. Let’s know what you think in the comments.

On the 13th of February 1976 (Forty six years ago) Nigeria’s Third military Head of State was assassinated on his way to work. It was a Friday morning just a day to valentine. He was without adequate security detail and was attacked while stuck in Lagos traffic. Today a national monument is erected at the exact spot where the General was shot. For those really familiar with Lagos, the small roundabout facing the old Federal Secretariat in Obalende, Lagos, circles a massive structure. This monument designed in the form of a military epaulette bears the rank of a four star general with two rifles below and the Islamic crescent above. This massive structure is called a cenotaph, commissioned over two decades ago at the spot of the gruesome act, to commemorate his assassination.

During his regime Nigeria presided over a period of rampant economic prosperity. He was one of the most charismatic figures in Post Civil War Nigeria; he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1971, aged 33, becoming one of the youngest generals in Nigeria. In the coup d’état that brought him to power on July 29th 1975, he introduced the phrases ‘Fellow Nigerians’ and ‘with immediate effect’ to the national lexicon. Subsequent military coup address would be laced with these flowery lexicons.

In a short time, Muritala Muhammed’s policies won him broad popular support, and his decisiveness gave him the status of a folk hero. He was in fact the most widely celebrated Military Head of State among the common man in Nigeria. At the same time, his regime transitioned from being authoritarian into consensus decision-making with himself as the leader of a military triumvirate, alongside Generals Olusegun Obasanjo (the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters) and Theophilus Danjuma (Chief of Army Staff). The dictatorship softened and Muritala unveiled plans for the demilitarization of politics.

On October 1, 1978, two years after his death, he was declared a national hero alongside Alvan Ikoku, Sir Tafawa Balewa and Sir Herbert Macaulay. His portrait adorned a new twenty naira note introduced by his successor, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo.

Muritala’s revolutionary personality is usually a topic for debate especially amongst the Igbo ethnicity, let me explain. Many Nigerians know him for his role in active leadership however there are few dark secrets you never got to know about him. One is his involvement in the Counter coup of July 29, 1966 alongside Theophilus Danjuma and other northern officers. The Federal troops under his command thundered into Asaba on the 5th of October 1967 to orchestrate what would later be known as the Asaba Massacre. The Biafrans had fallen back as the immediate commander, Col. Joe Achizia (a son of Asaba), opted to retreat to Onitsha rather than fight with nothing but a lorry load of cutlass. He blew up the Niger Bridge, paralyzing the battalion under Muritala’s command. Out of frustration and annoyance Federal troops gathered all male adults and teenagers to the village square for public execution. It turned horrendous on the 6th and became hellish on the 7th. It was regarded as a punishment for aiding Biafrans. About 1, 000 persons died in Asaba in those gruesome three days.

His involvement in the killings at Asaba severely betrayed his imperfection and lowered his cult-like status by many degrees.

Thanks for reading through, let’s know what you think in the comment section.

There are many questions we think about daily, often times we keep these questions at the level of imagination but you know it’s really a good idea to just share them so you could get answers or, at least, a good explanation/speculation. Today we would be treating the topic of the international passport, its origin and why it became a requirement for international journeys. Other related questions would also be addressed and if there are more questions you would love us to treat, feel free to drop them in the comment section below.

Let’s get started!

For the purpose of our gist, a passport is a travel document issued by the government to its citizens in order to verify the identity and nationality of the bearer for international travels. They generally come in small booklets that usually contain the bearer’s BioData, photograph and signature. There are several types of passports depending on the status of the bearer in their home country.

But why do we even need a passport to travel around the world? What really necessitated the need to hold an official travel booklet which must be stamped on arrival or departure from an international border? Let’s do a brief throwback.

It’s 1920, the First World War ended barely two years ago, the League of Nations (equivalent of today’s United Nations) proposes the idea of a worldwide passport standard at the Paris Conference on Passports & Customs Formalities and Through Tickets of 1920.

During World War I, European governments had introduced border passport requirements for security reasons, and to control the emigration of people with useful skills. Prior to the war, even as far back as the biblical times, there had been the existence of international travel documents, permitting aliens to pass through or even reside in foreign lands. The Bible mentions Nehemiah’s procurement of such a travel document from the ancient Persian king Artaxerxes requesting the governors of the lands beyond the Euphrates to grant him safe passage to Judah. The purpose of Nehemiah’s visit, incidentally, was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This is the oldest recorded mention of such a travel document dated around 445BC. Beyond the biblical mention of this letter, we do not have an existing copy or clue of its format or appearance.

However in the next episode, we would be featuring the earliest available records of travel documents.

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MAN: You are leaving my house today for your father’s house!

WIFE: My dear husband what is my offence please?

MAN: you still have the audacity to talk back after four female children? You have not given me an heir and you want to keep staying in my house? You must be joking …

KING : My brother calm down and let’s discuss this issue.

Your wife is not guilty for giving you female children, you are the determinant on this matter.

MAN: een een! What do you mean?

KING: Chillax, Let’s talk about sex, Seriously. Not intercourse though – more about how genetic sex is programmed during development.

Sexual identity has been a trending topic lately, and unsurprisingly so, we are only now beginning to fully understand how mammalian sexual identity has evolved, and its dependence on the sex determination systems that allow biological development of sexual characteristics in different organisms.

Biological sex in healthy humans is determined by the presence of the sex chromosomes in the genetic code: two X chromosomes (XX) makes a girl, whereas an X and a Y chromosome (XY) makes a boy. In this way, it is the presence or absence of the Y chromosome in a healthy human that differentiates boy from girl, you get the gist?

MAN: Hmmm 🤔

KING: Yeah, Humans have one pair of sex chromosomes. Women have two “X” chromosomes, while men have an “X” and a “Y”. The presence or absence of the “Y” chromosome is what determines the sex of a baby. When a healthy human is conceived, it receives one sex chromosome from the mother and one sex chromosome from the father. Since the mother only has X chromosomes to give, it should be obvious that it is the father’s cells that determine whether the baby will genetically be a boy or a girl. The father’s genetic code is delivered to the newly conceived individual by sperm cells which are generated in the father’s gonads by the process of meiosis.

Since women only have “X” chromosomes, all their eggs only have “X” chromosomes. However, because men have both an “X” and a “Y”, each of their sperm will carry one or the other. That means that the chromosome in the sperm that fertilises the eggs will determine the baby’s sex. So, ultimately the father determines the sex of the baby, even though he cannot control whether an “X” or “Y” reaches the egg first.

So man, you are responsible for the sex of your children, it’s what you released into her that she gave back to you. It is “garbage in garbage out”. Please pull your wife closer and show her love. It was never her fault.

MAN: Thank you very much KING, I have been fighting an unjust fight with a woman who loves me unconditionally. My wife I’m sincerely sorry, I had been ignorant for so long…

KING: Once a couple finds out they are expecting a baby, it is only natural for them to be curious if they will have a boy or a girl. HOWEVER BE INFORMED, STOP CAUSING UNNECESSARY BREAKS IN YOUR HOMES. Male or female, they are both the hand work of The Creator.

#KING#

The word malaria often triggers mixed emotions and reactions. Many Africans are quite familiar with it, and most of them even self medicate in a bid to combat this deadly disease. There’s a very high chance you’ve also gotten drugs to treat it without prescription. As simple as it appears, malaria has killed more people than all the great wars ever fought on earth. Of course, the vector of this deadly disease is the tiny mosquito just like you thought.

Malaria is a serious disease caused by its parasite (Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae). You contract it when an infected mosquito bites you. It is a major cause of global deaths and a serious problem in most developing countries with warm climates, especially within Africa and Latin America. If you live in or travel to these countries, you are at risk of contracting the disease if you don’t have the knowledge needed to prevent or treat it. There are four different types of malaria caused by four related parasites. The most deadly type occurs in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert.

Malaria symptoms include: chills, flu-like symptoms, fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and jaundice. It can be life-threatening, however, a blood test could give you a correct diagnosis. The type of drug administered for treatment often depends on the kind of malaria you have and where you were infected.

Malaria can be prevented with following the tips:

• See your doctor for medicines that protect you.
• Wear insect repellent.
• Cover up.
• Sleep under mosquito nets.
• Eradicate stagnant water by clearing up your drainage.
• Pour insecticide on breeding spaces like dirty stagnant water or drainages to kill mosquito in it larvae and pupa stage.
• Spray insecticide in your homes to kill them or use mosquito coils wisely (beware of asthmatic patients).

There are wide variety of drugs that can cure malaria ranging from:

• Chloroquine phosphate
• ACT Arthemeter and lumenfantrine
• Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine

All these drugs are in various forms, dosage per age, brand names, and prices. We have them as injections too.

Do well to take care of yourself: eat well, exercise, and prevent mosquito bites as much as possible. Prevention, they say, is better and cheaper than cure.

##KING#

Many of us think so little of ourselves, that if we were to, even for a second, realise how people perceive us, we would be dazed at how high they’ve placed us in their minds.

I remember a discussion I was having with a lady some time ago. I asked her, ‘do you ever feel intimidated?’ She looked up, surprised at my question, then sighed and said, ‘yes.’ I further asked, ‘about what?’ She answered and said, I’m fat, and each time I see slim and wonderfully shaped people, I feel downcast and inferior.’

Do you feel the same way too? Maybe not particularly about your physique, it may be about your performance in comparison with others, or your dressing, composure, or achievements.

Let me tell you this: hidden in you is a treasure you must bring out. If you keep looking at other people’s achievements, you’ll definitely neglect yours and keep it buried till eternity.

Watch out, there’s something people admire you for, if only you’d sit, meditate and reflect. They may not necessarily come out and say, ‘I like this about you.’ It may be in the way they prefer you over others to handle specific tasks and responsibilities. Some superiors, colleagues or even subordinates love committing things into your hands because they know you’ll handle it pretty well, even though there are tons of other qualified people. That, dear one, is your uniqueness, your ‘beauty.’

So, in a genuine response, I told her, ‘I actually admire you.’ Wide eyed, she asked, ‘for what?’ I smiled and honestly told her, ‘I love your eyelashes, they’re long and cute. I admire your self-confidence; the way you find it so easy to relate with people.’

She couldn’t find anything good about herself because she had this philosophy that her fatness had swallowed her real beauty. Yet, I was able to tell her some of the treasures she possessed, and I’m still sure she has some still hidden in her.

Don’t let anyone ride you. The new year is almost here, try as much as possible to believe in yourself no matter what. Bring out your hidden treasure, don’t compare, and very soon, you will announce yourself to the world. Just believe! Once you believe in yourself, you’ll influence others not only to believe in you, but also in themselves.

Find your treasure!

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel!

It has really been an eventful year, and pretty fast if you would agree with my friends. One thing I was quick to observe as a kid was the fact that the space between Merry Christmas and Happy New Year is just a week. So that means Christmas today would mean you have roughly seven days before the year ends. Could it be that the person or institution responsible for popularizing the celebration of Christmas on the 25th, wanted to make it exactly a week to the New Year festivities? I also wonder how Christmas came to be popularized in the church as there really is no exact biblical reference for the word, Christmas or even the date. Before we get lost in the loop of unending questions, let’s quickly go through some amazing facts about Christmas. Sit back and enjoy as we take you on an interesting ride.

Christmas is celebrated all over the world, as a religious holiday or as a time of celebrations by Christians and non-Christians alike. The traditions are different based on geographical space, but they nearly always include common practices which includes a lot of feasting, giving gifts, cards, and enjoying church or public festivities such as singing Christmas carols and songs. It’s also not uncommon to see beautiful display of fireworks even weeks before the 25th.

Some of the traditions that are used for Christmas are older than Christianity. Our modern Christmas is a product of hundreds of years of both secular and religious traditions from around the globe, most of them centered on the winter solstice. Many European cultures celebrated festivals centred on the winter solstice, one of these traditions known as Yule probably derived from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice. Early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

Christians mark Christmas as a festival celebrating the birth of Jesus, hence, the English term Christmas meaning ‘mass on Christ’s day’. There is however many evidence to show that end of the year festivities had long been in vogue, even predating the birth of Jesus. Many historical evidence suggest that the church simply christianized some of the existing pagan practices.

In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as long as 12 days.

The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear. The Bible provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus’ birth by Sextus Julius Africanus in 221AD and later became the universally accepted date. One widespread explanation of the origin of this date is that December 25 was the Christianizing of the dies solis invicti nati (‘day of the birth of the unconquered sun’), a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice as a symbol of the resurgence of the sun, the casting away of winter and the rebirth of spring and summer. Indeed, after December 25 had become widely accepted as the date of Jesus’ birth, Christian writers frequently made the connection between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the Son.

Certain christian sects such as the Deeper Life and Jehovah Witness do not subscribe to the celebration of Christmas due to it’s perceived pagan origin. The unavailability of a proper record of Christ’s birth has also given rise to variations in the perceived period of his birth.

Ironically, the message of Christianity forbids discrimination. In the gospels, Christ makes it clear that he came not for the saved but for the sinners. Hence the argument of whether or not the date chosen to celebrate Christ is correct is inconsequential compared to what we make out of it.

Thanks for reading through. Merry Christmas 🎄⛄.

Let’s take a walk down to, let’s say, four years back, in the early hours of September 2017 somewhere within Agodi Gardens, Ibadan, Nigeria. An old man, in a bid to make ends meet, meets His brutal death. This reminds me of the Yoruba prayer asking God to prevent us from being eaten while searching for what to eat.

What happened in the early hours of September 30, 2017 will forever leave me thinking about Death’s extreme cruelty. Let’s jog our memories: you perhaps, heard the news or read it in the papers, that man that was torn in pieces by lions at Agodi Gardens. Yes, my write-up is focused on that unfortunate incident. I call it my ‘dedicative thoughts…’

If it were to be that we all chose the way that we would die, death would be a more pleasurable experience. It is said, ‘man is a free moral agent. He has the right to choose his fate.’ If this is the case, why is Death an exception? We hear expressions like, ‘snatched by the cruel claws of Death, visited by Death, so must follow’, etc. Why does man remain helpless when relating with Death?

The prohibition of man to determine his death experience has led to catastrophic incidents, eerie situations, and pitiable events. The gaudy events of the early hours of the last day of September 2017 will forever be etched in my memory. This very incident will forever leave me thinking, though not as strong in years to come, how cruel and ruthless Death is. I do not have exact graphic images, but my imagination has proved indispensable. I stare at it as though I were present, gazing directly at the savagely mutilated body of a septuagenarian who left his house some hours before to make ends meet for himself and family.

How would he have reacted if someone had told him that the lions that he had been feeding for 5 years were the same agents Death was going to employ on its behalf that same day?! The reports read, ‘Man attacked by lions, dies later from injuries.’ Justice! He was eaten by lions! What injuries could he have sustained to later die from?! If only he had that chance! At least, he would have kicked the bucket in a hospital, surrounded by people who cared.

He was the unfortunate meal for hungry lions who dealt with him the same way they tear apart goats. They didn’t ask him, ‘any last words?’ Of course, he died… that’s how we will continue to report: ‘ The old man is dead.’ How he died is another story entirely.

I wept, but the dead is not here to see. The only thing one can hope for is rest in the other world. I pray for consolation for his family- no wife, six children!

Time will pass, people will forget, the sands of time will bury it deeply, but his family will never forget.

As for the messengers of Death, Death demanded their lives too- gunned down and burnt up. Funny, one would have expected a reward. This isn’t enough. The dead isn’t back, but that’s the most justice can serve, even in the eyes of his family.

Tradition had to be put aside because his remains required a coffin; a horror if put on display. Old man, I’m sorry you had to die this way.

I wonder what his last words would have been if he had been given the chance. Maybe they would have been, ‘ Happy Independence Day…in advance!’

A minute silence would show a great respect to the departed. That’s part of humanity. Here, I drop my pen.

DEDICATED TO THE DECEASED: BABA OLORUNWA (FAREWELL FOREVER) and THE FAMILY OF THE DECEASED.

Out of utter confusion,
I sought help for the questions on my mind ,
With things happening around me,
which seemed not so right,
But who to show me the way,
No one then…

I searched the East and West,
To find answers to the questions my soul asked,
But didn’t get one
North and South too,
But all to no avail…

Out of curiosity,
I tried the 5 times a day form of worship (Islam),
Facing the kibla in reverence and ablution for purity,
Still no answer pleased my soul there,
I sought the knowledge of the use of light (Eckankar),
Seating like a monk and chanting ‘hu’ in meditation,
But I never saw the light I sought for there,

At a time I followed Abd Ru Shin (Grail message),
But even got more confused,
I gave our African tradition a try,
They all were scary and imputed grave fear in my heart.

Hun (sighs)
I left the shrine and went to several churches,
I was annoyed cos most were money minded and didn’t give the needed word,
Those that gave the word, did so with a tone of judgement and condemnation,
I started loosing hope, resigning to fate and finally doubting His existence,
I became disillusioned with His existence; an atheist you may call me,
But how foolish I was cos He sure does exist.

Well I never totally gave up,
I decided to try one more time,
That day I entered where the saints were gathered,
In true reverence for God and love for one another,
In peace and harmony,
Tranquillity came upon my soul as I heard the word,
Which took my fears away,

and answers that my soul sought were coming,
The truth I sought for all this while was unravelled,
I believed, through the revelation of this truth and became saved,
No more fear of hell but expectant joy of heaven,
No more damnation but salvation,
No more condemnation but redemption,
I no longer belong to the Prince of Deceit cos now I am a saint.

#KING#

How ruthless! How wicked to see a fellow human being in dire need and walk away when you simply could lend a helping hand. This is a clear instance of a dog eating a dog.
It was nightfall and the clouds had come to a consensus to unleash fire and brimstone. It had just begun to rain heavily when I saw an unkempt woman trekking briskly with three children, all under the age of 7. From all indication, this woman was trying to beat rainfall to her destination, not necessarily for herself but her children. Unfortunately, the rain thwarted her effort, leaving her with no other option save, spending her last penny on “Okada” at least to reduce the battering effect of the rain on her children (it would be worse off if she insistently chose to trek home with them).

From her looks, this woman was probably a widow, and if she wasn’t, she and her husband were terribly stricken by poverty. Her initial decision to trek amidst the red signals from the dark clouds was perhaps in a bid to save her last penny for a makeshift dinner after the hustle and bustle of the day.
From a distance, I stood taking cover under the outer roof of a small kiosk that could barely shield a goat from being harassed by the rain, but I preferred it to walking home and getting soaked in the rain. I stood helplessly seeing this woman and her kids being battered by the rain. I saw the affection in her eyes for her children as she bent over them in a bid to shield them from the incessant stings of every drop falling from the sky. Then she beckoned to a passing “Okada”, who stopped abruptly close to her and her children. After telling the rider her destination, despite her predicament and that of her children, all that oozed out of the rider’s mouth was; ‘Madam, na 200 naira. If you no go go, leave am’, then he zoomed off, leaving the poor woman and her children at the mercy of the rain.

From where I stood, I felt a cold chill run down my spine. On a normal day, her destination should cost no more than 50 naira for a trip on a bike. This woman was even willing to let go of her last 100naira but the “Okada” man blatantly refused seeing that it was raining and she had no choice.

While I stood in shock observing that this man, who could also be classified under the category of the poor in the society, showed no sympathy for his fellow human, I came to the conclusion that the poor are the major tools for oppressing their poor fellows.
Why do we take advantage of horrible situations to extort and exploit our fellow country men? I asked myself.
Where has humanitarian compassion been relegated to?
Has the spirit of philanthropic gestures deserted us forever?
How did we get here?
We should be eager to volunteer or assist in evacuating people to safety with our personal resources amidst crises, invasions, natural disasters and other forms of danger that pose as threats to life and not just focus on commercializing our resources to extort one another. Why charge three to four times higher than the normal price in terrible situations?
Sometimes, when I look at the irredeemable state of humanity, I blame it on the wickedness of man to his fellow man.

Humanity can be redeemed with a change in our attitudes towards one another and that change begins with every individual.

Looking great is a desire for almost everyone, we sometimes try out a lot of tips to stay healthy which often times are not effective. The issue with physical fitness is the predominance of numerous myths which are in constant circulation. Do you know that the most essential workout routine deals with your leg? However it turns out to be the most avoided training. The mere thought of having to subject yourself to such a rigorous and tiring workout routine is enough to send chills down your spine. Some would rather hide at the corner and do additional upper body exercises then make excuses like not wanting big thighs and so on. However training your legs is very important to your overall health and well-being, in fact you should never skip a leg day.

Leg workouts aids strength building, speed, and stability. Strong leg muscles would help keep your body balanced, if you focus solely on your upper body you are simply cheating your body.
Here are some benefits of training your legs.

Build more Muscles
Building your legs boosts testosterone levels and growth hormone. Testosterone is a steroid hormone that is naturally produced in your body and plays a key role in men’s health by regulating fertility, muscle mass, fat distribution, and red blood cell production. Compound workouts, such as squats and deadlifts, which use large muscle groups, help elevate your Testoterone levels.

Aids Rapid Fat loss
Did you know that your gluteus maximus (aka, your butt) is the largest muscle in your body? Working these bigger muscles requires more energy, which means your body will have to burn more calories as it increases your metabolism. Training sessions like these increase your heart rate because you combine strength training with cardio exercises. That’s why everyone gets tired few minutes after a leg routine.

It Improves your Overall Strength
Believe it or not, your legs and core supplies majority of the energy you use during heaving lifting. Even when you’re bench-pressing, it is your lower body that is engaged to help provide a stable platform to pump from; that’s why when you’re tired and trying to push at all costs, you seem to be engaging your legs. By strengthening your leg muscles you’ll also lower your risks of injuries because virtually all leg programs are compound hence you strengthen other muscles parts asides your legs.

Helps prevent/reduce the risk of Back Injuries
You should know that lower back pain is oftentimes caused by weak stabilizing muscles. That’s why by training your lower body muscles, you will minimize the risks of lower back injuries.

Promotes better Muscle Conditioning and Body Composition
Muscle Conditioning means more energy, more muscle mass, agility, in fact it’s the grammar you use to say someone is physically fit. If you lack conditioning, you may not really be able do much big lifts. Performing exercises, like deadlifts, however, will strengthen your legs, glutes, core and lower body, while developing all-over muscle and mobility.
Remember, core strength supports the body in almost every movement. And the deadlift – the King of Exercises – is the key core strength building workout.

Maintains Proper Body Symmetry and strengthens the joints
Have you seen a very huge guy, big biceps and triceps, six packs and all only to look down and see thin, weak legs🤣 – you might have seen such pictures countless times. It happens when people pay all their attention to upper body workouts, but ignore their legs. Your body should look symmetrical. You would agree that it is much more attractive that way. Besides, our body works like a unit, every exercise engages several muscle groups. That’s why there should be a balance for your muscles to function properly; your lower body also faces high amounts of physical load, so if it’s undertrained, it may lead to a number of health issues such as Arthritis and Osteoporosis.

Of course it also Boosts your Self Esteem and confidence
Going through all this difficult routine and completing it gives you this psychological boost and sense of self worth. It is in fact an anti depressant not only because of the previous reason but because it also release endorphins(the happiness hormones).
Now that we all agree that building the lower body is necessary to our overall physical well-being, here are some workout routines you could select for your leg day below.

✓Deadlifts

Often regarded as the King of all workouts, deadlifts. Just like squats, they are effective exercises for gaining lower body strength. It targets your upper and lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.

✓Lunges

Lunges engages your thighs, butt, and abs. It engages your quadriceps and hamstrings at the same time, making it a great exercise for strong legs.

✓Squats

Squatting is one of the best exercises to tone legs. It also helps in toning the butt, hips, and abs. So yeah ladies 😜 it’s a win win, better figure and greater strength.


Other exercises include; calf raises, cycling, power walks, running and Burpees. Thanks for reading through, we hope you get to incorporate more leg exercises in your workout routine.

Let’s know what you think in the comment section.

Regular exercise is good for your health. What just flashed through your mind right now? Many of us simply equate the exercise lexicon to ‘jogging’ or ‘lifting weights’. While they could also fall under the fitness routine, they account for just a minute aspect in the world of fitness.

Do you know that most people do not really exercise correctly? When we say correctly, we mean doing the exercise or training routine appropriate for your body type. One of the best hints for physical fitness is understanding your body type and your areas of strength and weakness; this would help you to plan the programs that would best suit your personality.

Before we move to the various types and benefits of exercises, let’s take a brief look at the three common body types.


Ectomorphs: These are basically skinny people, they have a high metabolism and it’s almost impossible for them to increase body mass (bulk up or get fatter) no matter how much they eat.

Mesomorphs: This comprises people who have that natural athletic look, they just always look fit without even working out most times (you know those of them na). It’s very easy for them to burn any fat they gain.

Endomorphs: These are the people you would regard as fat. It seems really hard for them to burn that annoying fat. Sometimes, you even eat very little and still seem to get fatter.



These are the basic body types, and no one is purely one. We are a combination of two or even the three, with some traits being more predominant for some people (some skinny people really have a more mesomorphic trait).

Basically, for you to burn fat, build muscle, get that toned and perfect figure, you need to know your body type and how to manage it well.

Exercising has many benefits, including improving your overall health and fitness, and reducing your risk for many chronic diseases. There are many different types of exercise; it is important that you pick the right types for you. Most people benefit from a combination of them:

• Endurance, or aerobic, activities increase your breathing and heart rate. They keep your heart, lungs, and circulatory system healthy and improve your overall fitness. Examples include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and biking.
• Strength, or resistance training, exercises make your muscles stronger. Some examples are lifting weights and using a resistance band.
• Balance exercises can make it easier to walk on uneven surfaces and help prevent falls. To improve your balance, try tai chi or exercises like standing on one leg.
• Flexibility exercises stretch your muscles and can help your body stay limber. Yoga and doing various stretches can make you more flexible.

Fitting regular exercise into your daily schedule may seem difficult at first. But you can start slowly, and break your exercise time into chunks. Even doing ten minutes at a time is fine. You can work your way up to doing the recommended amount of exercise. The rate of exercise you need depends on your age and health.

Other things that you can do to make the most of your workouts include

• Choosing activities that work all the different parts of the body, including your core (muscles around your back, abdomen, and pelvis). Good core strength improves balance and stability and helps to prevent lower back injury.
• Choosing activities that you enjoy. It’s easier to make exercise a regular part of your life if you have fun doing it.
• Exercising safely with proper equipment, to prevent injuries. Also, listen to your body and don’t overdo it.
• Giving yourself goals. The goals should challenge you, but also be realistic. It’s also helpful to reward yourself when you reach your goals. The rewards could be something big, like new workout gear, or something smaller, such as making yourself a nice health meal and fruit smoothie.

Keep exercising and be healthy.

From your nurse who cares

-KING

Have you heard about the legendary football match, between Nigeria and India where the latter allegedly beat Nigeria 99 to 1. No one however knows for sure, the year
this game was played or where exactly it happened, just the legend. I wouldn’t want to spend too much time narrating the story but the version I heard as a child was that the Indians scored with every shot on target
because the Nigerians could not see the Indian players on the pitch
and when they shot, the ball either transformed into a lion or multiplied into seven with the
Nigerian keeper going for the one he thought was the real one thereby catching
air or diving towards the opposite direction of the ball.

At other times, (just like in the legendary movie ‘Shaolin Soccer’) the ball transformed into a fire and the keeper had to run for cover to save himself from being burnt. This humiliation continued till Samuel Okwaraji (or Teslim Balogun) risked his life to score a goal for Nigeria. It was said that while other players were already terrified by the Indian players who were using voodoo on the field, Okwaraji manned up and decided to give Nigeria its first and only goal in the game which cost him his life. When he got the ball, it mysteriously transformed into a big stone but he kicked it in however just to secure a goal for his country. The goal created wide jubilation as the Indians had agreed to concede defeat if Nigeria was able to score a goal. Consequently, FIFA banned India from soccer.
Many of you reading this would agree with me that this story, despite being mythical, held sway for a very long time partly due to the fact that access to information was not as widespread as it is today. And since evidence/fact is central to history, this event can only qualify as a common Nigerian Folktale. In fact the common question many of us kept asking for was the evidence in videos and pictures, but at least you have the popular ‘Shaolin Soccer’to watch lol🤣.

The only element of truth in this story is the painful death of Sam Okwaraji and it occurred on a Saturday, 12th August 1989, during a 1990 World Cup qualifier match, between the Green Eagles and the Angolans. The tragic event occurred at the National Stadium, in Surulere, Lagos. Okwaraji collapsed in the 77th minute of that match and later died at age 25 of congestive heart failure.‎ An autopsy showed that he had an enlarged heart and high blood pressure.

How come this myth circulated so much that it became a National tale?

Well the issue is not really about it’s spread but it’s origin. It’s still difficult to trace the origin of this story but there are numerous factors which obviously contributed to the spread of this story which, I must confess, was a masterpiece of folktale. The major actors were carefully chosen to sustain the spread of the rumour, lol, I know you’re probably trying to understand what I just said, let me explain. Sam Okwaraji, the player who was said to have died for example generated a lot of controversy among the Nigerian populace especially since he collapsed on the football pitch during a qualifying match. The fact that he could not be resuscitated quickly due to the faulty ambulance that won’t start, in fact a lot of people who were viewing from home had more questions as the TV went off for a while, so my best guess is that some mischievous tale bearers who were present physically at the stadium decided to contort some exaggerated stories to explain what happened after the Television went off. Well that’s just a speculation, I’m not establishing another rumour o.

Another controversial actor in this story is India, I mean the Indian soccer team. Many of us would agree that they have not really featured in world cup tournaments for a very long time, in fact, you rarely hear anything about them in the world of international soccer but this isn’t because of the match against Nigeria but because their team has not really been able to qualify for the world cup as they do not often meet the criteria.

Since the first World Cup Tournament was held in Uruguay 1930, India only qualified for the World Cup Tournament once in 1950 and this was because, the slots available from Asia, just like Africa, were limited. The Philippines, Indonesia and Burma who also got the invites withdrew before the qualification round, leading to India automatically earning a spot. After a while, India also backed out and this exit has been a subject of controversy. While some have said it was because FIFA has refused India to contest barefooted, others believed that the Indian team backed out because the nation couldn’t afford to take its team to Brazil where the I950 Cup was hosted.

Another reason this lie could thrive for long was the fact that credible information was not readily available at our finger tips. It not like every Emeka, Audu and Ojo could visit Google in a matter of minutes and tell our ominous fabricators that they should stop spreading toxic lies.
Honestly I feel that this lie was concocted by an elder of a community because, let’s be honest who questions the words of the elders in Nigeria you know, what an adult sees sitting down a child will never see even if he consults Google, lol.

Thank God today affords us the avenue to reach and verify information in nanoseconds, even with the prevalence of rumours and fake news, it’s much easier today to demystify such tales. Hope you enjoyed the story, thanks for reading through. Let’s know what you think in the comment section.

Yeah, you’re wondering how valuable a car could be right?

Here’s your world’s most expensive car purchased with 500 humans in 1834. This is just one of the few horrors of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade where human beings were reduced to mere commodities. It is estimated that during the period of this triangular trade, nothing less than 10 million African slaves were transported outside Africa but that’s a story for another day.
Well I know you must be itching so badly to hear the name of this woman who wielded so much power and control over slaves that she could give out 500 of them for a single car she never drove, hmmm.

Here’s what we’d do, I’ll give you a bit of her bio then you guess her name. Fortunately her name is very popular in Lagos, Nigeria, in fact the first hint is that a very strategic monument is named after her.

Let’s begin!

She was the first Nigerian woman to buy a car in 1834 but never drove it; she simply leased it out to the white men in Lagos.
She was born in Abeokuta in 1805 (216yrs ago). She was a wealthy slave trader and sold many slaves to the Europeans, of course she traded in arms and ammunition and became one of the most influential female figures to wield so much power and affluence in Yorubaland.
She built a financial empire through arms and salt trade and of course her most booming business, slaving. She married Adele, an exiled Oba of Lagos years after the death of her first husband. This marriage was strategic to her economic and trade interest and being an opportunist, she gained economic and political power through the marriage and was able to build a business empire through the trade of salt and tobacco from Europe for slaves from Abeokuta.

In 1835, her husband Adele returned to his throne but died two years later making her a widow for the second time. She then helped install Adele’s son, Oluwole as the new king and married Yesufu Bada, his military advisor. She continued to grow her business and created a monopoly in the palm oil business and in slave trade. The ammunition she got from selling slaves were used in the Yoruba wars of the 1840s and 1850s. Her business acumen in this area made her very rich and powerful it was even particularly strange then that a woman would deal in arms so this woman was a real hustler. The constant tragedy of her story is usually the death of her benefactors, I wouldn’t understand if it was just fate, curse or …? Well the thing I want to say is that death soon struck again. The Oba of Lagos Oluwole died. This time around she got her brother-in-law Akitoye to become king and he rewarded her with stores in downtown Lagos. She was rumoured to own over three hundred personal slaves.

After slavery was repudiated in 1845 by European nations and commercial crops the new items of commerce, she expanded her empire by controlling the major items of commerce. She was the major channel in Lagos between European merchants and Traders. Her monopoly and control of power was broken in May of 1856 when she challenged the British Consul Benjamin Campbell after he railed against her secret slave trade with Europeans. She was exiled from Lagos and returned to her original homeland, Egba.

So if by this stage you’re still wondering who this powerful lady is, her name is Madam Efunroye Tinubu, an economic powerhouse and a dominant figure in 19th century Nigeria she died as the Iyalode of Egbaland in 1887. And if you’re wondering who Tinubu Square was named after, she’s the one and of course she’s in no way related to the former governor of Lagos state, and now President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the naming is simply a mere coincidence.

Thanks for reading through feel free to share and comment. ✌🏿🤪

When you were a child, what was your favorite bedtime story? As a child, I remember watching Tales by the Moonlight 🌒 on NTA(Nigerian Television Authority) Anchored by aunty Nkem. The programme, which featured children in nursery and primary schools gathering around the elderly and wise Aunty Nkem was an attempt to rekindle and popularise the art of storytelling under the moonlight, in a typical Nigerian village setting. This was an art adopted by parents and elders of old, not only to entertain and educate but also to teach and inculcate morals in the young ones right from the cradle.

Before the advent of television and Internet which changed the way we live, relax and entertain, folktales were very interesting means of passing time. As a little boy, I remember sitting attentively with my kid sister in front of the veranda listening to the popular story of Tortoise and the birds and of course many other tales our mom used to tell us while we were waiting for dad to arrive from work or while we gathered outside to receive fresh air and view the moonlight.

Long before people could turn to books for instruction and amusement, they relied upon storytellers for answers to their questions about life. In fact religious priests and counsellors to the royal court often used storytelling to convey a difficult message or to communicate indirectly. Most African nations (kingdoms) had village historians who preserved and passed along cultural beliefs and experiences from one generation to the next. Many folktales were used to explain things that were difficult to understand, to discipline (or frighten) children, or to provide a moral lesson.

Today, with the assault of social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, tiktok WhatsApp and Instagram, the culture of moonlight Tales seems to be facing extinction. Today, the average teenager in Nigeria has probably never heard a folk tale featuring Ijapa (tortoise), the cunning one. Today’s social media generation neither gives a damn about Ijapa and his antics nor could they recount any of the folktales told after him. I recently stumbled on the Instagram page of Jimi Solanke, one of Nigeria’s greatest story tellers and was happy to see that Baba is still utilising the social media to tell stories to a wider audience. One great advantage of African folktales is that it is mostly didactic (it teaches morals) and warns about character weaknesses. In most cases, the protagonist, or main character, is jovial, kind, and overzealous but has a major flaw such as greed, naivety, and pride. These shortcomings soon become weaknesses often exploited by the antagonist, or main adversary, a trickster. In our own case, Tortoise fits this role perfectly. He usually had a reputation for leading the protagonist to his or her demise.

In some cases, we have situations of repercussions where the cunning tortoise paid dearly for his actions. I remember one of such fables about tortoise which practically all friends within my age range are familiar with. This story is about Tortoise and the birds and how a greedy act of his made him end up with an ugly rough shell. I’ll be featuring this wondrous story on my next post. Stay tuned 😜