Nurse, care and the Trust we Betray

Nurses, Care and Trust

I was thinking this morning... about nurses, care and the trust we betray. Yes, I know nurse show care and relax, none has betrayed my trust. But on the 5th of July, news broke of a London-based nurse sentenced to 14 years in prison for subjecting five young Nigerian women to mystical, violent rituals and trafficking them to Germany, where they are forced to work as prostitutes. According to the UK prosecutors, Josephine Iyamu, who is 51, subjected the women to a 'juju' ceremony with a voodoo priest where they were forced to drink blood containing worms, eat chicken heart, have their skin cut with razor blade and made to take oaths. Hmm!!! As I pondered on the news, I imagined what chicken heart will taste like and wondered if in all my years of feasting on chicken, I have inadvertently eaten the heart. believe me, I never knew chicken heart had such mystical significance. What I will never understand though is how a nurse that should care and facilitate healing would make someone to drink blood containing worms. As I shouted 'eeww' in disgust, I remembered a question that someone had asked recently, 'Can you trust a nurse whose husband sells coffins?'

The nurse is supposed to care for her patient, but she also cares for her husband and will want him to be successful in business. Some may argue that if she kills the patient, there is no guarantee that the coffin will be bought from her husband, that is of course if they decide to bury the dead in a coffin. But the point is, why should a nurse even think of killing his or her patient because of some secondary benefit? I never thought it was possible until I read the news last Wednesday 11th July of a nurse in Japan that told police that she sped up the deaths of at least 20 patients to avoid having to tell their families that their loved ones died while she was working.

Ayumi Kuboki, 31, told investigators that informing families of a patient's death was a burden and in order to avoid the responsibility, she poisoned the drips of patients near death with an antiseptic so that they would die at a time when another nurse would have to tell the family. As I said 'na wao,' I was still asking myself, 'can you trust a nurse whose husband sells coffins?'

Before I could answer, I recalled the events of Tuesday 10th of July, when the APC was having the grand finale of their governorship rally in Ado-Ekiti with the President, Governors and other high profile APC leaders in attendance. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, was to give his speech in support of the APC candidate, Kayode Fayemi. He bizarrely urged the crowd to vote for the incumbent, Ayodele Fayose. He had said, 'If you marry two wives, you will know the one that is good, Fayose is the good one. He cooks, gives his husband food and who is not troublesome. So you must bring back Fayose on Saturday.' While many were shocked and the social media went haywire, I remembered that Ngige and Fayose were pioneer members of PDP. They were both elected governors under PDP in 2003 and were both removed from office in 2006. Their relationship can be akin to that of husband and wife. So, as Ngige spoke knowingly or unknowingly in favour of Fayose, APC leaders were saying, what a blunder, I am saying 'how can one trust a nurse whose husband sells coffins?'

The truth is, many people entrusted with the burden of care had betrayed that trust for what some in my circle will call 'earthly things.' Many have betrayed their oath of office, family and friends because of primordial sentiments and attachments. No wonder the Bible asked in Luke 22:48 'Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?' I urge you to take the high road today even as you ponder on the question 'would you trust a nurse whose husband sells coffins?'

Happy Sunday.

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

The Value of a Penny

It Begins with Just A Penny

I was thinking this morning....about the value of a penny. One of the most simple but profound message I have gotten from any promo on TV is from the Richard Quest promo of his programme 'Quest Means Business' on CNN. In the promo, he was walking into a bank behind a lady and she dropped a penny. Richard picked up the penny and attempted to hand it back to the lady, but she waved it off, saying 'oh, it is just a penny.' In shock, Richard Quest exclaimed 'Just a Penny?' He ended the promo by explaining that whether you are writing your first cheque or cashing a big cheque, it all begins with a humble penny.

It got me thinking of how true that is in life. About 10 years ago, my wife and I started observing that when our little boy of 6 years is angry, he clenches his teeth, roars and want to slam the door. This was strange and we were worried. Initially, we were tempted to say, oh, he is just a child and will outgrow it,' but being 'men of the Spirit,' we immediately dealt with it with the help of God and we never saw that trait again. Many times we ignore the little errors we observe and regard them as nothingness, until they become big problems. Oh, in the words of Richard Quest, 'It all begins with just a penny.'

In 2006, when political kidnapping was introduced by the Niger Delta militants, targeting foreigners mainly to draw attention to their plight, the world bought it and gave them prime time. While many justified this crime in their hearts as good for these oyinbo people that came to take our jobs, others gave it the 'Ewolokanmi attitude.' The government saw it as nothing to worry about as it was 'just a penny.' The kidnapping trend didn't take long to spread throughout the country extending to places as far as Kano and Kaduna. South-East and South-South Nigeria became known as the kidnappers' playgrounds of Nigeria. Today everyone is a target, traditional rulers, politicians, men of God, students, unemployed and even babies. It is so bad that while Mikel Obi was on his way to the stadium in far away Russia, for our decisive match against Argentina, to represent his fatherland, his father was being kidnapped back home. Yes, it is that bad, but 'it all begins with just a penny.'

In the Nigeria of the seventies, national issues were tackled with little or no colouration. Every challenge was in black and white. We lived and did business peacefully in whatever State we chose. Suddenly, at the slightest provocation, the 'foreigners' in our midst are attacked and their goods plundered. When a few spoke out, they were ignored and the attack explained as just a little disagreement. Really? Just a little disagreement? Nothing was done to address the root cause. Today, whole indigenous communities are destroyed in one night, their villages occupied and no one is brought to book. Believe me, 'it all begins with just a penny.'

We all regularly say, 'oh, it is just a penny' in different ways. At home, in the office or even in church, we wave off that subtle signal that something is wrong, and keep doing so until it is time for what we call 'yawa race' in Warri. Songs of Solomon 2:15 says 'Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.' So, like Richard Quest, I urge you to mean business by focusing on and dealing with the little problem before they spoil your vines.

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Corn-fed Chicken and Mental Toughness

I was thinking this morning... about corn-fed chicken and mental toughness. I was at a business lunch recently with guests from Asia, Europe and Nigeria. It was a typical oyinbo lunch laced with 'orishirishi,' but one item on the menu caught the attention of the Nigerians around the table. We were to be served 'corn-fed chicken.' Which one is corn-fed or grass-fed chicken again? I wondered. Why would the chef take the trouble to tell us what the chicken is fed with? It made me reminisce about my early years in Warri.

Back in those days, chicken farming was the most common form of farming. There are two types of chicken, native chicken popularly called fowl (pronounced 'farwoe') and the birds kept in cages, simply referred to as chicken. The fowls were made to fend for themselves by roaming the neighborhood for food. They scavenge in the open and survive on anything and everything in the neighborhood. They eat the few grains of rice and corn that may have fallen from the children portion, but also eat yam, garri and in cases of serious lack, grass. Their chicks (called farwoe-pikin) were at the mercy of hawks popularly called 'ole farwoe.' The 'chicken' on the other hand were raised in cages and are fed with corn, rice grains and some mixture we referred to as 'farwoe food.' Today, chicken are no longer bred that way. Parent stock produces fertilized eggs which in a few weeks grow to become broilers under highly controlled environment. In unregulated economies, the fertilized eggs are injected with hormones or steroids to hasten the growth process and in a few days, they are ready to be eaten.

I have come to realize that what the chicken is fed with determines their resilience and the strength of their meat. The 'farwoes' were resilient, surviving very harsh conditions and disease, and their meat is usually tough to eat. Unlike the chicken of today, you cough around them and they die in thousands and their meat? soft and breaks down with extra heat. No wonder the chef wanted us to know that the chicken we were about to eat was corn-fed and not hormones-enhanced.

It is what you feed yourself with that will determine how resilient you will be. As I thought on this, I remembered our match with Argentina and wondered why our 'oyinbo wall' couldn't hold on for another 10mins max, having done a fantastic job for over 80mins. As they crumbled from the heat of Lionel Messi and Marcos Rojo, I remembered an appeal someone was making on Sports Radio about the importance of a psychologist in the team. Were the boys properly fed in a controlled environment or they were left to mentally feed themselves? What exactly were the boys fed with that made them soft? As I questioned why the boys crumbled under heat, I understood the importance of the phrase 'corn-fed chicken.'

Watch what you feed your body or mind with because it determines your physical and mental resilience. While some will say garbage in, garbage out, 1st Corinthians 3:2 says 'I gave you milk to drink, and not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able.' My prayer is that unlike the Super eagles, you will be fed rightly so you can be resilient enough to overcome the next challenge.

 

Happy Sunday.

 

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Left Turns Are Accident Prone



Left Turns Are Prone to Accident

I was thinking this morning... about turning left. Recently, I was driving in a city I had never driven before and was being guided by a GPS. As I hurried towards the airport to catch my flight, the GPS keeps telling me to take the next right turn and followed by the next left turn. I kept shuffling from one end of the road to another and then it became too much for me and I missed my next exit. It took me almost 30mins to get back on track. Thank God I did not miss my flight. I later wondered whether it was possible to make only right turns, as it sure would have been a lot easier for me. As I reflected on that experience, I understood why UPS drivers never turn left.

Really? You might be thinking. Why won't UPS drivers turn left? Could the reason be related to the belief in Nigeria that it connotes bad omen to hand at item over with your left hand? I think not. According to Travel and Leisure Magazine, the UPS delivery truck drivers avoid left turns not because of some superstitions involving packages and cross-traffic turns, but it's actually the result of a complex mathematical problem equation that has saved UPS millions of dollars. In countries like Nigeria where cars drive on the right-hand side of the road, the UPS vehicle routing software has determined that turning left is a waste of time and money. It established that although reducing cross-traffic turns may increase time spent to get to a destination, it reduces chances of an accident and eliminates time spent waiting for traffic to make a turn (which wastes fuel). Hmm!!!

 

It is true that life is full of turns and cross roads, but why do we make so many left turns and cross-traffic turns in life if they are accident prone? As I pondered on this, I discovered that the MFA (Master of Fine Art) program at George Mason University, USA has a class called 'The Left Turn', where short stories and novels are often crafted around the left turn: that moment when you take a seemingly unexpected turn.

If you think about it, the life of a Nigerian is filled with left turn. Only a few weeks ago, our Super Eagles was the toast of the world. They were coasting on a straight road, accident-free, when their Nike-designed World Cup kit was voted as best in a Sky Sports poll and on the eve of the tournament, their traveling outfit got everyone talking, with CNN concluding that they were the most stylish team at the mundial. We had won the World Cup fashion parade. Their first crossroad was against Croatia and they were expected to turn right. But then a psychic pig had predicted that Nigeria was going to be among the last four teams in the tournament and the players probably believed and decided to relax. Therefore, we wobbled like Iwobi, fell like Moses and chose to make a left turn when we scored an own goal. At the end of the first round of matches, the Super eagles had crashed and were rated third worst after Saudi Arabia and Panama. Ouch!!! The psychic pig was virtually slaughtered as the Super Eagles approached the next crossroad against Iceland. This time they turned right and the ice melted. I wondered, if UPS drivers never turn left, why should we?

You have been a faithful spouse for 15 years and God has blessed your marriage with 3 lovely girls. You think you are at a crossroad, and you chose to turn left, a seemingly unexpected turn, by engaging in an adulterous relationship because you think it could be a shorter distance to the destination of having a male child. Left turns are prone to accident, hence UPS drivers never turn left. You are a firm believer in God and has been faithful in service, until recently when you decided to take a left turn by falling for a strange doctrine. Now no one understands what you believe in anymore. UPS drivers never turn left, neither should you.

Truth is, as you coast on in life and make right turns, there will be many 'psychic pigs' and 'broken GPS' that will come along to convince you to make a left turn and crash your vehicle of life. I beg you, like the UPS driver, never turn left because Matthew 24:11 says, 'And many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.' Do not be deceived and never turn left.

Happy Sunday.

......Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

This is Nigeria...Democracy Edition

I was thinking this morning...about Nigeria and Democracy. A few days before the May 29 Democracy Day, Falz (Folarin Falana) released a music video 'This is Nigeria,' a cover version of the Childish Gambino viral video 'This is America.' Within 4 days of its release, the video had 1.4 million views on YouTube. I wondered why. Are the viewers not aware that this is Nigeria or is there something unique about Nigeria they were expecting to see?

There must be something about Nigeria that people are itching to hear. As I thought about it, I recalled a news item during the week of a child that died after being bitten by a snake in a primary school in Delta State. My first reaction was 'is the school in the jungle?' What will a snake be doing in a classroom with little kids? When I also recalled seeing pictures of cows in classrooms in different parts of Nigeria, a pattern seems clear that the animals were probably in class to study our kind of democracy. After all, our politicians have been promising free education for all (including animals) since we adopted democracy as our system of governance in 1960. As I wondered why this is so, it occurred to me that 'This is Nigeria....Democracy Edition.'

In the hallowed chambers of the State and National Assemblies, the mace is meant to be the symbol of authority in a democracy, but here it doubles as a handy cudgel or missile. This is Nigeria. In a  democracy, voting is about freely choosing who represents you without fear or favour, but that is not how things are done around here. Election, both party congress and general election, is like a civil war, fighting breaks out, shots are fired and people get killed. This is Nigeria. The mantra amongst politicians is that you win, sorry 'rig' by all means and any means possible and later you can settle the case at the 'compromised' tribunal or courts. And after being sworn in, it is okay for them to steal shamelessly, according to the gospel of Rochas Okorocha. When I thought of this again, it is too painful to imagine, but then I thought, 'This is Nigeria....Democracy Edition.'

Another election looms in 2019 and with fingers crossed, we expected to see an improvement in the build up. But then I turned on the TV and watched the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs, a public servant, leading the Buhari Support Group on a solidarity visit to the President in support of his 2019 ambition. I was like, 'where on earth does this happen?' But was reminded that 'This is Nigeria.' And then the chairman of EFCC, equivalent of the FBI in America, openly wore a Buhari 2019 badge to a public function. Hmm!!! I remembered how the sacked FBI chief, James Comey, stood up against Donald Trump, a sitting President and wondered whether we will ever get to that level of maturity in our democracy, but a voice in my head reminded me, 'This is Nigeria....Democracy Edition.'

With 18 unbroken years of democracy, it should be expected that the difference between political parties should be ideological solid lines. But no, every one wants his own party. Now we have 68 registered parties with one party called 'All Blending Party (ABP)' and another 'Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP)' and I am really confused whether we are making progress. On a second thought, I see an opportunity for the ruling party, APC, to merge with and adopt 'All Blending Party' as its new name, considering that all the components parties holding the broom (CPC, ACN, nPDP & ANPP) are currently not homogenous and urgently needs blending. Also, the opposition PDP needs to adopt and change its name to 'Justice Must Prevail Party,' because with the looting and impunity associated with them in the past, it is only justice that can pacify Nigerians. But on the whole, when I considered the mess we are in, it was too painful to bear, but then I remembered that 'This is Nigeria....Democracy Edition.'

As the current political leaders marked 3 years in office, various governors were showcasing the dividends of democracy to their people. While Jigawa State governor was giving out bags of oranges and wheelbarrows to empower his people, Ortom of Benue had given branded wheelbarrows. While Ikpeazu was sending Aba cobblers to China for training, Borno State provided shoe polish kits and oranges to youths in Gwoza. As I wondered whether these are really dividends of democracy, I remembered that 'This is Nigeria....Democracy Edition.'

Surely, this is Nigeria and I know that we are going somewhere and the glory of God will show forth because 1st Peter 2:9 says, You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation....' This is our destiny and therefore we must collectively stop the cyclical nonsense of political voodoo-ism. Our democracy must move forward because 'This is Nigeria.'

Happy Sunday.

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey. 

Falling From Heights

Falling and No Fall Arrestor

I was thinking this morning...... about falling from heights. The thoughts came to me when I read the headline 'Olisa Metuh collapses in court during trial.' I wondered how Olisa Metuh could allow himself to hit the ground so hard. Was he not using a fall arrestor? It is a rule in Health and Safety for anyone working at a height above 1.8m to use a fall arrestor, to protect themselves in case of a fall from height.

 

You see, in life people will fall but falling by itself may not be a problem. I remember the words of one of my instructors at a training I attended in the UK some years back. While teaching about the risk of working at height, he had said, 'It is not the falling that is the problem, it is the sudden stop.' It is so true. Think about it, if you fall from 300ft down and at the point of stopping suddenly, a rope holds you back, no problem, it is bungee jumping. When you fall from 2000ft above ground and at the point of hitting the ground, a parachute slows you down. Do not worry, it is sky diving. I once fell from over 180ft straight down at a speed of 109km/hr at 90 degrees drop into a black hole. With bated breath, I screamed imagining how great the crash might be. At the point of crashing, the metal cage I was in just rolled along on the track. Life did not jump out of me because I was in the 'Oblivion roller coaster' at Alton Towers. So, it is not the fall that is the problem, it is the sudden stop.

 

Everyone I know in politics, business or even in corporate organization wants to move to a higher position. They want to climb the corporate ladder but most of them forget that if you must work at height, you will need a fall arrestor. Little wonder the biblical phrase, 'How are the mighty fallen?' is so common. Have you wondered how some big names of yesterday in Nigeria are nobody today? They have fallen from grace to grass. The sad part is that, most did not fall on grass, they fell on concrete surfaces. Ouch!!!

 

Babachir Lawal, the former grass-cutting SGF, Timipre Sylvia, Ogbonaya Onu and many other APC chieftains with PDP parentage worked at height and fell. At the point of hitting the ground, they were given parachutes and they landed softly. They went home smiling because it was an exciting sky diving experience. It is not the fall that is the problem, it is the sudden stop. Olisa Metuh, Dasuki, Fani-Kayode, Diezani and all the other PDP goons were working on the same platform thousands of feet above ground. No one advised them to get a fall arrestor in case they all, and they did fall. When they fell, they expected some form of parachute or rope to hold them up and stop them from hitting the ground, but there was none. They crashed like humpty dumpty. It is not the fall that is the problem, it is the sudden stop.

 

My advise to everyone in high position, working at height especially on political platforms, is that they get a fall arrestor, because the fall will soon start. My prayer is that you will not fall, but if you do fall, will anything hold you up? The best and most trusted fall arrestor is your integrity. Do you have any? Psalms 41:12 says 'And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity and settest me before they face for ever.'

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Wedding Feast

I was thinking this morning..... about wedding, free food and the pay-as-you-go mentality. But why? I will tell you. Early this week, I read of one Obianuju, a twitter user that had her dreams come true after she attended a wedding where they shared food, and it got round to everybody. She wrote on her twitter page, 'I went to a wedding yesterday and it was hands down; the most organized wedding ever. Everyone got food and drinks on time, there was no selective giving... How did it happen you may wonder? Men were in charge of directing the food servers.' Hmm!!! But why will anyone be celebrating that everyone was served food at a wedding?

Truth is, there are very few occasions where uninvited guests or outsiders get to eat for free, and one of such is at a wedding ceremony. But Obianuju's tweet got me thinking about why free food at weddings is no longer guaranteed. In recent times, there has been a gradual shift from free-for-all, popularly called 'oshofri' to pay-as-you-go. Have you noticed how at weddings these days, tables and rows of seats are reserved for special guests and families and the food and drinks served to these special guests are different from others? While the special guests and stakeholders are served with China dishes, others are given plain rice in take-away packs. That is Act one, Scene one which I am sure most people have watched.

The curtain draws and Scene two commences. You attend a wedding and was unlucky to sit at the back or far way from the aso-ebi ladies. First, disposable cups are passed round and then water placed on each table. Your hopes are high that real food will soon come by, but after waiting for so long, food packs showed up but got finished just before it got to you. Your eyes are fixated on the servers hoping that your portion will be delivered, but you can bet that they are avoiding your row or table like Nigerians are currently avoiding Congolese for fear of ebola. End of Scene two.

I was wondering what the final act was going to be as I followed the events of the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle yesterday. Because of the buzz and blitz, I was convinced it wasn't going to follow my script, but I was wrong. It was the final scene of the transition from free food at weddings to pay-as-you-go. Can you believe that 1200 hand-picked ordinary people, many from charities that the royals support, were invited to the wedding at Windsor Castle ground,  but their handlers were advised in letters to come with picnic lunch? How can the royals invite commoners to their wedding and asked them to come with their sandwiches? Has recession hit them as well? If they can't afford to feed all the guests, why did they invite them?

If the British throne cannot afford to serve everyone they invited food, do you blame Obianuju for celebrating when everyone at the wedding she attended was served? I worry because this is a bad example that Nigerians will soon copy and improve upon. Soon, you will read about intending coupes printing on the cards that guest should come with their chairs and food.

As we gradually entrench the pay-as-you-go mentality at weddings, my joy is that there is one wedding where everything is ready and everyone will be served, irrespective of status; the marriage feast of the lamb. Because Revelation 19:9 says, 'Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb.' Prepare to attend.

Happy Sunday.

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.