₦airaland Forum

Nice collection Op! You sure have been 'following' NL.




And if these guys were to be related to personalities in reality, then....

Seun.....Bill Gates

Mukina2....Labaran Maku

Jarus....Barth Nnaji

Garri7......Tunde Bakere

Gbawe.....Buhari/Tinubu

Sincere Nigerian....GEJ

Afam4eva: How do you determine who's more intelligent between someone who's very good in speaking English and another person who's very good in Solving maths. But both of them are just average in the other subjects.

many things can explain this and most of them are beyond the scope of this thread

Afam4eva:
There are people who never went to school but are fluent in English. Does it mean they're educated?

No. If u read my first post well, you will see I made a difference between those that speak English as a first language and those that speak it as a second language. The former group acquired the ability to speak it as part of a normal development of the child, in the same any child will speak their language of rearing fluently. The latter group are the group we should be concerned with, those that had to 'learn' English through a conscious effort. Members of this group who speak and understand it better are more ingelligent than the others, if all other variables remain constant. Eg, if we were taught that 'was' should be used in the past tense, and I remember and use this knowledge better than you, is this not a function of more intelligence...again, if other variables are the same?

....

Afam4eva:
I beg to disagree. It's not like we go to school to learn english. We go there to learn different subjects. English just happens to be the language of instruction. I've seen people who are very good in Maths and the sciences but are deficient in communicating well in English. Does it mean they're less intelligent than someone who speaks impeccable english but is horrible at maths and other subjects? I believe that if a Yoruba person from Ogbomoso or an Igbo person from Ohafia are taught in the language they understand perfectly(Yoruba and Igbo), they will do better than another Nigerian that was taught in English. It can be difficult learning something with a language that you're minimally conversant with.

No we don't go to school to learn English but we do English as a subject too. And recall I said after the two people have been exposed to the same learning conditions. I used the illustration simply to suggest that 'intelligence' is the ability to learn...the more intelligent, the better and faster the learning.

Afam4eva: I've heard Nigerian people say things that suggest that knowing how to speak good english suggest that one is educated. How's that even possible. You see ladies saying things like "He's a nice guy and speaks very well". He speaks very well means means he speaks good english with a foreign accent and not Igbo or Yoruba. So, Why does speaking Good English translate to one been educated and smart. Can't someone who doesn't speak English be smart?

Wisdom..... Bring a case of conflict or crime to a wise village elder and he would analyse and resolve it same way an iconic justice from Harvard would have. That is wisdom! He may not be able to learn English or any other language as much as you could, he may not be able to read or write, but he is wise.

Intelligence...ok, both of us are Igbos and we are to learn English. Having been exposed to the same learning condtions, you could speak English better than me. I think you are more intelligent.

Education...you have gone to school or exposed to some specific learning, leading you to acquire certain knowledge or skills that you wouldnt ordinarily have acquired such as reading and writing or solving mathematic equations. You may not be wise, nor must you be so intelligent, but you have got some education. But in the end, the measure of education is the measure sum total of what someone knows and is.

All of them are related though, but we confuse them a lot. Speaking English is not an absolute sign of education since those that speak it as first language do not necesarry need any 'education' to learn it. On the other hand, since the more intelligent people learn better and faster, to some extent, the person who has learnt better is supppsed to be better educated, or learned.

Smartness is a different thing altogether.

Cont'd

5) Go for Regular Check Ups. This is very important. Are you up to 35years old and you have never done a blood sugar test to check for diabetes? Do you know if you have some silent diseases like hypertension? Every person up to 40 is supposed to be going for at least bi anual check ups for Blood pressure, blood sugar, kidney tests, eye check and so on. And, if sexually active, HIV test. Also breast examinations fir the adult female. This is to help you to discover diseases and infections at their earliest stages when they can easily be handled. Do not wait till you have stroke or renal failure before you go see your doctor.

For more on health tips seehttp://personalexcellence.co/blog/healthy-living/. It's a site I found useful.

Happy World Health Day Nairalanders!

I just finished seeing a patient with stroke. As usual, he was not aware he has been having high blood pressure, apparently for years! As I made my way out of the Hospital ward, I recalled that today, April 7, is World Health Day - A day set aside by the World Health Organisation to promote awareness on health at the personal, community, national and global levels. Then I thought to myself, "if this patient had known he has been hypertensive all this while, maybe he could have prevented this stroke that could leave him paralysed for so long, if not for life!". Yet, his case is not so different from many people, especially in this part of the world where poverty and ignorance are at its highest.

On the occasion of this Year's world health day, here is a summary of some tips for healthy living.

1) Develop Good Eating Habits...limit intake of processed foods such as canned foods, bakeries and mineral drinks. These have all been associated with health problems ranging from heart problems to cancers. Avoid alcoholism as this can damage the liver. Eat fruits and vegetables lavishly. Eat more of bright coloured fruits. Avoid junks.

2)Exercise regularly. You must have heard before, yet do you get regular exercises? Not just specific cardio or tummy work ups, but whole-body exercises. Guys, do you still play football? Ladies, have thought about going out the field for some volleyball or long tennis? The more exercises we get, the more we invest in our health. Diseases like diabetes, hypertension and some causes of female infertility are know to response favourably to regular exercises.


3) Avoid Mental stress. Yes, I know work could be demanding and stuffs, but you can still relax. In the midst of all the husssles, you can still reduce the tensions. Stop hating and anger as these are also significant causes of stress.

4)Seek Health Awareness. Hey, this is the 21st century. You can once in a while decide to look up some conditions online. Fortunately, there are a lot of sites that offer useful explanations of health conditions in lay language. While this should not substitute for your medical check ups, you learn a lot of things that can improve your health by just a simple surfing. It is funny how you see an undergraduate asthmatic who knows nothing about asthma!

Your question is a rhetoric. And the answer is No, it is not ethical aborting fetuses with congenital anomalies or conditions that may cause functional impairments such as mental retardation. Like most questions of ethics, it is a tough call.

Personally, I believe life begins at fertilization, and this is the principle upon which I base my reasoning. As such, I believe Induced abortions for such purposes as 'preventing painful and sub-normal lives' are a grave disrespect of the human life.

Fetuses that will live should be allowed to live. It is not for us to determine who will live and who will not live.

Ok, who will determine the dividing line between what constitutes a 'serious' congenital anomaly or 'impairment'....one that should require abortion? Will the same conditions that will strike you as a 'serious anomaly', strike the other person the same way? Or do we just abort any fetus we personnally feel will not give us our desired quality of life?

Consider that sometimes we have babies who develop cerebral palsy with severe mental retardation, after sucessful pregnancies and intrauterine development, following birth trauma, birth asphyxia, neonatal infections and so on. Do we 'abort' or 'kill' such babies afterall ....as they are going to 'cause and experience pain', maybe as much as babies who developed their abnormalities congenitally?

Again, do we put our family members to death because they developed a disorder, or abnormality, in adult life, that have left them mostly dependent, thereby living in pains and causing others pain too.

Or is the intrauterine fetus just easier to do away with?

While many congenital anonalies may happen spontaneously and idiopathically , many of them yet are caused directly or indirectly by the mother's behavioural practices while pregnant. Have we considered that too?

These are difficult questions, but anyone who believes that we do not have a right or authority to take ANY HUMAN life will not support *** INDUCED abortion, *** for such reasons.


Or do you not believe that LIFE starts at fertilization? Or that they are Humans?

The OP's opinion is shallow. The advantages of the MNP are both short and long term. In the long term, it will drive competition within the industry like never before, which will keep those operators on their toes. In the short, operate simply have the Power or Pleasure of ditching their most hated provider! I'm 100% in support of MNP.

Chomzy19: he isn't married to her? But he expects her to give him d wifely duties a wife gives to the husband? Naija guys sef! I will tell you Y, because you guys need d watery toto

I'm sorry for naija babes. This comment of yours surmarises the mentality of the average naija gal. Pretence go kill una. Always talking as if they are firewoods. Well, maybe they are. So if the couple decide to get intimate in a relationship, it's the gal that is giving while the guy is taking. Smh

Money shouldnt lose its functions just cause its partially torn. In the North this is not done. In Katsina you can spend two different halves of same denomination joined together..and no one looks at it twice. However in the East, sometimes money gets rejected even when its like 5milimeter torn. So it's more of what obtains in a particular community.

berem: now this incessant threads about power supply is becoming irritating.

Hey, just move on ok? You didnt have to comment or get irritated.

I recall last year when almost the whole nation was uninanimous in praising the power ministry as a result of the unprecedented increase in power supply at that time. Many people ranging from the President to the then Power minister, Bath Nnaji, took the glory. However a section of the public suggested the increase was a fluke, occasioned by the increase in water level. Wheather this is true will depend on the current experiences of Nigerians.

Few months later and, from a personal viewpoint, power supply has gone noticeably poor. Because i'v spent the last couple of months in a small rural town where power is notoriously at a very low level, i thought it was just the case with the rural areas.

Now, I spent two days in benin and power supply over 24hrs was not up to 12hrs. Too, i've been in Asaba since 5hrs now and no power.

I wonder what the case is like elsewhere. What is the power situation in your area? Kindly specify your town and the average power supply in a day.

I've gone on a date with keke a couple of times. It was really fun....we were as both friends and lovers. Everybody was staring. I remember the keke taking a sharp bend and the breeze catching her gown..and me from beside her, holding down the gown against d breeze. And when we alighted at Chrunches and made way to place our orders, everybody @the place stared in admiration. They knew we were different.....and even if we cud afford only bottle water at that restaurant that day, they could see we were really happy and lovely couple, lovers, friends, even like family.

If u ask me, na who i go ask?

The matter wey we see so, e tey wey e start

no be me go talk am

e heavy for mouth

if u ask me

the matter for ground

oh! Na who i go ask

*repeat chorus 2x*

Hey, U didnt cheat on your sis, ok? You did nothing wrong against her. But u should let her know...just the way u have said it here.

centje: @omicron
Is it in practice now,to harvest their eggs and preserve them?

I don't think so.

Lagusta: in fact, that question got my brains boiling!!!!

Now back to turner's, apart from finger clubbing and webbed neck, they also have short stature, widely-spaced ni.pp:les, may be mentally retarded,, and, unfortunately, they are sterile, they can never have children.....

Hope i am correct sir!!!!

Technically, they arent sterile, rather they are infertile. This is because they actually produce germ cells (oocytes), but these get exhausted even before puberty is reached. By that time, their ovaries are streak and they have no more oocytes, and oocytes are not produced after birth. So i reason that if it's possible to harvest their oocytes at any stage before they are destroyed, and then preserve it, then they can actually have own children. Moreover, Turner's with mosaics may even do better than complete XO's since the chromosomal anomaly isnt total in that case.

centje: Omicron,is that the Odocha i know

yea, the one u knw

She woke up with a start, and quickly made the sign of the cross. Her face was creased with worry as she recounted the nightmare. In the dream she and most of the villagers were gathered in the village square in deep mourning. ‘Tufiakwa’ she said to no one in particular, clicking her fingers she made a circular motion over her head with her right hand. She increased the flame of the kerosene lamp and went to check on her grandma. It was still dark and the only sounds were of crickets, snores, and night creatures. As she opened the door quietly to avoid the noisy groans from its hinges, the hoot of an owl rang out. The sound was so startling, and she jumped back in fear, evidenced by the ‘akpata oyi’ on her skin. Her grandma hearing the sound first reached for her Rosary under her pillow, and shouted out that all the wandering spirits return to their abode. Her granddaughter rushed into her room visibly shaken. Grandma held her in her arms in a bid to calm her. They all knew the sight and sound of the owl was a bad omen. The younger one tried to find words to narrate her dream to the older, but the older opted for prayer which they did. Sleep eluded them for the rest of the night.
If the coming of dawn did not driver away the fears of the night completely, the feeling of sadness and loss hung over them like a cloud. The clouds were overcast enforcing the feeling of gloom in those who had slept badly. She found to her dismay that the goats had raided the kitchen and eaten not only the yams but the palm fronds she kept aside for the Palm Sunday of today. In a bid to drive the animals out she rushed at them, and inadvertently struck her right leg against a stone. The pain stopped her in her tracks and as she nursed the hurt toe she realised it was another omen. Feeling defeated, as the goats bleated in derision, she set off for the stream hoping the morning exercise would improve things. She was met by her friends who seemed subdued one asked her if she heard the sound of wailing the previous night. Though she did not she explained her experience. They all felt something was wrong, and walked in silence, trying to balance their filled pots, and navigate the path slippery from the morning dew. Despite her best efforts, she lost her balance when an ‘Udele’ flew past them. Her pot slipped from her head and smashed to smithereens. She was a nervous wreck at that point and broke into tears as her friends tried to console her. Something was really wrong, but what?
As the bell for morning Mass tolled she could not help comparing in the bell tolling for the death of someone. The rain had become a downpour, and the villagers employed cocoyam leaves as umbrellas. There would be no Palm Sunday procession, the skies were weeping, for whom? The general mood was somber. When ‘Fada’ faced the congregation , it was obvious he had been crying, at that point people began to whisper, she began to shake, and clutched her Grandma’s wrapper for comfort. ‘Umu-nnem na Christi’, he began, ‘it is a sad moment for us as I have to announce the death of our Father, our Brother, our Voice’… The suspense was broken with the next words, ‘Nna anyi Chinua Achebe is dead’. At that moment time stopped, there was silence, and then a baby wailed, and as though on cue, others followed. Tears rolled down my cheeks, as the Okonkwos shook their heads and gritted their teeth, they were young men not expected to cry. The Ezinmmas wailed openly, after all they were expressive young women. The Unokas struck their walking sticks on the ground as though demanding an answer, they were old and had a right to know. The Ikemefunas looked askance, who would inspire them. The village at that moment realised they had lost He who told their story, our story beautifully and without fear. He who portrayed us as good people, he who pierced the mists of time, and gave us our heritage, told us to find out who we were, who we are, and who we can be. I cried but not incosolabely because there is hope, as He lives in his books, and in our hearts. We can still tell the African story, as he inspired us to. I tried doing so immediately I got home, but my pencil broke, and my pen would not flow. For now we mourn the Storyteller per excellence, the man of integrity. Adieu Pa Chinua, laa n’udo. Ka Chineke Nnna nye ya ezumike, gbaa kwa ezi n’ulo ya na ndi enyi ya ume.


Story by Dr Odocha, S O (An upcoming Novelist and Author)

centje: In emergency treatment,i can recall this acronym POMA-Position(tripod or squatting), Oxygen, Morphine, and Acidosis

Excellent centje! Morphine for pain control. Acidosis arising from increased PCO2.(Respiratory), and this must be corrected too.

centje: You guys just dissected the x-ray. Omicron, can you throw more light on the management of the condition?

Definitive management is Surgical.

Most patients will present with central cyanosis (bluish discoloration of the lips and toungue), chest symptoms-including chronic or intermitent cough, shortness of breath worse on exertion, fever(if secondary infection is present), failure to thrive (failure to gain expected weight, height or reach other expected milestones). Patients may also present in heart failure. On examination, patients are mostly cyanotic, /_ febrile, /_ pale. Underweight, below expected for height. Chest symptoms will correspond to prevailing chest infections and signs of cardiac failure. CVS signs of heartfailure. Displaced apex beat. ?a particular kind of murmur(someone should remind me)

Oxygen therapy is the mainstay of initial medical management. Concurrently, samples are taken for blood gas analysis, PCV/Hb, FBC, SEUCr, sputum m/c/s. Pulse oxymetry and CXR. Managed in cardiac position, or ?Tripod position. Antibiotic therapy as needed. Heart failure managed as appropriate too (frusemide, oxygen, etc) Blood transfusion witnout fluid overload. Nutritive management as needed.

Definitive treatment is corrective surgery.

Prognosis is bad.

Centje the title of "Medical Call Room" sounds more interesting to me. Or maybe " Ward Round - Where Doctors, Nurses, Med Students, Health Professionals Discuss" .....sth like that

centje: Let's try this chest x-ray of a child

What abnormality/abnormalities can you appreciate?

Attempt a diagnosis

a classical "boot-shaped" heart of Tetralogy of Fallot(TOF). The heart takes on this shape as a result of right ventricular hypertrophy occasioned by pulmonary stenosis of TOF, which apart from enlarging the heart, characteristically lifts the apex of the heart off the right dome of the diaphragm. Needless to repeat, there is obvious cardiomegaly. The lung fields and bony chest wall and the diaphragmatic domes appear normal.

When did it become a routine to publish list of 'the wounded' after a boko attack? If such lists are made, then they can as well dedicate about two pages in every daily cos virtually no single day passes without people getting wounded by the war in the North. I sense a highy biased/prejudiced list here, one that was drafted through thick glasses of the various assertions made by some 'tribal' stakeholders

What a sad piece of news! On a second thought, he died an old man. His legacies lives on. RIP icon. Condolences to the family.





Over to you, Chimamanda.

bubadaniel13: OP just a question for the confused Mr Joel Brinkley,Is GEJ the first leader of Nigeria?how many years has he spent on power so far?Nigeria has been ruled by bad leaders for decades and u expect GEJ to turn bad things around within three years,the writer of the article must be dreaming.

Please spare me dat trash! The writer ended his piece perfectly joor, "[By pardoning thieves and people who stole state funds, GEJ has shown the whole world whom he truly is. He deserves Impeachment"], as I type.