₦airaland Forum

Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it - Heather Morgan.

Dietary patterns have a direct relationship with health outcomes, hence the importance of healthy eating combined with an active lifestyle cannot be undermined. The desire to consume only healthy diets must be aided by an enabling food environment that includes, but is not limited to government policies, regulations of food products, and public awareness on the dangers of consuming highly salted foods and other unhealthy diets, amongst others.

According to the Non- Communicable Diseases Alliance, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease are the primary cause of death and disability worldwide. Hypertension, alone accounts for 11% of deaths from cardiovascular diseases in Nigeria. Another study by Harvard Medical School confirmed that these diseases can be prevented by taking appropriate actions to modify risk factors such as unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles. Furthermore, the study revealed that simply reducing sodium/salt intake by limiting consumption of canned, convenience, and processed foods and replacing them with healthy diets produced a significant reduction in blood pressure.
According to the World Health Organization, a healthy diet is rich in fiber, fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, and whole grains. Habitually eating from farm to plate offers a complete package of health benefits, and the potential to significantly reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, heart disease, type II diabetes, obesity, and some cancers, unlike processed foods that are stripped of vital nutrients and therapeutic benefits.

On the other hand, unhealthy diets comprise mostly foods that are heavily processed, and typically high in salt, sodium, sugar, and saturated fats. Sometimes additives like food coloring, sweeteners, preservatives, and other artificial substances are added to these foods during processing to improve taste, appearance, texture, and shelf life; thereby making them unhealthy for human consumption. Examples of processed foods include bread, noodles, biscuits, processed meat products like suya, cereals, canned food, high-sodium seasonings, and salad dressings to mention a few.

The Nigerian food environment is seriously challenged due to inadequate government policies, climate change, insecurity, insufficient funding, and poor support from the government to facilitate smallholder farmers’ access to productive assets and resources to boost production, amongst others.

Industries, on the other hand, seize the opportunity to flood the markets with cheap, easy-to-use, and ready-to-consume food products with longer shelf life, low nutrition, and health benefits. Due to loopholes in existing food policies and regulations, these industries adopt intense marketing strategies to promote these products as ‘healthy, quick and easy’ alternatives; others design their products with cartoons to target vulnerable groups like children with misleading information thereby increasing demand for highly salted, sugary, or fatty foods. Some of these adverts go to the extent of influencing consumer behaviors by portraying the consumption of ultra-processed foods as socially acceptable, and classy.

Consequently, this has resulted in a nutrition transition in food consumption patterns within the country. Preparation of nutritious fiber-rich meals from scratch within the household is fading out gradually with more families eating out more frequently. Nowadays, parents fill their children's lunch packs with unhealthy processed foods instead of nutritious meals or fruits, these behaviors have resulted in a rising number of children diagnosed with hypertension, strokes, and cardiovascular diseases at an early stage; decades ago, these diseases were only prevalent among adults. This nutritional shift began in high-income countries but has now reached countries at all income levels.

Policy interventions are needed to curb the rising consumption of ultra-processed foods and reduce their negative health outcomes. To stem the ugly tide of a rising burden of hypertension in the country, the government must take proactive steps to enforce healthy food policies to create an enabling environment for the adoption of healthy eating habits. The government must implement programs and initiatives that will facilitate the availability, access, stability, and utilization of healthy and nutritious foods across the country, thereby creating a robust national food system and a well-nourished society.

Mass media campaigns, health promotion, and nutrition education interventions can be adapted to sensitize the public and increase demand for healthier food options. School programs and curriculums should also be reviewed to reach parents and children with nutrition education. Promotion and sales of ultra-processed foods must be restricted or banned in schools to promote healthy eating among school children.

Finally, it is imperative for competent agencies responsible for legislation and implementation of food safety standards in Nigeria to develop strategies for the regulation of food industries, SMEs, and street food vendors, to ensure compliance with global standards. Advertisement restrictions must be in place to safeguard consumers from industry marketing tactics. Once all of these are achieved, health outcomes will greatly improve, and there will be a significant boost in national productivity.

Bukola Olukemi Odele is a Programme Officer with Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).

As evidence grew confirming that industrially produced trans fat is toxic and increases risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had to step in to discourage its use in food production.

In 2018, the WHO launched the REPLACE package for the elimination of trans fat in food supply globally and worked with countries of the world to sign up for this initiative. The goal of the REPLACE package is to provide a feasible framework that will aid countries in removing artificially added toxic fats from all foods by 2023, barely a few weeks from now.

Trans fat is unhealthy fat that increases the bad cholesterol and decreases the good cholesterol. Trans fat occur in two states: the natural form (or ruminant trans fat) and the unnatural industrial-produced form. The natural form is found in meat and dairy products. They form naturally when bacteria in animals’ stomachs digest grass. They have no negative impact on the health of the consumer, so they are of no cause for concern.

The unnatural form, also referred to as industrially produced trans-fat is unhealthy and harmful. The WHO noted that ‘Industrially produced trans fats are contained in hardened vegetable fats, such as margarine and ghee, and are often present in snack food, baked foods, and fried foods. Manufacturers often use them as they have a longer shelf life than other fats.’

In 2019, before the corona virus struck, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) responded to policy advocacy spearheaded by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria to review its 2005 regulations on fat and oils to reflect the global standard and address the yearnings of the public for food free from toxic substances especially trans fat.

The agency, despite the challenges of the #COVID19 pandemic, opened its doors to campaigners, advocates, researchers, and all stakeholders to contribute to the process and deliver what is globally acceptable to protect Nigerians.

All efforts geared towards the actualization of the 2023 deadline have been tailored to carry Nigerians – the ultimate beneficiaries - along in order to make it easy for adaptation. These include but are not limited to street awareness, vox pops, community sensitization, and school visits. Media engagements were also conducted on traditional and new media platforms; training of more than 100 journalists across the country, identification and building an organic group of young people with digital and advocacy skills to push the message – to the government and to the public.

For the past two years, Nigeria, through collaborative work between relevant agencies and stakeholders, Nigeria has worked concurrently across four of the six modules of the REPLACE framework for eliminating trans fat which is the acronym for Review, Promote, Legislate, Assess, Create, and Enforce. However, the remaining two, Legislate and Enforce, are the most critical.

To complete Nigeria’s race to the 2023 target, the country must immediately gazette the ‘Fat and Oils, Regulations’ and this gazette would get Nigeria conveniently into the enviable list of countries that have appropriately legislated against the use of trans fat in food, or at least to reduce it to the acceptable limits of 2g/100g in food.

Policy watchers believe Nigeria should even do more because the 2023 target is for total elimination through enactment and enforcement of mandatory regulations for the industry players as against voluntary regulations as proposed by many food producers who would rather make the conversation a behavioural campaign and continue to put their profit ahead of public health.

Eliminating trans fat in Nigeria’s food supply will reduce risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, help individuals cut their health expenditure, and contribute to the development of better health outcomes.

As the end of the year draws close, political activities and preparations for the yuletide take the spotlight. The festive season which will come with increased consumption of fried and packaged foods also comes with its risks as Nigerians throw caution to the wind in their consumption patterns. It is also the appropriate time for key decision makers to step up and act decisively in pushing the regulations to the finish line by removing the bureaucratic bottlenecks to gazette of the regulations to save thousands of Nigerians from avoidable deaths.

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged the Federal Government to reject the reported aversion of producers of carbonated drinks to the N10/litre on Sugar- Sweetened Beverages Tax which government started implementing on June 1, 2022.

Media reports had indicated that some firms, operating under the umbrella of the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) had alerted that the new tax, which is embedded in the Finance Act of 2021, will lead to job losses and shutdowns in their lines of operation. The firms include the Nigeria Bottling Company, Nigeria Breweries and Rite Food Limited, among others.
Under the new policy, which was introduced in December 2021, a ₦10 tax on each litre is imposed on all non-alcoholic and sugar sweetened carbonated drinks produced and sold in the country.

Reacting to the alarm raised by the firms, CAPPA through their Director of Programmes, Philip Jakpor, said that their line of argument is the same they have always circulated in the media whenever there is legislation that prioritizes the health and wellness of Nigerians ahead of profits.

CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi said:
“While the shutdowns and job losses threat does not come as a shock to the average Nigerian, we are taken aback by the industry deliberately avoiding the statistics of Nigerians suffering from diabetes, obesity and other illnesses associated with the products they produce.”

Oluwafemi pointed out that carbonated drinks producers are simply out to make money and mislead the public by lumping issues related to the pro-people sugar-sweetened beverages tax with other issues that are not in the same category. According to him, the industry is ultimately out to scuttle the implementation of the new tax regime.

In 2021, Nigeria ranked fourth in sugar sweetened beverages consumption globally. The impact of this data on the social and economic spectrum for Nigeria is enormous and a pointer to a dangerous future. One would wonder if the members of these associations and their agents care about the wellbeing of their consumers who are predisposed to diabetes and obesity from the daily consumption of their products which have no nutritional value for their body system.

Oluwafemi reiterated that unchecked consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages is associated with many risk factors of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and by observation alone, there has been an increase in the number of young people coming down with heart related diseases, obesity, diabetes, and other preventable diseases associated with what they eat.

The CAPPA boss explained that the public health community frowns at the attempt to ridicule efforts of civil society, government regulatory agencies, and health institutions at curbing the financial and social cost of NCDs in a country where more than 73% of the entire population pay out-of-pocket for health expenses.

Extolling the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) for its responsiveness in relation to implementing the policy, he urged government to further increase the taxes by at least 15% which aligns with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations for sugar-sweetened beverages. The WHO and other global experts recommend that sugary drink taxes should raise final retail prices of SSB by 20% or greater in order to have meaningful impact in the reduction of the consumption.

CAPPA also encouraged the carbonated drinks producers to adhere to global standards which Nigeria is still a far cry from going by the negligible but commendable N10/litre policy.

“We strongly support the current tax regime which is the first step to help Nigerians change their consumption patterns. Our expectation is that the government should ensure its strict enforcement and make sure the carbonated drinks producers comply with the policy”, he insisted.

The Federal Ministry of Health and the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC) drafted the Fats and Oil Regulation 2019, to safeguard Nigerians from avoidable and untimely illnesses and death resulting from the consumption of foods containing Trans-Fatty Acids (TFAs).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics indicate that more than 36 million people die annually from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which accounts for 63% of all global deaths. Among these, CardioVascular Diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death, accounting for 17.5 million deaths annually. In this category, high blood pressure leads as a risk factor. CVDs are disorders of the heart and blood vessels, and they include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, among other conditions.
Status of the Fats and Oils Regulation

To ensure Nigeria joins the rest of the world in limiting Trans Fatty Acids in its food chain, the NAFDAC, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health in 2022 updated two existing regulations namely, the Fats and Oils and the Pre-packaged Ice and Water Labelling Regulation. These have been passed by the Federal Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Justice for gazette.

Fats and Oil Regulation 2019 Simplified

The Fats and Oils regulation consists of eighteen schedule that breaks down the classifications, definitions and specifications of fats and oils.
The regulation shall apply to all foods containing fats and oils that are manufactured, imported, exported, advertised, sold, distributed, or used in Nigeria. It states that no person shall manufacture, package, import, export, advertise, distribute, sell or use packaged fats and oils as specified in the First Schedule which are (classifications, definitions and specifications of fats and oils like coconut oil, Palm oil, maize oil and any kind of oil) to these regulation in Nigeria unless, it has been registered in accordance with the provision of the regulation.

Under Vitamin A Fortification, it stated that, no person shall manufacture, package, import, export, advertise, distribute, or sell any vegetable oil as specified in Schedule I to the Regulations, unless it is fortified with Vitamin A to a level not below 20,000 I.U./kg. On Sourcing for fats and oils, it stated that, Edible fats and oil shall be sourced from vegetable and animal origin and may contain amounts of other lipids as phosphatides, unsaponifiable matter and free acids naturally present in the fats and oils and animal origin and shall be produced from animal in good health at the time of slaughter and certified fit for human consumption by the appropriate authority. Vegetable oils shall be derived from the botanical source after which they are named and indicated under the Schedules for individual oils.

Furthermore, the regulation directed that edible fats and oils may contain additional permitted colours, provided that the added colours do not deceive or mislead the consumer by concealing damage or low quality or by making the products appear to be greater than their value. The edible fats and oils may contain approved natural flavours and their identical synthetic equivalents and other approved synthetic flavours for the purpose of restoring natural flavours, provided that the added flavours do not deceive or mislead the consumer by concealing damage or low quality by making the products appear to be greater than their actual value.

Meanwhile, edible fats and oils may contain permitted preservatives, antifoaming agent and crystallization inhibitor, the use, and limits of which shall be as prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to these Regulations, provided that, the fats and oils shall not contain any food additives or food colours when sold as virgin fats and oils. It stated that no person shall sell, import, export, produce, market, store or distribute to the public, edible fats and oils that contain impurities such as heavy metals, petroleum products, foreign particles or any other substance not indicated in the list of additives for the category of food and naturally occurring impurities like Gossypol. It affirmed that no edible fats and oils shall contain any foreign matter or have rancid odour or taste.

For the labelling of Fats and Oils which in addition to compliance with the Pre-Packaged Food (Labelling) Regulations 2019, the following shall apply: A refined oil obtained from a single botanical source shall in addition to the brand name and the specific name of the particular oil present, be so indicated on the label. For example, “Refined Sunflower Seed Oil”, also refined oil obtained from multi botanical sources, where two or more oils are blended together, shall be so indicated on the label provided that the specific names of the oils are listed in the list of ingredients. For example, “Refined Sunflower Seed Oil Blend” or “Refined Vegetable Oil Blend,” and it posits that, no person shall sell a mixture of animal fat and vegetable fat unless the label of that mixture carries the declaration “Contains Animal Fats”

Forfeiture after conviction – a person convicted of an offence under the regulation shall forfeit to the Federal Government: (a) any asset or property constituting proceeds derived from or obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of the offence; (b) any of the person’s property or instrumentalities used in any manner to commit or to facilitate the commission of the offence. (2) In this section, “proceeds” means any property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, through the commission of the offence.

It concludes by stating that, unless the context otherwise requires, “animal fats” means the fats entirely rendered from fresh, clean, sound fatty tissue of healthy animal at the time of slaughter, and fit for human consumption as certified by a competent appropriate authority and they may contain additives the limits of which shall be as prescribed in “Seventeenth Schedule” (permitted additives, which are the permitted colours for the purpose of restoring natural colour lost in processing or for the purpose of standardising colour, as long as the added colour does not deceive or mislead the consumer by concealing damage or low quality or by making the product appear to be of greater than actual value).

“Cold pressed oils” means oils obtained, without altering the oil, by mechanical procedures only, e.g., expelling or pressing, without the application of heat. They may have been purified by washing with water, settling, filtering, and centrifuging only.
However, the Fats and Oils Regulation 2005 was repealed, and the repeal of the regulation, as specified in Regulations 12(1) stated that it shall not affect anything done or purported to be done under the repealed Regulation and will therefore be cited as Fats and Oils Regulations 2019.

“I love my potatoes fried and as a single man, I don’t usually dispose of the oil, I reuse them. I am no exception like many ,” a smiling Sunday Elom of Orient Daily Newspaper told CAPPA media.

He continues, “I fry yam and other foods and even red oil sometimes when I cannot afford vegetable oil and I bleach it to look like vegetable oil to fry tomatoes.”
Sunday is one of many Nigerians that are oblivious to the dangers surrounding the usage and consumption of hydrogenated fats and oil also known as Trans-Fat.

Trans-Fat

Trans fat, also known as hydrogenated fats, forms when regular or liquid vegetable is converted into solid fats when it passes through hydrogen. There are two types of hydrogenated oils – partially hydrogenated and fully hydrogenated oil. Partially hydrogenated oil increases the bad cholesterol and lowers the good cholesterol in the body which could lead to cardiovascular and other heart related diseases while a fully hydrogenated contains less trans-fat and is less risky.

Dr Jerome Mafeni, a Technical Director at the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) said consuming Trans-Fatty foods is a harmful as swallowing slow poison.
“The issue of trans-fat is the story of a slow poison in our food chain. We can no longer fold our arms and watch our lives cut short by this deadly product. Industrially, oil is converted from the liquid state to a solid state so that it can have the capacity to withstand very deep fry and very long shelf life, these trans-fatty acids have the potential to cause heart disease, stroke, hypertension, blockage of the arteries. It also has the potential to cause kidney disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancers,”

To ensure Nigeria joins the rest of the world in limiting trans fatty acids in its food chain, the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health has updated two existing regulations, namely, the Fats and Oils, and Pre-packaged Ice and Water Labelling Regulation.
World Health Organisation:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2021 reported that cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), are the leading cause of deaths globally. A year earlier, an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs, representing 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke. The WHO has estimated that there are 500,000 global deaths per year due to coronary heart disease attributed to trans fatty acids.

Taking Up the Challenge

CAPPA is a Pan – African organisation that is passionately devoted to working with African communities to build partnerships with them towards taking collective social action towards the promotion and defence of the rights of peoples.

Journalism Training on Reporting Trans-Fats

CAPPA in conjunction with the Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED) organised a two-day training for journalists in the five eastern states of Nigeria on trans-fat and its health implications. The journalists came from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

On May 6 and 7, 2022 in Enugu, capital city of Enugu state. Eighteen journalists from Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo, and Enugu states participated in the training.
Speaking to CAPPA media after the training, one of the participants, Angela Nkwo-Akpolu of Leadership Newspaper expressed her satisfaction, “I have learnt a lot and I want Nigerians to join us in the campaign against Trans-Fat. The oil that you used in frying plantain, reuse to fry meat, yam and later used to make stew is poisonous. Stop consuming poison in the name of oil, read the label of what you are buying and stay safe, sometimes it is not village people causing the illnesses, it is the oil you recycle. I will continue the campaign through my reports and further educate Nigerians. Thank you CAPPA, for the opportunity,” she concludes.

Participants were taken through topics on Trans-Fat reporting from diverse Angles: business, health, lifestyle, Gender, to effective ways of conducting interviews for health experts, developing trans-fat story Ideas, amplifying #TransFatFreeNigeria via digital media, and digital tools for advocacy.

After the presentations and interactive sessions, participants formed three groups where they brain-stormed and exchanged ideas on how to apply the presentations into solution-focused style of reporting for broadcast, print and multimedia medium.
The Role of Government

The Federal Ministry of Health was virtually represented by Mr John Atanda, National Coordinator of Food Safety and Quality Programme who acknowledged the bureaucratic delays in getting the regulations gazette and assured Nigerians that the ministry in conjunction with the National Agency for Food and Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) is working as fast as possible with all the necessary departments to pass the bill.

Dr Eva Edwards, Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition atNAFDAC, spoke on the processes recorded by the agency and the law that empowers it to play the critical role its playing in ensuring there are regulations that’d effectively cause Nigerians to have a trans-fat free food supply, “the 2022 regulations was based on the 2005 regulations and stated why it was amended and the reasons include the following; Nigeria is keying into the WHO REPLACE ACTION PACKAGE; the role of government is to create an enabling environment and level playing field for the reduction of industrially produced trans-fat in our food supply, and mandatory legislation (regulations) is an enabler to achieving this; Nigeria should not be left out in regulations aiming to eliminate TFA or limit the amount of TFA in industrially produced foods have been enacted in many countries,” she said.

Addressing audience at the event, Honourable Commissioner for health, Enugu State, Professor Ikechukwu Obi who represented the governor of Enugu State at the training as special guest said, “We believe this training will contribute significantly to the body of knowledge that will be in the public domain to educate Nigerians and pressure the relevant agencies of government at federal level to gazette the regulations.

“I want to assure you that the Government of Enugu state is committed to working with NAFDAC and other relevant agencies of government and the civil society community and the media in exposing the dangers of Trans Fat and efforts at promoting healthy diets and lifestyle for our people,” he assured.

Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, in his welcome address appreciated the participants for coming in despite the security uncertainty in the region and commended them for the enthusiasm. He noted that the training is a must as the campaign against trans-fat in Nigeria’s food supply is about everyone. Additionally, he thanked Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) for funding the project.

“I am fortified with enough knowledge that will guide my oil consumption and help me generate story ideas that will educate Nigerians about the dangers of Trans-fat and to also advocate for the Fat and Oils regulations to be gazetted, I am grateful to the organizers for putting this together,” Sunday Elom concludes.

In continuation of efforts to deepen the reportage of trans-fats in the media, the Corporate Accountability for Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), a not-for-profit organisation in Nigeria has organised a training for journalists from the South-Eastern region on the subject.

The two-days event held 6-7 May 2022 in Enugu, capital of Enugu state and had eighteen journalists from Abia, Ebonyi, Anambra, Imo and Enugu in attendance.

Giving his remarks at the event, Commissioner for Health, Enugu state, Professor Ikechukwu Obi said that the training will be an avenue to pressure the relevant government agencies to pass the fats and oils regulations into law, “As most of you already know, the high levels of trans-fat in foods consumed by Nigerians, from the fast foods to re-used oils, means we are sitting on a keg of gun powder that might explode at any time in form of cardiovascular disease of many kinds. We believe this training will contribute significantly to the body of knowledge that will be in the public domain to educate Nigerians and pressure the relevant agencies of government at federal level to gazette the regulations.”

A Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the National Agency for Foods and Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Eva Edwards, explained that the 2022 regulations were based on the 2005 regulations and stated why it was amended.

Speaking on Trans-Fat Regulation as a Public Health Emergency: Beyond the Rhetoric, Joy Amafah, In-Country Coordinator, Global Health Advocacy Incubation (GHAI), emphasized on the reason why the fats and oils regulation must be gazetted. She sighted this as the permanent solution for relevant government agencies to be able to monitor and have control over the oils produced for the populace to consume.

With various challenges that accompanied the consumption of Trans-fatty foods, Dr Jerome Mafeni, Technical Director at NHED speaks about Understanding Trans-Fat and its Health Impacts where he listed various current health challenges faced by Nigerians as related to trans-fat, defined some keywords, and described their relationships. He drew the attention of the audience to the seemingly increase in the sudden deaths of young people as he emphasized poor health systems as part of the health challenges.


Addressing participants on Trans-fat, Executive Director of CAPPA, Mr. Akinbode Olufemi reiterated the need for the training as he mentioned that ‘media is the theatre of the campaign’; a common phrase at the organization which is now an African leader in pushing policy advocacy, awareness, and community building.

He enjoined the participants to concentrate fully as they’d be learning from experts across the Health, Media, Advocacy, and Public Campaign sectors. He also urged them to seize the opportunity to engage all government representatives at the event to put more pressure on relevant agencies for gazette of the bill.

The training was facilitated by local and international public health, media, and communications experts and module targeted building the capacity of Nigerian journalists to understand and exhaustively report on TFAs and its link with poor health for consumers, Strengthening the relationship between Nigerian journalists, civil society advocating a trans fat-free Nigeria and the regulatory agency (ies), particularly NAFDAC, and sharing knowledge about local, national, and global issues relating to TFAs and the oils and fats industry.

The journalists were drawn from print, broadcast, and online media from Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States.

Traditionally, heated oils are used in frying foods. They vary from vegetable oil, palm oil, olive oil, sunflower to chicken oil and could be used in preparing fried foods and cooked meals. However, there are safe and unsafe frying methods that largely contribute to the well-being of humans.
Staple Nigerian foods like chin-chin, yam, potatoes, chicken, plantain, cakes, etc., poses health risks if they are not properly prepared especially in a situation where recycled oil, hydrogenated and unrefined oils with high number of unsaturated fats are used.
Air frying and deep fat frying are the two basic methods of frying foods, each of which, have good and bad sides. We will attempt to analyse both methods and determine the best that should be applied when preparing meals.

What is deep fat frying?
This is the most popular method of frying foods for both commercial and private purposes. A cooking process where heated oils are used to fry foods into desired taste and texture. Though cheaper, it portends greater risks to the health. Deep fat frying is the most common and conventional method of frying foods, employed in homes, restaurants, and food industry in Nigeria. Oils, sometimes unhygienic, are used in frying, some are recycled which leads to trans-fat after turning into hydrogenated oil. It is efficient and a widely used method because of its rapidity and mainly, the supply of its unique sensory characteristics which is more appealing and generally acceptable by the population.

What is Air frying?
Air frying is becoming popular and acceptable globally. Nigerians are embracing this method, commonly for private use. Hopefully, air fryers will be produced in bigger capacity fit enough to provide foods for larger crowd.

Deep versus Air frying: Health benefits
Air frying is healthier than deep fat frying foods. It cuts calories by 70% to 80% and has lesser fatty properties. This cooking method might also cut down on some other harmful effects of oil frying. It is healthier most especially when the amount of cholesterol food breaks down.

Economical advantage
The amount of electricity that an air fryer consumes is relatively low. This is in comparison to the traditional oven, deep fryer, and microwave. Low-income households might not be able to afford cooking with an air fryer because a 6l of air fryer costs not less than N35, 000 in the open market and, although, lack of adequate power supply could hinder the process. Air fryers are time-efficient, it saves time and could help in getting food ready without getting hurt.

Meanwhile, for deep fat frying, gas, kerosene, and firewood are required with extra human effort. It takes longer period for foods to be ready and mostly unfriendly to the atmosphere due to the emission of smoke. Splashing of oil and spillage is also a health risk and power supply is not needed to prepare foods.

Studies have shown that products resulting from oils heated for long periods under extreme temperature contains polar compounds such as polymer, dimers, free fatty acids, and acrylamide which leads to metabolic changes, mal absorption of essential fat and development of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Government
There is already in place, the Fats and Oils Regulation 2020 awaiting passage into law. When it becomes law, it will help Nigerians and manufacturers to act right on approved guidelines on foods to avoid the consumption of food containing trans-fat.

What Experts Say?
Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi recently said, “The government needs to fast track the passage of Fats and Oils regulations which will help in regulating the type of oils released to the market. The onus is on the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC to save Nigerians from avoidable death and health-wise disaster plaguing them from the consumption of foods containing Trans-Fat foods, which has led many to cardiovascular illnesses.”

Also, government needs to improve the economic status of citizens because poverty is one of the major causes of trans-fat. It is easier to recycle used oil by low-income household – it will be difficult to dispose used oil in a situation where there are no financial abilities to procure fresh oil.
Lekan Ola, a Nigerian journalist, said, “we do not throw oil away in my house. Whenever my wife fry plantain, she will keep the oil to fry plantain the next time, sometimes the children use the oil fry potato chips.”
This is a typical mentality and practise of many Nigerian homes. However, the air frying technology seems as one that has come to stay as the current context of changing eating habits in the society today calls for attention and constant monitoring, mainly by the food industry.
Since there is no evidence of preventing the use of frying to prepare meals, air frying seems a healthier choice compared to deep fat frying. It preserves the nutrients of foods and may also help in weight management.

Aderonke Ogunleye-Bello

The recently held FCT Area Councils elections is an end of an era. It is a new dawn with the new Electoral Act, but serious work must go into it.
These were the thoughts of the leadership of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room during the review meeting of the Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections and a strategy discourse for the forthcoming off-cycles elections in Ekiti State held at Rockview Hotel, Abuja on 28th March 2022.

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa CAPPA along with other civil society organizations attended the event to enrich the discourse. In her opening remark and introduction, the convener of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Eni Obi highlighted the significance of the meeting and called for honest feedback from participants on the lessons garnered from the FCT elections with a view to improving the elections in Ekiti and Osun States. Eni reiterated the roles of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC in creating a balanced electoral space but warned that only facts and not fiction or insinuations will provide the needed drive and direction for INEC.

In her welcome speech, Agianpe Onyema of Policy and Legal Advocacy Center who also doubles as the secretariat for the situation room said no time could be more perfect than now to have a round table and honest discussion on the recently held elections and the forthcoming elections in the light of looming realities and the likely opportunities of our legislations. She posited that before the enemies of democracy take over the electoral space, members of the situation room should have their firm and unanimous position.

Speaking on the report of the FCT elections, Eni Obi said only fourteen of the eighteen registered political parties fielded candidates for the elections, while seventy-four vacant positions, comprising six Chairmanship, six vice Chairmanship, sixty-two Counsellorship positions were contested by four hundred and seventy-five candidates. She added that across the six Area Councils of Abaji, Abuja Municipal (AMAC), Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje, and Kwali, one million, three hundred and seventy-three thousand, four hundred and nighty two voters are registered.

While decrying poor turnout and urban reluctance in the electoral space, Eni said both state and non-state actors will have to wake up and spur the interests of Nigerians to participate more in the electoral process by deepening social trust and other parameters of good governance.

The co-convener of the Situation Room Ugochukwu James Okpe had stated that there was widespread malfunctioning of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), a situation that caused the delay in voters’ accreditation in some polling units. He affirmed vote-buying and absolute disregard for priority voting and the use of assistive materials for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups as captured and provided for in the Electoral Act.

Ogunlade Olamide Martins who represented CAPPA noted that ‘‘the new Electoral Act provides a vista of opportunity to re-write our electoral narrative and deliver good governance to Nigeria’’ According to him, Ekiti and Osun off-cycle elections is a litmus test to measure the efficacy of our laws and the preparedness of the users and beneficiaries. He mentioned the potential gains of improved public sector governance to Nigerians and called for a proactive response from our election management body INEC.

Earlier, Ogunlade called on INEC to immediately carry out an audit of polling units in the two states to ascertain the level of preparedness or otherwise. He said such an audit will aid proper planning and lighten election day logistics. Also, he requested that INEC invest more heavily in mass sensitization and make clear its procedures for allotting voters to the newly created polling units in the two states. He acknowledged the supposed significance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) but called for simplification in its use and sustained capacity building for its handlers ahead of the elections in the two states. The roles of the media in shaping narratives must be leveraged according to him, he expressed CAPPA’s settled readiness to train selected journalists on the Electoral Act for balanced election covering and reportage.

Meanwhile, the organizations that attended the event jointly drafted the Strategic Action Plans for the two states, and they are mandated to share the plans with other stakeholders in the electoral space to ensure harmonized interventions and deepened engagements. Participants were urged to remain apolitical, steadfast, and committed to electoral reforms.

It can't be fair if the process is not fair. The end and the means must be justified

SocialJustice:
Either way self I don't care but it is wrong to hold others to standards you can't take.

If political appointees should resign to contest, then everyone in government should too. Then the law becomes fair else it is stupid and should be thrown out by any means.

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has advised the Nigerian government and politicians to eschew utterances and conduct likely to undermine the success of the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

CAPPA gave the advice in a statement issued in Lagos, following the brewing tension in the polity orchestrated by the ruling of Justice Evelyn Anyadike at a Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State nullifying Section 84 (12) of the newly amended Electoral Act 2022, which prohibits political appointees at any level from either voting or vying at their political parties’ primary elections.

In the statement signed by its Director of Programmes, Philip Jakpor, CAPPA pointed out that as a host of legal luminaries and stakeholders had posited, the judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia Abia State was strange, especially because save for the Attorney General of the Federation, neither the National Assembly which passed the Act nor the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in charge of operationalising the provisions of the Act were included as parties to the suit filed to cancel the provision in view.

The CAPPA statement noted: “We are alarmed at the current administration’s decision to speedily enforce the court’s verdict despite the contentious nature of the issue. We consider this decision to be rash, divisive, and unhelpful in a multiparty democracy.

“In our view, the overall shoddiness of the matter’s presentation in court and the hasty pronouncement of a ruling, including the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami’s readiness to act upon the judgment not only negates the principle of natural justice but is also abuse of state power and violations of due process.”

CAPPA stressed that the controversies and disagreements over the new electoral legislation that is expected to guide the entirety and conduct of the election almost around the corner are a needless distraction, especially for INEC, political parties, and other critical entities that have swung into preparation activities for the election riding on the provisions of the contested Act.

The group expressed fear that unless the controversy surrounding the disputed provision was amicably resolved with the interest of the sustenance of Nigeria’s democracy at the heart of all parties to the dispute, there was the likelihood that the forthcoming general elections could be entrapped in legal quagmires that may lead to a disruption of key electoral processes or worse, the disputation of the outcomes of party conventions and electoral results.

“The likely prospect of a broken election will not be in the interest of Nigeria. We, therefore, urge Nigerian leaders and ruling class to put their differences aside, learn from the resurgence of coups and political instabilities in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso and refrain from conducts that are likely to truncate our fledgling democracy.

“Nigeria’s democracy is a product of the sacrifices and struggles of citizens from all walks of life including pro-democracy activists, workers, and students. Political leaders should not sacrifice Nigeria’s democracy for their individual and party interests. Even more, the forthcoming general elections in Nigeria offer opportunities for the country to deepen both political and social inclusion inspired by the innovative electoral legislation.

“The success of this election will not only portend a great significance for Nigeria but also the entirety of Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Therefore, a greater sense of responsibility, decorum, and tolerance is expected from Nigeria’s political class as the country prepares for its elections, especially after all the investment, work, and time committed to producing the highly progressive Electoral Act 2022.”


By Valentine Amanze

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged the Federal Ministry of Health, law enforcement agencies and all relevant stakeholders to intensify enforcement of the graphic health warnings on tobacco products in the country.

Addressing reporters on Wednesday in Abuja, the Executive Director, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, said that not much progress has been recorded in the implementation of the Tobacco Control Law to the detriment of the nation’s well being, especially of the youths.


Oluwafemi, who briefed reporters in company of Technical Resource Officer, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Michael Olaniyan; Nigerian Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) Project Officer, Nwokorie Chibuikem; and Sub-Regional Coordinator for West Africa, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Mrs. Hilda Ochefu, also emphasized on the need for taking the campaign and enforcement beyond Abuja and Lagos to the remaining 35 states of the federation.

According to him, the Ministry of Health, Police, Nigeria Securities and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other relevant security agencies to intensify enforcement of the regulation.

The coalition said recent research carried out by the NTCA revealed that the level of non-compliance is high as 95 percent for dealers on snuff and other allied tobacco products, have not complied with the regulation at all, while 40 percent non-compliance was recorded on cigarettes.

“The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) enforcement of the graphic health warnings policy is commendable but with only Abuja and Lagos visited out of Nigeria’s 36 states, the exercise is still limited and should be simultaneous in other states of the federation.

“Tobacco manufacturers who do not comply with the new directive on Graphic Health Warnings should be sanctioned as stated in Section 24 (2) of the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015. They should also be compelled to recall all products without the graphic health warnings still with retailers and replace them with products that are with graphic health warnings on them.

“There is a need for sustained awareness creation and sensitization of retailers and wholesalers on the new policy and its effect on public health. There is a need for continued education and inter-agency collaboration on enforcement of the policy. The FCCPC has been at the fore of enforcement thus far.

“Other agencies of government like Standards Organization of Nigeria and others in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health must also play their statutory roles in the enforcement of this lifesaving policy” Oluwafemi said.

Other members of the coalition said that the policy was to commence on June 23rd, 2021, but unfortunately did not commence until November 23, 2021.

They said even at that, the first enforcement exercise did not happen until December 8, 2021.

“By virtue of the policy, graphic health warnings must henceforth be on the packs of tobacco products and must cover at least 50 percent of the front and back of the tobacco product package.

“A text-only health warning must also be displayed on one of the lateral sides of the package. For cigarette cartons, text-only warnings are required to cover 50 percent of the front and back surfaces. The size of the warnings will be rotated at least every 24 months and will be increased to 60 percent in June 2024.

“The new requirement replaces the former warning, which only required manufacturers to inscribe the message: “The Federal Ministry of Health warns that smokers are liable to die young.

“It is important to note that graphic health warnings were recommended by the World Health Organization under its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which Nigeria signed and ratified in 2004 and 2005 respectively,” they said.

Non-Governmental Organisation, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called on the Federal Government to intensify the enforcement of Graphic Health Warning policy on tobacco packs sold throughout Nigeria.

CAPPA made the call at a briefing in Abuja which also had representatives of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) in attendance.

Though statutorily, the Graphic Health Warning policy was supposed to kick-off on June 23, 2021, the Federal Government failed to commence enforcement till December 8, 2021, when the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) carried out the first enforcement exercise in Abuja. The second enforcement exercise was carried out in Lagos on March 2, 2022.

Speaking at the media briefing in Abuja, Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi said, ‘To complement the federal government’s monitoring exercise, our team conducted monitoring exercises in 13 states of the federation between September 2021 and March 2022, targeting shopping malls and open markets and we were able to confirm reports that the tobacco industry had saturated the markets with the products without the new warnings to weaken enforcement by the government. The level of awareness about the policy is still low.’

Making demands to the Federal Government on adequate enforcement, Oluwafemi, on behalf of the alliance demanded that, ‘Enforcement should be carried out in other states, as the exercise is still limited and should be simultaneous in other states of the federation. Tobacco manufacturers who do not comply with the new directive on Graphic Health Warnings should be sanctioned as stated in Section 24 (2) of the National Tobacco Control Act, 2015. Need for sustained awareness creation and sensitization of retailers and wholesalers on the new policy and its effect on public health. Need for continued education and inter-agency collaboration on enforcement of the policy,” he concluded.

Project officer of the NTCA, Chibuike Nwokorie said that tobacco packs without the required pictures and warnings are still sold in the open market in most of the states the team visited. He particularly noted the absence of the warnings on snuff and other tobacco products that the policy also covers.

Nwokorie praised the FCCPC for its activities thus far, even as he stressed the need for other agencies such as the police and the Nigeria Customs to lay their roles since they were also listed as enforcers of the policy.

In her intervention, Sub-regional coordinator, West Africa, Campaign for Tobacco-Free kids (CTFK), Mrs Hilda Uchefo commended the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and advised them to create more awareness and carry out enforcement, “We are very glad that there have been some forms of enforcement of graphics warnings and we are aware that FCCPC has done some awareness in 2021 and 2022, we will like to urge them to go to other states and do some enforcement.

She continued, “Nigeria is big and it’s important for agencies to go out, raise awareness and carry out enforcements while Civil Society Organizations will continue to monitor on our own part and share our outcomes with relevant agencies.

Who gives a hoot what a convict thinks of a result of a judicial process that is right?

We can't say this for sure.

salford1:
it was a protest vote. Same is going to happen all over the SW except lagos.

It brings joy that people can vote for personality rather than platforms

Lincoln275:
hmmm! people vote Ademola not pdp

Definitely. This is the true essence of democracy.

nwamehn:
Na so. Incumbency isn't any guarantee it's also evident from what happened in Ondo state months ago.

The battle for the Osun West senatorial seat has come and gone. It was an intense battle, to say the least, from events that led to the vacancy, the electioneering processes and all, the battle was surely, one that we will continue to talk about in our politicosphere.

Like every event, it was not without its lessons. Lessons that students of politics, history and probably sociology and psychology must take note of. These lessons, if well managed can be principles at some other times. Interestingly, people seem not to learn, or, they pretend things are going right, when of course, they are going wrong.

The vacancy was not due to litigation or election fraud, it was due to natural cause (death) which some people still believe wasn’t natural. The outcome of the election can’t be separated from the death of Serubawon, the way Mr Aregbesola has been handling matters of the party and what the people of Osun West (by extension, people of Osun State) truly feel.

Every Public Interest is Overridden by Personal Interest
When Nigerian politicians want to make a case for cross carpeting, they always tell us “behind every private interest, there is an overriding public interest”. Through this, the Nigerian politician explains that even when he jumps from a sinking ship, he’s latching to the sail of another so he can have a platform to serve his people. Whereas, in reality, the idea is twisted. The first lesson from Osun West by election clearly showed that all public interest is just a veil for the overriding self-serving interest of the politician.
The selfish interest of a few, in both camps, shaped the outcome of the result. Drawing from the events leading to Serubawon’s death, the handling of his autopsy, the perceived mockery and assault on the family by the state government did set the stage for a battle of egos. Just like I commented days before the election, the election wasn’t between Hussain and the younger Adeleke, it was beyond that. It was way above the pay grades of the candidates. While the Adelekes felt they have been dealt a blow they will never recover from, the Abere lord feels his blessing was necessary.

This has been the way Mr Governor goes about things with his various political groups. These groups are the ones the people of Osun refer to as 'Ajele', 'Tokunbo', 'Aloku Eko' and all names that suggest that Osun is under occupation. This irks the people and Serubawon was the hope for an Osun they have stakes in – the Adelekes were their ideal home based leaders, beyond the senatorial district. Going to the election, the battle was about connected to the people.

Of the claim of whose interest either party were fighting for, sons and daughters of Ede believe that it’s not out of place to compensate their loss with an easy ride back to the senate, yet they lamented that the people of Ejigbo have the most of political offices in the zone.

Don't Ignore What the gods are Saying
As the day drew closer, the people began to voice their opinions, they chanted the name of who they wanted to send to the senate and why. After all, vox populi vox dei. However, in Osun West, there are gods, demigods and God. This made it hard to decipher which of the gods the voice of the people represented.

From various platforms, various voices sprouted, with everyone redefining the messages to suit their purposes and paymasters. The true desire of the people was brazenly trumped at the APC screening and this irked the people more. You disqualified a candidate and reversed it within hours without saying whether the basis for disqualification changed. They remained resolute and took their fate in their hands, the people were the real gods.

Co-Travelers Only
The result of the screening was just an icing on various acts which have been displayed in order to discredit Jackson. It was as petty as saying he was not named Nurudeen and that he was pretending to be a Muslim because of his senatorial bid. This claim was not impossible, knowing what Nigerian politicians are capable of, but it was a direct attack on someone who belonged to your party. Although the state secretary of the APC had claimed on a radio programme that Ademola Adeleke wasn’t a member of the APC. This is a guy who ran the show alongside his late brother when the incumbent sought re-election. Surely, there’s no brotherhood or ideological clan in this politics, just co-travelers whose interest you protect when it doesn’t clash with yours.

Politics is Dynamic
The dynamism in evolution ensures that the needs of man changes with time and circumstances. This, I believe, should be the greatest lesson from this outcome. The over 31,000 votes’ margin is not just a representation of the love for Serubawon but a show of the crack in a relationship that was rock solid few months ago.

Voting pattern changes with events, people and especially perception which is chiefly formed by the former. It beats my imagination when people promises victory at the polls using results from 6 years ago and perceived strength of a general without considering the yearnings of the people. Election sponsors forget totally that not more than 10% of electorates participate in party politics. Others take their decision based on performance, “news from abroad” and decisions from “small beer parlour talks”.

Politics is dynamic and this is the only thing that can ensure political office holders who see themselves as invincible can actually be brought back to their reality.

Again, as confirmed in various elections across the country, it drives home the message that incumbency isn’t a guarantee and that nothing can trump the true desire of the people. People can choose, regardless of platform, who they believe is right for them.
The state governor who rendered party apparatus useless in the state through his many imported groups lost the chance to reconcile aggrieved party leaders, former political office holders and all stakeholders who felt cheated, used and maligned.


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AATSarumi.com is my blog. It focuses on leadership development in youth and political commentary

It is quite unfortunate that the federal government and the international community has overtime remain unpertubed by the treatment of Nigerians by the chinese govt. The fight of enactus eksu is not just to raise the flag of Nigeria at the annual enactus world cup but to celebrate the victory of our dear country against this deadly scourge and also to move away from the shackles of discrimination and inhumane treatment of Nigerians in China.
It is must be said without mincing words that if Nigerians had 'protested' the ill treatment of our paralympics team earlier this year, the clear message would have sunk in.
In your own individual way(s) across every available platform, join us to say no to injustice in the form of maltreatment and partial segregation. Sound the alarm and raise your voice to say #NGIsEbolaFree.

Abayomi Sarumi
EnactusEKSU scribe

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@amlos, av u gotten d scratch card

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