The recently launched National Sex Offender Register in Nigeria is a welcome development, considering the fact that ‘one in four women is sexually abused in the country and worse still, before they attain the age of 18,’ as extrapolated from UNICEF. Even at that, this statistics seems a mere tip of the iceberg, as we,…
Bleaching for Beauty
Many dark-skinned people are obsessed with either bleaching or toning their skins with a view to enhancing their beauty despite the obvious dangers of the practice. At 15 she started applying bleaching cream ostensibly to enhance her beauty. For maximum effect, she relied heavily on what she believed to be the more active variety of…
Parasites as ‘Terrorists’: Attacking the Scourge
At the recent 222nd inaugural lecture of the University of Benin, a Professor of Parasitology, Evelyn Uwa Edosomwan x-rays the predisposing factors responsible for parasitic diseases and advocates public health education as panacea to reduce invasion of parasites and their transmission to new hosts The topic was attention-arresting and one that united both town and gown…
Why More Nigerians Are Going Blind-Experts
The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) has warned that more Nigerians would become vulnerable to blinding conditions unless the Federal Government urgently takes a drastic decision. President of the association, Ozy Okonokhua, disclosed to TELL that many people in the country are at risk of going blind, because there is little or no provision for eye…
Plastics Recovery in Open Waters
Could a rethink of basic assumptions turn challenges into opportunities or sources of competitive advantage? One striking feature of the global drive toward sustainable development is the extent to which the agenda has evolved since the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Today, eco-efficiency is central. Worldwide, governments and the private sector are…
Climate Change: Heated Debates and Cold Facts
In 2018 whilst Ghanaian farmers lamented over inadequate rainfall, European weather stations recorded unusually high temperatures. In the same year, although Ghana experienced relatively mild temperatures, there were reports of casualties in the EU – notably the elderly who died from or succumbed to a heatwave. This year, EU weather stations again record sizzling temperatures.…
What Manner of Gathering is Kirchentag?
Is it a church, or a movement? Whatever views are held over the Kirchentag, unequivocally it has helped to promote environmental and social change in Germany, and beyond Kirchentag is a biennial event hosted in early summer. Kirchen and tag are two German words, which when combined translate literally to Churches Day in the English language. From 19-23 June 2019, the city of Dortmund hosted more than 200,000 visitors from about 100 countries attending the 37th…
Suicide and Depression: The Nigerian Context
This topic does not rank in anyone’s top ten favorite topics for pleasant discussion with friends or family. It’s not an easy lift. It gets even heavier when you are personally or even remotely affected. The best we can do at all times is to have a good dose of empathy when discussing this topic.…
Perfidy Shrouded in Respectability
Until the Lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter – Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) In his analysis of Africans, Lord Lugard wrote the following in page 70 of The Dual Mandate by F. D. Lugard, 1926. “In character and temperament, the typical African of this race-type is a happy, thriftless, excitable person.…
Reduce Tax on Sanitary Pads, Expert Tells Govt.
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council has called on the federal government to reduce tax paid on the importation of sanitary pads to promote menstrual health in the country. A Technical Expert on Menstrual Hygiene Management, Dr. Virginia Kamowa, made this call at the ongoing Training of Trainers Workshop on Menstrual Hygiene Management in…
