A little update

Sorry, I've been quite busy, this year has been really hectic so pardon me. I am currently preparing my application to pharmacy school to start my doctorate in pharmacy. Its been a really long journey, but it is almost down to the wire. These days, i am taking classes, doing volunteer work and preparing for the almighty PCAT.

I wouldn't say i am a competitive person, but i do like to be good at what i do, so i am doing my best. I figured i would tell you why i chose this course of study, maybe you could get into my mind a little more...muahaha...no, i am telling you, so no evil laugh.

I think the Nigeria Healthcare system is in a state of despair, really horrible, i think that good healthcare should be accessible to every Nigerian, and i know we have capable doctors, nurses etc, i just don't see the pharmacists, actually i have met only 2 pharmacists. How many have you met? The two pharmacists i have met owned pharmacies...

I want to be a clinical pharmacist, i believe that most Nigerians just take drugs by hearsay, "oh, you have a fever, ah, the last time i had a fever, i took Fansidar" and then you take a Fansidar, without considering any allergic reaction you might have to the drug, or the possibly negative interactions Fansidar might have with any other drug you are currently taking. We don't have many doctors, most of the doctors who train outside Nigeria do not want to come back, and i understand, after all that training, you don't exactly want to come back to a messed up system where there is no electricity or you wont be compensated very well.

Right now my heart is set on two things, to become a clinical pharmacist and specialize in Infectious diseases or Oncology (study of cancer) and to also become a regulatory pharmacist later and help with the policy making in Nigeria, with regards to drugs, the availability of drugs, who can sell drugs, who can manufacture drugs, who can prescribe drugs and the various standards we should hold all these people to.

I remember when people were dying because of all the fake drugs in Nigeria, and we kept seeing those ads, "blah blah, don't buy fake drugs". I always wondered how fake drugs got into the market. Who sells drugs? People who do not even have an education for petes sake, you go into Aba and there are people with shops selling drugs, no that is not acceptable, this isn't like selling shoes or clothes, these are drugs that will be ingested by the Nigerian public. It isn't too much to ask that they at least have a background in biology or chemistry.

Personally i feel like we should have 2 year programs that would grant a person a  "pharmacy technician" license, so that they at least have some knowledge of drugs and can be in a pharmacy with a retail pharmacist. It is completely fine by me, if a business man wants to open a pharmacy chain, however than business man has no business selling the drugs or even being there. (pun intended)

Oh wow, i digressed. Haha, anyway, this is what i am working towards, but, i go to school in the states for now, and i always have doubts too, i have more opportunities here, but i have always felt that i was put on earth to do something bigger. As we all know, and should know, no one else can make Nigeria better but its citizens.

I will probably document my journey through pharmacy school here, we'll see...i need your prayers though. Please pray for me, so i can get accepted. :)
Have a lovely day guys :)

To build or to Maintain?

Lately i've been reading about governors, government officials and other important political figures talking about building more schools, hospitals, universities etc. This is a harmless idea: build more infrastructure. So what is my beef then, you ask? I'll tell you, because that is why I am writing this.

The problem we have in Nigeria is not a lack of infrastructure as much as it is a lack of maintainance of pre-existing infrastructure. Every where you look in Nigeria there are buildings that were once brand new, but now look like crackhouses you can find in a gritty American drama. And then right across from it you see a new building going up to replace the dilapidated one. I can't be the only one noticing this...

Alright just to make this much more tangible and real lets talk figures. We are Nigerians, we respond to Ego, Kwudi, Owo...

Say the cost of building and furnishing a new primary school is 15 million naira and and out of that 15 million, 5 million is used for the actual furnishing, we could build a new school......or we could go to the Federal Government Primary School, repaint and refurnish it... buy desks, computers, equip the labs and library with much needed materials. Lets say that costs 7 million, then we woould have not only succeeded in saving money but we have also improved the learning environment for lots of young children, rather than build one on a whim.

We can increase the pay for teachers and make them more enthusiastic about their work by improving the work environment and access to teaching materials, this will reflect in the way that they perform and ultimately in the way that the kids learn.

I am a firm believer in the philosophy that if the workplace is comfortable and inspiring, then productivity will be high. I am not saying that we should build palaces for Nigerian students, I am saying that we should improve the infrastructure we already have, improve the work environment and pay for teachers, and ultimately improve the quality of education that Nigerian kids are receiving. 

The future is bright for Nigeria but we have to make sure we light that fire when these kids are young and make sure it doesn't die from dissapointment.

I guess what I am saying is, why cook a new pot of rice when you have already cooked rice in the fridge? Just bring it out warm it up add stew and it is still rice.... I'm rambling. But you get what I mean. Let us maintain the infrastructure we already have instead of building new ones.

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Election Results so far .... *will be updated as i get more info*

Out of 111 constituencies declared, PDP has won 53 (48%), CPC 11 (10%), ACN 36 (32%), ANPP 8 (7%), APGA 2 (2%).

NASS ELECTION RESULT

There have been conflicting results of the elections but, i will try and bring them to you and update you by the minute as it changes as much as i can...

ABIA STATE

Abia South  -  PDP  -   Enyinnaya Abaribe

Abia North -  PDP - Uche Chukwumerije

Abia Central  - PDP  - Nkechi Nwaogu

ADAMAWA STATE 

Adamawa South  - PDP -  Ahmed Hassan Barat

Adamaw North  - PDP  -  Bindawa Jibrilla  

ANAMBRA STATE

Anambra South  -PDP - Andy Ubah

Anambra North -  PDP  - Prince John Emeka

BAUCHI STATE

Bauchi North Sen - PDP 

EBONYI STATE

Ebonyi North  - PDP - Christopher Chukwuma

EDO STATE

Edo North -   ACN -  Domingo Alaba Obende

Edo Central  -  ACN -  Ehigie Uzamere

Edo South  - PDP  -  Odion Ugbesia

GOMBE STATE

Gombe Central   - PDP - Mohammed Danjuma Goje

ONDO STATE

Ondo North - LP - Robert Ajayi Boroffice

Ondo South – LP -  Kunlere Boluwaji

BENUE STATE

Benue North west  -  PDP   - Bernabas Gemade

Benue South -  PDP -  David Mark

LAGOS STATE

Lagos Central  -  ACN  Oluremi  Tinubu

Lagos East -   ACN -  Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa

Lagos West - ACN - Ganiyu Solomon

House of Representatives:

Hon Dayo Bush Alebiosu, ACN

Mrs Jumoke Abidemi Okoya-Thoma ACN

OGUN STATE

Ogun Central     ACN Gbenga Obadara

Ogun East        ACN  Adegbenga Kaka

Ogun West    ACN   Akin Odunsi

OSUN STATE

Osun Central     ACN Olusola Adeyeye

Osun East    ACN Omoworare Babajide Christopher

Osun West     ACN Mudashiru Oyetunde

OYO STATE

Oyo Central - Ayoade Adeseun  - ACN

Oyo South – ACN -  Olufemi Lanlehin

Oyo North Senatorial seat - AGBOLA HOSEA AYOOLA - PDP 

ENUGU

Senate

Enugu East Hon. Gilbert Nnaji, PDP

Enugu North   Senator Ayogu Eze, PDP

Enugu West Senator Ike Ekweremadu, PDP

House of Representatives seats

Hon. Ofor Chukwuegbo, PDP  

Amb. Kingsley Ebenyi, PDP 

Hon. Patrick Asadu, PDP

Bar. Tobias Okechukwu, PDP

Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, PDP 

Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, PDP 

Hon. Peace Nnaji, PDP 

Mrs. Stella Ngwu, PDP

KWARA

Senate

Kwara Central  Dr. Bukola Saraki, PDP 

Kwara North Alhaji Muhammed Shaaba Lafiaji, PDP

Kwara South Senator Simeon Ajibola, PDP

House of Representatives

Dr. Ali Ahmad, PDP

Alhaji Moshood Mustapha, PDP

Alhaji  Zakari Muahmmed, PDP 

Hon. Ahman Pategi, PDP

Dr. Rafiu Ibrahim, PDP

IMO

Senate

Kema Chikwe  PDP *** Not sure about this, there has been reports that she lost***

Senator Osita Izunaso PDP

Matthew Ifeanyi Nwagwu  PDP

House of Reps

Mbaitoli/Ikeduru, PDP

Ideato North and South, PDP

Isu, Njaba/Nkwere/Nwangele, PDP

Oru West/Oguta/Ohaji, PDP

NASARAWA

Senate

Solomon Ewuga, CPC 

Senator Suleiman Adokwe, PDP, Nasarawa South

House of Reps

Dr. Joseph Kigbu, PDP 

Idris Yahuza,  CPC

SOKOTO

House of Reps

Alhaji Saadu Nabunkari, PDP

Umar Muhammed Bature, PDP

Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammadu Wamakko, PDP

Aminu Shehu Shagari, PDP

Alhaji Isa Saliu Bashar, PDP,

Alhaji Kabir Marafa Achida, PDP,

PLATEAU

House of Reps

Bitrus Kaze, PDP

Mrs. Beni Lar, PDP

Simon Mwankon, PDP

Aminu Jonathan Punwet, PDP

Innocent Tisel, PDP

Idris Ahmed, ACN

FCT, ABUJA

Senate

Hon. Philip Aduda, PDP

Musa Abari, CPC

House of Reps

Isah Egah Dobi, PDP

Zephaniah Jisallo PDP

AKWA IBOM

Senate

Mrs. Helen Esuene, South South PDP

Alloysius Etuk North west PDP

KEBBI

Senate

Kebbi North Isa Galaudu    PDP

Adamawa

Senate

PDP won all 3 senatorial seats

Katsina

CPC won all 3 Senatorial Seats

Celebrity Endorsments and Politics

Some days back, a video titled "Nollywood for Johnathan" was released on YouTube, the video had what i'd like to consider our "National Jewels" Olu Jacobs, Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Noah, Stephanie Okereke, Desmond Elliott, Monalisa Chinda & Ini Edo. These people are the heavyweights of Nollywood, so much so that the video didn't need to introduce them. There has been some uproar regarding the ethics of public figures endorsing candidates in a campaign, i'd like to put out an opinion that i see lacking out there. So lets talk shall we... I'll talk you listen. Yeah!

A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. The core purpose of a political campaign is to influence decision making, notice the word influence, not actually make the decision for you. As i read the comments, tweets, and FB posts about this campaign i wonder if anyone is actually thinking critically about this... if there are people taking away all sentiment from this video and looking at the impact and sheer brilliance of this video actually. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but stay with me...


The video doesn't introduce any of the celebrities, the assumption they make is that these people are so popular that they need not be introduced. Goodluck Johnathan's picture is never shown, just his name, again the assumption that anyone who sees this video obviously knows who he is, and yeah that was a brilliant, albeit condescending assumption. Now lets look at who is in the video: Genevieve Nnaji, Stephanie Okereke, Monalisa Chinda, Ini Edo, Olu Jacobs, Ramsey Noah and Desmond Elliott. These are some of the biggest names in Nollywood, if you do not know all of them, you at least know some or one of them. Clearly the purpose of the video is to persuade people to vote for Goodluck Johnathan.

I don't get why people are angry at this... Every time, in every political campaign or even social movements people use public figures to gain access to a larger audience in order to persuade them to support their goals. They didnt use just any actor, these actors are people a large percentage of the Nigerian public trusts and respect. This is a smart campaign, you are using people with high credibility to make Goodluck more credible.

The general theme in all the comments i have read is; They were paid for it, they sold out etc... blah blah blah. I think it is fair to say that we dont know for sure if they were paid for this. 


Now lets talk ethics. I get that there is a question that needs to be asked, but lets leave all sentiments aside, this is NOT a crime, this is NOT unethical. All of the actors/actresses in that video are not only members of the electorate, they are NOT running for office, and as much as they are public figures, they are also private citizens as well. Politics is messy... it has always been since the beginning of time, it will always be messy.

 The only problem i had with this video was the title of the video. Really guys, i get that these people are some of the big names in Nollywood, but Nollywood is a huge, very huge industry, 7 people cannot possibly be a sample size of the 2nd largest film industry in the world. However, the title i think was supposed to give an illusion...but still that title was grossly misleading.


The problem i have with the people commenting on this video, is that they do not give the Nigerian public credit. Really angry people, you think that Nigerians are dumb, you think that the video will just make everyone go to vote for Goodluck, come on, give us some credit. Yes, there will always be the people who will vote for GEJ just because they saw that video, just like there will be in this country, Muslims who wont vote for a Christian candidate, and Christians who wont vote for a Muslim candidate. Let me Reiterate: THE PURPOSE OF THIS VIDEO IS TO PERSUADE PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR GOODLUCK

Unlike in the States where the political parties are defined by certain principles, in Nigeria, we have to rely on the candidates. For example, Gen. Atiku Abubakar has moved from one party to another in the last four years. In the states, for a Candidate to move from thr Democratic Party to the Republican Party, you will be making a huge leap from the left to the right, from liberal to conservative.  A Democrat is generally more liberal,  while a Republican is generally more conservative. We really can't name a Liberal or Conservative party in Nigeria. We rely on what we know about the candidate and what we hear, we see or the people that come out to endorse them. It is a tactic used for any sort of campaign or Social movement. Do you know how many people registered to vote because Banky W gave asked them to? I don't know but i bet it influenced people to vote. We love Banky W, we enjoy his music, we trust him, so we listen to what he has to say.

Ultimately, the truth, the truth that stares us in the face is this, the purpose of persuasion is to influence beliefs using both verbal and non verbal messages, prepared and presented to various individuals. A person can only be persuaded when they make the deicison to be persuaded. Regardless of the video or whatever campaigns we see, at the end of the day, when you walk in to that booth YOU make your decision on who to vote for all by yourself, in fact no one has to know who you voted for, that the beauty of it! But you do need to vote! You absolutely must vote. 

The celebrities who  publicly endorse candidates have strong convictions about that candidate, and when they do they realize the influence they have on people's thoughts and actions, however it is up to the person to decide what to to do with it. 

PS: This is not about the right candidate or the wrong candidate. This piece is about persuasion and the ethics of it. I am not endorsing any candidate.

The Elections are here!

The reason why Naija will never be like Egypt or Libya is because unlike in these 2 countries where the leaders care about power, our leaders care about money. In a way that is a good thing, we've never really relied on the government for anything, water, security etc. But from tomorrow we have an opportunity to let our voices be heard. It doesn't matter who you vote for, but it does matter that you vote. This country operates on the principle that the government is chosen by the people and for the people, lets make it so. We might not see the changes now, but maybe 20 years from now we will have re-invented what democracy means to the average Nigerian. We are taking a step in the right direction.  Naija o ni baje! R.S.V.P

Thoughts on the Nigerian Presidential Debate

I was lucky to watch the Presidential debate moderated by the very competent Kadaria Ahmed, the woman is flawless, she is quick with comebacks and follow up questions, in fact she made the debate. Congrats to her. 

Like me, lots of Nigerians watched it either on TV in Nigeria and for those in the diaspora we had to tune to Ustream to watch it. As always the debate started an hour late because the candidates arrived an hour late, ah, let’s blame it on African time shall we?  

By far the most disappointing person of the night has to be incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan, many of us were looking forward to watching him debate as he is one of the top, if not the top candidates at the moment. The #whataboutus campaign has invited him for a debate and has not gotten any reply yet, so this was a chance to see what he was made of, and he didn’t show up. Although after watching Dame Patience Goodluck, his wife speak in public he may have made the right decision after all.(too much? hmm)

I am not going to give a summary of the debate, because it was really long, rather I wanted to address the strengths and weakness of the candidates as observed by a 21 year old Nigerian girl watching and taking notes.

Ibrahim Shekarau (Current Governor of Kano State): By far the most eloquent of the night, Shekarau was composed answered his questions without hesitation and impressed me. However given that he has been president of Kano for 8 years and there is nothing to show for it, i had a hard time buying his argument. His responses seemed like a page out of a textbook, carefully formed and pleasing to hear. Also when he was asked why he terminated the polio vaccination in Kano on the grounds that they were plans to make women infertile, his response to the question showed a side of him that was shocking, he responded that he had to put the immunizations on hold to investigate the matter. Polio was not something that originated in Nigeria, lots of countries had successfully wiped out polio using vaccinations before the vaccination came to Nigeria, so putting the program on hold, while children died because of something he couldn’t prove was shocking to me and made me question his ability to make a proper decision that will benefit the people who elected him into office.  In my opinion, Shekarau could have easily won this debate, he was composed and smart, yet his past decisions and failure to bring substantial change to the state of Kano after 8 years as governor brings doubts to my mind.  

Muhammadu Buhari (Former Military President of Nigeria): General Buhari was hands down the most experienced of the 3 candidates, he was a president in the military regime for 2 years and this should have been a relatively easy debate for him given his experience. However, the General simply failed to connect with me and I am sure most of the youth of Nigeria. 70% of people in Nigeria are aged 18-35, making this the largest group in the electorate. General Buhari is 68 years old making him at least 33 years older than 70% of the Nigerian electorate, I simply couldn’t understand him, or connect with the plans he had for Nigeria. I felt that he was still living in the 1970s, coupled with the fact that he was a prominent figure in one of the most repressing times in Nigeria I could not properly give him my full attention or allow him to convince me of his plans to make Nigeria better. A question that stood out to me was when the moderator Kadaria asked him why his kids attended private schools, and his answer, which I am paraphrasing was, there is nothing wrong with sending your kids to private school if you can afford to in a democratic country. The message I got from this reply was that while the public education system in Nigeria is substandard, if you can afford to send your kids to private school, by all means do, this is a democracy. The problem with this response is that while it is gravely elitist, it shows someone who really doesn’t have a plan for the millions of Nigerians who cannot afford to send their children to private schools. I went to a private school, however if the government had a public educational system in place that ensured I would get world class education and be able to compete with students around the world like I am doing today, I am 100% sure my parents and many more parents in Nigeria would have been more than willing to use the money they spent in their children’s education to use somewhere else, maybe to buy fuel to supply power to their homes. I was furious at General Buhari’s response and whatever he said afterwards was a blur to me. In my opinion he failed to connect with me and many young Nigerians who make up 70% of the electorate.

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commision): Ribadu was the least experienced  candidate, he was also very witty and quick but also showed lots of emotion, I cannot count the number of times I wondered if he was going to scream, he barely kept to time, he started answering questions before the moderator finished asking, he continued talking after the bell, at some point he kept talking so much so the moderator had to warn him that he agreed to the rules of the debate. A question that stood out to me was the first question of the debate, when he was asked that, and I am paraphrasing, if he prosecuted Former Lagos Governor Tinubu and said the crime was one on international proportions, isn’t it curious that Tinubu is now a “godfather” of sorts in his capmpaign. Mallam Ribadu was quick to explain that “the crime” was of international proportions, but  he doesn’t sit in judgement of the person. This confused me, and still does, it seems to me that if a person commits a crime, then their character should definitely be questioned. We don’t catch a thief and say, “Well the crime was horrible, but you can still be a part of a campaign for presidency” However, mallam ribadu’s contribution to the reduction of corruption in Nigeria cannot be brushed under a carpet and forgotten. I felt that I conntected to him well, he reminded us he was young, 50 years old and ready to lead, he used personal stories to illustrate his point and appealed to our emotion in doing so. I think that there will be questions about “Tinubu and Ribadu” and I need those answers, the logic behind the argument on his involvement in his campaign was flawed, however witty and funny he was in the debate.

So,who won the debate? I don’t know, why don’t you decide and tell me? For me, I know that I am confused, my mind is not yet made up. Governor Shekarau was a surprisingly good debater, but do we want a president that can debate like a walking text book or do we want a president  that can put those ideas into action. General Buhari is the most experienced candidate, but do we want a president who has lost touch with 70% of the electorate? Mallam Ribadu was vibrant and witty, but for a champion of anti-corrutpion measures how can he justify the “Tinubu connection”.


 At the end of the day it is up to us to choose who is the best candidiate for us, I wrote this piece not to tell you who to vote for but to share my opinion on what I observed.

I look forward to the #whataboutus debate happening on Friday, March 25^th hosted by Naija’s own Jewels: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu.

For more information about the #whataboutus campaign and debate, like the Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/whataboutusnigeria?sk=info or visit the website here: http://whataboutusnigeria.org/

Thank you