Still on Ogogoro: Angel of death or Goldmine?

While the economic potential of Nigeria’s local, Ogogoro, is undermined, its Russian version, Vodka, is celebrated.  This is in spite of the fact that the two drinks have the same taste.  While Ogogoro drinkers are rated lowly, ridiculed and maligned as the dregs of the society, Vodka, on the other hand, is seen as an elitist drink; it is displayed in supermarkets. Ogogoro on the other hand remained a street drink. This drink like its palm wine counterparts is a complete Nigerian alcohol with different names in different communities; it is called Sapele water, Shepke, Kparaga, Kai-kai, Push-me-I-push-you, Crim-kena, Akpuru achia, amongs.  

Private sector distillers ought to ask their chemical engineers to see how Ogogoro could be refined to the level of the Scottish Whiskey in other to make it competitive in the global markets where different drinks produced by different countries find their niche just like Spain, Italy and their notable wines. The enabling environment given in these countries for the alcohol industries provided the springboard which catapulted these brands into international prominence.

We should also not forget the role their regulatory institutions play. These countries have strong institutions that monitor the food and beverages. Have our regulatory institutions failed us? 

Ogogoro should be a gold mine and not an angel of death. Banning it is a whimsical reaction not a sensible thing to do unless it is a temporary measure that would give the authorities some time to get their acts together. Nigeria must learn how to make it better and safer for public consumption. The nation must brand, package and market the product so that it can earn the needed foreign exchange and contribute to the economic development of the nation thereby creating more jobs for the teeming population of unemployed young Nigerians. What really is the difference between Ogogoro and Schnapps?

 

SHOULD HOMOSEXUALS BE ALLOWED TO MARRY?

SHOULD HOMOSEXUALS BE ALLOWED TO MARRY? 

 

 One of the most prominent headlines in international news recently is the United States Supreme Court judgement on gay marriage. The gay rights issue has generated a lot of controversy around the world. Some countries support the move while others antagonise it as an abnormal act. According to many sources, the decision of the US supreme court to allow gay marriage is the most astonishing move in recent times. The historic Judgement which proclaims that gay like every human being has every rights to be happy has raised many voices for and against the subject.  The US president Barack Obama congratulated the gay community in America saying the ruling has changed the country.  

According to Shima Gyoh Professor at Benue State University,  ''Homosexuality is just the way the brains of some people mature with inverted sexual orientation, when men feel sexual attraction to other men, and women to other women. Family and environmental circumstances have very little if any influence on this phenomenon. It is one of the naturally occurring variations in nature. The fact is that the people affected cannot change their sexual orientation, just like you cannot change your height no matter how hard you tried.
For a long time, it used to be thought it was a crime, and laws were made to punish the people affected, but about 60 years ago, knowledge of human development made the enlightened world realise that it was a frequent variation in nature. Even the medical world at first thought it was a mental disease and methods of treatment, called abreaction were painful and nasty at...tempts to “cure” the affected people were applied. The medical world soon realised that no amount of torture could change this deep-seated nature, which happens to be the way some people are.  Outlawing homosexuality is equivalent to passing a law that being shorter than 5 feet is now a crime! It amounts to condemning some people to a life of suffering for being who they are. It is an unjust discrimination, which no enlightened or kind person should tolerate, no matter how squirmy they feel about it. Speaking further, the professor said, ''I have conducted an unsuccessful campaign to stop the legislation against homosexuality in Nigeria.''

 

Homosexuality is a taboo in Nigerian culture. It is widely believed that people cultivate the behaviour out of curiosity or experimentation. The questions are: Are homosexuals born that way or do they become that way? Is the condition a disease? Is it right to criminalise homosexuality in Nigeria as it was done under the administration of President Goodlcuk Jonathan? 

The Health Dangers of Imported Frozen Chickens in Nigeria

The Health Dangers of Imported Frozen Chickens in Nigeria

 

The National President, Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Dr. Ayoola Oduntan at a workshop on “the Economic and Health Implications of Smuggled Poultry Product,” said imported frozen chicken are very dangerous for human consumption. According to him, while locally-farmed poultry meat is sold without any preservatives, the smuggled poultry meat is preserved with hazardous chemicals. “Formalin load in all smuggled poultry products ranges from 42.9 to 63.3ml/kg, according to a survey. Improperly imported poultry products pose grave dangers to consumers, handlers and environment. The break in cold chains during smuggling encourages a build-up of high microbial load, rendering such consignments unhealthy and unfit for human consumption.” He said locally produced chickens are safe for consumption, as they are locally-farmed and sold without any  preservatives unlike the smuggled poultry meat which is preserved with hazardous chemicals that portend serious danger to the consumers as some of the chemicals are known to be carcinogenic.
 Only recently, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development warned Nigerians involved in the smuggling of frozen chicken to desist from doing so as it could bring back the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD. The warning was issued by the Federal Department of Animal Production and Husbandry Services. The department noted that smuggled poultry products had continued to find their way into local markets through several land borders despite a ban on them.  It quoted the USAID Agricultural Information Network as reporting that 90 per cent of frozen chicken come in through Benin Republic and other West African countries.

Most Dangeous drugs in Nigeria

 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has declared that the most dangerous drugs circulated in the country are produced in Anambra State.

The state NDLEA Commander, Mr. Sule Momodu, who made the declaration on Saturday at the Women’s Development Centre in Awka to mark the 2015 United Nations Day against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, identified one of the dangerous drugs produced in the state as methamphetamine

Momodu expressed worry over the increasing production of illicit drugs, abuse and trafficking in the state and called for a concerted effort to stop the development.

He disclosed that the anti-drug abuse and trafficking agency arrested at least 122 drug suspects between January and June this year. While 114 of them were men, eight were women.

A total of 110.624kg of illicit drug, he said, was seized during the period under review with cannabis sativa known as marijuana topping with 107.26kg.

Other seizures were cocaine, 138.2 grammes, heroine, 100.54grammes, liquid methamphetamine 2.615kg and solid methamphetamine 510 grammes.

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The NDLEA commander said the agency also arraigned 22 suspects during the period, out of which eight convictions were obtained while 28 fresh cases were filed.

He expressed optimism that the agency would fight drug abuse and trafficking in the state, asking stakeholders to join hands in the campaign against drug abuse.

NIGERIAN PROSTITUTES CRY OUT FOR RECOGNITION

A female prostitute, Patoo Abraham has led protests in Lagos to seek a better lot for prostitutes in Nigeria.
The 48-year-old is seeking to ensure that prostitution is legalized in Nigeria and that sex workers be protected and respected.

The mother-of-two, who heads the Nigerian chapter of African Sex Workers Alliance (ASWA) and the Women of Power Initiative (WOPI) , led protests with the demonstrators wearing T-shirts screaming “Sex work is work, we need our rights”.
“We are tired of dying in silence; we want to be able to practice our profession with pride like every other person. We want an end to name-calling and stigmatisation. We are sex workers and not asawo [a derogatory Yoruba name for prostitutes]”, She told Aljazeera.
“Sex work is normal work and there are sex workers everywhere under one form of disguise or the other. The government should stop criminalising our work”, she further said.
Patoo also stated that she is proud of her profession as it is not different from any other trade.