Paradigm Initiative Nigeria and Microsoft Nigeria are proud to announce The Alternative 2.0, the event that highlights the need for young Nigerians to redirect their energy – from cybercrime – towards positive online opportunities. The event is free and open to all, but you must RSVP through FaceBook or by eMail to info[at]pinigeria.org.

The event holds on Saturday, June 12, 2010 at 10am (Green Carpet reception at 9am) at the Main Auditorium, University of Lagos. Featuring Cobhams Asuquo (producer, ‘Maga No Need Pay’), MI, Rooftop MCs, Modele, Bez, Wordsmith, Kemi Adetiba (director, ‘Maga No Need Pay’ video), Deolu Akinyemi (discussing Alternatives to Cybercrime) and Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (award-winning author, I Do Not Come To You By Chance)!

We will provide updates on MISSPIN activities to date, announce new activities and thank the outgoing MISSPIN Ambassadors, the new Call for MISSPIN Ambassadors will be announced at the event. For more information, see flyers and watch out for the radio and TV adverts or visit www.pinigeria.org.

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Main Auditorium, University of Lagos

By Prof. Jane Plant, PhD, CBE¡ – Why I believe that giving up milk is the key to beating breast cancer…”

I had no alternative but to die or to try to find a cure for myself. I am a scientist – surely there was a rational explanation for this cruel illness that affects one in 12 women in the UK ? I had suffered the loss of one breast, and undergone radiotherapy. I was now receiving painful chemotherapy, and had been seen by some of the country’s most
eminent specialists. But, deep down, I felt certain I was facing death.

I had a loving husband, a beautiful home and two young children to care for. I desperately wanted to live. Fortunately, this desire drove me to unearth the facts, some of which were known only to a handful of scientists at the time. Anyone
who has come into contact with breast cancer will know that certain risk factors – such as increasing age, early onset of womanhood, late onset of menopause and a family history of breast cancer – are completely out of our control. But there are many risk factors, which we can control easily. These “controllable” risk factors readily translate into simple changes that we can all make in our day-to-day lives to help prevent or treat breast cancer. My message is that even
advanced breast cancer can be overcome because I have done it.

The first clue to understanding what was promoting my breast cancer came when my husband Peter, who was also a scientist, arrived back from working in China while I was being plugged in for a chemotherapy session. He had brought with him cards and letters, as well as some amazing herbal suppositories, sent by my friends and science colleagues in China . The suppositories were sent to me as a cure for breast cancer. Despite the awfulness of the situation, we both had a good
belly laugh, and I remember saying that if this was the treatment for breast cancer in China , then it was little wonder that Chinese women avoided getting the disease.Those words echoed in my mind. Why didn’t Chinese women in China get breast cancer? I had collaborated once with Chinese colleagues on a study of links between soil chemistry and disease, and I remembered some of the statistics.

The disease was virtually non-existent throughout the whole country. Only one in 10,000 women in China will die from it, compared to that terrible figure of one in 12 in Britain and the even grimmer average of one in 10 across most Western countries. It is not just a matter of China being a more rural country, with less urban pollution. In highly urbanized Hong Kong ,the rate rises to 3 4 women in every 10,000 but still puts the West to shame. The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have similar rates.. And remember, both cities were attacked with nuclear weapons, so in addition to the usual pollution-related cancers, one would also expect to find some radiation-related cases, too. The conclusion we can
draw from these statistics strikes you with some force. If a Western woman were to move to industrialized, irradiated Hiroshima , she would slash her risk of contracting breast cancer by half. Obviously this is absurd. It seemed obvious to me that some lifestyle factor not related to pollution, urbanization or the environment is seriously increasing the Western woman’s chance of contracting breast cancer. I then discovered that whatever causes the huge differences in breast cancer rates between oriental and Western countries, it isn’t genetic.

Scientific research showed that when Chinese or Japanese people move to the West, within one or two generations their rates of breast cancer approach those of their host community. The same thing happens when oriental people adopt a completely Western lifestyle in Hong Kong . In fact, the slang name for breast cancer in China translates as ‘Rich Woman’s Disease’. This is because, in China , only the better off can afford to eat what is termed ‘ Hong Kong food’. The Chinese describe all Western food, including everything from ice cream and chocolate bars to spaghetti and feta cheese, as ” Hong Kong food”, because of its availability in the former British colony and its scarcity, in the past, in mainland China.

So it made perfect sense to me that whatever was causing my breast cancer and the shockingly high incidence in this country generally, it was almost certainly something to do with our better-off, middle-class, Western lifestyle. There is an important point for men here, too. I have observed in my research that much of the data about prostate cancer leads to similar conclusions. According to figures from the World Health Organization, the number of men contracting prostate cancer in rural China is negligible, only 0.5 men in every 100,000. In England , Scotland and Wales , however, this figure is 70 times higher. Like breast cancer, it is a middle-class disease that primarily attacks the wealthier and higher socio-economic groups ¨C those that can afford to eat rich foods. I remember saying to my husband, “Come on Peter, you have just come back from China . What is it about the Chinese way of life that is so different? “Why don’t they get breast cancer?’

We decided to utilize our joint scientific backgrounds and approach it logically. We examined scientific data that pointed us in the general direction of fats in diets. Researchers had discovered in the 1980s that only l4% of calories in the average Chinese diet were from fat, compared to almost 3 6% in the West.But the diet I had been living on for years before I contracted breast cancer was very low in fat and high in fibre. Besides, I knew as a scientist that fat intake in adults has not been shown to increase risk for breast cancer in most investigations that have followed large groups of women for up to a dozen years. Then one day something rather special happened. Peter and I have worked together so closely over the years that I am not sure which one of us first said: “The Chinese don’t eat dairy produce!” It is hard to explain to a
non-scientist the sudden mental and emotional ‘buzz’ you get when you know you have had an important insight. It’s as if you have had a lot of pieces of a jigsaw in your mind, and suddenly, in a few seconds, they all fall into place and the whole picture is clear.

Suddenly I recalled how many Chinese people were physically unable to tolerate milk, how the Chinese people I had worked with had always said that milk was only for babies, and how one of my close friends, who is of Chinese origin, always politely turned down the cheese course at dinner parties. I knew of no Chinese people who lived a traditional Chinese
life who ever used cow or other dairy food to feed their babies. The tradition was to use a wet nurse but never, ever, dairy products. Culturally, the Chinese find our Western preoccupation with milk and milk products very strange. I remember entertaining a large delegation of Chinese scientists shortly after the ending of the Cultural Revolution in the 1980s. On advice from the Foreign Office, we had asked the caterer to provide a pudding that contained a lot of ice
cream. After inquiring what the pudding consisted of, all of the Chinese, including their interpreter, politely but firmly refused to eat it, and they could not be persuaded to change their minds. At the time we were all delighted and ate extra portions! Milk, I discovered, is one of the most common causes of food allergies .

Over 70% of the world’s population are unable to digest the milk sugar, lactose, which has led nutritionists to believe that this is the normal condition for adults, not some sort of deficiency. Perhaps nature is trying to tell us that we are eating the wrong food. Before I had breast cancer for the first time, I had eaten a lot of dairy produce, such as skimmed milk, low-fat cheese and yoghurt. I had used it as my main source of protein. I also ate cheap but lean minced beef, which I now realized was probably often ground-up dairy cow. In order to cope with the chemotherapy I received for my fifth case of cancer, I had been eating organic yoghurts as a way of helping my digestive tract to recover and repopulate my gut with ‘good’ bacteria. Recently, I discovered that way back in 1989 yoghurt had been implicated in ovarian cancer. Dr Daniel
Cramer of Harvard University studied hundreds of women with ovarian cancer, and had them record in detail what they normally ate. Wish I’d been made aware of his findings when he hadfirst discovered them.

Following Peter’s and my insight into the Chinese diet, I decided to give up not just yoghurt but all dairy produce immediately. Cheese, butter, milk and yoghurt and anything else that contained dairy produce – it went down the sink or in the rubbish. It is surprising how many products, including commercial soups, biscuits and cakes, contain some form of dairy produce. Even many proprietary brands of margarine marketed as soya, sunflower or olive oil spreads can contain dairy
produce .I therefore became an avid reader of the small print on food labels. Up to this point, I had been steadfastly measuring the progress of my fifth cancerous lump with callipers and plotting the results.

Despite all the encouraging comments and positive feedback from my doctors and nurses, my own precise observations told me the bitter truth. My first chemotherapy sessions had produced no effect – the lump was still the same size. Then I eliminated dairy products. Within days, the lump started to shrink About two weeks after my second chemotherapy
session and one week after giving up dairy produce, the lump in my neck started to itch. Then it began to soften and to reduce in size. The line on the graph, which had shown no change, was now pointing downwards as the tumour got smaller and smaller. And, very significantly, I noted that instead of declining exponentially (a graceful curve) as cancer is meant to do, the tumour’s decrease in size was plotted on a straight line heading off the bottom of the graph, indicating a cure, not suppression (or remission) of the tumour. One Saturday afternoon after about six weeks of excluding all dairy produce
from my diet, I practised an hour of meditation then felt for what was left of the lump. I couldn’t find it. Yet I was very experienced at detecting cancerous lumps – I had discovered all five cancers on my own. I went downstairs and asked my husband to feel my neck. He could not find any trace of the lump either. On the following Thursday I was due to be seen by my cancer specialist a Charing Cross Hospital in London. He examined me thoroughly, especially my neck where the tumour had been.

He was initially bemused and then delighted as he said, “I cannot find it.” None of my doctors, it appeared, had expected someone with my type and stage of cancer (which had clearly spread to the lymph system) to survive, let alone be so hale and hearty. My specialist was as overjoyed as I was. When I first discussed my ideas with him he was understandably skeptical. But I understand that he now uses maps showing cancer portality in China in his lectures, and recommends a
non-dairy diet to his cancer patients. I now believe that the link between dairy produce and breast cancer is similar to the link between smoking and lung cancer. I believe that identifying the link between breast cancer and dairy produce, and then developing a diet specifically targeted at maintaining the health of my breast and hormone system, cured me. It was difficult for me, as it may be for you, to accept that a substance as ‘natural’ as milk might have such ominous health implications. But I am a living proof that it works and, starting from tomorrow, I shall reveal the secrets of my revolutionary
action plan.

Extracted from Your Life in Your Hands, by Professor Jane Plant

“It is very obvious now that if the skills you use at work are not such that in case of retrenchments, you are laid off and can transfer same to a private enterprise started with minimal investments; then you are on a perilous path and you need to wake up and acquire some more skills” – Ayo Oladejo

The New Year is just a few days away and the most important thing to do right now is to sincerely review the outgoing year in a bid to see where and how we can make the new one a better year. My last post talked about the alarming trend of retrenchments going on in the country. For some, it is almost the end of the world but I know that is not right. It is just a rude awakening for us all to note that employers are in the business of making profits and when they sense any threat to that, their survival instincts take over while the emotional one goes to the background. I am going to be sharing tips on how to position ourselves for the next year to reduce heartbreaks and dare employers.

1. No Man Is Indispensable
It is very common for us as men to think that our organizations cannot survive without us. That is a lie from the pit of hell and a way of giving us false hopes and assurances. The worst that will happen is that the company will suffer for a few weeks/months and move on. The first step to real freedom in the corporate world is in knowing that you are not an exclusive club of skills or knowledge. This realization will help us all in giving our best at what we do while also developing ourselves for more exploits.

2. You Are Keeping Your Job Because You Are Still Relevant
Yeah hear. If you have been led to think that your employers love you and that is why you are on the payroll- you need to examine yourself deep down and wake up from the slumber. If they can get a younger man to replace you with more agility and less salary, then you are gone. The era of job security is gone forever unless you are in the civil service and even then you must note it won’t be long before computers replace most of the redundant staff in those establishments. It is important to ask yourself each year how relevant you are to your organization and how you can be more useful for the next year.

3. Review Your Job
I have seen all sorts of resumes in my life and the first thing that strikes me is that after 6 years of working, some people still go about with CVs fit only for a fresh graduate. This can either show poor CV writing skills or to call a spade a spade; a waste of years for the fellow. If your job is so monotonous and unskilled to the level that a sharp secondary school leaver could be trained to take over from you in a few months, then be very afraid. Imagine a job that only requires you to wake up in the morning, not have to think too much, get to work, and close without much tasks to the brain; you have to be very afraid because most likely your organisation would soon decide to employ OND or SSCE holders. We have started seeing this in many organizations especially the banking sector. So if you are stuck in those kind of jobs, start buying good books, read them a lot, determine what career move you want and find a way to get there.

4. Acquire More Skills
I remember my very good friend who was working in a company he did not like. His salary was nothing to write home about but he was determined to further his career. He started saving money to write a very tough IT certification and gain more experience as a Java programmer. He eventually saved enough money from a salary of 22 thousand naira per month and wrote the examination. In a period of 4 months, he got 2 jobs and the last one paid him about 200 thousand naira per month starting salary in 2004. It is a true life story. There are some of his colleagues who didn’t think it urgent to develop themselves and are still stuck in the rat race. You must sit down today and ask yourself a simple question – AM I SKILLFUL? Even if you are, you will be driven to acquire more knowledge and skills. It is the only way to stay competitive and edge out others in the New Year.

5. Stop Complaining and Do Something Useful
I hate sitting down with pessimistic people who are not ready to move on with their lives. They are all around us spreading their woes but unwilling to make the next move. We are not ready to hear those stories next year. Even in the desert lies opportunities but only the willing mind can see them. This is a season to have a positive mentality and move on to do exploit. The secret to getting the best out of our world is to think positively and picture how our lives should be, and then we can do it in the physical. If you already defeated yourself spiritually, expect no victory.

6. Start Thinking Entrepreneurship
Those who hate to be confined to monthly salaries are actually those that organizations spend a lot of money to lure into staying more with them. Let me break this down. Those who are confident enough that they can stand on their own will most likely be high performers in their current jobs. The more they have that mentality, the more they shine and the more they get better offers to keep working for organisations. They are known as intra-preneurs as they keep going the extra miles working as if they own the business they are employed in. These are guys who at a point are offered shares in companies just to tie them down. The other side of the fence is pathetic. They are the ones who are never thinking of starting their own businesses. They want to die in paid employment but they are found out easily and are bundled out early. It is actually scriptural: He who holds on to his life will lose it. He who holds on to paid employment will eventually lose it.

7. Start a Business While Still In Paid Employment
Not all businesses will require your 24-7 attention at the beginning. There are some you can start doing even from now. Identify a need you can fill and get on with it NOW. You must decide in 2010 to write that business plan, talk to potential partners and ensure you don’t fall into the trap of forgetting your goals. Nigeria is a developing country and there are still loads of services enjoyed in developed countries that are still not available in Nigeria. It is time to start looking at such and fill a gap. And yes, it is important to start small before you can attract investors later.

8. It Might Sound Silly, But Please Learn A Vocation
Interior Decoration, Cake Baking and Designing, Photography, etc are vocations that can make you Millions. Some are too myopic to think they are for people with little education but please a lot of very educated tush people are making waves now. There is enough room for more. Aren’t you going to be pleased to have a mechanic garage where the owners are graduates and truly understand cars unlike Wasiu the Mechanic who almost totally destroyed my car? These are subtle opportunities that are being taken for granted by us all. If you must know, I have a professional DSLR camera and would soon go for a course in professional photography. Very soon, I should be making some money from you LOL.

9. Do a Certification or a Higher Degree in 2010
It costs money to make money and that is the simple truth. Careful planning of expenditures in the New Year will ensure you can save money to do an examination, go for training or even a post-graduate degree. The returns always justify the investments at the end of the day. So before you decide on changing your car, buying more electronics that would soon be old model in a few months; please think of setting money aside for personal development in 2010. You will be glad you did.

10. No Better Time to Love God
A conscious decision to stay away from sin and love God in 2010 will result in a lot of favour coming your way. Sometimes we see some people with things falling on the good side for them always and we wonder why. The God factor is very important and even when all is in place, that extra touch from God makes everything simpler. As we go into 2010, let us put our plans into his hands and it will be well with us all. So I am using this opportunity to wish you a Merry Xmas and a very fulfilling and prosperous New Year 2010. Success will come our way in good measure. Amen.

There is a culture in Great Ife to give automatic accommodation to final year students. So, for the first time, I proudly marched to get my allocation. A drama ensued while we were queuing for our names to be announced; a friend of mine and classmate, Benjamin Adekoya tried to play a quick one on me. How? Immediately my name was called and room number was known, he rushed to the room to go and pick a space (There was this thing about corner spaces ). This is a guy who was not even sure of being in that room, I calmly walked to the room and reclaimed the space for myself. Rumor had it that he eventually did not get a very good space as the time he wasted chasing shadows was utilized by his other room mates while he was in my room.

The space I picked was the second of the two corner spaces. A very unique character whom I am going to talk about later in this post picked the first – his name is Ebenezer popularly known as Ebeno. That room in Adekunle Fajuyi hall is one I would never forget because of the guys I shared it with. There were two of my classmates in the room- the quiet Daniel Odebunmi and the amiable Debo Afolayan. Daniel is an easy going man who was older than most of us but we flowed along very well. His nemesis in the room is Ebeno who was always disturbing him. There was a day he (Ebeno) threw Daniel’s cooking utensils into the bush because they were not washed on time . That was just one of many altercations between the two.

Debo is a very cool guy. He was called Pastor because he behaved like one and he was a very good dresser and till date, he still commands that respect. Demola Akinpelu was a first year student whom I met when he came to register in my department. His dad handed him over to me and said he would like if I can allow his son stay with me. I accepted and that was the start of a great relationship with the Akinpelu’s. I eventually stayed in their house when I first got to Lagos in 2001. There was another wonderful young man, a medicine student in 100 level then. It is a sin to forget his name because he was my junior in Secondary school. Then there was Brian – the man with the Americana talk and lifestyle, I used to be wary of him until I realized he was just being himself.

Baba Igbomina was another character that brings smiles into my face. He is a family friend of Debo’s and they stayed together. We started calling him that name when we realized he came from the Igbomina side of Kwara State. Little did I know I was going to marry from that part of the country too, see life. He was studying Accounting and he just came into 200L as a direct entry student. It is of note that myself and Baba Igbomina did our registry wedding on same day and it was quite a reunion when we met at the registry with Debo also in attendance.

I have to say more things about Ebeno. As far as I am concerned, he was the main character in the room. A Philosophy final year student; Ebeno was the best student in his department at that time. Everyone knew him to be an atheist, maybe due to his course of study. He was feared by other room mates because of his quick tongue but we had mutual respect for each other mainly because we met the previous session while contesting for the SUG. He also contested in that election and lost woefully not surprisingly as he is a very undiplomatic politician. There was an incidence that Ebeno himself does not know I witnessed till date and I hope he is reading this. A popular General Overseer was in Ife on that day in year 2000 for a crusade. Amphi Theatre was full to the brim with students and lecturers alike. His message that day described how Africa is filled with Witches and Wizards and the bravest of hearts would shake on that day. He even told us that the witches in Africa are stronger than those from other continents, hence our need to pray with violence rather than putting our hands in the trouser, using our nasals to pray whilst he gave us the pidgin translation of the verse – Since d day wey John the baptist don dey wakabout, the Kingdom of God suffer jigbijigbi and those wey no go gree dey take am with girigiri – lol. Personally, I respect the man of God but I don’t believe in some of the principles preached about fighting evil with physical tenacity, I rather think understanding the heart of God and the true weapons of the spirit is more effective. The church believes you must groan and shout in prayers to defeat the enemy. Back to Ebeno – something strange happened when the altar call was made for those who wanted to give their lives to Christ. The most unlikely person to be in the hall not to talk of surrendering his life to Christ rose up and joined the mass that took the call. I was shocked and praising God at the same time ‘cos I had been praying for him for a long time. I cautioned myself that I was not going to embarrass him by making him feel like he ate his words about God but decided to do little things for him that made him more at ease with his new life. I hope he is still in Christ today. He is one guy I hated losing contact with and I would be very happy if anyone can get his contacts for me. We rocked that room together .. chei!

That was the room I cut my computer teeth. I told my room mates then that as a President and Student Union official; I was going to tush my room with Television, deck and VCD. Hence, when I decided to buy a computer and showed up with a small radio at the beginning of second semester, some of them thought I was lying and that I did not have money. But the day my computer arrived was a dream come true. Those were memorable times and I thank my room mates wherever they might be for being a part of my life. I wish them all the happiness and fulfillment in life. May your barns be filled in Jesus name. Amen.

If you noticed, I said final sessions, yeah I am right. The two rooms I stayed during my extra year were in PG Hall, so I did not have many room mates. The first one was with Seun Okunola and Niyi Oladeji. Seun was gracious to take us in to that room despite the fact that we just met then. Thanks man. I later got two rooms from Architect Layi Amokeodo and Mr. John Okpako (Both MPhil candidates in Architecture dept) during that same session. I gave one space to Niyi and Seun while I moved to the other room. This was where I met Tammy Takaya, a very brilliant and deep guy. Tammy and I later worked together in Vmobile Nigeria. Thanks guys, I appreciate you all.

And so, this series comes to rest. I hope you got a glimpse into my residential life in Great Ife.

Strange that I will be posting this after a long period of inactivity on my blog. This is the reply to a mail sent by a friend concerning treating women in a good way – I wrote straight from my mind. Here it goes -

Good one …. Good points.
But note this that some men are ready to treat women as their princess. But most times regret it so much that the next woman who comes along suffers it.
It has been discovered that women like their men to be strong and totally in charge, even at times a scolder. When I was in school, I realised that the rough guys who are OSOMOs get the babes, while the cool guy does not.
Ask good guys around, and they will tell u that if not for the fear of God, they would have resolved to the normal way ‘cos they always regret treating women with due respect.
When you overlook a woman’s fault, she says u are not assertive. When you forgive her, she believes you are being too soft. When you don’t touch her enough, she says oh, he does not love me. When you don’t talk much,she says he does not like my company. Note that when you do all these things, she will still complain – he does not forgive, he is too assertive, he pesters me for sex, he talks too much.
And one lesson that will help you – Most good girls tend to think too highly of themselves, fine it is ok especially when you are one of the few good ones. But note that when it goes too much into ur heads, it will surely affect your relationships. They tend to tell their guys you are lucky to have me, you must do everything to keep me, I am more than special and sometimes when they are even married; fail to take care of the guy ‘cos they feel they have given him the best gift in the world by marrying him – Alas, have you ever thought also that good men are scarce too. In fact a good man is more scarce than a good woman! How? Ok, I will explain. Note that our society and world gives the man more space to commit adultery and polygamy. Some religions even advocate it and no religion advocates a woman having 2 husbands. If I have an extra-marital affair, my mother-in-law will call me and talk to me to please change my way and not break her daughter’s heart. But let my wife be suspected of that; her own mother will flay her!
I am in no way encouraging immorality, I am just trying to correct an anomaly in ladies’ thinking that is destroying marriages presently, especially marriages of good girl/guy. I have spoken to married couples in this shoe and have learnt a lot from them. Some of them confessed that their wives gave them hell after marriage, but it started from their dating days which they overlooked. Some have been able to overcome the challenges by sitting down and discussing, making the woman to understand they are human too and need some pampering and respect ‘cos they are also ‘good guys’. But some are still struggling and told me that a more experienced, formerly worldly girl who repented would have been a better choice for them as those ones already knew life and how important and hard it is to get a good man.
In all these, I guess the solution is to have a heart of truly love, where both the man and woman have mutual love and respect for each other, not taking each other for granted. Note that I am not talking generally about men, but I am talking about good men who have resolved to love their women and not mess up. Help these men out, appreciate them, do those little things for them(should not always be one way) and see if they will not continue loving you…. otherwise you are going to start giving them opportunities to taste goodness outside.
I did not plan to write this long, but I guess it is necessary!
Cheers,

Ayobami

Yes – This first blogging is long overdue! I have been challenged by a number of friends who think that I am more wired not to have my own blog. My answer has always been – TIME. The simple truth is that time will not really be available but we must do what we have to do. I intend to follow this blog up with my main website and I will do it.
If you ask me what you should look forward to in this blog – Don’t expect ICT stuff alone; actually this is going to be one multi-directional blog. I will write on stuff ranging from my experiences growing up to my school days, friends, family, my sweetheart (who I fondly call Onitemi), football and other sports (apologies to fans of other sports), politics, ICT4D, etc (Have u ever wondered that e.t.c is a popular guy, he is always ending lists – but the truth is that people use it when they run out of ideas!).
Just stay in touch and I will endeavour to keep this a very interesting Blog with a good content evolving rate.
This introduction is getting too long… I intend to keep it as small as possible. I will continue my hayspiration later!
E se, Nagode…..