REMEMBERING MARION JONES, HAPPY FOR USAIN BOLT AND FEELING SORRY FOR TEAM NIGERIA

Sometime in the 2000s while listening to the news on CNN, reports about the sentence of Olympic track star Marion Jones to six months in prison, two years of probation and community service for lying to federal prosecutors in 2003 about the use of steroids and substances to enhance performance on the tracks, was breaking the news.  

And trust us as human beings, those same people who praised her for her earlier awesome performances during the games, were the same people who cast her off from being the ‘American hero’ to becoming a ‘national disgrace’ which of course earned her a massive disrespect as she was stripped off of her gold medals thereby losing her source of livelihood as a professional track and field sportswoman which according to her attorneys “was the only career Marion had ever known”.

Today, a few days after the Rio Olympics 2016, Usain Bolt is now regarded as the world’s greatest and everyone is ‘living it up’ posing the arrow style of Usain Bolt in every picture seen on social media and everywhere else. Who says success is not ‘polygamous’ by nature as everyone wants to be associated with it. I am, like many others, very happy and proud of Usain.

But then! Who is standing by Marion Jones today or the other members of ‘Team Nigeria’ who went for the Olympics against all odds but did not win a single medal not to talk about GOLD? Failure is truly an orphan. QED!

Team Nigeria in my candid opinion were not in any way motivated so it even came as a shock when the Nation’s football team earned bronze after winning third place. It was shocking because not even a goal was expected after their grueling ordeal right from the preparations till the games started. Anyone would have been emotionally drained to perform at any level. For me they deserve a very good appraisal and thumbs up.

I guess the bronze is just a subtle compensation for their stress as a team and not for Nigeria as a country nor the nation’s sport’s governing body.

Without pouring undue encomiums, I'd like to say "Well done team Nigeria! You all deserve a standing ovation jare!! Next time, Nigeria will prepare very well if they need you guys to bring back real GOLD!!!  

"PRAY, COVER, SATAN PROOF YOUR SPOUSE AND DON'T FIX TIME FOR SEX" - FUNKE ADEJUMO

I just finished this interesting read on a friend’s facebook wall which was a purportedly written advise by beautiful Reverend Mrs Funke Felix Adejumo to couples especially wives.

I know a lot of people would come up with arguments against this write up even though many will be for the opinions expressed as it made a lot of sense to me even though one may be tempted not to agree entirely with everything espoused.

Also, another group may say “we’ve read and heard too many theories on marriages and couples”. Yeah, I agree but it wouldn’t hurt to read one more, especially this one.

Irrespective of whatever gender you belong, I admonish that you take a moment and skim through the entire write-up and I bet you will be glad you did.

THE WOMAN:
As a woman, you are many things to your husband and as a man, there are 8 things you should be to your wife.

Don’t marry a man because of what he drives but what drives him.

Seduce your husband. Don’t always allow your husband to ask for sex.

As a woman your under wear should match

You must be a different woman to your husband every time. Be creative. Don’t be predictable. Give him what he wants.

Everyone woman has an influence. If you lose influence over your husband you have lost womanhood..

You must learn to synchronize with your husband. Be part of his plans..

Don’t have too many children. Sex is not all about making children.

Dress to please your husband..

Don’t fix time to have sex with your husband.When a man is sexually satisfied he is emotionally stable..

As a woman you should invest in yourself spiritually so you can adequately support him.

Build yourself as a prayer warrior so that you will not be forced to pray at the end of your life.

I agree with almost all but why must my husband provide for all my needs? Is he a money making machine?
 

Secondly, why can’t I provide for my husband, after all, iron sharpens iron, they say, if he can buy me something, I should be able to reciprocate, isn’t that romantic?

As a woman you are a helper!
 

The one who you are helping must be stronger than you! Once you are married, you are somebody’s helper and the helper is meant to have what the person’s need!

As a wife, you are meant to surround your husband!

Women are natural keepers; men take care of your wives so your life can be long! The woman is your helper. Treasure your wife, let her feel important!! Let your wife know that she is important. Women, you are your husband’s helper, stop looking helter skelter!

You are there to help him and God will reward you.

As a woman, you are a builder!!

Proverbs 14:1- A wise woman buildeth her home! We need wisdom to build. You must know when to speak, when to keep quiet, when to comfort, when to build!
 

As a woman you are a servant!

Titus 2:4-5- These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.

You are a cook, cleaner, laundry woman and nanny!

When last did you love him and lay his head on your chest? When last did you run up behind him and kiss him?

Once a bride, always a bride!! Stop calling him daddy or papa Joseph!! He is your husband! You are a servant, not a slave

You are an intercessor!
Prayer cover him, satan proof him, Delilah proof your husband! If God has blessed you with a husband, pray for him. The praying woman is a winning woman; at certain times, just pray for your husband!! No matter how happy you are in your marriage, never stop praying for your husband! In case you don’t know, some people are not happy that you are happy? That husband you think is useless, some people are queuing to marry him. Take care of your home; no matter where you go, come back to your home!

As a woman, you are a lover!
Some women forget that you are a lover! Every man is attracted by what he sees, while a woman is attracted by what she hears. That is how we are wired! If you are an old bride beside your husband, you will push him to a Delilah! The male species like variety, even Christian men can be tempted! Therefore, you must be many things to your husband!

Become unpredictable in marriage! Wear your hair differently, dress differently!

You should have two types of nightwear, the general ones and the ones only your husband can see you in; you know what I mean. Look lovely for your husband; remind him of what he has. Make the room you share have a wonderful ambience!

Touch your husband!

A woman needs 13 meaningful touches a day!

Remain romantic!

Don’t be an old ugly bride around your husband; walk hard to retain your shape!

You must be romantic and spontaneous!

Befriend your husband, if you don’t befriend him, you will wake up one day and find a huge emotional gap!

Don’t let your ministry or career cause a rift between you

As a woman you are a covering!
Look at Genesis 21:9-10
 

What a man can’t see, a woman can see! So, as a man learn to listen to your woman! Be careful when your wife warns you about a particular business or a friendship or woman, listen to her and try to understand her! Don’t tell your wife to shut up. As a woman, protect your husband, defend him!

You are a keeper, an assignment!
For example, he gives you sperm; you keep it, deliver a child and nurture that child! He tells you his vision, you keep it in mind and help nurture and bring it to pass.
May the lord give us Good understanding amen.

WAS PRINCE AWARE HE WAS TAKING FENTANYL, THE BIGGEST PAINKILLER?

And so here I was, reading a post online CNN and then it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe Prince would be alive today if silly mistakes such as mislabeling of drugs were avoided. What a tragedy!

On a second thought, on reading further the reports from the CNN which revealed that a trusted source with knowledge of investigation on Prince’s death gave information to the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the pills which were seized from inside Prince's Paisley Park compound by investigators were as a matter of fact labeled as hydrocodone meanwhile they contained fentanyl which was the drug that reportedly led to the death of the singer, I had a nagging question in my head.

The question that went through my head was “did Prince know about this labeling or was there some sort of foul play”?

 

I didn’t need to read any further as there were speculations that what could have caused Prince’s overdose was “either a pharmaceutical manufacturer mislabeled the pills, or the pills were illegally manufactured and obtained illegally”.

Even though I like the idea of the investigators who have decided to work with the theory that the late Prince may not have known the pills contained fentanyl, I am still wondering why a lot of these celebrities dwell on painkillers. Was Prince also in some sort of pain like we heard about MJ the late “wacko Jacko”? What’s with celebrities and pains anyway?

So far, investigators have not established whether Prince consumed those pills or whether he was aware the pills contained fentanyl and still went ahead to ingest them even though many of us have the opinion that Prince loved life, to a large extent or so we thought.  I don’t think he would have taken that overdose if he knew they were not just hydrocodone -for whatever pains- but also contained fentanyl that became the death of him on the 21^st of April, 2016 as the said fentanyl is reported to be about a hundred times stronger than the popularly abused morphine and up to fifty times the potency of heroin

In our country today, we’ve heard stories of people dying as a result of initial wrong diagnosis as well as wrong medicine prescription/administration by supposed medical professionals. From this report, it means such mistakes are not just peculiar to our country hence the need for a wake-up call for doctors and other medical professionals around the world.

So the question is, “what is the way out of this”?

In as much as many loved Prince to a fault, let’s take an objective look at the issue and some common mistakes as well as other angles to the story as suggested by the report:

If the manufacturer mislabeled the pills, there would have likely been a recall, as fentanyl is an extremely potent opioid medication and a controlled substance. It would be a serious health hazard if a batch was mislabeled and given to the public.

Star Tribune sources said Prince's toxicology report, which has not been released, also revealed the presence of lidocaine, alprazolam and Percocet in his system.

CNN's Dr. Drew Pinsky said the combination of fentanyl, (which is an opioid based drug), and alprazolam (which is a benzodiazepine) could be the key to why Prince died.

"It is all too common for people to overdose if they are taking a combination of a benzodiazepine and an opioid," Pinsky said. "This is what I've been warning was a likely possibility."

At the beginning of the investigation into Prince's death, sources told CNN that painkillers were found inside his Paisley Park compound and they could not find a valid prescription for the medication. The Star Tribune now reports that their source said no prescription for fentanyl has been found in the months since Prince's death. So, a burning question remains. How did Prince acquire the drug?

Fentanyl, the most powerful painkiller on the market, is normally prescribed to cancer patients in extreme pain. It's also used to ease the pain of someone who is dying or as part of anesthesia during surgery.

But illegally manufactured fentanyl pills are readily available across America.

Just last month, the Drug Enforcement Administration published a report saying counterfeit pills are fueling the fentanyl and heroin/opioid crisis in the United States, which has become an epidemic. The DEA issued a national health alert over the rise in fentanyl overdoses in 2015.

That year, the DEA said its National Forensic Laboratory Information System showed "there were approximately eight times as many fentanyl exhibits (confiscated drugs that tested positive for fentanyl) in 2015 as there were during the 2006 fentanyl crisis, clearly demonstrating the unprecedented threat and expansion of the fentanyl market."

Prince's death at 57 years old shocked the world. For months fans mourned the musical genius by showing up by the hundreds to pay their respects. Many left purple mementos on the fence that surrounds the Paisley Park Compound where Prince died.

He was discovered dead inside of an elevator in the complex.

Officials never revealed the amount of fentanyl that was in Prince's system. But the Star Tribune reported that a source said the amount of fentanyl in his system was so high it would have killed anyone, no matter their size.

It has been four months since Prince died and the investigation into his death is still ongoing. The DEA began working the case alongside the Carver County Sheriff's Office from the very early stages. But no one knows exactly why Prince was taking strong painkillers or how he obtained them.

Hmm! Now you have it.

After reading up, I guess you still have that nagging question of “what’s with celebrities and pain(killers)?

Lastly, medical professionals around the world should really wake up and sit up because these drugs don’t just grow legs and walk into the hands of people who use them. They are still given by persons legally and illegally so such persons need to have a rethink given the number of damages reported so far.

SAMUEL OKWARAJI: STILL REMEMBERING A HERO, 27 YEARS AFTER

It was the year 1989, the 13^th of August. I was just a teenager who had no interest in football but I recall vividly how sad the topic of discussion was between one football lover, my father and one of his friends as they discussed Nigerian football and the tragic demise of one of the country’s professional footballer who was reported to have slumped and died on the field of play the day before which was the 12^th of August 1989.

As the months rolled by, a new song was heard among kids while playing as they, including ‘yours sincerely’ sang the praise of the late footballer Samuel Okwaraji who many of us never saw or heard of until the news of his death broke as we all were merely kids who played more of skipping ropes, clapping hands game and what was popularly known then as ‘c-way’ which was jumping from one drawn circle on the ground in a bid to ‘win houses’ to another,  including the Ludo and cards until a few years later when ‘snake and ladder’ and ofcourse ‘monopoly’ joined the list of games played by many including the older generation of youths.

Today, 27 years after, Nigerians remember the late Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji who was born on the 19^th of May 1964. He was only 25 years old when he died as a result of what the medical experts called “congestive heart failure” in Lagos after he slumped in the 77^th minute of  Nigerian football Team versus Angola game during a world cup qualifying match at the National stadium in Surulere, Lagos. 

It was a sad day not just for the family of the late footballer but also for many lovers of football and Nigeria as a whole.

Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji was not just a professional footballer, but was also a qualified lawyer with a masters in international law from the University of Rome who had a short football career in Europe during the course of studying for his law degree and was called upon to join the Nigerian ‘Green Eagles’ in 1988 for the African Nations Cup where he was to score one of the championship’s fastest goal in history against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon even though Nigeria still lost in the finals by a lone gone against the same Cameroonian Team who also lost one of their players Marc-Vivien Foe, 14years after in the same manner as Okwaraji which was due to an enlarged heart and high blood pressure as autopsy revealed.  

Okwaraji was only 10 minutes away to the end of the qualifying match when he suddenly slumped and died.

Who knows, maybe if he had the slightest inkling of what was happening to his heart at the time, he would have asked to be replaced before he slumped. But then, that is all ‘maybe’ and in the past now as it’s already ‘happened’. May his soul continue to rest in peace even as we pray that his family and Nigerians will forever remember him as a hero.

As we remember him today, let us also remember in prayers, our Nigerian Team and Sportspersons who are out there in Brazil trying to give us a ‘face’ in the ongoing Rio Olympics, 2016 despite the financial issues they are having hoping that they will be well compensated when they return home.

Continue to rest in peace, Samuel Okwaraji!

Bring back gold, Team Nigeria!

God Bless Nigeria!