Nubian

I am enroute Lagos for what I choose to call a business trip. In the usual fashion of most buses, a suited man starts praying to God, committing the journey in his hands which is fine by me. Then, out of the blues, he begins to pray for Biafra....in his opinion, a country destined for world greatness and ordained by God. I looked at my friend, Dubem, with incredulity. Wow! Just wow! It was funny, ridiculous and saddening at the same time. And to think that most Igbos want a Biafra. A country that has no fixed ideology. A country born out of our inherent need for independence. A country that would be made up of one-third the people of Nigeria. It baffles me that they can't see ....or rather, they've refused to see...that, unless the core Nigerian issues are addressed, the Biafran state will not succeed. Though I don't blame those who want a Biafra, it is still a sad thought. To most people, Biafra is a symbol of hope. Something to anticipate and pray for in this almost de...

The world isn't a perfect place. It truly isn't. You see deaths and sadness and chaos. Children die.....children. I grew up seeing children as innocents. Who would want to deliberately hurt babies? It's really baffling. Aleppo....where children have learnt to stop crying. I see the videos and pictures....and in all of them, these children are blank....no reaction. Just blank. I can relate. Now I hear of chemical attacks. Why??!!! I see bodies of little dead children being carried away to be buried. I see them. I am blank....I want to cry but the tears don't come. Then I hear of the rape of 12 year old boy and his assailant was only charged #30,000 and 1 month imprisonment. Just imagine. Where do people even get the guts to apologize for evil doing under the guise of 'family'? To the best of my knowledge, family should protect you....not hurt you. I can't hurt my sister. She's family. But I hear stories like this every day. A man beats the wife he promis...

I just watched a Royco seasoning advert I had loved as a child. An unhappy husband returning home from work is being welcomed by his lovely, stay-at-home wife. She comes at him with joy but he brushes her of. She tries to lighten up his mood by bringing him a glass of fresh juice which he turns down and continues reading the paper without even looking at her face. Then she remembers Royco. And she rushes to the kitchen to put together a beautiful combo of vegetables, tomatoes, onions and Royco. Husband gets fed up with the house, grabs his car keys to go somewhere and blow of steam. The aroma from the kitchen stops him...he traces it to the kitchen and he rushes to the dinning table. In a jiffy, the table was set and his lovely wife, the tray with the beautiful dishes in her hands, came in and caught him in the act. They laugh. She feeds him happily, he eats happily and all is well again. I still love that video. Properly captures the typical Nigerian home in the 80s and early 90s. ...

A participant's narrative: The Initiative is very promising in the sense that I believe its goals are to reach out to the common man like me who are in a better position to help spread the good news of Global Health, indirectly helping the populace in this region of the world, letting everyone know that health care is quite a reason for concern. . What I learned: 1. The pharmacy profession doesn't just end in the four corners of the classroom and hospital but finds application on a global scale which requires critical thinkers. 2. We, as pharmacists in the making, have a lot of responsibilities in the global scale and for us to meet them we have to think outside the box. 3. Global health Pharmacy is the way forward if we want to remain relevant in the health system. 4. Drugs and Disease are two things that go hand in hand in the health profession and we, as custodians of drugs, will have to stand to our feet and make sure that we are in control of all activities pertaini...