Issues
Laws Of Healthy Living
The Exercise You Obtain: Do you want to live long? Dr Roy .J. Shepherd, an expert on exercise and aging at the University of Toronto, in the sixth edition of the National Remedies Encyclopedia explains it: “you’d have to go a long way to find something as good as exercise as a fountain of youth, and you don’t have run marathon to reap the benefits. Little more than rapid walking for 30 minutes at a time three to four times a week can provide ten years of rejuvenation”.
Exercise is another
important law of healthy living but unfortunately, we are too carried away by our works and comfort of our officers and homes that we neglect it. Here are some of the things that regular exercise can begin to do for you right away.
Exercise will improve the tone of your muscles and blood vessels, charging them from weak and flabby tissue to strong and firm tissue, often reducing blood pressure in the process.
It will increase the efficiency of your heart, gradually making it to grow stronger and pump more blood with each stroke, thus, reducing the number of strokes needed to supply your body with life-giving blood.
It will improve your digestion by quickening the circulation and helping to lift the blood to the heart from the digestive organ and thus, normalising your bowel action.
It will increase the efficiency of your living organs conditioning them to process more air with less effort.
Exercise increases your maximum oxygen consumption by increasing the amount available and the efficiency of its delivery to the blood cells. It improves the overall condition of your body, especially the most vital parts: lungs, heart, blood vessels and endocrine system which imparts added protection against sickness.
It can change your whole outlook on life, enabling you to relax, work more efficiently and handle stress better when not overdone, it imparts a cheerful quality to the mind.
It will enable you to sleep better at night and think better during the day. Exercise strengthens the will and helps to get more work done with less fatigue.
Exercise further slows down the aging process by slowing down the natural physical deterioration that old age normally brings. It gives a new zest for life at a time when you most need it and there is evidence it can reduce the likelihood of cancer.
This law of healthy living provides a powerful increase of oxygen to the body. Ordinarily, a man inhales about 500 cubic inches of air every minute. By walking about four miles per hour, he draws in about 2,500 cubic inches per minute or five times more than that absorbed when sitting down. But if over 50, exercise carefully. Avoid jumping and pounding activities. The best objective is light exercise such as walking for 30 minutes, three to five times weekly.
One of the great faults of our current civilisation is that our young adults about the age of 25 and below busy to exercise. Yet, for the next two decades of their lives, they probably need it even more than when they were children.
A lack of physical activity leads to abnormal or accelerated clothing of the blood in the coronary cerebral and other arteries as well as in the veins. Thus, it is now felt that regular on-going activity all year long may be important in preventing or reducing strokes and coronary heart attacks.
For this busy age, walking is one of the simplest and best exercise. Go out there into the open air and walk. Leave all your cares behind you, briskly set off with your arms swinging. Take deep breathes of air as you go and afterward, experience the new life.
The Water That Cleanses:
Water is one of the most valuable helpers you have in the daily task of keeping health or in receiving health when it is lost. How very important it is that you drink enough water each day. The kidney alone filters about 50 gallons of fluid each day. In a 24-hour period, more than eight quarts of digestive juices flows into the digestive tract. Much of this water is recycled over and over again by the kidneys. But, about two to four quarts of water a day are lost through the urine, lungs or perspiration, thus, if you do not keep drinking water, your kidney cannot perform their functions well and kidney disease result.
It has been found that water intake can increase physical endurance and ability to work by as much as 80 per cent. When you do not drink water, your blood thickens and flows with greater difficulty. This can cause trouble not only in body tissues and organs but to your heart that must pump that sludged blood.
So many people eat far too much of salt, sugar and protein, yet, each of these substances requires additional water to process. Lack of water not only affects health but work production as well. It is therefore generally recommended that we drink eight glasses of water a day. But it is best if you do not drink it with your meals but between them.
According to experts, the very best time for water drinking is first thing upon arising in the morning and then 30 minutes or so before each meal.
The drinking water should be pure but unfortunately, this is becoming too difficult to obtain. One solution to this is to purchase a reliable water distiller for your home. This will clean the water. Distilled water will rather than hurt, help you especially when eating a good diet so that you are obtaining your proper amounts of calcium and other minerals from your food. In constrast, regular water intake often contains an excess of inorganic sodium, chlorine, sulphur, fluorine, iron, chromium, lead and other undesirable elements and in far greater amount than the body can possibly use. We can be thankful that small, inexpensive distillers are now easily available.
If you have the choice, when drinking water from pipes, it is better to drink hard water than soft water. The hard water, which contains mainly calcium and magnesium, lowers the chances of acquiring cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
When we come to our individual need for water, it is readily realized that water is certainly our most precious mineral. It is the most essential of all minerals for our bodies. An animal can lose all its fats, about half its protein but if it loses as much as one tenth of its water, it will die.
Your body is 80 percent water. The countless million of cells inside of you are constantly being bathed in water and this is not merely a soaking process but a rewashing activity done by your blood stream. Water in the blood brings nutrition and oxygen to your tissues and carries off wastes. If injury occurs, coagulants come out of the fluid and stop the bleeding while white blood cells emerge from the blood stream and begin to attack the poisonous substances.
Delicate chemical balances are maintained by the flowing blood as hormones, digestive substances and many other vital substances are transported through the body fluids to their appointed places. It is no wonder then that this most precious commodity should be needed by mankind.
The Power of Abstemiousness:
To be abstemious is to be moderate in the use of certain things including an excess of even good food. Here, we are speaking of self control. “In order to succeed physically, mentally and morally in life, we must have temperance in regard to things good and abstinence in regard to things harmful and to preserve good health, temperance in all things-labour, eating and drinking is necessary”.
When eating, too much of even the best food can be harmful. Too much sunshine can result in severe sunburn, too much exercise can cause excessive exhaustion and so, this law, one of the most important of the laws of health should not be downplayed.
The famous American writer, William Cullen Bryant, lived to a very old age. When asked the reason for this excellent health in such an advanced age, he applied, “it is all summed up in one word- moderation”. If we will be temperate in all things-self-control must be exercised in our daily diet, work habits, recreation, conversation, travels, sleep and study. Throughout life, we must ever be on guard lest we fall into intemperance.
Have certain times to work and certain times not to, do the same with your mind. Turn it off at times and just relax. More so, be cheerful. Permit nothing to keep you continually depressed or anxious. Note that the people that are cheerful and relaxed always are healthier and have longer, happier lives than they otherwise would. Your health is your wealth and life.
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
