NAIJA MAN IN LONDON
I did not come to England to take pictures of Big Ben or tour London Bridge. I just wanted to get paid and get even with those colonials. With a name like Ogundele Kayode Omolerinojo Kutu, I could not even buy a bus pass let alone open a bank account.
«Estoy demasiado ocioso, estoy al borde de la desesperación» —eso es lo que sentía.
A los 28 años, logró obtener esa «libertad de no tener que hacer nada», pero al parecer, eso resultó ser un infierno.
Se despertaba por la mañana sin planes de ningún tipo. Nadie lo necesitaba. Iba a un café, pero no había nadie con quien hablar.
En tres meses, llegó al borde mismo de la depresión.
Al final, él mismo empezó un negocio. No por dinero, sino para recuperar ese «estado de tener algo que hacer todos los días».
Al escuchar esto, me quedé impactado. Muchas personas piensan que «con dinero, uno puede ser feliz». Pero en realidad, aunque haya dinero, si no hay «propósito», las personas se quiebran.
La libertad no es «no hacer nada», sino «poder elegir lo que se quiere hacer». Ganar dinero es un medio para eso, y no se debería convertir en la meta.
Eso es lo que pienso.
This is the unfortunate reality of young Nigerians today. What is described here is the real time example of disease transitioning/epidemiological transition that's occasioned by westernisation of our diets.
Young people consume foods that are high in sugar, high in salt (sodium) and high in trans fat.
Ultra-processed products/foods (junks) are the primary sources of the these nutrients of concern and have been linked to the prevalence of these non-communicable diseases.
Unfortunately, our health system can't properly manage these non-communicable (chronic) diseases.
For fatty liver and PCOS, it's usually described as a 2-way thing, with one capable of worsening the other. I hope those ladies are getting the required medical attention and advisory from experts.
On the policy side (because I'm not a medical practitioner), combating NCDs require urgency and like I have noted in couple of recent engagements, government must begin to bundle policies (🇳🇬 seems to be at least 20 years late) to enable us move at a faster speed.
Kudos to the government of Nigeria for the #SSBTax to reduce consumption of excessive sugar, #TransfatFreeNigeria regulation to limit TFA in processed and packaged foods and the mandatory guidelines on sodium reduction.
In the works are marketing restrictions on unhealthy foods, public procurement policy on 'healthy foods' and the all important Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) that will enhance scientific, data-driven policies within the food and nutrition space.