AUTHOR: NNAEMEKA IJEOMA
Just recently I found myself in household management for the first time in my life. It happened that I now live at home with my father. Mother and my other siblings living away from home because of work, school and national service. And of course the lot fell squarely on me to cook, wash, scrub, serve, and cook, wash….
The most annoying aspect of kitchen work is the sheer repetitiveness of it all. Once you’re through with a meal the plates pile up and preparation for the next meal starts. I now appreciate what the women do. They have to juggle work, school, social activities etc with this demanding and energy sapping service to sometimes uncaring husbands and unappreciative sons. And amazingly they’ve been succeeding. It is on record that the female members of the out gone administration performed brilliantly. A la Ngozi Okojo-Iweala, Dora Akunyili, Oby Ezekwesili, Nenadi Usman and others whose duties kept under the radar. Consequently, it was a step in the right direction when a woman assumed leadership of the House of Representatives. Nigeria’s number four citizen, Mrs. Patricia Etteh has the unenviable task of equaling and maybe even surpassing the achievements of the afore-mentioned female members of the Obasanjo administration and the other well respected female leaders in the international scene like Nancy Pelosi, Segolene Royal, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs. Clinton, an experienced politician and very intelligent woman is now in pole position in the race for the White House. Personally, I think she can do the job and definitely it sounds fascinating that Americans could get two for the price of one if Mrs. Clinton is elected and arrives the white House with her husband as an able adviser. Albeit she is dogged by her support of the Iraqi invasion but I also supported the invasion (alas my opinions don’t count) and a great lot of other people did too. But back in those days nobody knew Iraq will become a ‘banana peel.’
It’s a pity Iraq has turned upside down. It’s a pity man made sectarianism is the excuse used to perpetuate mass slaughter. Even though the situation in Iraq is dire and that of much of the Middle East dicey, I was intrigued to hear the other day that the most important crisis facing humanity today is our speedily degrading planet. Environmental concerns have increasingly come to the fore in the past couple of years. However it is disquieting that environmental matters don’t command much of an importance here in Nigeria even in today’s world where it is now politically correct. Yes, we may not have dramatic problems of acid rain or the huge carbon emission levels of the industrialized countries but we have problems of erosion, pollution of water bodies and that nagging one of inefficient waste disposal.
I live in an estate where it takes weeks before the environmental agency comes to evacuate the refuse dump. I understand we are lucky and some dumps go months before they’re removed. For me honestly, I believe the major problem we have is the high incidence of polythene (or leather as we say in Nigeria) in our refuse composition. These non-biodegradable materials go on to clog water ways, gutters and land fills. No matter how educated a Nigerian is we cheerily demand, “abeg put am for leather?†after shopping.
A comparison can be drawn between the strength and durability of real animal leather and the durability or non-biodegradable nature of Polyethylene. The constant use and blanketing of Nigeria with polythene is an environmental disaster of the highest order and efforts must be implemented to halt this phenomenon. People, communities and governments should take environmental protection as a matter of urgency. We must understand as a nation that a healthy environment is a boon for public health.
Another uplifter of public health is the financial health of the citizens. A battered commodity, it took a further plunge with the recent increase in the VAT to 10%. This has turned every Okoro, Adamu and Segun into financial analysts (this time last year they were all football pundits), each listing the pros and cons of the 100% increase. The price of every item in the market has skyrocketed. Even crayfish is affected by VAT. So I have turned into a financial manager, maximizing the budget according to the realities on ground. Now I begin to understand one of the reasons why our female leaders outperform the men: Experience. This I still lack because…I think I can smell the beans burning.
