A study in Uganda has come up with a surprising finding about sex and HIV. Washing the penis minutes after sex increased the risk of acquiring HIV in uncircumcised men.

The sooner the washing, the greater the risk of becoming infected, the study found. Delaying washing for at least 10 minutes after sex significantly lowered the risk of HIV infection, Dr. Fredrick E. Makumbi reported on July 25 at an International AIDS Society Conference in Sydney, Australia.

The researchers do not have a precise explanation for the findings, which challenge common wisdom and the teaching of many infectious disease experts who urge penile cleansing as part of good genital hygiene. Health experts have suggested that washing the penis after sex could prevent potentially infectious vaginal secretions from entering the body through the uncircumcised penis.

Washing the penis after sex is common in Africa. To determine whether washing could be recommended as an alternative to male circumcision, Makumbi’s team from the Makerere University Institute of Public Health studied 2,552 uncircumcised men in the Rakai district of Uganda.

The men, ages 15 to 49, were uncircumcised and not HIV infected when they enrolled. Eighty-three percent said they washed with all sex partners.

The researchers asked about when and how the men washed after intercourse at enrollment and 6, 12 and 24 months later, including whether they washed with or without clothes.

Because of a slip-up, the researchers did not ask details of how the cleansing was done or directly about using soap, said Dr. Ronald H. Gray, a co-author from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Some soaps used in Africa are more irritating than those used elsewhere.

Men who washed within three minutes had a 2.3 percent risk of HIV infection compared with 0.4 percent among those who delayed washing for 10 or more minutes. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases paid for the study.

The washing analysis was a secondary part of a study undertaken to determine the effectiveness of male circumcision against HIV infection. Earlier reports had shown that circumcision was protective.

One message from the study, Gray said, “is that there ought to be a little time left for postcoital cuddling before you go and wash. Don’t just finish and jump out of bed.”

Makumbi and other AIDS experts said they did not know why the washing practice increased vulnerability to HIV infection, but offered various explanations. One is that the acidity of vaginal secretions may impair the ability of the AIDS virus to survive on the penis. Delayed cleansing — and longer exposure to the vaginal secretions — may then reduce viral infectivity.

Another is that use of water, which has a neutral pH, may encourage viral survival and possible infectivity.

HIV apparently needs to be in a fluid to cross the mucosa to infect cells, Gray said. If the HIV-contaminated fluid dries, its infectivity may decrease. Adding water could resuspend HIV to make it more infectious.

The study findings are counterintuitive, said Dr. Merle A. Sande, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Washington in Seattle, and “show why you have to do the studies, because until you do them, you just don’t know.”

Sande, who was not involved in the study, said, “There is still so much we don’t understand about the complex factors that influence HIV transmission in the genital tract, but this important study will help.”

He also is president of the Academic Alliance Foundation, a group that trains health workers to treat AIDS and other infectious diseases in Uganda.
By NewYork Times News Service

Recently, America’s TV girl, Oprah Winfrey, called on America to sever diplomatic relationships with world’s topmost corrupt countries.

Worst of all the countries, Oprah surmised, is Nigeria.

According to her, “all Nigerians – regardless of their level of education – are corrupt.”

It is very pathetic that Oprah could ascribe to a larger population, the evil act of an insignificant number of persons in the world’s most populous black nation.

Oprah’s conclusion is based on the fact that a Nigerian of Igbo extraction was caught with $500,000, which was alleged to have been stolen from a foreigner through the Internet fraud popularly known as 419.

Oprah had sponsored an hour-long programme, which ran for several days on the CNN, with the sole aim of exposing the clever tricks espoused by this group of Nigerians to con their victims.

Much has been said about the greed of the victims themselves, and I need not say more about it.

However, at a time when Americans are committing heinous crimes against children and women, nobody has tagged all Americans as murderous.

So, why call all Nigerians rogues because of the sin of a few bad eggs?

Oprah regularly tells her life story: how she was sexually abused by close relations, how she ‘walked the streets’ (Americans’ euphemism for prostitution), etc., but nobody has ever deemed it fit to tag all American men as incestuous because of Oprah and others’ experiences.

She did drugs – just like the typical American teenager, but nobody has cast all American youths in the mould of drug abusers!

So, why should an individual that is supposed to know better sentence a nation to odium for the infraction of a tiny fraction of its population?

I urge Oprah and her likes to disabuse their minds about Nigerians.

Be wary of requests for money from strangers, and if you fall for a scam, blame your greed and not Nigerians.

Okoli Vitalis,

legendchyke@gmail.com

Disturbed by the distraction provocative dresses have become for university staff and students, many tertiary institutions have enacted urgent dress codes to curb the problem and limit the damage to the self esteem of everyone on the campus. The University of Ibadan (UI) is the latest to join the codification of dresses on campus. UI, said the report, has banned female students from wearing perforated and transparent clothes, low-neck blouses that expose breast, armpit and belly-button and tight skirts that reveal, in all its aggravating posture, the structure of the buttocks. No skirt that does not reach the knee, said the regulation, could be worn. Male students were similarly, but not acutely, affected. In general, the dress code expects them to remain men, not hybrids or dandies piercing ears and plaiting hair.

There are no reports to tell us how universities, which have enacted dress codes for their students, have fared. We do not know how well the schools have enforced the codes or for how long. We also have no inkling into what motivated the authorities to draw up the codes. Did offended students complain about the dresses? Were teachers distracted from doing their job or conducting research? Did the provocative dresses engender cultism and affect standards negatively? And have the sociology departments in these schools researched the reasons female students flaunt what materialists call their assets?

It seems that the dress codes were a product of general feelings rather than deep-rooted research. Everyone appears to feel horrified in a vague sense and expresses it without knowing concretely why. And the authorities also play along with the horrified university public by surrendering to the same paranoia. The reasons often given for cracking down on outrageous dresses, some analysts volunteer, are basically connected with religion, ethics and culture. Religion, because they say the dresses offend God and morality; ethics, because they say the dresses are depraved; and cultural, because the dresses are at war with our traditions and values.

The dress codes have, however, not diminished the outlandish and obscene taste for the unusual. A cursory inspection of many institutions show clearly the tenacious hold female students have on expressionist fashion where both what is hidden and what is exposed speak loudly to the viewer’s fantasies. And judging from the wording of the dress codes themselves, the authors seem to have excellent and sharp eyes for anatomising both the dresses and the dressed. The war over indecent dresses on campuses obviously cannot be won at the level of imposing codes, in spite of their engaging simplicity, and enforcing them. Have the university authorities never heard of moral suasion? Can’t they try to reason these things out with the students and persuade them to opt for change?

Do not be hasty in these three: Marriage, Business and Travel"
Do not waste these three: Time, Money, Energy"
Like these three: Kindness, Sympathy and Cordiality"
Hate these three: Injustice, Pride and Unfaithfulness "
Love these three: Bravery, Gentility and Affection "
Leave these three: Laziness, Too much talk, Hurried Judgment "
Value these three: Intelligence, Ability and Happiness " Control these three: Temper, Desire and Tongue "
Preserve these three: Good books (scriptures) Good deeds and Good Friends.

Former Ghanaian President, Mr. Jerry Rawlings, has said that culture of democracy is being undermined in Africa, saying that electoral processes are fast losing their integrity in the continent.

He added that democracy was being undermined by the unipolar situation, immorality in international politics and unethical business practices.

The ex-President further said that legislative checks, which were mearnt to strengthen the system of governance, were found wanting in Africa.

He said, “As far as I am concerned, I think the culture of democracy in Africa is being undermined by the unipolar situation, by the immorality in international politics and the unethical business practices that are going on.”

Rawlings also urged African leaders to imbibe what was obtainable in the Western world where the parliaments, congresses and civil societies had the power to correct any perceived abnormality in the system.

He said, “The Western powers and a lot of these European powers have what I call the “handbrake”.

Their parliaments, their congresses and their civil societies have the capacity to pull the hand brake, to prevent their vehicle from reversing.

“South America has demonstrated to an extent its electoral integrity, but not in Africa.

“So what do we have? We have a situation where we do not want military coups but at the same time electoral processes are seriously loosing their integrity.”

At one point or the other in your numerous encounters with people, you would have met at least one person who is said to possess it and knows how to use it. What is this phenomenon we are referring to? It’s called Executive Presence, some call it professional presence. Executive or professional, describe it as you wish it either you have it or you don’t.

Those who have this can easily be spotted even in a large crowd, because its impact can be felt. What is it? Do you have it? Are you putting it to use?

Without doubt, any leader or manager who possesses charisma and warmth but yet powerful presence stands at an advantaged position both in the business world and in life generally. It is important to note that the quality of this phenomenon called Presence is subjective and a-bit elusive to put into words, but the following are some key characteristics of people with presence. Use these to check if you have it or not.

1. Present: This simply means they are "fully here" spirit, soul and body, focused and aware.

2. Self-aware: They have a deep consciousness of there own feelings thoughts and responses.

3. Authentic: There is such a consistency in the expression of the individuality, and they do this without trying to prove themselves or be someone they are not.

4. Flexible: They know how to relate with different personality styles and cultures at different levels in a corporate organisation. They are at-ease with almost any group.

5. Charismatic: They transmit a radiant energy which other people feel and respond to positively.

Individuals with Presence consistently convey or transmit a strong energy; they have such strong aura around them. Their presence is felt by other even before they utter a word. They carry themselves with so much poise and self-assuredness that is open and neither weak nor arrogant .These individuals project a very strong image, an image that is congruent with their real self. They demonstrate graciousness and a deep compassion for others, they also possess an ability to blend well into a variety of circumstances environment .They also have a deep awareness of themselves, of people around them and what goes on around them.

There are various behavioural traits that demonstrate presence; the following are some you should look-out for;

•Instead of reacting, they respond: Even in the face of distasteful situations, conflicts, disturbances, and provocation, they choose to maintain a balanced attitude, they have the ability to think on their feet, judge a situation and respond in a cool, calm, and collected manner. They are in complete control of their emotions.

•They are deliberate: They don’t rush, and yet they are not slow. Their speech can be described as focused, articulate, and steady. By this they send a clear message to people around them that "powerful people never rush", their body language is purposeful and not distracting.

•They are appropriately assertive: Irrespective of the situation, they express themselves clearly without being either pushy or timid.

•Poised under pressure: Individuals with presence remain unruffled when pressure increases due to change, unexpected difficulties and conflict. This does not in anyway suggest that they don’t have feelings, but because of characteristic number (1.) above, they posses the ability to harness their feelings and control the expression of such feelings, this of- course with other people is the case.

•They are polished yet animated, they communicate in clear and concise manner, yet with an appropriate amount of gestures , voice inflections and facial animation’

•They maintain a balance in their talk time. When conversing with other, they maintain a relatively even exchange i.e. they listen as well as talk.

•Respectful: Even when they dislike someone, they maintain an openness that is to be admired and listened to, ensuring that the communication lines are open. They refrain from putting others down.

•They are open: Individuals with presence are willing to intimate, to reach-out, and to be flexible in their approach to mend fences when needed.

•They are of the power behind words and they use words carefully and effectively in their relationship with people around them and in the situations they find themselves.

"Eager to preserve the English language against a rising tide of nonsense," a British newspaper asked readers last week to compose a piece of prose "crammed with as many infuriating phrases as possible." The results make entertaining reading.

"I hear what you’re saying but, with all due respect, it’s not exactly rocket science," begins one excellent example. "The bottom line is you wear your heart on your sleeve and, when all is said and done, this is all part and parcel of the ongoing bigger picture." Another declared, "let’s face facts here, this could be my conduit to a whole new ball game. Awesome, or what?"

Some of the entries mocked bureaucratese: "Our own cost-benefit analysis of the ongoing target shortfall is that this predicament needs to be addressed proactively." Others celebrated slang, either American ("chill to the max") or British ("I was gobsmacked") in origin. And all of them suggested an explanation for why it seems so difficult to follow the ludicrously early American presidential campaign: Too many of the candidates speak in prose crammed with as many infuriating phrases as possible.

The worst offender — and this week’s column is officially apolitical — is Hillary Clinton, who is "running for president because I believe if we set big goals and we work together to achieve them, we can restore the American dream today and for the next generation." Clinton also believes that"we can give people the education and opportunities they need to fulfill their God-given potential," and that "the foundation of a strong economy is the investments we make in each other." Who could possibly disagree?

But maybe that’s what it takes to lead the opinion polls, at least at this stage. "Folks, we’re a bit down politically right now, but I think we’re on the comeback trail, and it’s going to start right here," Fred Thompson said recently, speaking to an audience of apparently enthusiastic Virginia Republicans. And no wonder they liked him: This is a man who believes that "it’s time to take stock and be honest with ourselves. We’re going to have to do a lot of things better," and who tells audiences that "I know we’re here for the same reasons: Love of our country and concern for our future."

Well, I, too, feel love of our country and concern for our future, which is why I worry when Mitt Romney says that "it’s time for innovation and transformation in Washington" (was it ever not?) or that "America can also overcome the challenges and seize our abundant opportunities here at home" (does any candidate think otherwise?). Or when Rudy Giuliani promises a "mission of reform and change" (as opposed, presumably, to a mission of entropy and stasis).

Political campaigns only get interesting when the candidates stop speaking in ringing generalities and infuriating phrases — which doesn’t mean that they become successful, or even good for the country. John McCain’s campaign in 2000 appealed precisely because he eschewed prepared gobbledygook — though that wasn’t enough even to win the Republican nomination. I am also still convinced that voters initially liked George W. Bush’s inarticulacy: At least he didn’t sound quite as smooth, and ultimately meaningless, as everyone else. Only with time did his natural-born inability to speak English begin to produce infuriating phrases of unique pointlessness: "These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved" was a recent classic.

At the moment, the brightest new hope for the English language is Barack Obama, a fact I didn’t fully appreciate until I inattentively picked up what I thought was his best-selling new book, " Dreams From My Father." Expecting a dull political tract, I discovered an engaging story of his enigmatic father and his eccentric childhood, full of unexpected observations about race and identity in America and Africa, written with real elegance: ("Miscegenation," he writes at one point: "The word is humpbacked, ugly, portending a monstrous outcome: like antebellum or octoroon, it evokes images of another era.") Then I discovered that I’d read the wrong book: Obama wrote "Dreams From My Father" 15 years ago, before becoming a political candidate of any kind. Though his recent "elect-me-president" book, " The Audacity of Hope," has been praised for its prose, the jacket blurb describes it as "Senator Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions" to create a "radically hopeful consensus."

I hear what they’re saying, but, with all due respect, I’m putting off reading it, afraid the deterioration might already have begun. Let’s face it, guys: No good writer, however eloquent, can possibly survive a two-year presidential campaign.

Applebaum writes for the Washington Post

African culture frowns at corruption basically. Unfortunately there are certain factors also in our culture that provide the breeding ground for corruption and we must decide now as a nation, as a generation, to confront this issue and to break free from every limitation. Slavery and colonisation have not helped matters like an elephant that is tamed through mental conditioning; slavery and colonisation have bred in us the poverty mindset, low self esteem, corruption and a sense of irresponsibility. I ask you to make up your mind today like I have that we will not make money anymore through illegitimate means. Stealing attracts a curse and today that curse must be lifted from us as individuals and from our nation.

NIGERIANS yesterday trooped out to honour the slain political martyr, Mrs. Kudirat Abiola calling for immortalisation of the activist and her husband, Chief M. K. O. Abiola.

Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections died in detention in 1998 in the struggle to claim the mandate to rule the country. His wife, Kudirat was murdered on June 4, 1996 while campagning for release of her husband from detention by the late Gen. Sani Abacha's military dictatorship.

As was anticipated, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua last Tuesday, May 29, got sworn in as the president and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, becoming the third executive president in Nigeria.

While Nigerians cannot wish away the murky April polls which Yar’Adua benefitted from in a hurry, the mien and gentle comport with which Yar’Adua is seen to be carrying about the business for now is making Nigerians have a rethink as to whether to give him a chance, to display this alleged characteristic which was touted to be his number one credential.

If Nigerians decide to place him on probation, then it will be necessary for Yar’Adua to immediately assert his independence and authority, and extricate himself from the apron strings of those who supposedly put him in power; as the job at hand is no tea party, so must the overall interest of the nation be held sacrosanct and not be compromised for the selfish interest of an atrocious clique.

How serious Yar’Adua is would be determined from the appointments he makes in the few days and weeks to come. If he choses to appease every Tom, Dick and Harry that claims to have tried in no small measure in his becoming president, dashing and throwing at them positions, then he must be ready to derail and loose focus as Obasanjo did in his first four years, when instead of appointing technocrats and brainbusters, he decided to invite accolades, campaign directors, party stalwarts, party chieftains... such that by the time he woke up from his slumber, it was already the era of a feast for all, where those saddled with responsibilities took their appointments as compensation meant strictly to come and partake in a "chop for one, chop for them government."

Nigerians are peace-loving people and generally friendly. While the government might want to pride itself at providing Sat 1, Sat 2 and Sat 1 million, it might interest Yar’Adua to know that these things do not make sense to ordinary Nigerians who at the end of the day are the yardstick to assess the impact of a government.

The ordinary Nigerian is not bothered with the person, tribe, religion or sex of the individual at the helm of affairs as long as his basic needs are met. It is for Yar’Adua to now use his wisdom to map out the basic needs of the Nigerian people.

Obasanjo out, Yar’Adua in,’ thus ran a typical newspaper headline last Wednesday as Baba Iyabo vacated Aso Rock and returned to his Owu ancestry. Eight years after his second coming to power, bearing in mind Herbert Macaulay’s admonition that “the end of government is the happiness of the people,” are Nigerians better off today than they were in 1999? How would Nigerians generally remember the President who all the time insisted on pleasing us in his, and not our own way? Why do people love to hate a powerful, if arrogant leader?

Let me bore you with an old story. Writing under the heading: ‘The Public and the President,’ Prof. Erwin C. Hargrove says in his book ‘The Power of the Modern Presidency’ that “unlike the legislature or a court, executives are unitary and are easily personalised.” People, especially “children learn personal stories about presidents: Washington would not tell a lie; Lincoln split rails and read by firelight; Teddy Roosevelt overcame asthma by becoming a cowboy.”

Hargrove probably forgot to recall other myths about American presidents, especially Abraham Lincoln, who is still remembered as having married a woman “notoriously weak in money matters.” According to one account, owing to Mrs. Mary Lincoln’s “irrational thinking in money matters,” on many occasions, she overspent the budget for the maintenance of the White House. And since Lincoln would not tolerate that, he had to pay back from his pocket.

On October 11, 1861, for example, Mrs. Lincoln overspent the White House budget by $3,549. When the supplementary bill was brought to Lincoln for approval, he exclaimed: “It never can have my approval — I will pay it out of my pocket first — it will stink in the nostrils of the American people …The house was furnished well enough, and if I had not been overwhelmed with other businesses, I would not have had any of the appropriation expended, but what could I do? I could not attend to everything!” (See Henry Steele Commager et al, The World of History). That’s a typical American president for you. Never mind the clear exception that was Richard Nixon. Fond memories of a president depend largely on the enduring values he created while in office. Not just American presidents, but presidents or executive leaders everywhere.

Against this backdrop, what do Nigerian presidents look like? What personal stories could children learn about past and present Nigerian leaders? Baba Iyabo himself has the answer. “There are certain things they (presidents) cannot do,” he says. “But in our own case in Nigeria, look at what Babangida has done. He virtually made Minna the headquarters of Nigeria. And look at Abacha, he did not make Kano the capital of Nigeria, but he made his wife the Vice-President” (see Africa Today, September 1998).

What about he himself, the man who dey kampe and believes God had spoken to him in prison – the man who, on the eve of his recruitment for the presidential race eight years ago, promised to take us “as a nation towards spiritual and moral regeneration – practically vowing that unless we have these two things, “the chance is there that man will continue to do evil?”

Yet he supervised the 2007 elections. If President Washington would not tell a lie, Lincoln would not take government money, Teddy Roosevelt overcame asthma by becoming a cowboy, and if Franklin Roosevelt was “the president that remembered the man at the bottom of the economic pyramid,” how would history remember a Nigerian president who had within eight years raised the pump price of petrol from N20 per litre to N75? How would history remember the president who conducted the 2007 elections?

Perhaps Mike Awoyinfa came close to the answer. He said, “President Obasanjo came to power with a wing of hope that he would be Nigeria’s Atarturk. But after eight years, he has not succeeded as an Atarturk. Rather, what we have is the story of a crying ancient mariner with an albatross around his neck – the albatross of a rigged election, whose wind is not about to blow away” (Saturday SUN, 26/5/07).

But how wise is it to condemn the man so soon when we are yet to see the footsteps of his anointed political son? Remember that Baba is adept in the politics of succession. As a wilful president, whose tenure evoked mixed feelings in everyone, Baba chose a successor whose performance in office will by no means eclipse his.

Remember Shehu Shagari? Baba preferred him to Awolowo in 1979. Today, he has tantalised us with Attah, Duke and Odili but finally chose Yar’Adua. In that way, the dark side of his tenure will systematically pale into oblivion, leaving his meagre but positive accomplishments to tarry in the people’s memory by overshadowing that of his successor. History seems to be repeating itself again. Anyway, Umar Yar’Adua may prove us wrong; but we shall see.

Yet, it could be that President Obasanjo was a classic victim of the insatiability of man. Part of the irony of leadership is that no nation appreciates a weak leader. Every nation wants a powerful leader. Yet when that powerful leader emerges on the scene, the same people will be the first to condemn him. How do you explain that?

Enter Professor Hargrove again: “Human feelings are mixed by nature, and one does not feel all one way about anybody or anything. Perhaps the power of the… presidency to evoke awe also evokes ambivalence and fear of power: The greater the capability of an individual president to evoke strong, positive emotions among the public, the stronger the tone of criticism from the public of him. The bland presidents have evoked little response either way.” A powerful president, in spite of his arrogance and stubbornness, Baba Iyabo was by no means a bland president. Period.

A medical practitioner, Dr. James Babatunde Adeyemi, proprietor of Mambo Maternity and Laboratory Clinic, in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, has been arrested in connection with alleged sale of baby. Dr Adeyemi, a fellow of the General Practice Council of Nigeria, was accused of selling David Joseph Edem, the son of a 17–year-old girl called Miss Sarah Joseph Edem to a Sapele-based lady simply called Helen. The lady has absconded from police custody.

Distraught Sarah told P.M.News in Ikot Ansa, a suburb of Calabar, that sometime in 2006, she was pregnant and after confronting her boy friends, non of them was willing to accept responsibility for the pregnancy and to avoid trouble from her mother and elder sisters, she concealed it for about four months after which her elder sister discovered and was furious with her.

As an apprentice with Rainbow Garment, a fashion designing firm, the pregnancy was going to prevent her from acquiring the trade since she had dropped out of school.

Her elder sister, Imaobong, furious that the N10,000 she paid for her to learn the trade would be wasted, she decided to pay another N10,000 to have the pregnancy terminated.

“When Imaobong discovered that I was pregnant she was furious with me. She, however, calmed down and decided that I should have the pregnancy terminated. Somebody directed us to Dr Adeyemi who demanded for N10,000 which she paid, but the doctor said the pregnancy had escaped to my back and he could not trace it and so I should then keep coming to see him.”

She said she kept visiting the hospital to have the pregnancy removed but the doctor only kept asking her to repeat her visit some other date until it became too risky to attempt an abortion. She then accepted her fate as her mother too was opposed to taking the abortion option. With abortion shelved, the doctor opted to be ‘monitoring’ the progress of the pregnancy.

This, she said, was to enable Adeyemi keep an eye on her to know when she would put to bed.

“I did not attend antenatal in his clinic, but occasionally, he would send for me to ask how I was doing. Because I did not have money to go to hospital, my sister took me to a midwife at RCC Road where I delivered on 29 April.”

A few days after delivery, Dr Adeyemi called Imaobong to “find out about my patient”. He was informed that the girl had delivered and was in the house. On Friday, 5 May, Adeyemi visited their home in the company of a nurse with the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital , (UCTH).

The nurse gave Imaobong N200 to buy drugs.

“When my sister went out, Adeyemi took me to a corner of the house and told me to come to see him on Sunday in his hospital. That I should not allow anyone know that I was going to see him,” Imaobong said.

On Saturday, she said Dr Adeyemi visited again to further instruct her to ensure he she showed up in the hospital. As agreed, that Sunday she went to see Adeyemi “after my sister had left for church with Emem, our last born, and my mother off to her farm in Odukpani.”

Her stay in hospital took her far into the night. Her absence agitated the minds of her siblings as to where she had gone to. Later that evening Imaobong received a call from someone claiming to be the step sister to the boy who impregnated Sarah. The caller, Imaobong, said told her that Sarah was with her in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State and that she was the step sister to the boy who impregnated Imaobong and would now take care of David.

“I was mad. Who is that boy that throughout Sarah’s pregnancy never showed up. It is now that he knows Sarah should be taken to his step sister. I warned the woman to return Sarah immediately or I would raise alarm.”

The caller, Imaobong said, cut the line and when she called back she refused to pick the call.

Meanwhile, Sarah said when she got to the hospital, Adeyemi gave her some drugs to take which made her feel dizzy.

“After taking the drugs he drove me in his car to White House Street where Mary Okon lives and collected the baby from the car and handed him over to the nurse.

“I was feeling too weak and confused and could not do or say anything,” Sarah narrated.

After returning to the hospital, Dr. Adeyemi she said gave her the key to his office to go in there and wait.

“After I waited for a long time in his office, he did not come. I decided to come out when my head cleared a little. When he came back, he was very angry and ordered me to go inside the office and he locked me up,” Sarah said in tears.

The girl was locked up in office until the following day which was a Monday. According to her, the doctor on Monday morning wrote a letter which he handed over to her to copy which he then dispatched to her sisters in Ikot Ansa.

The letter apologised and requested for forgiveness from her mother and sisters for handing over “David to his father’s step sister to take care of since we cannot take care of him alone.”

When Imaobong got the letter, she was furious and went the next day with her mother to Mambo Clinic where they met Adeyemi with two ladies.

“He pleaded with my mother to stop screaming. That David had been taken to the motherless babies’ home and he would soon go and bring him. That the women in charge of the home went for a burial and would be back two days later. When my mother heard this, she fainted,” Imaobong told P.M.News.

Imaobong who said she missed the last JAMB because of the case said they went back two days later but Adeyemi was no where to be found. They then reported the matter to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development but were advised to report the matter to the police.

At the police station, they were directed to, the anti-human trafficking unit said a nurse in the General Hospital, Calabar had observed the suspicious movement of two women and had called the attention of a doctor to them.

The women claimed they wanted to “spend the night in the hospital” this allegedly raised the suspicion of the doctor as one of them had a new born baby and a wrapper tied around her waist to indicate that she had just put to bed.

When the doctor examined them it was discovered that non of them had just put to bed. They were subsequently arrested and handed over to the police at the Akim Police station. There they were said to have made some useful statements to the effect that they bought the baby from a medical doctor and were at the hospital to “procure” another baby to take to their husbands since they have been without children after 30 years of marriage. They later bolted away after the confessional statement but without the baby as he was with the doctor.

When Dr. Adeyemi was invited by the police, he said “Sarah came crawling to him to assist take care of the baby since she was not able to care for the baby alone”.

When asked to get the baby from his wife’s friend, he could not. So, he was subsequently taken into custody by the police.

He was held for over five days before the AIG Zone Six, Alhaji Aina released him on bail.

When contacted in his hospital at 12 Atamunu Street, Dr. Adeyemi, said he had no time to talk to the “press because the matter as you have said is an allegation. The matter is with the police and if you want to know what happened get my statement from the police. Now please leave my office as I have patients to attend to.”

The Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association , Dr. Ikpeme Ikpeme said they have been several cases of ethical misconduct reported against Adeyemi but “ each time they tell us that he is an in-law to the state and should be forgiven.”

Another medical practitioner who prefers anonymity said that “it is a known fact that Mambo Clinic is a grave yard. So many girls have died there or have had their reproductive system destroyed by Adeyemi as the man does nothing than abortion or D and C.

“Those he does not abort, he sells to the highest bidder. If that man is not stopped, he will inflict untold damage on medicare in the state.”

Dr. Joseph Ana, the State Commissioner for Health was said to be too busy with the hand over process to speak with our correspondent.

The Police Public Relations Officer for the Cross River command, ASP Thomas Okpene, said the “man was asked to be released on bail by AIG Zone Six. When the Commissioner asked for the file because of the shoddy way the case was handled by Akim, it was reported that the AIG had given instruction that he should be taken on bail.”

Residents of the state are worried that if Adeyemi is allowed to continue to practice without any sanction he would inflict more damage on medicare in the state.

Culled from PM News

RESIDENTS of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, are now at a loss over the mystery surrounding the death on Monday of three female undergraduates who allegedly got drowned in a river.

Two of them were identified to be final year Law students of Kogi State University, Anyigba, while the third one was a student of Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State.

Observers said that the death might not be unconnected with rituals, as the river, popularly called Meme River, was said to be very shallow.

According to unconfirmed reports, two of the undergraduates had accompanied the third friend to Lokoja, allegedly to see her boyfriend, said to be residing near the river, along Lokoja - Ajaokuta expressway.

The body of one of the deceased was said to have been seen the following day on the river, while those of the two others were yet to be found.

Contrary to the belief that Nigeria is free from natural disasters, eight Nigerian meteorologists have confirmed that a hurricane known as Alberto actually passed through 15 states in the country for the first time in 2003.

The development is coming even as it has been predicted that the same type of hurricane will again visit Nigeria soon.

Reaserch on the natural phenomenon, which was carried out by the Nigerian meteorologists, was finally confirmed in 2006 by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, the United States.

The meteorologists attributed the delay in the reaserch to their decision to come out with accurate information so as not to raise alarms.

TWO Africans have been tipped as likely replacement of Mr. Paul Wolfowitz as World Bank President. They are former Nigeria’s Finance Minister and vice president of the bank, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the South African Finance Minister, Mr. Trevor Manuel.

Already, high-wire politics is currently going on over who of the two Africans may likely take over the position. It was gathered that while South Africa is already intensively lobbying to get the post by reaching out to the United States which may decide who will get the post, the Nigerian government is yet to make any contact on the issue.

According to a source in Washington, Okonjo-Iweala’s advantages over her rival include her experience and record on the key issues of aid to Africa, anti-corruption crusade and the credibility needed to raise the IDA. She is also a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., one of the respected institutions in the world.

“Her experience, both as a secretary to the board of executive directors and as a long time career member that rose through the ranks to the level of VP also put her way ahead on both the question of building trust with the staff of the bank and also rebuilding the relationship with the board of directors,” the source said.

However, it was gathered that the only problems about Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala’s chances have to do with whether the United States, whose citizens have traditionally headed the bank, will be favourably disposed to allowing a black woman to take over Wolfowitz’ job.

“The only problems is if George Bush will be smart enough to name the first woman, the first African and the first non-American to head the World Bank,” the source added.