Eid Mubarak!

Eid-Mubarak to all our Muslim brothers and sisters

The entire team of OAU Peeps News Agency uses this medium to wish our Muslims merriment, joy, fulfillment and answered prayers NCA . We wish you a fulfilled festival with the mercy, forgiveness and tranquility from God.

Stay safe.

  

Staying Fit At Home

By Olajiga Bolu

So you've been at home for about four months now. And whether you've been finding new avenues to make money, harnessing your skills, or just lazying around, one thing that is common among you all is that you're probably nowhere as fit as you were before going into the lockdown. You may have tried to exercise and it just didn't end well or you never even started. Exercising might look difficult a lot of the time but that's why I'm here to give you a list of quite easy but very effective exercises to get you back into shape. These exercises will be split into levels so you do not exceed your physical ability. Make sure you stretch before you begin any physical activity.

 

LUNGES

For your thigh muscles(quads, hamstrings, glutes)

Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up. Step forward with one foot until your leg reaches a 90-degree angle. Your rear knee should remain parallel to the ground and your front knee shouldn’t go beyond your toes. Lift your front lunging leg to return to the starting position and switch to the other leg. Continue to bend and switch the legs after each rep.

Beginners - 2sets of 20reps each

Intermediate - 3sets of 20reps each

Fit - 3sets of 30reps each

PLANK

For your core(abs, shoulders, chest), endurance and good posture

Position your elbows directly under your shoulders and rest your forearms on the ground. Then pop up on your toes, keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. Keep this posture for some time.

Beginners - 30seconds

Intermediate - 60seconds

Fit - As long as you can hold it

JUMPING JACKS

For cardio and weight-loss

Stand upright with your legs together, arms at your sides. Bend your knees slightly, and jump into the air. As you jump, spread your legs to be about shoulder-width apart. Stretch your arms out and over your head. Jump back to starting position.

Beginner - 2sets of 20reps each

Intermediate - 3sets of 20reps each

Fit - 3sets of 30reps each

DIPS

For arms, chest, and shoulders

Stand facing away from a bench or any platform, grab it with both hands at shoulder-width. Extend your legs out in front of you. Slowly lower your body by flexing at the elbows until your arm and

forearm create a 90-degree angle. Using your triceps lift yourself back to the starting position.

Beginner - 2sets of 10reps each

Intermediate - 2sets of 15reps each

Fit - 2sets of 20reps each

CALF RAISES

For calf muscles, ankle strength and balance

Stand up straight, then push through the balls of your feet and raise your heel until you are standing on your toes. Then lower slowly back to the start.

Beginner - 2sets of 15 reps each

Intermediate - 2sets of 20reps each

Fit- 3sets of 20reps each

Make sure you exercise regularly so you can stay healthy and fit. It is a known fact that being healthy makes you a happier person and it also reduces the risk of you contracting diseases and infections. No need to walk into any gym because you can work out right there at home. Stay safe, get ripped.

Ilé-Ifè

By Emmanuel Dominic 

The word "Ifè" in the Yoruba land commands such supremacy and respect. It is not because with the change of the àmì, it can be transliterated to Love. It is the ancient history behind the great city of Ife. Amidst all other cities in the Yoruba land, Ifè otherwise known as Ilé-Ifè is the base of Supernatural and Spiritual presence. According to Yoruba mythology, the people of Ife were the original creation of the gods.  As deep and much this article could get, I wouldn’t want to bore you with all the long historical context of Ile Ife but let's do a quick lesson.

It was believed that the Supreme God gave the job of the creation of earth to Obàtálá, but got drunk with palm wine on his way, which lead Odùduwà, to handle the creation job with the items of creation; cockerel, snail shell filled with sand. Yoruba myths recognizes Obàtálá as the creator of man from clay, but Odùduwà was the ancestor of the first ever divine king of Yoruba land. The word Ife historically means Expansion, Ile-Ife which means land of expansion. This can explain why people from Ife expand round the globe.

So Odùduwà had many sons and daughters, who went on to establish other kingdoms. Oranmiyan, the last born of Odùduwà established and extend his lineage across the Ife borders developing and creating the biggest cities. First was Benin, were he made out with the princess of Benin kingdom, and had a son Eweka, which later became the king. Since then, his lineage has forever been king and currently. He also found Oyo close to Ife geographically. 

Ifé is known for its strong spiritual presence of the gods, as it has 401 deities, which are called Irumole or Orisha. Quite the number, right? These gods are celebrated each day of the year, but the King only comes out to celebrate one, which is Olojo festival, known as the new dawn. Other vital festivals are the Itapa festivals for Obàtálá and Obarem, the Edi festival, for Moremi Ajasoro, and also the Igare masquerade.

Aside its high presence of the gods, Ife was known as the epic center of brass, bronze sculpture, and was very vast in glass sculpture and these sculptures of basically heads alone. The theory behind this is that the power of the king is on his head, the bigger the powerful. These sculptures have been seen in various museums as far as Berlin and other countries. But these artworks began to decline, as political and economic power shifted to the Benin Kingdom and the Oyo Empire. 

Ife is known to house one of Nigeria’s great universities, Obafemi Awolowo University formerly known as University of Ife. This university has the natural history museum. They also produce agriculture products such as Vegetables, grain cacao, cotton and tobacco.

 

Ife, Ile Awon Orisha , Yoruba for "Ife, Land of the Gods" which is known as the motto of Ife. There are also different titles in the land; Oba Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Olofin Adimula of Ile-Ife, Oba Obirin of Ile-Ife, Oloye of Ile-Ife, Yeyeluwa of Ile-Ife, Omoba of Ile-Ife, Oloori of Ile-Ife.

These are the historical features of the Great Ile-Ife. The land of expansion, the land of the gods

Wife of OAU Former VC, Omole Dies

Prof. Wale Omole, former Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife lost his beloved wife. Mrs Afolasade Adenola Omole (nee Onakoya), aged 66, passed on July 15 after a illness.

Mrs Omole, was a former deputy registrar and an assistant lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile -Ife. She was also the Secretary of Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (I.A.R.& T), Ibadan. 

Bagging the reputation of a devout Christian, Mrs Omole was a two-term President of Christian Morning Star Society of Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral, Ikeja.

She is survived by her husband, three children, grandchildren and three brothers.

Lazy Nigerian Youths?

By Ganiyu Ayanniyi M.

Nigeria and other nations of the world are battling with the life-claiming virus known to be Coronavirus (COVID-19). The virus has quickly become a pandemic disease that is keeping even the World Health Organization on its toes. Every health organization is working tirelessly for a cure. Coronavirus which originated from China has brought all sectors of the globe down from running smoothly. Almost all nations of the world got locked down and restricted movement of people by all means.

These nations’ confinements brought many economies to devastation but it has been able to control the spread of the virus. Nigeria is not left out in experiencing the ill effects of the lockdown which affected the economy, social-cultural lives, education sector, and even the health sector which is getting populated daily with infected patients. 

It is to be recalled that the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, in April 2018 said more than 60% of the Nigerian population are youths and he labeled them as "Lazy youths" who want freebies. Since then, there have been controversies to date questioning the statement whether the youths are truly lazy "willing not to step up" or maybe they've been failed by the government or maybe their parents.

Many youths and notable people disagreed with the statement of the president that: "The Nigerian government has failed the younger generation which has been consistently raped of quality education, jobs, favorable environment, and other primary societal rights. Amidst many challenges, some youths still succeed all through, especially in the global scenes.

Some people are opined that both the government and the parents have failed the youths, mostly the parents who have failed to bear the responsibility of the children and fail to curtail the negativity in the children and give them the right upbringing. 

But, are the youths also lazy? 

The Nigerian government opened almost all sectors in the nation; economy (businesses), markets, interstate movement lifted, religious centers, and so on. But failed to reopen schools where most youths find ways to be busy with their studies even if it's partial opening for final classes. Though, the FG promised to reopen schools very soon but still made a U-turn through the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, by saying schools won't reopen again even for the WAEC students to take their exams and that he doesn't mind if they lose an academic year than exposing them to danger. Nigerians still wonder why they can't have their exams done when most sectors are finely opened. Guidelines are released from time to time; are they applying them for the safe reopening of the learning institutions? 

Excluding the youths mostly from schools according to some will have many effects on the nation's coming economy and it might spike the criminality rate nationwide for it is said that "Devil finds work for idle hands". The Nigerian government can safely and partially reopen schools for students, especially for those in final classes if determined.

More so, according to ASUU in a news trending early 19th of July, saying schools should remain closed till 2021 but be partially opened except when all safety guidelines against the pandemic are observed so that the Nigerian students' lives won't be used for the experiment. In a telephone conversation with the PREMIUM TIMES, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi who is the president of ASUU said:

''Talking of universities, it should be noted that the crises are beyond COVID-19. There are fundamental crises that will make universities reopening longer and impossible for now. We had long told the government our position and until they meet necessary conditions, universities are not resuming even after COVID".

Furthermore, it is no longer new that Tolulope Arotile, Nigeria's first female combat helicopter pilot, was killed in a car accident by some guys believed to be her ex-classmates last week in the "exciting course of greeting her". According to investigations the culprits that hit her with a car had no driver's license. Who is failing who?

It is on record that Tolulope Arotile, a 25-year-old lady, emerged as Nigeria's first female combat helicopter pilot while Kafayat Sanni, another lady younger than 28 years, bagged the recognition of "Nigeria first-ever female fighter jet pilot". Are these too lazy? Does that mean that they represent the youths that have stepped up? 

In an interview with Babalope Moyin, an OAU student, she said,

"Actually, many Nigerians youths are very hardworking. What they just need are conducing environments, quality education, long term jobs, support from their government in many ways, adequate subventions, scholarships, youth development programs, etc. With the right things done from the governments, federal, and state, it is believed that the expectations from youths would be met while not excluding proper parenting from each family."

How to Treat Alopecia

By Pelumi Hassan

Everyone wants a good skin, full hair, and a “perfect” body.  When we don’t get our desired look, we tend to blame it on “If no be for this school stress, I for don fresh” or lack of time and money. Sounds familiar right? Well, the good news is there will be no school stress for a while, so you have all the time in the world to take good care of yourself.

Taking good care of yourself goes beyond eating everything at home and adding weight. You can decide to make that skin glow, make that scanty scalp grow hair, and work that body into that wallpaper you wished you looked like. Today, let’s start talking about taking care of your hair. No matter your gender, your hair does a lot to change your look. So, it is essential that you pay great attention to it. While some people are on the way to hair loss, some already have serious conditions, like alopecia from the lack of care and attention to the hair.

Alopecia is the partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows. It is also known as alopecia areata (AA). It is when the hair shifts away from your original hairline. This condition is real and can affect any gender at any age. Yes, even kids can be affected by alopecia. While tight hairdos and the continuous styling of ponytails can be the cause of alopecia in women, a dry and brittle scalp can be the cause in men.

So, is there a treatment? Yes but it takes a lot of time and patience. The first step to treating alopecia is acknowledging the signs. Most of the time, people just choose to believe that the new hairline was their hairline all along. This is dangerous because they will not give the hair the attention needed.

Stop Manipulative hairstyles.

 The front hair is also known as the baby hair is naturally weaker than the normal hair. If you notice hair loss, you should stop making that Ghana weaving or ponytail. In fact, do not add any hair extension to it for a while. Let it rest if you need to go out, use wigs. As a guy, do not let the barber touch your hairline AT ALL.

Use hair growth oil and products.

As I said, the treatment takes a lot of time and patience. You can buy some hair growth oil like coconut oil, almond oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, and the likes. For better results, you can combine the use of other homemade products with any of these oils.

Homemade products are less expensive and very effective too. You can pick from rice water, onions juice, lemon juice and so on. The only disadvantage is that the smell is not nice. In some cases, people get impatient when the result they are getting is either slow or there is none at all then they start using multiple hair products at once in a bid to get fast actions. No! The hair needs to breath too, often times when people do this, the hair ends up being more damaged. For example, the hair becomes so light and looses its weight making it unhealthy, the hair starts looking scanty and so on.  So in as much as we all want to flaunt a healthy-looking hair, we have to exercise patience and stop using all the ” I heard this works” product hereby causing excessive damage to our hair.

Eat Good Food

This method works for the hair as much as it does for the skin. There is simply no excuse, just eat mum’s sweet food and be happy.

Lastly, trust the process. Believe in the treatment and be consistent, you will get your result soon. However, always put your hair down try not to pack too tight or comb it in any harsh way. Just leave it and let it rest. Stay home, safe stay, and let your hair grow.

Open Marriage - Yay or Nay?

By Moyinoluwa Babalola

In Nigeria, there is a lot of respect for culture and tradition. The institution of marriage is very much respected. 

Will the idea of open marriage be celebrated or criticized in a country like Nigeria?

For those wondering what an open marriage is, let's look at the Wikipedia definition "Open Marriage is a form of non-monogamy in which the parties of a dyadic marriage agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without being regarded by them as infidelity, and consider or establish an open relationship despite the implied monogamy of marriage."

Forget the big language, what they are saying is that an Open Marriage is a marriage where there is an agreement to have affairs outside of the marriage.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett are said to be practicing open marriage. Of recent, the issue of Open Marriage became a subject of discussion in Nigeria when Cynthia Obi-Uchendu, wife of Ebuka Uchendu- the popular media personality, tweeted that:

"I've always said that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having an open marriage."

These caused a lot of controversy among Nigerians and the popular Instablog also put it up on its Instagram page and it got a lot of exciting comments.

Trust Nigerians not to disappoint with their comments:

Nigerians have talked their talk. What is your own opinion on Open Marriage?

Source: Instablog.

OAU Professor Confirmed Dead

By Emmanuel Dominic

Obafemi Awolowo University has again lost another great Professor to the cold hands of death this year. Dr. Gabriel Egharevha who was a Professor of Chemistry in Obafemi Awolowo University.

He died on July 15th 2020. It was said that, he was involved in an accident. Professor Egharevha Celebrated his birthday on Sunday, 12th of July 2020. In which he clocked age 66 before death came knocking.

May God console his families and friends.

Sustaining Democracy in A Dwindling Economy

By Mutiu Saheed Abiodun.

Ban Ki-Moon once said "Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship, and strengthen governance."

Democracy, as defined in the Cambridge dictionary, is the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is either held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves. Democracy exists to provide a way for people to live and be together in a way that is beneficial to all. 

As a bird can't fly with a wounded feather, so it is going to be disastrous for any country to sustain her democratic system of government in a dwindling economy. This is because democracy and economic development go hand in hand clarification of their correlation are irrefutable. In other words, democracy is tied with economic series of growth like levels of education and lifespan through the improvement of educational institutions as well as healthcare. 

Democracy can not sustain in a dwindling economy because, for governance to go smoothly, it must have the revenue to manage its plans. People will request portfolios and this can't be run efficiently without revenue. Nigeria, her economy is a good example that has fallen in this menace. If her current expenditure has taken 70% in paying salary, now can 30% do the rest? And, if it goes like that; people will begin to lament that the serving government is not good enough. Imagine in a situation whereby, an Honourable member of House of Representative is expected to carry his constituency along and always be there for their quests, but when "water is more than yam flour", there is no way it can survive. Surprisingly, people will even expect him/her to be sharing money with every member of the constituency. 

The dwindling economy in a democratic government will lead to nothing but political instability, that is, what is expected of government to realize will not be realized and with these, there will be no improvement in the governance and instead of new things to be planned, the reverse will be the case. On this note is what describes sustainability as a culture which is enough for everyone's needs but not everyone's greed; he, therefore, governs best he who governs least.

It is important to note that the root of the economy itself is seen as a proverbial round table conference for home management and with the media as the best mode of operation. Centrally, it is like a round peg fit for a round hole. However, there is a dictum that says: "sustainability does not fly near the sun." For an economy which would not only take care of today but more of care for tomorrow, it must not fly too near the sun, refraining from living on what it cannot sustain. 

For instance, in the Nigerian context, our economy flies too near the sun by these following anomalies and absurdities: Feigning equal partnership with the advanced economy of Europe, USA and the tiger nations from where we imported 20 different goods at the proverbial border markets while we approach same with just one oil export commodity. We, the Nigerian governments and the governed fool ourselves thinking that we are on equal footing as we refer to ourselves as "Giant of Africa" when by this foolish act makes us over-dependent on other people's sweat. We run our economy too near the sun because anything artificial or gummy cannot stand the scorching sun. It is also like the case of the proverbial load carrier who spent his daily takings on imported bread, he is eating the scalps of his head without knowing it. Why is he not buying local foods which cost less and build his body better, health-wise and afford him the opportunity of saving a few coins for the raining day? 

Our economy flies too near the sun by working ourselves into needless debts and wasting loans on white elephant projects which do not benefit the future generation. Failure to give priority to education in our policy and budget implementation is another way of flying our economy too near the sun.

In the final reckoning, without a robust economy to implement serving government, democracy is not sustainable. In this regard, we think Democracy can be survived from the dwindling economy by the following three basic principles: 

Firstly, exploitation and conservation of natural resources, that is the use of natural resources to buttress its current source and utilizes in such a way that includes the consumption to achieve the principle of sustainability. 

Secondly, the Integration of environment into our economy and its programs. 

Lastly, the equitable use of the resources in a way to be of immense benefit to all and sundry. Democracy that encourages a level-playing ground would throw up the right leadership that regards stewardship as a platform for bringing benefits for the good of all and never for individualistic tendencies. 

Our verdict, therefore, is that there is no way democratic governance can be sustained in a country where natural resources are neglected or only one of them is dependent on, where budget implementation is not done accordingly, and where citizens are politically immature and illiterate. 

Sharan Leslie Burrow, former president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said in one of her quotes that "...no peace for the peoples of the world without the guarantees of sustainability." This entails that, today's status is a reflection of tomorrow.