A PICTURE WITH A THOUSAND WORDS

One of the beauties of creative arts is the diversity of serving the means of communicating
the impression of the artist while still retaining the aesthetic value.

As a means of expression, the artist often exploits his creativity by encoding the message
in his work in an abstract form. This makes it challenging to hold up the artist to a clearly
stated message in his works.

But at what point do we say an artist has pushed his freedom of artistic expression beyond
 the bounds of good taste?

No scenario plays this out better than that of a recent exhibition of a painting of the South
African president Jacob Zuma at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg South Africa.

The work by an artist Brett Murray depicts Mr Zuma in acrylic with the genitals hanging out.
The President has recently just got married to his fourth wife amidst controversies.

As expected the work has generated mixed reactions from the public, with Mr Zuma suing the artist
and the gallery, for violating his right to dignity.

His party, ANC, went further to instruct their lawyers to approach the courts to compel the gallery
to remove the portrait from display as well as from their website and destroy all printed
 promotional materials on it.

Drawing a corollary from this, i could not help but ponder on what such would have generated
in such a clime as that of Nigeria.

Imagine walking into a gallery in Lagos and the first beautiful artwork that adorn the walls
is one of this sort, in an artistic representation of a public figure, probably a state governor or even the president too. What would be your first reaction?

Lamentations of a frustrated Nigerian surgeon

 I stumbled upon a social media group run by some Nigerian doctors on facebook. Reading though the posts by users on the group, I came across a particular one where a foreign trained Nigerian doctor, a surgeon, Ahidjo Abdulkadiri Kawu lamented his experience since he returned to the country to practise what he learnt abroad.

I read through and felt its worth sharing. Its a bit lengthy though, but I crave
your indulgence to be patient and read it through.


“Colleagues,

1. I am a spine surgeon employed at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada Abuja as a consultant.

2. I was a fellow of Scoliosis Research Society at the New York Hospital for Joint Diseases, US in August 2010 under the tutelage of Dr Baron S Lonner.

3. At the completion of my training, Dr Baron S Lonner on my behalf approached Samantha Torres of DePuy Spine Inc US for donation of spine equipment to help operate indigent patients in Nigeria to put to practice all I have learnt with him.

4. On the 15th December 2010, DePuy Spine Inc US approved the donation of some spine items for use by me at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada.

5. I contacted my hospital management who informed me to ship the equipment to Nigeria.

6. My clearing agent Siklaw Global Resource Ltd after completing the Form M and risk assessment paid the custom duty on the 6th march 2011.

7. The equipment was shipped in to Nigeria from the US and arrived in May 2011.

8. On arrival, the O/C (Officer in Charge) Custom Services Mr Wakama GAP inspected the document and said that we must settle him before he release the good since the donated equipment has a value of about N50 million.

9. I instructed the clearing agent to refuse to part with any money.

10. In order to frustrate the release of the equipment he refused to examine or release the equipment till it incurred a demurrage of N27, 800.00. His Immediate boss intervene and directed him to inspect and release the equipment

11. In-order to justify his delay in inspecting the goods, he wrote a report that we undervalued the goods so as to evade payment of the requisite custom duty

12. Due to his greed; the need to justify his action and covered his crime he forgot that medical equipment and donated materials for humanitarian purpose do not attract any duty

13. This issue dragged on till 15th July 2011, when I wrote an official petition to the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Custom Service.

14. There was no response from the Nigeria Custom Service till October 2011 when I officially reported the case to ICPC for further action

15. In November, I was invited by the investigation officer from Nigeria Custom Service to tell my story

16. I was informed by the investigating officer that I have not done anything wrong and that the officer knows that too and that the equipment will be
brought to the hospital for me.

17. Since November till date, the equipment is still at the storage which the Nigeria Custom Service has refused to release

18. I have discharged home to die many patients who would have benefited from this equipment.

19. I wanted the government to investigate this claim and appropriate sanction should be applied to this irresponsible officer whose greed has led to death of many indigent patients in Nigeria, yet I have not received any correspondence from them.
This is the story of Nigeria, where thieves have taken up our lives and greed is our religion”

Thank you for patiently reading through.

Nigerian doctor named among top cardiologists in US

A top Nigerian cardiologist, based in New York, Dr. Oluyemi Badero, has been named among the top interventional cardiologists in the United States, according to a prominent US rating organization for the medical profession.
Castle Connolly, the organisation which publishes distinguished US doctors, has listed Badero among the top US doctors, based in the New York metro area, which includes New York, New Jersey and Connecticut states.

The publication, which is the 15th edition and dated 2012, was released recently, reporting that Badero, who earlier had been named among top US cardiologists, is one of the interventional cardiologists to reckon with in the US. Interventional Cardiology is deemed a rarefied specialty in medical practice, and fewer African-Americans and blacks are qualified in that field.

Badero was among a handful of US black doctors and Nigerians on the Castle Connolly. Some of the other Nigerian doctors, who had featured on the list, include Professor Ferdinand Ofodile, Dr Ola Akinboboye and Dr Chukwuma Okadigwe.


Badero’s training in Africa was noted in the publication. He graduated with an MBBS in 1984 from the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). However, it added that Badero had two residency programmes in the US, both at the State University of New York between 1990 and 1994. It was also highlighted that Badero had two post-residency fellowships at SUNY and Yale, between 1994 and 1998.


The publication also noted his three levels of America medical board certifications in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology.

The publication stated that the process of selecting the top doctors “begins with the identification of a select pool of board-certified physicians from the total numbers of doctors practicing in a given area.” The process involves a survey of already distinguished and leading physicians and hospital CEO’s and medical directors, who are asked to nominate top doctors on an annual basis.

 Commenting on his listing this year by the Castle Connolly, regarded as eminent among US medical professionals, Dr. Badero said the recognition would further spur him to do more and do better, adding that “I feel highly honoured.

Another great Nigerian doing his country proud. Kudos to Dr Badero

Different Strokes!

What happens to your Facebook page when you die?

Do you want loved ones to have access to your information? Or will that just lead to disputes once all your chats are visible for family to peruse..?

When Karen Williams’ son died in a motorcycle crash, the US woman turned to his Facebook account in hopes of learning more about him.
Williams found his password and emailed the company, asking administrators to maintain 22-year-old Loren Williams’ account so she could look through his posts and comments by his friends.
But within two hours, she said, Facebook changed the password, blocking her efforts.


“I wanted full and unobstructed access, and they balked at that,” said Williams, recalling her son’s death in 2005. “It was heartbreaking. I was a parent grasping at straws to get anything I could get.” 
Now lawmakers and attorneys in at least two US states are considering proposals that would require Facebook and other social networks to grant access to loved ones when a family member dies, essentially making the site contents part of a person’s digital estate.
The issue is increasingly important as people record more online and more disputes break out over that material.


Williams ultimately got back into her son’s account, but it took a lawsuit and a two-year legal battle that ended with Facebook granting her 10 months of access before her son’s page was removed.
Nebraska is reviewing legislation modelled after a law in Oklahoma, which last year became the first state to take action.
“Mementos, shoeboxes with photos. That, we knew how to distribute once someone passed away,” said Ryan Kiesel, a former legislator who wrote the Oklahoma law. “We wanted to get state law and attorneys to begin thinking about the digital estate.”


Under Facebook’s current policy, deaths can be reported in an online form.
When the site learns of a death, it puts that person’s account in a memorialized state. Certain information is removed, and privacy is restricted to friends only.
The profile and wall are left up so friends and loved ones can make posts in remembrance.


Facebook will provide the estate of the deceased with a download of the account data “if prior consent is obtained from or decreed by the deceased or mandated by law”.
If a close relative asks that a profile be removed, Facebook will honour that request, too.
Like the Oklahoma law, the Nebraska bill would allow friends or relatives to take control of social media accounts if the deceased person lived in the state.


The measure would treat Facebook, Twitter and email accounts as digital assets that could be closed or continued by an appointed representative.

 Facebook spokesman Tucker Bounds said the company was surprised by the Oklahoma law and was working closely with Nebraska legislators on the latest proposal. The company declined to say how many people had requested access to accounts held by Oklahomans, but Bounds said it was relatively rare

“Some people say ’Well, if I get hit by a bus, what do I care?’” she said. “The people who love you care very much about it.”

So have you given it a thought for a moment before, 'what happens to my accounts when I'm no longer available to use them?