SIR (HON) ITIAKO IKPOKPO'S NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF ISOKO SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

My good people,
I salute and rejoice with you as we celebrate the dawn of a new year that holds the promise of prosperity and endless possibilities for us.

I join you in appreciating, most heartily, our Most High God for His benevolence towards all of us.
It has become a tradition for us as individuals, groups, organisations and government to take stock of the outgone year and make resolutions as well as set agenda to guide our actions in the new one. This year will not be different.
But first, I appreciate most sincerely the immense support and cooperation that I enjoyed from you before, during and after the local government elections that brought me to office as the Chairman of Isoko South Local Government a little over two months ago.
I can't but earnestly ask for more of your collective support in our quest to enthrone an era of endless possibilities in this great local government.
Although, many are wont to argue that two months is too short a period to asses the performance of a government, I am happy to say that we have started on a strong footing.
Since assumption of office two months ago, even in the midst of acute and frightened paucity of funds, we have taken some bold steps in critical areas of governance and development. We have re-awakened staff morale and attitude to work by engaging every department of the local government in the course of administration.
We are currently on a total remodeling of our office complexes to further boost staff morale thereby increasing their efficiency and productivity. The Chairman's official lodge and its access road, which before now were in terrible state, are also receiving serious attention.
We have activated a robust stakeholder-government interface to ensure full participation of the people in the planning, implementation and monitoring of our administration's policies and programmes on security, environmental sanitation, agriculture, primary health care, education and revenue generation.
In this regard, we have held and will continue to hold extensive interactive sessions with our respected Traditional Rulers and community leaders.
As you are all aware, environmental sanitation is a key policy drive of this administration and we have matched policy with action by clearing all unapproved dump sites in the locality within the first two weeks of our coming on board. Henceforth, it will be zero tolerance for indiscriminate dumping of wastes.
On security, we are laying the foundation for a robust relationship with the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to ensure maintenance of law and order in our land.
My dear people, a clear indication of my administration's vision in the next three years is given in my manifesto on the partial basis of which you elected me. As we march boldly through 2015 with great expectations, I reassure you of our resolve as an administration to translate our policies and programmes from the realm of vision to reality.
The greater good for the greater number of our people will be the underlying factor of our policies as a government. Equity, justice and fairness will guild and direct all of our actions.
In line with the multi-sectoral nature of our vision and the strategies we have adopted for achieving it, every sector of our economy will receive attention in 2015.
Within the ambience of peace and stability made possible by your unflinching support, I am emboldened and confident that we will uplift the fortunes of our people and set our local government on the path of tremendous growth and development to the glory of God. Yes, it is possible and together we will do it.
I won't end this message without reminding us of the enormous task ahead of us in the forthcoming general elections. Soon, an expectant nation will call on us all to hit the polls and elect our next set of leaders at the state and national levels.
I humbly appeal to all of us to actively participate and vote for candidates of our great party, the PDP, to ensure effective synergy towards the actualisation of our mandate.
To the Leader and every member of the Legislative Arm; the Secretary to the Local Government; the Head of Personnel Management, and all other staff of Local Government, I say a big thank you for your immense support and dedication to the course of realising an Isoko South of our collective dream.
My cherished brothers and sisters, I again wholeheartedly thank you for your steadfast support. Let's please remain resolute and prayerful. I assure you of my unalloyed commitment and dedication.
To our kith and kin who came home from far to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with us, while I wish you fun-filled celebrations, and God's protection back to your various destinations, I appeal to you to always think home and to take advantage of the endless investment opportunities in our local government.
I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year.
God bless us all.
Sir (Hon) Itiako Constantine Ikpokpo, KSM.
Chairman, Isoko South Local Government.

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE CROSS RIVER STATE GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS

Fellow Cross Riverians, Respected Leaders and Members of our great Party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), I salute you.
You will recall that, following the recently concluded Primary Elections at the different levels across our State, I had cause to express my misgivings and dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise. My clearly stated grievances, which I succinctly outlined in an earlier statement, ranged from manipulation of the delegates lists to outright voter intimidation.
This resulted in my withdrawal from the race for the gubernatorial ticket of our Party, the PDP, in the 2015 elections. My decision, painful as it was, was reached not without due considering for the uncommon dedication and sacrifices made by the leadership and entire membership of my campaign team as well as my supporters across the State. It also did not preclude the option of exploring the possibility of seeking the mandate of the good people of Cross River State on an alternative political platform.
Having weighed all the variables, and in the light of the appeal by our National Leader, Presidential Candidate and President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan against defection to other Parties on account of dissatisfaction with the conduct of the Party Primaries; and, more recently, following the grave concerns and medical advice of my doctors, I have had to come to another painful decision.
After due consideration and cognizant of the imperative to subsume my personal ambition in the greater interest of our Party, the PDP, in Cross River State, I have reached the following decisions:
· I shall not contest the 2015 gubernatorial elections on an alternative platform
· I shall work within the ambit of our Party to ensure that the PDP retains control of Cross River State at all levels
· I shall work fully with our Party’s candidate, Senator Ben Ayade to ensure his victory in the gubernatorial election
· I shall give my all to ensure that President Jonathan not only wins overwhelmingly in Cross River State, but that he wins the Presidential election with an even wider margin than he did in 2011.
For the avoidance of doubt, I remain a loyal member of the PDP. I therefore appeal to my teeming supporters to remain loyal and work for the victory of our party at the forthcoming general elections. Cross River State is our home, a collective patrimony. We should not see this as a letdown, but rather focus on the larger picture and perceive it correctly as a collective sacrifice for the greater good of Cross River State.
I thank you all for your support and reassure you that I remain fully committed to contributing to the growth and development of our dear State.
God bless Cross River State. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
GODDY JEDY-AGBA, OFR
CC
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN PDP
HIS EXCELLENCY, SENATOR LIYEL IMOKE, GOVERNOR CROSS RIVER STATE
STATE CHAIRMAN PDP CROSS RIVER STATE

DELTA TALENT: I don’t know why God is still keeping me alive

—Daddy Showkey

The story of Daddy Showkey will definitely elicit sympathy from anybody who listens to him anytime he talks. He survived a life-threatening accident that kept him bedridden for three years and out of active music for almost ten years.  As if that was not enough, he returned to the country and a few months after, he was shot by unknown gunmen. But despite his travails, Showkey,  as he’s fondly called by his fans believes he was blessed to be alive. In this interview with SEGUN ADEBAYO, Showkey opens up on the story of his life. Excerpts:
Before you had that accident that kept you out of active music for almost ten years, the impression people had about you was that you had reached the eclipse of your career. Many people did not even know you had an accident until you came back. What do you have to say?
First of all, let me thank God that I am back again. Because If I had died before, during or after the accident, this interview will never happen. Talking about my career before the accident, you will agree with me that I have come a long way in the music industry. Myself and other old generation musicians set the ground rolling for today’s musicians and I am proud to say that.
But you will agree that at some point, Showkey’s name was not as pronounced as it used to be?
You can’t remain on top of your game for the rest of your life. There will be a moment when you will be forced to take the back seat and observe things, but that does not mean you are no more relevant or music has nothing to do with you again. The mistake most people make is that when they don’t see or hear about you, they quickly conclude that your life in music is over. I am not surprised that people didn’t know that I had an accident because I didn’t come out to tell Nigerians that I am down ooo, please help me.
Why? Are you saying that because you have the wherewithal to handle your predicament?
It is not about having the resources to handle my problem, it is more of my decision not to bother people with my problem. Why should I disturb them in the first place? Because they are my fans does not mean they should know about every step I take about my life. I asked myself one question which was, would Nigerians not have known if I was arrested for drugs or something capable of tarnishing my image?.
It seems you are sad that despite your popularity, Nigerians did not know that Daddy Showkey had a life-threatening accident...
No. I am not feeling any sadness in my heart. I am even happy right now. I can’t be happier. I am not bothered whether they know or they don’t. What matters to me is that I was able to handle my predicament through the help of God and some people who God used to help me. I am grateful to these people and I wish them well in all they do. They are my people now and they are my friends.
You have new friends now?
I didn’t say I have new friends. What I am saying is that I have learnt new lesson about life and I now know what friendship is about.
So none of your friends in the music industry came to the hospital to look after you?
The fact is that how many of them knew that I had an accident? How many of them knew which hospital I was admitted to?. It was not the matter of who was there or not, it was the matter of how I was able to handle my situation and managed everything very well. Another thing is that even those who would have come didn’t come because of one reason or the other but I am not bothered about that. Life goes on my brother. You live to learn and you learn to live. When on my sick bed, I read a report about my accident published by one national newspaper in Nigeria, I wept. I wept because that was the only newspaper that reported it.
What single lesson did that experience teach you?
Not a single one but many lessons but the chief of them is caution. I have learnt how to approach life with extreme caution. You know why? If Showkey had died in that accident, I am sure that by now people would have forgotten about me. Perhaps when they listen to any of my songs, they may feel like ouch! that was Showkey’s song. We missed him so much. The bitter truth is that life goes on.
What was running on your mind when you were on that bed? Did you at any point remember music and your dreams which could have gone unfulfilled?
How do I start to describe the experience to you? It was a very bad one but I thank God that I am lucky. The only question on my mind was will I be able to walk again? I was so particular about that question that my doctors would tell me, Mr man you will walk again. The doctors told me I would not have been able to work again if I had delayed the operation for few more weeks. I still don’t believe I am walking again because what I saw in the hospital gave me a different impression about life and I am grateful to God.
Quite a number of people have had similar experience like yours, but most of them have been confined to the wheelchair for the rest of their lives. Could you tell us why your case was different and what special treatment did you receive?
I received the special treatment of grace from God. That’s how much I can say about that. The accident happened in Nigeria and it took me some weeks before I could get my visa and other travel documents sorted out. One thing that also helped was the fact that I had one active Visa with me. I don’t make that mistake of not having one active Visa in case of any emergency. The moment the accident happened, I made some calls and in few weeks, I was out of the country to London and from London,  I was referred to Germany where I was admitted for three years. It is true that a lot of people have had similar experience but then, I think apart from lack of money which is generally the main problem, some people don’t take it seriously until it is too late for them to act. A lot of people who had spinal cord accident would have walked again should they have acted fast. The doctors in Germany are genius. If you know how they work, you will conclude that if they could make me walk again, others too could have been lucky.
Since you returned to Nigeria, how have you been coping with life?
I have been coping quite well. When I came back, it was quite difficult because I had exhausted so much but thank God for one man who didn’t give up on me. I didn’t know this man, but I was surprised that he took so much interest in me. He gave me some money which I invested in business. I am now into business and it is doing great. I am enjoying life again.
Are you tired of music? 
No. I can never be tired of music. I have actually returned to stage since December last year when I performed at MultiChoice 20th anniversary celebration in Lagos. Before then, I released a single Showkey Show which got some encouraging radio airplay across the country, but that is not what where we are going.
But people are saying that you may not be able to release any other hit song like before. Can you?
People keep asking me if I am tired of music because I have not released any album for ten years but my response is that if I had died before now, would people still be asking me about music?. I have to relax and take care of myself before making a full come back to music. Having said that, I have actually been performing before now and I am working on my next album which would be dropped before the end of the year. Right now, I am working with top producers for some singles, as soon as I am done with that, people will know whether I am done with music or not.
You were said to have been attacked by those alleged to be gunmen in your Lagos home shortly after you returned, could you tell us what happened?
Yes, they were assassins. They came to my house and killed one of my boys. Thank God I was lucky. Those guys were not armed robbers because in Nigeria today, no armed robbers can come to my house. It can never happen.
Why?
I grew up in the street of Ajegunle. I have always been a street boy. Armed robbers can never rob me. I have met a lot of them on the streets of Lagos several times and they will tell me Showkey Baba, we didn’t know it was you. Please, no vex, dey go. That respect is always there.
Armed robbers respect you? Do you have any connection with them?
That is a story for another day, Mr reporter.
So who were the people that came to my house?
The people that came to my house saw my son and asked him about my whereabouts, he said I was not around. My son went back inside and told one of my boys to go and attend to the guys at the gate, when he got there, they thought he was my bodyguard, so they shot him. They were inside my house for hours and they did not take anything away. Armed robber won’t come to my house and start asking of Showkey, they will face what they have come for and leave. But these guys were asking for me and when they didn’t see me, they left. I am sad because they killed one of my boys.
You were said to have been shot few months after that incident at your house, is that true?
Yes. I was shot inside a filling station in Lagos.
Why would anybody want to kill you?
I don’t know. I can’t even explain what could be responsible for that but I thank God that I have overcome that now.
You are always lucky, what is the secret?
I don’t know. It is just God. If you have a good spirit and your time of death has not come, nobody can kill you. No matter how hard they try, they can’t succeed. I am blessed to be alive. It is not about luck because a lot of lucky people have died. I think I am just blessed. I don’t believe I am lucky but blessed.
You were reported to have said that celebrities who are peace ambassadors are actually the ones not making peace, why did you say that?
In this part of the world, it is a pity that people don’t really understand what it means to make some one a peace ambassador. If you are making somebody a peace ambassador, that means the person has to be a peaceful person and a role model. Most of the people that have been given peace ambassadors are actually trouble ambassadors.
News filtered into town recently that you were not in support of your son’s decision to sing. Is that true?
I am in support of education. I am not against music at all. Those who are saying I am not supporting him don’t know what actually happened. I didn’t complete my education and I am always sad about that till today. And, that’s why I promised myself that all my children must be educated. If any of them wants to take up music, I will be glad but not at the expense of their education. Education, to me, is life and knowledge. If I had the opportunity to complete my education the way I would have loved it, I am sure my life would be better off. I will like my son to fulfil my dream. I know he’s a good music producer but I made a bargain with him that you have to break that jinx for me first. You must go to school and you must do well, no matter. If you can do that for me, honestly, I don’t mind to support him with my last penny. I am a father and it is very important that I give him a legacy that will help him in life even after I am dead.
Don’t you think you are depriving him of his dream, if you stop him from doing what he likes?
I am not depriving him of anything. My parents tried to do the same thing to me but thank God for giving me a way out through music because if not for that, I don’t know what my life would have become. What if my son does not have a second chance like I had? What if he does not even make it in music like I did. What will happen to his life?

Source: tribune.com.ng

Hepatitis: One company’s battle to stop the wave of high-priced drugs

By Jason Millman December 24

For the last year, a stream of new drugs with shocking sticker prices has looked unstoppable. There was Sovaldi, introduced last December by Gilead Sciences, priced at $84,000 for a 12-week course of treatment. Then came Harvoni in October, also from Gilead, priced even higher at $94,500. And last Friday, drugmaker AbbVie received FDA approval for Viekira Pak, which the company priced at about $83,300. All three drugs are prescribed to treat hepatitis C.

Now comes a major pushback—and it's a significant moment in the war over drug pricing and access.

This week, the country's biggest drug plan manager Express Scripts said it will drop Gilead's drugs Sovaldi and Harvoni from a list of preferred drugs covering 25 million patients and instead will only put Viekira Pak on its list. Express Scripts said it has negotiated a significant discount with AbbVie — perhaps between $20,000 and $30,000 per course of treatment — in return for expanding access to patients and allowing primary care doctors to prescribe the drug.

Insurers and companies like Express Scripts have been sounding the alarm that the new hepatitis C treatments hitting the market are at the forefront of a new wave of high-priced drugs that, while offering major improvements over previous therapies, will strain their budgets.

Over the past year, these companies have tried to limit access to these drugs as a result. In many cases, they'd only allow sicker patients to receive these new hepatitis C drugs, and they limited the types of doctors that could actually prescribe them.

"This negotiation is a vast improvement to the current environment in which a significant number of patients have limited or no access to curative treatment," read a statement from Ryan Clary, executive director of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, which has pushed for widespread access to new hepatitis C medications.

Until recently, Express Scripts didn't exclude any drugs from its list of preferred medications. But the exclusion list grew from 44 drugs two years ago to 66 in this past year. The company's chief medical officer, Steven Miller, said he's been telegraphing a move like the AbbVie deal all year.

"We need innovation, and affordability has to be part of that innovation," Miller said in an interview. The companies aren't disclosing the discount, but he said the deal helps close the gap between prices in the U.S. and western Europe. Sovaldi is priced at $57,000 in the United Kingdom and $66,000 in Germany.

Since the Express-Scripts AbbVie deal was announced before the market opened Monday, Gilead's stock has fallen 18 percent.

Compared to other developed countries, in which governments set prices, there are limited tools for pushing down the costs of brand-name medications in the United States. Domestic government programs receive mandatory discounts (excluding Medicare), and it's up to private payers to try to negotiate discounts with the drugmakers.

But will the Express Scripts deal set the tone for future expensive specialty drugs hitting the market? Some closely watching the industry think it could.

“We believe we are in the early innings of a transformation around specialty formulary exclusions and believe this could play out in other competitive specialty categories over time," JP Morgan analyst Lisa Gill said in a research note, Reuters reported.

Miller said Express Scripts will continue to look to strike similar deals, pointing to new advancements expected in treatments for cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Hepatitis C was an attractive area for dealmaking because there were a few new treatments coming onto the market in a short amount of time, and more could soon join. They all represent major advancements over previous treatments and have showed equal effectiveness in clinical trials. This exclusion strategy doesn't work, though, unless there's a treatment that proves to be just as effective.

"The only way you do exclusions," Miller said, "is you have to do drugs that clinically have identical outcomes."

But Dana Goldman, director of the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California, warns this could come at the expense of the patient since not all will respond to the same treatment. Express Scripts says it won't limit access for hepatitis C patients who need Gilead's drugs, but drug exclusions could still be problematic for patients, Goldman said.

"The reality is if you put up barriers for physicians and patients, we know that people won't have as good access," said Goldman, whose own research found that limits on what drug availability lead to worse outcomes for psychosis patients.

The Gilead exclusion is receiving heightened attention because of the high stakes around treatments involving patients with hepatitis C — a liver disease more than 3 million Americans are infected with. The difference with hepatitis C drugs and others soon to hit the market is that they can treat a much wider set of patients than previous high-price specialty drugs have.

"The result of that is there's enormous pressure on payers to limit access," Goldman said. "The problem is that there are a lot of patients that would benefit from access to open formulas." http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/12/24/one-companys-battle-to-stop-the-wave-of-high-priced-drugs/

 

Delta 2015: Okowa Names Otuaro, Tompolo’s man As Running Mate

 The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has named Barrister Kingsley Otuaro, a commissioner at the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and a nominee of former militant commander, Mr. Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, as his running mate in the 2015 governorship election.
PDP submitted Otuaro’s name and data to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) just on time to beat the Boxing Day deadline. Otuaro, an Ijaw emerged despite opposition from the Isokos, another major ethnic group in Delta South, who had long been coveting the deputy governorship slot of the party going by the unwritten zoning arrangement of the ruling PDP in the state.

Before Friday, political wranglings in the state had stalemated all efforts to pick a running mate for Okowa. A tense atmosphere had been created in the state following the outcome of all the PDP primaries and the political undercurrent that took place during the guber primaries that produced Okowa as the flag bearer of the party.

Sources said that the decision to choose a suitable running mate had become a herculean task for Okowa and his team owing to the political alignment and realignment going on in the state.
We learnt the guber candidate was being careful not to choose a running mate from the wrong camp so as not to jeopardise his chances in the general election as the ethnic groups scheming for the position are threatening to spring a surprise if the choice did not favour them.
The caliber of persons now holding the political ace in the southern district and posing as kingmakers had given some prominent leaders in the state cause for concern and that was one factor that stalled the process until Friday.

What seemed to be a simple political arithmetic to determine who emerged as running mate turned messy as two major ethnic nationalities in the Delta Senatorial District, Ijaw and Isoko ethnic groups, have remained at daggers-drawn over the position.

We learnt that the committee saddled with the responsibility of choosing a running mate for Okowa had found it extremely difficult to make a head way following the plethora of names being submitted to it from the two major ethnic groups scheming for the plum job. Sources said that Okowa also rejected several names suggested to him.

After his emergence as the PDP’s candidate, the Isokos ethnic nationality had presumed the deputy governorship position would ordinarily be left for them going by political calculation that Ijaws have taken their turn in the person of Senator James Manager who won the Delta South Senatorial District race.
The Isoko, Ijaw and Itsekiri had formed an alliance to which they rotate political offices in the Delta South among the ethnic nationalities. Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan became governor in 2007 following the ‘G3’ alliance and quest for power shift.

Senator James Manager took the Ijaw turn in the Senate in 2003 and has perpetually retained the position for 12 years running. He again took what is supposed to be the turn of Itsekiri in the just concluded senatorial primaries when Uduaghan who was his main rival suddenly quit the contest.
Understandably, the Isokos were the next in line to be empowered with any prominent position coming to the Delta South but alas the Ijaws had bargained for the job with their vote for Okowa in the primaries and have been lobbying the power-that-be in Abuja to ensure that they get the position.
Sources said that the governorship candidate had zeroed his mind on picking a running mate from Isoko prior to the primaries but the outcome of the PDP primaries where it was widely believed that some forces from Isoko ethnic nationality worked against him during the contest may have made him change his mind.

Tompolo, who is believed to have helped in swaying votes for Okowa, alongside Senator Manager, who maternally is from Isoko, are elements that pulled the strings for an Ijaw running mate notwithstanding the political imbalance it would cause in the Delta south senatorial district.
T
he apex Isoko socio-cultural organization, Isoko Development Union, (IDU) led by a retired army general, Gen. Paul Omu (rtd), had unsuccessfully lobbied for the Secretary to the State Government, Comrade Ovouzorie Macaulay or former Chief Whip, Senator Stella Omu to emerge as Okowa’s deputy.

Foremost Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark has not been happy with the undue influence Tompolo is exerting in the state coupled with the likely negative effect he is creating for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 presidential election hence his decision to turn his back against an Ijaw deputy.
But many Ijaw leaders including the Niger Delta Grassroot Movement (NDGM) led by Itsekiri-born Comrade Weyinmi Olley had appealed to him to allow Tompolo choose Okowa’s running mate.
It is however unclear how the Isokos and the Itsekiris, two very influential ethnic nationalities that have so far lost out in the power game in the state, would respond to the development in the general election. But two leaders from the area told assured that the groups would go back to the drawing board to explore their options.

Source: THEWILL

What is Cathode Copper?

Copper cathode is a form of copper that has a purity of 99.95%. In order to remove impurities from copper ore, it undergoes two processes, smelting and electrorefining. The resulting, nearly pure copper is an excellent conductor and is often used in electrical wiring.

When it is in the ground, copper does not exist in its pure form. Rather it is part of a compound. One of the most common types of copper ore is a mixture of copper, iron and sulfur. This ore is called chalcopyrite. After the ore is mined, it is heated in a furnace to 2,012° F (1,100° C). At this temperature, oxygen reacts with the iron in the ore, turning the ore into three substances, iron oxide, sulfur dioxide and copper sulfite.

Why Can't People Live For Over 900 Years of Age Now?

The Bible teaches quite plainly that the early patriarchs often lived to be nearly 1,000 years old and even had children when they were several hundred years old! “Methuseleh lived 900 years but these stories you’re liable to read in the Bible, they ain’t necessarily so.”1

Along with American composer George Gershwin, many people find it difficult to believe that Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches quite plainly that the early patriarchs often lived to be nearly 1,000 years old and even had children when they were several hundred years old! Similar claims of long life spans are found in the secular literature of several ancient cultures (including the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Indians, and Chinese). But even a life span of nearly 1,000 years is sadly abbreviated when we consider that God initially created us to live forever.

For 1,500 years after creation, men lived such long lives that most were either contemporaries of the first man, Adam, or personally knew someone who was! The ten patriarchs (excluding Enoch) who preceded the Great Flood lived an average of 912 years. Lamech died the youngest at the age of 777, and Methuselah lived to be the oldest at 969.

Table 1. Ages of the Patriarchs from Adam to Noah

	Patriarch	Age	Bible Reference
1	Adam	930	Genesis 5:4
2	Seth	912	Genesis 5:8
3	Enosh	905	Genesis 5:11
4	Cainan	910	Genesis 5:14
5	Mahalalel	895	Genesis 5:17
6	Jared	962	Genesis 5:20
7	Enoch	365 (translated)	Genesis 5:23
8	Methuselah	969	Genesis 5:27
9	Lamech	777	Genesis 5:31
10	Noah	950	Genesis 9:29

During the 1,000 years following the Flood, however, the Bible records a progressive decline in the life span of the patriarchs, from Noah who lived to be 950 years old until Abraham at 175 (see figure 1 and table 2). In fact, Moses was unusually old for his time (120 years) because, when he reflected on the brevity of life, he said: “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10).

Table 2. Ages of the Patriarchs after Noah to Abraham

	Patriarch	Age	Bible Reference
11	Shem	600	Genesis 11:10–11
12	Arphaxad	438	Genesis 11:12–13
13	Shelah	433	Genesis 11:14–15
14	Eber	464	Genesis 11:16–17
15	Peleg	239	Genesis 11:18–19
16	Reu	239	Genesis 11:20–21
17	Serug	230	Genesis 11:22–23
18	Nahor	148	Genesis 11:24–25
19	Terah	205	Genesis 11:32
20	Abraham	175	Genesis 25:7

Extrabiblical evidence to support the long life spans of the people in Genesis is found in the Sumerian King List. This list mentions a flood and gives the length of the reigns of kings before and after a flood.

Today, man’s maximum life span is about 120 years, and our average life expectancy is still only 70–80 years—just as it was when the 90th Psalm was written 3,400 years ago! The precipitous plunge in life spans after the Flood suggests that something changed at the time of the Flood, or shortly thereafter, that was responsible for this decline. A line graph of this decline reveals an exponential curve.

Biological Causes of Aging

What exactly causes this process of aging in our body? Although the mechanism of aging (and its prevention) has long been an object of biomedical research, science still has no definitive answer to this question. Around the turn of the century, it was believed that aging didn’t directly involve the living cells of our body but rather was an extracellular phenomenon. It was believed that our normal living cells, if properly nourished, could grow and divide indefinitely outside our body. In 1961, this idea was refuted by Leonard Hayflick, who grew human cells outside the body in covered glass dishes containing the necessary nutrients. Hayflick discovered that cells cultured in this way normally died after about 50 cell divisions (Hayflick’s limit). This suggests that even the individual cells of our body are mortal, apart from any other bodily influence.

Genetic Determinants

Both aging and life span are processes that have genetic determinants that are overlapping and unique. Approximately 20–30 percent of factors affecting life span are thought to be heritable and thus genetic. Life span varies greatly among individuals, indicating that while aging plays a role, other factors are also involved. Telomeres, which are long, repetitive sequences of DNA at the ends of human chromosomes, are also thought to play an important role in aging. With each division of the cell, telomeres shorten due to the inability of the enzyme that copies the DNA to go all the way to the end of the chromosome. When telomeres have become too short, the cell stops dividing. This limitation plausibly serves as a quality control mechanism. Older cells will have accumulated many mutations in their DNA, and their continued division may lead to diseases like cancer. Most body cells cannot replicate indefinitely, leading to aging and eventually death. Thus, telomeres are important in determining the life span of cell types that directly affect aging.

Physiological Determinants

In one sense, most of the substance of our body really doesn’t continue to get older during our life: a great many of our body’s parts are constantly repairing and replacing themselves. The epidermal cells that cover the entire surface of our skin, for example, never get older than one month. New cells are continually produced (by cell division) deep in the epidermis, while the older ones continually slough off at the surface. Similarly, the cells lining our intestines completely replace themselves every 4 days; our red blood cells are entirely replaced about every 90 days; and our white blood cells are replaced about every week.

Even cells that never (or rarely) divide, such as cardiac muscle cells and brain cells, turn over molecule by molecule. It is believed that little or nothing in our body is more than about 10 years old. Thus, thanks to cell turnover and replacement, most of the organs in the body of a 90-year-old man are perhaps no older than those of a child. Indeed, you might say our body never actually grows older.
It’s rather like the story about “grandpa’s ax.” It seems a man had an old ax that hung over his fireplace and which he claimed had been passed down in his family for five generations. When asked how old the ax was, he said he wasn’t sure because although his great-great-great-great grandfather bought the ax about 300 years ago, he also understood that over the years, the ax had 6 new heads and 12 new handles. Our bodies are something like grandpa’s ax in that we too are constantly replacing “heads and handles,” and in a sense we never get older.

Is it even possible for anyone to age and die if the body constantly repairs and replaces its parts? At this point we might be inclined to ask, why did Methuselah die so young? How, indeed, is it even possible for anyone to age and die if the body constantly repairs and replaces its parts? Surely, if our automobile could do this, we would expect it to last forever. Part of the answer may be that certain key parts of our body fail to repair or replace themselves. Our critically important heart muscle cells, for example, fail to multiply, repair, or replace themselves after birth (although, like all muscle cells, they can increase in size). This is why any disruption in the blood supply to the heart muscle during a heart attack leads to permanent death of that part of the heart. The nerve cells of our brain—including those of our eye and inner ear—also fail to multiply or repair themselves. From the time of our birth to the end of our life, we lose thousands of nerve cells a minute from our central nervous system, and we can never replace them. As we get older, this causes a progressive loss of our ability to hear, see, smell, taste, and and even remember things?

The important point is that science offers no hope for eternal life, or even for the significant lengthening of life. It has been estimated that if complete cures, or preventions, were found for the three major killers (cancer, stroke, and coronary artery disease), the maximum life span of man would still not increase (although more people would approach this maximum). And such long-lived people would still become progressively weaker with age, as critical components of their body continue to deteriorate.

Adapted from: Did People Like Adam and Noah Really Live Over 900 Years of Age? by Dr. Georgia Purdom and Dr. David Menton on May 27, 2010

1. George Gershwin, “It Ain't Necessarily So,” Porgy & Bess, 1934. 

TRIBUTE TO A SELF-MADE MAN: CHIEF RICHARD OSOGBA, MD/CEO RICOS TECHNICAL SERVICES, NIGERIA LTD: 1952 – 2014.

By Francis Akenami

My late dad, Pa. Richard Akenami told me that once a ram is big enough it enters town. Chief Richard  Osogba became large enough for him to be claimed by every Olomoro indigene. I therefore crave the indulgence of the Osogba family and the Odugbo lineage of Ukoli Quarters, Olomoro, Isoko South LGA, Delta State to write a little tribute to a great man who was called to glory suddenly on 22^nd of December, 2014. He was aged 62!

I knew the then Mr. Richard Osogba first as a mathematics teacher at the Comprehensive High School Olomoro, around 1985. He was very brilliant, full of life and knew his subject very well. He was in the same mould of brilliant teachers such as Mr. Osalor (Biology), and Mr. Itebu (Geography/Economics). He simply refused to be poor. In those days when it was difficult for teachers to own a car in Nigeria, Mr. Osogba owned a 504 Peugeot Car, clearly placing him shoulders high amongst his equals. Sensing that his meager teacher’s salary could not satisfy what he planned to contribute to society, Richard Osogba proceeded to the University of Benin as an adult to study Accounting, where he graduated in flying colours around 1991.

After he graduated, he refused to return to teaching. I once spoke with him where he said “Francis, I can never hold chalk again until the day I die.” And that is what he did. He pitched tent with an Olomoro successful business man in the oil industry, Chief Ogrih the drum. He worked for him, served him and gradually became his Manager. He started by buying an Okada with which he made business contacts and learnt the trade very well. He later bought a car and the rest is history as he eventually owned assorted and choice brand new cars to the glory of his maker.

After Chief Ogrih died, typical of Nigerian and African businesses, his children liquidated his multi-million business empire and moved on. Chief Ogrih’s business was by conservative estimates worth over a 100 million naira as at that time. Chief Richard Osogba was left with nothing but his business acumen and zeal to succeed. He started his own Company, RICOS Technical Services, Limited, based in the oil city of Warri,  specializing in servicing the oil industry. Chief Osogba surpassed his boss the late Chief Ogrih (the drum) in the business because of his brilliance and education. He broke into manufacturing of industrial tools. What exactly did he manufacture?

What the Chief did would perplex you. What he did is how the German economy and now the Chinese economy was developed. He has a cottage industry that produces tools for the oil industry. He entered into MOU with many companies in the world including USA. They sent him tools with factory specifications and he reproduced them. After inspection, they issued him with certificate of authenticity. He has well over 50 workers. In my zeal to develop the Deltan economy and train machinists, I suggested to him I wanted to introduce him to the Government of Delta State so his skills could be of benefit to the state. He declined and told me he is a quiet businessman. Mingling with the state will involve politics and he was not a politician. I am able to write this now because he is no more. Chief Richard Osogba’s business is by conservative estimates worth over five hundred million naira (N500,000,000.00), and I know what I am talking about. I was personally involved a couple of times in negotiating some business undertakings for his company abroad.

Chief Richard Osogba was a friend of all. He enjoyed life to the fullest and rendered help to many people including his community, Olomoro. He lived a christian life, was very frank, outspoken and was generous but was always mindful of attracting attention to himself. The Odion-Ologbo of Olomoro recently gave him the chieftaincy title of Adethaomufuowho (when he arrives all problems are solved) of Olomoro Kingdom. During my parents burial in November, 2013, I sent him a text message informing him I was around for the purpose just in case I was not able to make it to see him. I was so busy I could not see him before the date. Lo and behold, on the day of my dad’s burial (November 16^th 2013), Chief Osogba was around with his entourage. I was pleasantly surprised and he was full of life and charm as always. He called me, Francis, please come to our table briefly. I was sweating profusely. He gave me a can of orange juice and said “just for sitting here with us, we will give you some money now.” Chief Richard Osogba, Chief Peter Okieke and Chief Don Major Ifowodo contributed N41,000.00 and gave it to me right there. Chief Osogba then told me, “Francis, I will not make it to your mum’s burial next Saturday. However, I will send you something tomorrow." Surprise, surprise, the next day Chief Osogba sent a truck full of assorted drinks to me through his Manager Mr. Governor Idebe. I was told some of the drinks were sent by Chief Don Major Ifowodo.

During the burial I addressed Chief Osogba as the Adethaomufuowho of Olomoro Kingdom, he told me no. That he is not answering that, that it was too worldly. He informed me he was the Osogba of Olomoro. Such was his humility and simplicity.

Around 2009, Chief Osogba sent me money to buy for him a brand new Toyota Camry which I bought and shipped to him in a container. After he received it, I bought a Honda Pilot for myself. Because the Honda Pilot had tinted glasses, it required a permit from the IG of Police before I could drive it. Chief Osogba told me I should send him the details that he would get it ready for me within a twinkle of an eye that the IG of Police as at then was his friend. He got the permit ready for me and paid N40,000.00. When I arrived Nigeria, I wanted to give him the money and he refused to accept it. This is just my story, what about what he did for others?

In 2009, when we organized the D3 conference in New York, it was difficult to send large sums of money abroad due to currency restrictions. I advised the Delta State Ministry of Information to send the money through Chief Richard Osogba since he was a regular importer of goods. He helped to get the money across to me effortlessly. What else can a man do for his people!

I was told Chief gave all his workers fabulous Christmas bonuses this year. Little did his workers know that he was rendering his last generosity to them.

Now I have a word for his children, please do not fold-up your dad’s business as is typical of most African businesses. The multi-national conglomerate I work for has been in existence for 152 years, surviving many generations of its founder. Appoint  a Board of Directors, retain the current Manager and let all the Chief’s children be placed on salary. Create the Chief Richard Osogba Foundation and ensure it survives for atleast 20 to 50 years to keep his memory alive. If you listen to this advice, you will all do well.

Chief Richard Osogba, the man who refused to be poor, the Adethaomufuowho of Olomoro people, the Osogba of Olomoro Kingdom, you impacted many lives in your six decades of existence. You lived a life worthy of emulation. Olomoro, Isoko and Delta State will miss you. We will miss your smile, charm and energy. We will miss your sincerity. Silent Night. ADIEU.