Dr Eugene's blogs

Whitney, full of life in great measure A voice that drenched my soul in much pleasure In entertainment, a cynosure To the world, a priceless treasure A lady of fine disposure Had carriage and elegant composure She niched her place in history’s literature Sought her own family’s structure And insured her dependents’ future The elements of a fine creature With heavenly grace and godly nature Then came her drug use disclosure Sad! Imagine being trapped in Hell’s tortures Haunted by ‘demons’ and corporate vultures And taunted by fame’s exposure Reminds me of Philip Seymour’s last impressure To Michael Jackson’s censure From Amy Winehouse’ misadventures To Cory Monteith’s confitures Whitney, battered by career’s forfeitures Her hard work threatened by finite erasure Sombre thoughts drowned in an enclosure Overwhelmed by Death’s embrasure Alas! Her voice and music outlived Death’s closure The story of her life spurns tales and con

I once saw a small barber’s shop that had this huge sign in front, ‘Barbing Institute.’ O boy, the question is, ‘Na which certificate them dey award? OND (Barbing) or HND (Barbing) or B.Sc. (Barbing) or simply Certificate in Barber-ship? I once saw a sign-board that read, ‘Goodness and Mercy Bar and Restaurant.’ After taking several rounds of beer, one guy picked up his phone to receive a call, ‘Hello, please, come and meet me at Gulder and Messi Bar.’ One other day, this same guy forgot his wallet at home and he only realized that he had no money on him after several rounds of drinks. When the owner of the restaurant descended on him, the guy pleaded, ‘Please, have goodness and mercy on me! Is that not the name of your bar?’ I wonder how he was able to say the correct name this time. One young man walked by one company that had a sign: Vacancy! Vacancy! Vacancy! He went in and met the receptionist. He inquired about the kinds of jobs available. He was told that they are i

Years ago, there was a political slogan that ran on National TV. It read, ‘Who the cap fits, let him wear it.’ I saw a political poster recently that read, ‘Who will wear the shoe, if not you?’ Well, since political slogans and adverts have to do with wearing things, I’ve come with several options: ‘Who the coat fits, let him wear it.’ ‘Who will wear the suit, if not you?’ ‘Who the eyeglasses fits, let him wear it.’ ‘Who the boxers size, let him carry go.’ ‘Who the diamond ring fits, let her wear it ooo.’ ‘Who the golden necklace fits, let her wear it.’ ‘Who the Igbese wrapper resemble, let her wear it ooo.’ ‘Who the koikoi shoe sizes, let her carry go.’ ‘Who will enter the bullet-proof jeep, if not you?’ ‘Who will chop the money, if not you?’ ©Dr Eugene’s Column ( http://dreugeneojirigho.blogspot.com/ ) ©Dr Eugene’s Blogs ( http://dreugeneoji.blogspot.com/ )

A Professor of Microbiology paid a social visit to one family. They had planned to have dinner together. Unfortunately, the wife of the host was having upper respiratory tract infection and so she was having incessant sneezing. When she sneezed the first time, the Prof murmured to himself, ‘Bless you. Streptococcus pneumoniae!’ When she sneezed again, he said, ‘Haemophilus influenza; God have mercy!’ The third time she sneezed, Prof said more audibly, ‘Moraxella catarrhalis; Jesus!’ Meanwhile, the dinner was prepared with a lot of spices and pepper. This made the Prof to have a loud and violent sneeze. The wife of the host shouted, ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The devil is a liar.’ ©Dr Eugene’s Column ( http://dreugeneojirigho.blogspot.com/ ) ©Dr Eugene’s Blogs ( http://dreugeneoji.blogspot.com/ )

A young man, who has a passion for writing poems, decided to write a very lovely poem to his lady friend on Valentine. He wrote the poem in a special card, wrapped it in a gift pack and sent it to his friend on Valentine’s Day. Shortly after the lady got the gift, she sent this message to the young man, ‘I’ve been looking through the gift package you sent. I only saw a hand-written note. Where’s the gift? It’s like you forgot to add it to the gift package.’ Well, the young man was disappointed. How could he tell her that the hand-written note he had spent a lot of mental and emotional energy to write over several hours was the gift? Another young Nigerian man decided to go to a florist and he bought a huge set of flowers. He then sent it to his lady friend on Valentine’s Day. When he got to the lady’s apartment, he discovered that the flower has been dismantled and torn apart. He was alarmed. ‘What happened?’ He asked. The lady replied, ‘I was looking for the gift in the flowe

My dear, you make my skies blue My garden a fresh hue I care so much, you have no clue You’re the sunshine I pursue From lonely darkness you were my rescue I hold on to you like glue And my sweetest dreams ensue O, may riches to your tent accrue And length of days be your revenue As I remain a testimony to your endearing value And forever pay my due Yes! All this I know is true ©Dr Eugene’s Column ( http://dreugeneojirigho.blogspot.com/ ) ©Dr Eugene’s Blogs ( http://dreugeneoji.blogspot.com/ )

In recent times, there have been a couple of videos posted on YouTube showing members of the Nigerian Police Force requesting bribes from motorists. Sequel to that, I’ve seen news report which indicates that one or more of the officers involved have been dismissed from the Force. I feel bad when I watch those videos and read those reports. I’m not just ashamed about how bad those reports look, I’m more worried that bribery and corruption in the Nigerian Police goes much deeper that those accounts. There is a culture of bribery in the Nigerian Police just as it is in other law enforcement and governmental agencies in Nigeria. Sacking a single police officer simply because a picture or video showing him demanding and /or collecting bribes is posted on the internet is not going to solve or even address the problem. It’s like applying Band-Aid on a deep-seated infected wound. Recently, I traveled across several states in Nigeria. In the process I passed about 40 t0 50 checkpoint

I have astigmatism, myopia, and amblyopia. These are eye defects that can affect one’s vision. Hence, I have been using prescribed corrective lenses for many years now. It’s always been a problem getting the right lens power because there is more than one problem at play here. Also, over-correction can lead to headaches and other visual discomfort. I’ve had cause to change my lenses several times. Well, some months ago, I went for another refractive screening. I got a new pair of lenses that had more corrective power and yet, comfortable to wear. For the first time, I could see better, farther and brighter. I was elated and euphoric. But that is not the whole story. When I walked out of the eye clinic with my brand-new lenses, I was amazed. Everything looked a lot brighter, colourful and beautiful. The things I saw minutes before getting my lenses now look far better. I did not realize that this world was that beautiful. It’s like seeing my environment through National G

We live in a universe that is ever-changing. Everything around us changes. Look at the leaves of the trees around us. Their colours change with the seasons. Look at the animals. They are changing. From the day they were born till the day they die, they undergo constant changes. What about the heavenly bodies: the stars. They undergo change in  size, position, and some even get absorbed in giant ‘Black holes’. Our earth is always changing its position and is in constant motion. Man, an intelligent being, is not except from this wave of change. We change in form, from infancy to old age; in behaviour, from innocent curious kids to much more responsible adults; in knowledge, in beliefs, in love and romance, in friendships and in our complex interrelationships with fellow humans and other terrestrial and extraterrestrial entities in this universe. The question is: are we conscious of this change? How best are we preparing and taking advantage of our ever-changing yet excit

It's a virtue to honestly and sincerely express our feelings of love and gratitude to those we care about and to those with whom we interact on a daily basis. It’s a thing of love to let others know that you do appreciate their kindness, their friendship and love, their gifts, their talents and their humanity. If you like what you see, hear or read about your friends and loved ones, tell them. Even seemingly little things matters. For example, ‘I love your hair!’ ‘Your pictures are cute!’ ‘That's a lovely thought!’ ‘You look beautiful or handsome!’ ‘Congratulations on your new achievement!’ Never assume they know that already; tell them. God already knows what’s on our minds and hearts even before we speak, but He says in His word that we should open our mouth and tell Him in prayers. In the same vein, whatever goodwill you have for your friends and loved ones, please tell them. Never assume they know. Do it now while you can because no one knows tomorrow. Think of tho

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th Edition) defines an opinion as: 1. Your feelings or thoughts about somebody/something, rather than a fact. (Synonymous with the word ‘view’) 2. Beliefs or views of a group of people. (Like a legal opinion) 3. Advice from a professional person. I’m interested in the first meaning of the word, ‘opinion.’ Your opinion about an idea or a subject or an individual is what you feel or think about that thing or person in question. It is not necessarily the fact of the matter. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a former US Senator, was quoted as saying: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” This underscores the point that facts are facts and yet we hold our own opinions all the same and our own opinions may or may not be in line with the facts at hand. Worse still, there are times when the facts are murky and there is nothing concrete to rely on. Nevertheless, we always hold an opinion of the events and things tha

In 1887, Lord Acton wrote in a letter: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men (Powerful men} are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.” – Wikipedia.org (Words in parenthesis are mine) 125 years later with all the “advancement,” “progress,” “civilization,” or “technology,” his words still rings true. I have said it before and I will say it again: “Man is best behaved when he knows that he is accountable to another.” Yes, man needs checks and balances: a system whereby his actions can be called into account. He needs someone else to tell him that there is a line and that when he crosses that line, he would be held to account. No matter how wise or noble or good-natured a man is, he needs someone else to tell him when and where he has gone too far, otherwise his good assets could become a liability. Moses led the ch

I have often wondered why ladies generally speak better English as compared to their male counterparts. Does it have anything to do with the brain? I decided to do a brief online research. Trust Google to deliver. It’s been shown that not only in English language, females are better in speech and language skills than their male counterparts and this is attributable to the differences between the male brain and female brain. www.webmd.com   talks about how the male and the female brain differ: 1. Israeli researchers found out that the male and female brains show differences as early as the 26th week of pregnancy. Ultrasound scan findings reveal that the corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve tissue that connects the right and left sides of the brain, was thicker in female fetuses than in male fetuses. It’s been observed that in adults, this area remains stronger in females. This may be responsible for the finding that while males use the left side of their brain (just like rig