In our secondary school days in Eket, the home of ExxonMobil, the American oil and gas giant operating in Akwa Ibom State, there was a student whose nickname then was Toto Mechanic. Humorous as that name was, we never knew it will eventually become a future development of today for women. There are indeed, ‘mechanics’ today whose job is to repair that essential channel of populating the Earth.
That guy who was popular by that funny nickname has since become a senior lawyer who held political office in the state and in the Presidency specifically, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Though he has nothing to do with any field of science as a discipline, his nickname, Toto Mechanic, foretold of today’s vaginal rejuvenation which is making life easier for the female gender.
Most likely, he willbe amazed today that, decades after he shook Government Secondary School, Eket, with that his funky guy name, vaginal rejuvenation has become a practical reality. A full spectrum patient-centric cosmetic medical and surgery centre in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital that claims to be providing the best of dermatology, aesthetic medicine and cosmetic surgery says vagina can be rejuvenated.
According to them, two of the most significant events in a woman’s life can also lead to a decline in vaginal health: Childbirth stretches the vaginal canal and surrounding tissue. For many women the body’s own healing response repairs the damage and they return to normal health. For others, however, the tissue will not return to a pre-childbirth state. For these women the damages from stretching the vaginal walls, perineum and surrounding tissues can lead to diminished vaginal health and function.
Menopause results in reduced estrogen levels. Other events such as hysterectomy, chemotherapy, or the process of breast-feeding can also lead to reduced estrogen levels culminating in the thinning, drying and inflammation of the vaginal walls.
The whole thing can be fixed with carbon dioxide laser vaginal rejuvenation. Experts say it is a quick, non-surgical procedure done to restore vaginal health by promoting the re-modeling of the vaginal mucous epithelium layer.
The regeneration of new tissue within the vaginal walls that takes place following treatment rebuilds a naturally stronger structure, and recovers lost volume, hydration and elasticity.
The basis of the carbon dioxide laser vaginal rejuvenation is fractional photothermolysis. In other words, a probe is inserted into the vagina and optically splits a laser beam into a series of very small dots that are aimed at the inside wall of the vagina.
At the point of contact, the laser dot removes a tiny area of tissue. This creates a microscopic pinhole about the size of the diameter of a human hair. As the body repairs itself, it stimulates cells to create new healthy tissue at the site of the dot and immediately surrounding it.
The laser also heats the area between the dots, stimulating the activity of specialised cells that create elastin and collagen (the scaffolding components of healthy tissue) which result in vaginal tightening and hydration.
Those who know better say it can be applied in conditions that cause vulvovaginal atrophy (when vaginal lining becomes thinner, dryer and less elastic) due to a drop in the estrogen levels. Also in “induced” menopause as a result of hysterectomy or suppression of ovarian function by chemotherapy, and radiation as well as breastfeeding related vaginal dryness cum anti-oestrogen medications such as Goserelin and Leuporolide.
Now, Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, was quoted as having said in Daura, President Muhammadu
Buhari’s home town in Katsina State on Tuesday that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition parties will not be allowed to win the 2023 election.
He was said to be speaking shortly after observing the Eid prayers. Shehu reportedly said: “The President enjoys unshakable support not only in his hometown but also across the country and it is enough for the opposition to admit that the President matters a lot for the ruling party and Nigerians in general. Again, he constitutes a political obstacle they cannot dismantle come 2023. We believe the PDP and other opposition parties are nursing false hopes of taking power comes 2023.’’
Whether President Buhari enjoys ‘’unshakable’’ massive support or not is not our concern here.
Some of us are worried that such unguarded outburst is capable of worsening the security situation in the country the more. Shehu’s nasty utterance tends to suggest that the Buhari administration has already concluded the outcome of the largely uncertain 2023 polls.
Declaring that ‘’PDP and other opposition parties will not be allowed to win the 2023 election’’ tends to cast the damaged integrity of President Buhari, and of course, that of the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in very bad light. It is capable of providing the match stick for those pouring petrol around the country.
While we are expecting President Buhari to sanction his out of control spokesman, and INEC to distance itself from the already compiled 2023 election results, Ohanaeze Ndigbo is raising something serious, morally serious against Abuja. For the apex Igbo group, the manner the Buhari administration is handling the issues concerning the detained leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and his Yoruba nation counterpart, Sunday Adeyemo alias Sunday Igboho, is akin to pursuing peace without justice.
It is quite sad and disturbing that the country’s security operatives are not devoting the same zeal and energy they are using against Biafra and Oodua Republic agitators in tackling the Boko Haram insurgents, marauding herdsmen and bandits in the North-East, the North-West and other parts of the country.
Ohanaeze’s Spokesman, Alex Ogbonnia, in a statement described as ‘’selective efficiency’’ the security operatives’ handling of various cases. Quoting the words of Pope John Paul II, Ohanaeze says the only way for peace to reign in society is for justice to be seen to be served to all.
“We recall that Chief Sunday Igboho emerged in the scene because he could not endure the daily menace of the Fulani herdsmen in the Yoruba localities for a very long time. The herdsmen would kill, maim and rape women at random. All entreaties to the Presidency for a swift action against the AK-47 wielding herdsmen appeared to fall on deaf ears. Then, Igboho, in a patriotic heroic zeal, intervened to save the rural farmers, women and children from the daily menace of the herdsmen.
“The rate at which the herdsmen destroy farm crops, attack villages, kill the indigenes and forcefully occupy their ancestral lands is most callous, unconscionable and condemnable. This is where the intervention of the presidency is most needed; and, of course, the Igboho paradox.
“On the other hand, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho, who wittingly or unwittingly are now seen as heroes by their people, are but the products of unjust society. Therefore, a concerted effort in search of the Kanus and the Igbohos, without addressing the basis of the agitation, is an effort in futility. Otherwise, other Kanus and Igbohos will sooner than later emerge”, Ohanaeze said.
Now, Britain is even asking Buhari’s Nigeria to explain where and how its citizen, Nnamdi Kanu, was kidnapped. The obvious diplomatic query is sequel to the statement by Kanu’s lawyer that the IPOB leader was detained and mistreated in Kenya before being sent back to Nigeria. Kanu holds dual citizenship of both Nigeria and Britain.
A junior minister at Britain’s Foreign Office, Tariq Ahmad, said “we are seeking clarification from the Nigerian government about the circumstances of the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu.” Kanu was said to be travelling on UK passport when he was abducted in Kenya and tortured for eight days, and handed over to Nigerian agents, who flew him to Abuja.
Before his re-arrest, he was on the run outside Nigeria for four years until he was bundled to Abuja on June 27. He was brought to court in Abuja on June 29 for resumption of his trial for treason. The trial will begin on July 26. Kanu faces 11 charges including treason, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms. His case is due to resume in court in Abuja next week.
Our concern however, is that the Presidency should not be seen to be stoking the fire in the country. Nigeria is still grappling with its problematic national question, periodic controversial election outcomes, religious intolerance, economic, and socio-political imbalance. And, in spite of their perceived biases, the security agencies are being overstretched by the festering conflict everywhere. We are vehemently against highly inflammable outbursts like Shehu’s that could trigger dire humanitarian crisis.
