THEWILL DOWNTOWN March 12, 2023

Ihave never been one to get excited about birthdays. More often than not, mine come and go quietly— I preferred not to draw attention to myself. Also, my birthday always falls right at the beginning of Lent— a season when Catholics have 40 days of fasting before Easter, so I can hardly have a party. Plus, as I said earlier, I get pretty worked up about making things about me. My birthdays are often quiet, with only a handful of people—family and inner circle, calling or messaging me a happy birthday. That is apart from that one time when I reached the fourth floor, and there was a surprise party in my honour. That was fun!

For some strange reason, this year, I got pretty excited about my birthday and found the feeling very unusual. Could it be because I am finding myself?

Then again, what is a birthday? I often say, it is the day our Maker began our physical assignment or journey, whatever you call it, here on earth and with each day, we learn more and more about what we are supposed to do. As you get older and pass through fire on your journey, a strange confidence and strength fills you on the inside and begins to radiate outwardly—this is why certain people have a presence or demeanour of power about them. It is that inward strength built over years of overcoming all sorts of challenges, whether work, home, spiritual, or even within.

As we continue to journey in this world, paying attention to little signs here and there the Lord gives us to help us on our way, may we remember to be thankful for the day we were created and celebrate in different ways you deem fit, whether in giving or spending time with your family and friends.

Thank you for the birthday wishes and prayers.

Until next week, enjoy your read.

Dorcas Akintoye

Dorcas Akintoye is a dedicated writer with more than 2 years prolific experience in writing articles ranging from food, entertainment, fashion and beauty.  She has a National Diploma in Mass Communication from Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin. She loves writing, listening to music and playing scrabble. She is a highly-skilled, enthusiastic, selfmotivated professional writer.

AUSTYN OGANNAH PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Editor: Onah Nwachukwu @onahluciaa

Editor-at-Large: Chalya Shagaya

Writer: Kehindé Fagbule

Graphic Design: Oludemilade Aremu ‘Remus’

Digital Media: Oladimeji Balogun

Guest Art Director: Sunny Hughes ‘ SunZA’

Eddie Madaki - Contributing Writer

Eddie Madaki is a Luxury Brands Development and Marketing communications expert, a certified salesforce driver with over 15 years of professional experience in growing commercial, political and personal brands in Nigeria, developing and executing compelling B2B and B2C marcomms strategies for multilateral, commercial and SME brands across the country. He is a trained marketer and McKinsey and company salesforce transformation agent with over ten years of background working in private banking. He holds a B.Sc in architecture from the University of Jos.

He currently is the Meta Luxury Manager for William Grants and Sons Nigeria.

FASHION ON THE GO Outfit Ideas to Save The Day

BY DORCAS AKINTOYE

We can all agree that piecing the right ensemble together for any occasion you are attending can be very stressful and sometimes take hours, coupled with the fact that everything, including your shoes, bag, jewellery, and scarf, must match with each other rightly. Apart from that, there are many occasions whereby you find yourself standing in front of your wardrobe with half of the clothes already thrown on the bed, yet you can’t find the perfect outfit to wear.

If you are always in this situation, there is no need to worry, as we will show you several iconic options on all ends of the spectrum. From simple looks to more intricate vibes, we've got you covered.

No matter your style or mood, you will find these outfit ideas helpful when you need clarification about what to wear.

When you are confused about what to wear, you need to take a step back and assess what kind of event or occasion you are dressing for; this can be very helpful in picking the perfect outfit to wear.

Below are some outfit ideas based on different occasions.

1Casual Daytime Outing

Opt for a comfortable pair of jeans, a simple t-shirt, and some sandals or sneakers for a casual daytime outing. You can accessorise with a hat, sunglasses, or a crossbody bag for added style.

Outdoor Activity

Cand comfortable clothes when planning to spend your time outdoors. You can opt for athletic wear like leggings, shorts, a breathable top, and running shoes. Remember to wear a hat and sunscreen to protect yourself

Business Meeting

If you have a meeting or event that needs business casual attires, you can’t go wrong in a blazer dress or suit; they are real showstoppers. Better still, you can opt for a skirt and a blouse. Always pair them with some heels or flats, depending on your choice. Add some subtle jewellery for

Formal Evening Event

long dress or a suit is an excellent option for a more formal event. In other words, opt for an outfit that is elegant and sophisticated. You can accessorise your outfit with some statement jewellery and a clutch bag.

5 Date Night

Wear clothes that make you feel confident and beautiful for a romantic evening out. A lovely dress, skirt and blouse, or better still, a pair of trousers and a sexy blouse, can be paired with heels or flats for a night out. You can accessorise with some statement jewellery and a clutch bag for a touch of glamour.

Key Takeaway

No matter how confused you are about what to wear, remember that wearing clothes that make you feel comfortable and confident is very important. Feel free to experiment with different styles and outfits until you find something that works best.

NOBODY PUTS ODS In A Corner ODDBOD & THE CITY

battered fish and chips with a crisp Pinot grigio?

Nothing, I tell ya. Emma had a yummy passion fruit cocktail and a dirty burger. I would have had more, but I was coming off an afternoon sequestered in a busy pub off South Kensington, and I don’t think I had finished digesting my bangers and mash, followed by a sticky toffee pudding.

A short walk on PACKED pavements (so many people outside), and we make it to the Dominion theatre on Tottenham court road. Stuffed to the rafters, we sat to watch Dirty Dancing the Musical.

London during half term. Great weather (some of us thoroughly enjoy the feeling of our core temperature coming down), no petrol queues, and a cashless society that actually works. To say I needed a break is an understatement.

As usual, I enjoy some extracurricular activities besides my mummy/housegirl duties, and nothing makes me happier than finding a West End theatre endeavour to feed the soul. So I convinced my dear friend Emma to come for dinner and a show.

We started off at Balan’s in Soho. When in London, right? An iconic, modern British restaurant, it serves up the best in the magic of the West End with good food and a fun atmosphere. And it’s got legs, having been around delivering excellent service and theperfect-launching-pad-for-a-funevening-out for three decades in London.

And what could be better than starting the evening with a perfectly flaky, lightly

If you are looking for a fun, light night out, this is the play for you. I would recommend you are like me, a bit of a nut for the original movie, because otherwise, the classic punch lines and pivotal moments in the play just won’t hit right. Why? The acting came off a bit stiff, and I felt the blame lay in the struggle with the southern American accent. The dancing and singing saved the night, and the costumes were bright with all the right nostalgic notes.

The music was the highlight. There is no denying they had great choices from the movie soundtrack. If I had one complaint, it was the logistical problem that was the river “lift” scene. Luckily the mood was light and jovial, so the audience was in stitches all the way through it.

If you are a fan of the movie, you will love this musical. An added bonus is the actor playing the iconic Patrick Swayze (RIP) part was played by Michael O‘Reilly (Google him, you will not be disappointed). The young man looks like some seven-foot giant with massive shoulders and a six-pack. He was flinging Baby around the stage like she was a feather, and thanks to many topless scenes (God is good), Emma, at one point, turns to ask me if I had dragged her to a Magic Mike show.

Great fun all around.

SEX, INTIMACY, AND SEXUAL COMPATIBILITY

BY DORCAS AKINTOYE

Most relationships do not have what it takes to go the distance because of a simple fact: they both aren’t sexually compatible. It may not seem like it at the very beginning, during those periods when you are caught up in the throes of new relationship energy. All those chemicals flooding your brain make everything seem as if there is nothing that both of you can’t do because you are in love, that kind of love that nobody has ever experienced. Eventually, once you are out of the honeymoon period, it rarely takes long for reality to set in. Then you are faced with finding out whether your relationship has any long-term potential. If it eventually turns out that you are not sexually compatible with them, then you've got a ticking time bomb waiting to blow your relationship apart. One thing many people don’t know about sexual compatibility is that it can often be too late to fix things once it is not addressed in the beginning. To be on the safer side, you need to sit down with your partner and work out whether you both have what it takes to go the distance together.

What is Sexual Compatibility

Sexual compatibility refers to the way you and your partner balance each other’s sexual needs, how strong your communication is about sex, and most importantly, how satisfied you both feel when it comes to sex. Sexual compatibility is when you both feel seen, heard, held, and fulfilled in your sex life. If there is a little mismatch in your sexual compatibility due to some difference or life circumstances, one or both of you might feel a lack of connection and sexual pleasure or a feeling their needs aren't being met.

The Importance of Sexual Compatibility

Sex and being sexually compatible are one of the most crucial things when it comes to maintaining a relationship. They are also the exact reasons why relationships end. So it’s not something that can be taken with levity.

In today’s world, anyone who vocally strays from the dominant cultural narrative surrounding sex in a relationship faces being judged by everyone, which is not supposed to be the case. A woman with a high libido is considered a slut, a man who wants more sex than his partner is considered inconsiderate at best and a monster at worst, and many other scenarios. Due to these reasons,

many fear opening up about their sexual want to their partner, which is not supposed to be that way. Sex is part of a relationship and cannot be excised when it is inconvenient. Feeling as though your needs or desires are being ignored or neglected in one area will eventually affect others. Lack of sexual satisfaction cannot be brushed under the rug. If it is left unaddressed, it will grow and fester, turning into dissatisfaction, then bitterness and resentment. Couples need to sit down and talk with one another, especially in the early stage of their relationship, to determine whether or not they’re a match. The last thing anyone wants is to go into a relationship with the assumption that you are compatible only to find out that you both have radically different views on sex.

To know whether you are sexually compatible with your partner, ask each other if you have matching sex drives, ask them about how they feel about monogamy and infidelity, discuss the kind of sex the both of you want, and so many other questions.

THINGS TO TRY IF YOU ARE IN A SEXUALLY INCOMPATIBLE RELATIONSHIP

(1) Visit a Mental Health Professional

In case you don’t know, not all issues with sex are caused by physical limits. Some of the causes can be mental or emotional blocks. If this happens to be the

case in your relationship, it is advised that you visit a mental health professional for help.

(2) Try Visiting a Sex Shop

Many couples are taking trips to sex shops to spice up their time in the bedroom, even though it was a taboo in the past. One of the benefits of visiting a sex shop is that it will help you find new ways to make sex exciting.

(3) Talk to One Another About Your Fantasies

Talking about fulfilling sexual desire, many people rarely have a conversation about what they genuinely consist of with their partner. Having this discussion with your partner before sex is very important as it will help determine your level of sexual compatibility. Please find out about each other’s dreams and wishes in bed, what fun things they like, what you expect, and what you want, among others. Just communicate with each other. It is crucial.

The Car-tracking whisperer ENO ESSIEN

They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This is the story behind Eno Essien’s car-tracking business. It started when a robbery incident piqued her curiosity about whether there was technology that could track her friend’s stolen car. Sure enough, she found one, and the wide-eyed 25-year-old fresh out of school, fearlessly started Rheytrak, a car-tracking technology company. What’s particularly interesting is she is also a breast cancer survivor and has been free for ten years.

In this interview with TheWill DOWNTOWN Editor, Onah Nwachukwu, Essien tells her story about working in the technology industry, her major challenges and life after cancer.

You were one of the earlier women in the tech industry. Why tech in the first place?

start to delve into tech; I read microbiology. It was my experience that led me into tech. I was robbed in my friend’s house, and just before then, somebody had told me about the GM car alarm, which was the technology before the vehicle tracking technology. So when my friend’s car got stolen in that robbery incident, I then called him up, and he explained, and I read about it. Then I felt there were still cars in Nigeria at risk of getting stolen. ‘There was a problem; why could I not offer this solution?,’ I thought. That was what took me into tech. It seemed that I was providing a working solution, and it’s been 16 years.

Is there an association for women in technology in Nigeria?

None that I know. I have yet to learn about them, if there are any. But in the UK and the USA, yes. Not in Nigeria that I know about.

When people first came in contact with you as a woman who is providing a solution for car technology? Was their reaction warm, or were they sceptical?

There was a mixture. I was also young when I started— 25 years old. So going into a company and sitting with the board and saying, this is what I want to do. They were like who is this child that has come in? So I had those challenges. And then I also had serious-minded people who believed in me, like May and Baker, who gave me my first job; they were my first clients. Then other jobs and opportunities started coming in, I recovered stolen vehicles, and everything started playing out.

Were you scared going into technology, seeing as it wasn’t something you were familiar with, or did your passion drive you?

I wasn’t scared; I had no iota of fear. It’s even now I get afraid. But as of then, I wasn’t frightened. I saw something I wanted to do, believed it would work, was passionate about it, and was neck-deep into it. There was nothing anybody was going to tell me. So even when I started and employed staff, I never knew I would have the challenges I eventually had because

everything was perfect in my head. Car security technology has grown way beyond our expectations. Can you put us through the different phases? There have been changes. For instance, the technology we started with differs from what we use today. Now you can download an app and check where your vehicle is. Then you would have to send an SMS, so the technology has changed. When I started, I would have to sit outside my office to get a good signal. Internet service has greatly improved. It can be much better and should be better, but it has greatly improved. So technology from 16 years ago has advanced, and new features for the tracking device keep coming up.

What new technology would you say is the best thing that your company offers?

We are selling the convenience of logging into an app we work with from your mobile phone to see where your vehicle is at any point in time, when it is stolen, or even without it being stolen. And then the peace of mind that when this vehicle is stolen, we will find it no matter where it is. We’ve recovered cars in totally unexpected places that even if you tell security agents to go there, there’s no way they would have found the vehicle.

So you have a specific type of technology that is rare in Nigeria?

Vehicle tracking technology is similar to the Global Positioning System(GPS). Now the reason why we are a step ahead is being able to train the staff of Rheytrak to be proactive. So the moment you call us, we have a 24-hour response time and respond immediately. Let me give you a typical example: we had a stolen vehicle about six weeks ago. It was stolen weeks earlier in Owerri, and the client called us because he didn’t have a valid subscription. So one day, he decided to try his luck because he heard that we always recover vehicles, so he called us two weeks after his vehicle was stolen. Guess what, we found the car, he couldn’t believe it. When we find these vehicles, we deliver them to the nearest police station. He got his car.

How far do you think technology will go in terms of being able to recover cars?

They are going as far as your car can read the data about the car’s owner.

Even further. Anything can happen, and we must see what the people ahead in technology can develop.

In running your business daily, what are some of the difficulties you face as a woman in Nigeria? We run on telecommunications(telcos) companies and use SIM cards and network coverages. The coverage has improved, but it can be better. Sometimes we have challenges with the network; it’s like with us, we kept trying to talk on the phone, and the network kept going off. We look forward to a time when we can have an uninterrupted phone call. We face these challenges because we rely on the telcos as the backboard. Another challenge is that staff need to realise that they are working in this organisation, and it is supposed to be a winwin. There are staff who are not exactly loyal, and we also have those challenges. Day to day, there is traffic while trying to meet with our clients and keep to the scheduled time, and the unforeseen circumstances, especially the traffic. The cost of transportation has also doubled. And then the exchange rate is horrible. The vehicle tracking industry is a market that is not regulated, so you find that the amount we were selling five years ago is the same as we are selling now, and the exchange rate is no better. It has tripled since then. And you are the only licensed female CEO in the vehicle tracking industry. How does that make you feel?

Initially, it used to get me so excited. Now I mean, it will be nicer to have more women come together; let’s work together. Let’s lift each other. The tearing down is more than the lifting up, so having more women come together will be nice because when you win, I win.

Have you attempted to see how you can have other women in technology, maybe have a course or training programme where you can mentor young people?

I don’t have a training programme, but I attend conferences where I get to speak with these people. For instance, I had one four Saturdays ago, and what I do in these conferences is try to share my own story. I think it’s a relatable story. I’ve never worked for any other company. I don’t have any work experience outside my field, so I graduated from school and went straight into business. I share my experience and let them know that if I can do this, they can do it too. So I do more of inspiring and pushing them.

As a mother, how hectic

“Initially, it used to get me so excited. Now I mean, it will be nicer to have more women come together; let’s work together. Let’s lift each other. The tearing down is more than the lifting up, so having more women come together will be nice because when you win, I win. ”

in. Before COVID, I always went to work, commuting from the mainland to the island. And then COVID happened, and we realised that all that commuting on the road was unnecessary, and we stayed in our houses. At that point, I started working from home, so that way, I’m able to do my job and also be there for my daughter. So it’s some work-life integration. It’s not balancing.

And you do all of these with your commitment to being a member of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association council and being a Public Relations Officer for the Association of Telematics Operators in Nigeria. How did that come about?

“ I wasn’t scared; I had no iota of fear. It’s even now I get afraid. But as of then, I wasn’t frightened. I saw something I wanted to do, believed it would work, was passionate about it, and was neckdeep into it. There was nothing anybody was going to tell me...I never knew I would have the challenges I eventually had because everything was perfect in my head, so there was no iota of fear.”

So we have an association for those of us who provide vehicle tracking service. I was voted into it some years ago, so it was a position given to a few of us in the exco. What is it like now, 16 years later? How do you feel, and what do you hope for the technology sector regarding vehicle tracking?

Sixteen years later, I’m fulfilled and glad that I’ve made a promise to my clients, and I’ve fulfilled that promise. I’m happy because these people never expect their vehicles to be recovered. Whenever we recover a stolen vehicle, it’s like winning the jackpot. So 16 years of doing that, I am glad I’ve been able to stick to my word because you can go into a business with promises that don’t get fulfilled. I interact with other companies; they make promises, buy things, get those things, and what you pay for is not what you get. So I’m glad we’ve been able to do that at Rheytrak.

Then for the technology, I look forward to improved technology and improved network coverage in Nigeria, enhancing our business because the telcos are the backbones. They are the ones we ride on. There was a time about two years ago that there was a ban on the sales of SIMs. We use these SIMs, so you can imagine what that ban did to the vehicle-tracking industry. It was tough for us, in particular, but because we had stock, we could function. Some of these policies need to be reviewed before they are made. Because I know people whose vehicle tracking businesses packed up because they couldn’t deliver; they didn’t have the SIM. So technology in Nigeria can be better. Let’s move to something a bit more personal. How many years ago were you diagnosed with cancer? I am 10 years free this year! And I hope to do something in October. How does this make you through the fire and came out unscathed. I am really thankful, mainly because I didn’t know people survived cancer when I was diagnosed. So I thought it was the end, but thankfully I had access to Medicare, and they were constantly explaining the processes every step of the way. Remember, I had treatment in the UK, so before I went into any form of treatment, they explained the steps and procedures and gave me some hope. I went through chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and tamoxifen. So I’m glad that ten years after, I’m living, and I’ve been able to inspire; in fact, I only need to hear that someone has cancer, and I ask for their name and phone number. They can keep their hopes alive when they see that you have been through the same things and you’re standing strong.

Were there times, even now, that you were a bit anxious that it might return?

In the beginning, maybe the early two to three years, you have one pain and think, ‘oh my God is this cancer?’ You have one headache, and you are scared. I’ve often had to rush to the hospital, asking them to check if there was something wrong cause I was feeling a certain way. It’s normal; those fears arise, especially when you hear other people’s stories. There was a lady I reached out to when she had

breast cancer and was fine three years after. Now she has it in her stomach. So those fears happen, but I’m a Christian and strongly believe in God’s word. When the illness happened, I did a lot of Bible study, and I quoted and still quote a lot of healing scriptures, so when I feel funny, I stand on that word, I just stand on that word and say when I’m healed, I’m healed completely.

How did you cope while you were working?

What was it like mentally dealing with that and running your business?

I left because I needed space. I used to have this 24-inch desktop computer; it was a giant computer. I carried it to the UK, so I used to work in between. Nobody knew I had cancer, I didn’t discuss it, and they didn’t even know at work. The story then was that I was going to school. It was like four years after when I spoke about it before people knew what it was. I did this because I didn’t want to be discriminated against, so it was more of a fear. Even the late Ibidun once said to me, “no, that is not your stigma; it is their stigma, the person trying to stigmatise you.” So I packed my things and went to the UK for my treatment, and nobody knew at work because I was still working. Once I had the treatment, I chilled, and I got back to work the moment I was better.

What are you hoping for your business, Rheytrak Limited, as the first female CEO for car tracking technology?

First of all, COVID taught me that we can’t plan long-term anymore because nobody saw what happened in 2020 coming. However, when people think of tracking, I want them to Rheytrak. That should be like number one. You know how you are thinking phone, and you’re thinking iPhone? I want a car in every home to have our tracking device installed. I want us to stand the test of time because these are challenging times now, and I know that many businesses are going under, so I’m working and trusting that we are still here and that the name Rheytrak will become a household name.

EMBRACINGEQUITY

Equality or Equity, What Delivers The Fairest Outcome?

BY KEHINDÉ FAGBULE

Throughouthuman history, equality has been central to every social justice fight. Across countries and continents, there is a constant tug of war over equal rights for every individual. On the gender front, equality struggles the most to take a definition of its own and ultimately get a resolution. According to the Oxford dictionary, equality is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities. Make no mistake; this is the morally ideal modus operandi to imbibe by. Maybe not in status as society is firmly rooted on the pedestal of capitalism, but in rights and opportunities, we should all strive for unequivocal equality. But it is not as easy as it sounds. Common sense deduces that man and woman are not equal at the very core of their existence. The highly different experiences we live through shape our perspective of life and can put us on two very unequal trajectories. For instance, girls must learn about adult cleanliness during their preteen years because menstruation and puberty make them grow faster than boys. This could also explain why women populate the care industry; they have been learning to care for themselves and others since childhood. For boys, especially during puberty, their testosterone growth is rapidly fostered by the glaring physical body changes and a society constantly reminding them that they are responsible for providing and protecting. On this other end of the spectrum is an explanation as to why men dominate the military industry. As we ascribe meaning to gender equality, it is important to do so with the utterly logical resolution that perhaps equal opportunity doesn’t always translate to equal outcomes. And so, society has been caught a few times playing with the thoughts of abandoning the fight for an egalitarian society for equity.

In the context of societal systems, equality and equity refer to similar but slightly different concepts. While equality generally refers to equal opportunity and the same levels of support for all segments of society, equity goes a step further and refers to offering varying levels of support depending upon the need to achieve greater fairness of outcomes. This is an important topic as it provides insight into the gender pay gap. One could argue that it exists because there are more men in STEM fields—an umbrella term used to group the distinct but related technical disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics—than women. So how do we solve that conundrum? How do we balance out the ratio of men and women in construction engineering?

Data suggests that, on the contrary, gender differences across six key personality traits—altruism, trust, risk, patience, and positive and negative reciprocity—increase in richer and more gender-equal societies. Meanwhile, in societies that are poorer and less egalitarian, these gender differences shrink. The study was largely focused on egalitarian Scandinavian countries where boys and girls are raised on the default consciousness of equality. The result of that? More men in STEM fields and more women in care positions. Speaking on that study, renowned, controversial Canadian psychologist, Jordan Peterson said, “first, men and women are more similar than they are different. This is true, cross-culturally. Even when men and women are most different—in those cultures where they differ most and along those trait dimensions where they differ most—they are more similar than different. However, the differences that exist are large enough to play an important role in determining or at least affecting important life outcomes, such as occupational choice.”

According to Peterson, “where are the largest differences? Men are less agreeable (more competitive, harsher, tough-minded, sceptical, unsympathetic, critically-minded, independent, and stubborn). This is in keeping with their proclivity, also documented cross-culturally, to manifest higher rates of violence and antisocial or criminal behaviour, such that incarceration rates for men vs women approximate 15:1. Women are higher in negative emotion or neuroticism. They experience more anxiety, emotional pain, frustration, grief, self-conscious doubt and disappointment (something in keeping with their proclivity to experience depression at twice the rate of men). These differences appear to emerge at puberty. Perhaps it’s a consequence of women’s smaller size and the danger that poses in conflict. Perhaps it’s a consequence of their sexual vulnerability. Perhaps (and this is the explanation I favour) it’s because women have always taken primary care of infants, who are exceptionally vulnerable, and must therefore suffer from hyper-vigilance to threat.”

As always, research and scientific findings are largely based on averages and percentages, at the risk of generalising. If we put aside the “not all men” rhetoric and “every woman is different” obvious tropes, we might get to the bottom of this fight for equality, which has stared right at us for so long— equal opportunity doesn’t always mean equal outcome, so maybe it is time to embrace equity.

Exciting Ways to Enjoy Kale

BY DORCAS AKINTOYE

Many people do not like kale because it requires much attention to prepare it well. Without the proper steps, the dark, leafy green vegetable can be coarse and bitter, even after a generous pour of salad dressing.

Notwithstanding, this powerhouse plant is packed with nutrients and is considered one of the healthiest superfoods. Kale provides vitamins C, K, and A and is also rich in essential minerals like calcium and iron; that’s why you need to figure out your favourite way to eat kale.

Below are exciting ways to enjoy kale in your food.

STIR IT INTO SOUPS

No matter the type of soup you are making, kale will cook down; that is, wilt, soften, and shrink in size once it's in the broth while giving you all the nutrients you need with none of the chalky texture or bitter taste. Adding your chopped kale to your soup toward the end of cooking is

1 2

BLEND IT INTO A SMOOTHIE

Add kale to your menu if you need a new go-to breakfast not covered in sugary syrup. Make a smoothie with kale and some other high-fibre fruits and veggies.

BAKE THEM UNTIL CRISPY

4 A

nother way to enjoy kale is by baking or roasting kale till they become crispy. You can make your kale chips by tossing roughly chopped kale in light soy sauce or tamari and then baking it until it’s toasty.

TOSS IT INTO PASTA

Just as kale wilts down nicely when added to a pot of soup, it will also soften up when wilted in oil and aromatics and incorporated into a bowl of noodles. Chopped kale is often paired with salty, fatty Italian sausage, but it works in almost any pasta dish. You can add chopped kale when the pasta is about five minutes from being done. Season it with a small amount of sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt.

BON APPÉTIT

The way kale is delicious when baked is the reason why it makes it a unique, scrumptious pizza or flatbread topping. If you make a pizza

A DIP

Cooked kale can be chopped or pureed to make any dip. You can also use frozen and thawed kale. Just make sure you squeeze out the extra liquid.

A TASTY SUBSTITUTE FOR SPINACH

SPRINKLE IT ON PIZZA 3 5 6 7

You can always substitute kale in recipes that use spinach or collard greens.

Health Benefits Of Eating Kale

Kale is touted by many because of its high nutrition content and beneficial vitamins. If you need more reasons to add more of this leafy green to your diet, below are some top health benefits of kale.

(1) They are great for digestion

(2) Kale are great anti-inflammatory food

(3) Kale improve coronary artery risk factors

(4) They promote liver health

CLOSER TO WHITE IS BLEACHING THE NEW NORMAL?

BY KEHINDÉ FAGBULE

“Weare all a work in progress, and if you feel your skin can do with a little work, why not,” popular media personality, Toke Makinwa, said in an interview as her admission to bleaching made the news a few years ago. For her, altering her pigmentation to a lighter shade is a part of her skincare goals and, in turn, helps boost her self-image.

Bleaching is one of the challenges that has plagued us as black people. Its origin can be traced back to colonisation when we were confronted with a colonial mentality that positioned the average white woman as the epitome of beauty, making her regular features—white skin, long straight hair, slim pointed nose—desirable. Black people’s struggle with pigmentation and the birth of colourism stemmed from their interracial relationships with white people. Back when relationships between Caucasians and Africans were regarded as taboo, slave masters had their way, usually forcefully, with their bondwomen, which was a relatively common sight. The result of that? Cute little mixed-race babies often easily identifiable as Massa’s (master) kids, hence afforded the privileges of being house servants—assigned less difficult indoor tasks— as opposed to being out on the field, in the sun picking cotton and often horrifying outdoor duties. Since then, light-skinned black people have always enjoyed unspoken advantages, and the rationale behind it is simple—the closer you are to white on the spectrum of race, the better you are perceived by the world. And as vile and nonsensical racism is, colourism is found to have similar fundamental ideals; the only difference is that people perpetuate it within the same racial community.

Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which declared a state of emergency on skin bleaching last month, sizing up the possibility of placing a nationwide ban on the importation of products containing hydroquinone, a skin lightening chemical.

Colourism

Light-skinned women are viewed as more attractive in many parts of Africa. They are likelier to excel in industries like entertainment, marketing, and tourism than their peers with darker skin. To explore colourism in Nigeria, British-Nigerian actress, Beverly Naya, produced a documentary on Netflix titled Skin. This hour-long documentary compiles the stories of Black women in the country who have been treated differently for having dark skin. They speak openly about the pressures of being defined by their skin colour. In the documentary, another British-Nigerian actress, Diana Yekini, recalls being told in 2017 by a lighting technician on a movie set in Nigeria that if she didn’t bleach her skin to become lighter, she would stop getting jobs. Yekini said social perceptions around skin colour have seeped into the entertainment industry, where many dark-skinned women are

denied roles.

“The issue is that regardless of how amazing you were, you could kill it, you could be fabulous, you could be what they want secretly, but if you’re not fair, that’s it,” she said in the documentary.

Way Out

Although bleaching is readily seen as the demon, it is a reactionary endeavour people embark on to get our shame-based society off their backs. It is difficult to see a way out of colourisation that wouldn’t involve generations of backtracking on the conventional beauty standards in society today. As a result, the number of beauty products with skin whitening agents has increased monumentally over the years. This eventually got the attention of the National Agency for Food Drug

According to the Director General of the NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, “The World Health Organisation study in 2018 revealed that the use of skin bleaching cream is prevalent amongst 77 percent of Nigerian women, which is the highest in Africa compared to 59 percent in Togo, 35 percent in South Africa and 27 percent in Senegal. These scary statistics have shown that the menace of bleaching creams in Nigeria has become a national health emergency that requires a multi-faceted regulatory approach,” she concluded.

Bleaching is officially an epidemic in Nigeria today, especially in Northern Nigeria. Although the women say they are aware that skin bleaching could cause cancer, black knuckles, skin burns, loss of protective skin layer, wrinkles and foul odour, they said they must, however, ‘tone up’ their skins because Kano men prefer light-skinned women to those who are naturally dark. The men even have a saying: “Give the light-skinned lady to me even if she is a witch and cannot cook.”

THE SCENE DOWNTOWN AFRICAN BEAUTY FORUM

BY ONAH NWACHUKWU

The Pioneer Exposition in Africa for natural, organic and beauty brands, BONA Expo in partnership with Choice International Group (GAC Motor Nigeria), recently hosted vendors and consumers to brunch at the GAC Motor headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was also an opportunity for owners of various beauty brands to network with one another, and learn a thing or two from business and financial heads such as Chairman GAC Motor, Diana Chan, Exposition Manager, BONA expo, Cynthia Odibeli, Executive Director of Zenith Bank, Adaobi Nwapa, and alpHER Content and Community Manager, Union Bank, Ayomide Oyediran.

BONA Expo, whose goal is to promote green beauty brands in Africa by Africans by fostering green beauty and retailing African green beauty brands on the global market, allowed vendors to display and promote their brands to consumers.

After that session, participants introduced their products, Chan gave a tour of the GAC showroom, and brunch was served.

Barr. Marlyn Akpofure BONA EXPO Vendors Manager

Debbie Collins Founder Rbrth Essentials

Seun Oluremi

Koye O

Manish Rohtagi

Karimat Dina Founder May Emerald

Zuwaira Isah

Manager at Uncover Skincare Nigeria

Joycee Awosika

Gladd Anetor Ebhabha

BY BOLUWATIFE ADESINA

MOVIE REVIEW:

Creed III

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Whatdoes it take for a movie to be a world champion? No dramatic haymaker. Just deliver what you promise with style, taste and respect for your audience. And coming in under two hours doesn’t hurt.

Based on those criteria alone, Creed III easily earns the title. Since 2015, when Ryan Coogler directed the Rocky spinoff Creed with refreshing smarts and down-to-earth soulfulness, the franchise has been that rare sequel/reboot-brand extension that has earned its place in the pantheon it’s exploiting. With the help of its star, the handsome, quietly charismatic Michael B. Jordan, Creed has become the kind of reliable, human-scale drama that has become rarer in Hollywood with each passing year. Jordan makes his directing debut with Creed III, and he has clearly taken a page from Coogler, a credited screenwriter, Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin. As the story begins — after a couple of atmospheric flashbacks — Jordan’s character, Adonis Creed, has been retired for three years and is running the now-LA-based Delphi Boxing Academy and living in prosperity and domestic bliss with his wife, Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and their adorable daughter, Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). Now an entrepreneur, trainer and promoter, Adonis knows the power of a good narrative. As one character says in Creed III, everyone loves a comeback story — and that’s been the spine of Rocky and its offspring since Sylvester Stallone first ran up the steps in Rocky 1. The twist in Creed III is that there will be more than one resurrection — starting with Adonis’s childhood friend Damian, played with a fascinating combination of menace and sensitivity by Jonathan Majors. A frisson of fear plays across Adonis’s face when he sees Damian’s hulking figure leaning on his Rolls-Royce; when Damian, a former Golden Gloves champ, announces that he wants to get back into the ring, Adonis’s apprehension curdles into something closer to terror.

Jordan calibrates the competing emotions with direct, unfussy skill, allowing Creed III to unfold in ways that don’t necessarily break the mould but prove enormously satisfying nonetheless. Handsomely filmed and designed, the movie floats effortlessly from the pugilistic intensity of the gym — where Damian’s first opponent, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez), works out under the sharp-eyed scrutiny of his mother, Laura (Selenis Leyva) — to the low-key environs of the Creeds’ labyrinthine hilltop mansion, where Bianca produces hit records and her husband isn’t above donning a dinosaur

costume to take tea with his little girl.

One of these home scenes exemplifies the genuine emotions that pervade the Creed enterprise when Bianca confesses the pain of having to let go of her dreams as a performer. Creed III touches on any number of authentically lived realities, from the corrosive power of guilt and grudges to class resentment and the perils and privileges of Black excellence. Never billboarded but rather folded organically into the texture of Creed III, these ideas sit lightly with what the audience came to see: fight sequences in which slow motion reveals every skin ripple and bloody spit take and in which physically imposing men might come within inches of killing each other as the glamorous crowd urges them on.

Jordan directs these scenes with vigour and focus. And, thanks to the structure of the story, he gifts viewers with not just one but two big bouts — and training sequences, the latter of which involves parachutes, airplanes, massive truck tires and the Hollywood sign. It’s awesome.

Jordan’s most crucial achievement in Creed III isn’t his visual technique, a well-judged combination of grit and gloss, but his casting. Not only does he subvert the hypermasculine world of boxing with the welcome presence of Leyva and real-life trainer Ann “Mitt Queen” Najjar, but he casts Majors perfectly as Damian. Even more than in his recent turn as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, in Creed III Majors, allows an innate form of sweetness and vulnerability to surface along with brute aggression. Any other actor might lean into Damian as a conventional villain; Majors, who has a singular ability to recruit the audience to his side virtually at first sight, troubles that unique skill to portray a character who manages to be sympathetic even at his worst.

Jordan succumbs to one moment of rote sentimentality at the deathbed of a beloved character, and during a climactic sequence, he does some interesting stuff with magical realism when a bloodthirsty crowd disappears, and the ropes of a boxing ring turn into prison walls. But for the most part, Creed III is a matter of clear, straightforward storytelling, with a well-balanced variety of action, feeling, character development and fan-pleasing callbacks. It’s a good movie. And that’s a knockout punch in its own right.

8/10

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