By Chief Ingram Osigwe( EnyiOh)

Ndewo nu, umunnem!
This piece weighs in on the spike in sudden, tragic death among young Igbo men, especially businessmen in Lagos.

In the past two years I can count more than 30 Igbo men within the age range of 40 & 55 that had suddenly slumped and died in their prime.

Close sources and relatives of these dead men confirmed that prior to slumping and dying, many of them looked physically healthy yet they slumped and died either in their business arena, offices, at home or while exercising.The truth is that causes of the deaths are cardiac arrest and heart attacks.

As an 18 carat Igboman,it saddens me that the life expectancy of Igbo men are short when compared to that of Yoruba, Ijaw, Bini, and Hausa- Fulani men. I can pointedly summarise the triggers and facilitators of these cardiac arrest/ heart attack induced sudden deaths under two headings:

1. Ignorance and Carelessness

2. Lifestyle

* Ignorance and carelessness: I appreciate the tenacity, industry, doggedness and hardwork of Igbo youngmen but a lot of them- mostly from 30 and above- are utterly ignorant of certain health challenges.They are careless and nonchalant about their health. How many of our youngmen know their blood pressure and sugar level status or even what blood pressure and sugar level are all about? Very very few!

Let me state here that it does not cost much to acquire an OMRON or ACCOSON blood pressure and sugar level testing machines.High blood pressure, umunnem, is the black man’s disease, every blackman is prone to it! According to health statistics, over 55% of black men round the world above the age of 40 are prone to High blood pressure.

An uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to cardiac arrest, heart attack, kidney disease and other organ failures.

The volatility in exchange rates and the arbitrary increase in the prices of commodities as well as other socioeconomic challenges can aggravate pressure on so many men. The onus, however, falls on every active Igboman to always check their blood pressure and sugar levels every morning before setting out or going out for morning exercises.

Yes, blood pressure drugs like EXFORGE are costly due to the high exchange rate but there alot of other cheaper ones like AMLODIPINE which can always come to the rescue. It is frightening to note that alot of our youngmen are walking corpses. Some of them are walking about with blood pressure as high as 180/100 and above and yet look physically strong and healthy.

However, let it be noted that physical looks or seemingly healthy looks does not guarantee wellness .

Is it not an irony that the foreign manufacturers of most goods , foods and drinks we sell and consume live longer while we die prematurely? Something is definitely wrong somewhere!

I hereby urge our people, especially Igbo young men to imbibe the habit of subjecting themselves to comprehensive health checks at the beginning of every year. There are many world class,well equipped Labs in Lagos that we can walk in and check our health status. CLINIX and EL-LAB can come to our rescue . Their branches are dotted over Lagos and are also pocket friendly .
* LIFESTYLE : Unhealthy lifestyle amongst Igbo young men is another sudden death trigger. Our body systems are wired differently hence at a certain age, one should know the kind of drink or food his body tolerates.Some people’s body system tolerate cognac, red wine( semi sweet or dry ),Whisky, Champagne, Rum, Vodka, Gin, Tequila or even beer while others’can’t.

It’s therefore, bad to binge- drink. There are people whose body systems accept certain drinks only but would, out of greed, switch-drink in social functions because the drinks are free.
BINGE – drinking is a very bad drinking habit. It puts pressure on the organs of the body and triggers negative health reactions.
Our brothers who because of greed and the quest to make money quick adultrate these drinks and other consumer items are not also helping matters.

There are unhealthy practices of food vendors and caterers. Some of them, just to impress their clients end up preparing unhealthy foods.
For example,I recently, at a social function tasted salad which was as sweet as sugar! On inquiry, one of the aides of the caterer who prepared it confided in me that her boss used Sprite soft drink and sugar as dressers! Some caterers, I was told, also prepare fried rice with sugar.Quite sad!
How do you explain a situation where, after eating at a social function you go home to start taking doses of Galvus- met and Glucophage to bring down your sugar level?

Another factor that aggravates sugar levels in most of us is small chops served at social events. Most of the small chops are loaded with excess sugar. However, as adults, you can take more of the protein in the small chops- the spring rolls and the samosas and reduce the intake of puff puffs and buns that contain more sugar.

As an event planner, what I do most time is to ask the caterer to reduce to the the barest minimal the sugar content of the small chops considering my target guests, especially if they are more adults than children. As we all know, CANCER feeds on sugar.

Lastly, God has a purpose for making you an African and an Igbo man. For every race, God created and endowed foods that will fit into their flora and fauna. The same God that endowed raw Salmon Sushi for the Japanese, Pizza & Pasta for Italians endowed Ofe Onugbu and Akpu for Ndigbo, Tuwo Masara for Ndi Hausa and Amala and Ewedu for Ndi Yoruba. Try your best to eat healthy organic foods, exercise up to three times every week and leave the rest to God.

May God continue to bless Ndigbo!

Chief Ingram Osigwe,
EnyiOha na Akokwa resides in Lagos.