In November 2018, the second volume of the National Climate Assessment Report mandated by the US government and prepared by the American scientific community was released and was met with an equal dose of cheer and concern. The report was made very popular by the decision of the current US administration to “bury” the report...
Author: Nnaemeka Ugochukwu (Nnaemeka Ugochukwu)
Suicide Is Not the Answer
Abuja, Nigeria: The first time I learnt of suicide, I was about five. A man had committed suicide within my father’s jurisdiction and as the then presiding Magistrate; he had to sanction an official inquiry into the cause of death. He reviewed the pictures in his library at home and later that night, I overheard...
The Concept of Women’s Rights and the Fight for Equality: The Nigerian Perspective
On the morning of December 3rd 1929, Nnayereuwa, a woman from the Aba region of Southeastern Nigeria, alongside roughly ten thousand other women created a landmark in the country’s history as it relates to the rights of women in the nation and by extension, throughout the African continent. That morning, after a scuffle with a...
Deficiency Marketing: How Modern Marketing Magnifies Our Shortcomings and Weaknesses
In a recent conversation a friend drew my attention to a crucial aspect of modern day marketing. She asked if I had noticed that almost all advertisements on the internet are fixated on what a majority of the populace already feel they lack. Her views were that if I paused to really think it through,...
Mental Health Disorders are on the Rise in Western Countries. Here Is What’s Happening in Nigeria…
“Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual is able to realize his/her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and make a contribution to his/her family and community.” – World Health Organisation In June 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) formally added Gaming Disorder to its...
Calling All Artists, Musicians and Creatives: The Climate Movement Needs Your Help!
Whoever you are, you’re dependent on your environment; for example, weather fluctuations affects us all. From the icy chills of Alaska down to the heat and scorching sands of the Sahara, in every corner or region of the world, the state of the air, atmosphere, temperature and other outside conditions (such as rain or cloudiness)...
We All Want To Be Seen: How Society Created Fashion’s Influencer Culture
I have loved fashion for as long as I can remember because fashion is synonymous with creativity at its peak. Through every generation, the fashion industry remains the finest meld of the best creative minds and my younger self came to this conclusion poring over glossy pages of Ebony and GQ Magazines in the 90s....
Does Poverty Foster Sustainable Living?
When I discovered the sustainability movement, I found a few things that came as a surprise to me. Chief among these surprises was how much of a correlation there was between my life as an average Nigerian and the lifestyle as advocated by the sustainability movement. In one of my earliest articles about vegan choices,...
The GTBank Lagos Fashion Weekend 2018: A Sustainability Review
Last week, I attended the Guaranty Trust Bank Fashion Weekend in Lagos Nigeria on assignment. This fashion show is one of the biggest fashion shows in Africa, second only to the Lagos Fashion Week. The show is the flagship fashion show of the Guaranty Trust Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks which has positioned itself...
When Political Correctness Hurts the Sustainability Movement
Political correctness simply put, is the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize, or insult groups of people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against. Originally, as the term indicates, political correctness was a way of life reserved for politicians whose jobs demanded that they always be on the...
Africa’s Biofuels: The Opportunity Costs of Pursuing Cleaner Energy
In 1858 and 1859, oil was discovered for the first time in commercial quantities in Ontario Canada and Pennsylvania, USA. This was a turning point in human civilization. From producing diesel for steam engines to using kerosene to light up house lamps, oil was the ‘oil’ of civilization. By the middle of the 20th century almost all...
Communicating Sustainable Living: Expanding the Narrative So That It’s Culturally Inclusive
Abuja, Nigeria: Nicholas Patrick Wiseman, back in 1845, once wrote that an idea is immortal and cannot be killed. Personally, I think ideas are pretty much eternal. All the greatest changes in human lives across the world had at one time or another stemmed from an idea. From the concept of slavery to that of...