Comments on issues raised by BBC WHYS

Child obesity isn’t the responsibility of parents alone as in the market there are food items leading to child obesity. Advertisement and peer pressure play a great part in making children consume fattening food. Parents themselves don’t have time to prepare healthy food for their children. Most of the time some buy prepared food from supermarkets or take away food chains. What is needed is to withdraw any food item leading to obesity and shut down fast food restaurants selling fatty foods.

To help children not become fat, markets should be supplied with only bio-food. Organic food is still out of reach for many because of its quantity and price. Parents should have more time at home to prepare healthy food instead of consuming preserved and fatty food. There must aggressive campaigns at schools and in the media showing shocking examples of child obesity and the health complications resulting from it. And above all children should be encouraged to take up exercises regularly.

The way to ward off obesity among children is simple:

- parents should cook fresh food themselves and be knowledgeable about the food quantity and quality they should have.

- there should be incentives for them to take up physical exercises in gyms or at home with their parents.

- there must be constant checks on their weight accompanied with doctor’s recommendations on how they should keep in good form.

- They should be taught that being negligent about their weight has dire consequences.

Elections in France and Nigeria unfortunately provide a contrast between one of the oldest democracies in Europe and a new but still stumbling democracy in Africa. Elections in France have been the centre of attention as, for the first time; there are candidates who have never been presidents after Jack Chirac decided not to stand again. In Nigeria, Pt Olusegun Obasanjo couldn’t stand as constitutionally he can’t stand two terms.

What is interesting in these elections is that in France, debates were hot and peaceful. In Nigeria, there are still mutual accusations of fraud and other irregularities, not to mention violence leading to death.

In France, it took decades for it to become a full-fledged democracy after the establishment of the Fifth Republic and the seizure of power by De Gaulle. Nigeria is still a young democracy, still struggling to have full civil power as the military still have political and economic power. They change just uniforms with plain clothes. But the military mentality is still gripping government style.

Nigeria because of its oil and population is a considerable regional power. But it is still setting a bad example to other African countries. Surprisingly, small sates in Africa like Senegal and Mauritania, despite their scarce resources, look more democratic than it.

So the excitement regarding the elections in France is still about whether Royal will be the first female president as now she stands with Nicholas Sarkozy in the second round. Breath will continue being held until May 6^th. For Nigeria, the expectation will be how this big country will keep holding together. Now the winner has been declared, it remains to see how the calming of election fever will keep the country politically and socially stable despite its acute economic problems. It seems the Nigerians have Nigerians resigned themselves to the reality of power in their country when the government and the people each go to their own business till another round of elections spark international interest and heated debates at home resulting as it has become the custom in sporadic or intense violence.

Boris Yeltsin, despite his shortcomings as a president, will be remembered as one of the heroes of modern. Russia. He had different stumbles, appointing and dismissing prime ministers, threatening the parliament with dissolution in case it objected to his major decisions. He was surprising in his political decisions. The biggest surprise was appointing Vladimir Putin as prime minister paving the way for him to become president. Maybe the best legacy he left was Vladimir Putin who has seen his popularity ascending with time.

He was for the west a man they could do business with, enjoying mainly the support of the USA. Through his presidency he made friends with heads of states around the world, especially with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl

Listen to the conversation on BBC WHYS in memory of Boris Yeltsin