When wealth is not health

SIR: I hope the Nigerian people and the politicians will start to see the numerous existential threats to their health with lack of exercise. We have so many potbellied government officials, military personnel, governors, businessmen and women gyrating in the euphoria of fleeting affluence, but they pay little or no attention to their health.

You see men of opulence with exterior integral part (middle) of their body like a pregnant woman due for the D-day. They hardly workout. Numerous health hazards are the products of lack of exercise; and with what they consume everyday. All these are unfitting for their body and wellness.

If people with mundane national and global assignments could take it upon themselves everyday, to do physical exercises out of their clustered and busy schedules, how much more of those who have retinue of housemaids, personal assistants, chauffeurs and other domestic servants to work for them? President Obama, the president of the United States does 54 push-ups and several sit-ups everyday. Paul Ryan, the current president of the US Congress does almost 50 push-ups and other short hour sessions of workouts daily. Virtually all political office holders in the US exercise/workout religiously everyday. More than $20 billion is spent on weight loss by Americans every year. Every household is now cognizant of health hazard, or lack of engaging in moderate or rigorous exercise or workout can cause to their body. It truly costs fortune!

When you see those who exercise regularly and religiously, they’re agile with fertile mind, they have beautiful structures; they walk confidently and speak impeccable language with all its mesmerism.

The “bigman” attitude in Africa is usually accompanied by diabetes, heart disease, lazy and ineffective thought process, sudden death, gluttonous eating habit and other health hazards we wrongly perceived as “enjoying life”. No! It is not enjoyment, it is a gradual and unconscious preparation for early eternal life.

It’s high time we created time for workouts. When we exercise our body regularly, we feel the tranquility of life; we think very straight with positive thought process. A one-mile walk daily rejuvenates life and prolongs our longevity. Folks, right now, stand up from your cozy couch and create a time for workouts. Again, health is wealth.
• Yahaya Balogun
Arizona, USA.