Culture and tradition and their corresponding practices have always been a symbol of African communities.

Despite the wide spread of civilization and Western culture that tends to have overshadowed some African cultural practices, some conc cultures and traditions that are deeply rooted are still practiced in some African cities alongside the adopted Western cultures but some cultural practices have outlived their acceptance and usefulness.

The old Yoruba empires like Oyo, Ekiti, Ijebu, Iwo, Akure etc are known for their facial tribal marks. Tribal marks are symbols of identity in that region. You can only be identified as a member of that community through the tribal marks inscribed on you by your parents or guardians at birth. For instance, one can easily identify an Ijebu person (even up to date) merely by the strokes of lines on his face inscribed on him as a tribal mark at birth.

There is also a tribe in South Africa, as a way of their own cultural identity, community members who belong to that culture cut their index fingers immediately after birth. That barbaric act stands as a mark of identity or their own tribal marks.

Another African tribe known as the Danis tribe located in the Southern and Eastern regions of Africa till date also practices a jungle culture and tradition which requires “Finger Cutting” as well. The Women of the tribe must cut off a part of their fingers when a member of the family does. While in some other cultures, women are to (as a matter of cultural and traditional obligation ) shave their heads or rub themselves with mud when a family member dies.

Members of these cultural communities who do not identify with these cultural and traditional practices are regarded as outcasts or infidels.

Thank God for civilization and Westernization. Most of these rituals, cultures and traditions are getting outlawed hugely because of westernization and civilization and also due to the fact that most of these cultures and traditions are (in all honesty) mundane, barbaric, inhuman or “repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience”, and they are also some health concerns surrounding it. For instance, female genital mutilation or female circumcision which is practised in some cultural communities as we have come to know placed the girl child at grave health risk; as for tribal marks, babies can be infected or permanently disfigured with the sharp (unsterilized) objects that are used to tear their flesh in the name of tribal mark placements.

These cultures and rituals are no longer accepted and now jungle practices, hence why some have been outlawed. Some of the notable cultural and traditional practices that have been outlawed in Nigeria include female circumcision and tribal marks. Female circumcision which used to be a big deal in some Nigerian communities has been outlawed in Nigeria and it is now a criminal offense to mutilate female genitals in the name of circumcision. So also, tribal marks on babies have as well been outlawed in some states in Nigeria and it is a criminal offense to inscribe a man on a baby in the name of placing a tribal mark.

In Oyo State, for example, one of the provisions of the Child Rights Law is the prohibition of tribal marks on babies. According to the law, “No person shall tattoo or make a skin mark or cause any tattoo or skin mark to be made on a child” and as a punishment for offenders, the law imposes a fine or one-month imprisonment or both for violation.

A child when grown up and has attained the age of majority can consciously decide if he or she wants a tribal mark or not but that decision is never to be made by the parents or guardian.

Conservatives can argue that cultures and traditions are the foundation upon which African communities are built and allowing civilization to overshadow African cultures and traditions may not end well but we can all see for ourselves that some of the old cultures are mundane, inhumane and barbaric, hence why it is necessary to put laws in place to checkmate some of those cultures and outlaw the ones that are out of place.

The new current wave amongst ladies in Nigeria today is the Brazilian butt lift. It is the goal of most ladies to save up money so as to be able to afford it. It is the new rave and the proliferation of corresponding quack bbl clinics intending to satisfy this craving needs amongst young ladies in Nigerian big cities like Lagos and Abuja is worrisome.

Bbl is now the new social status symbol and Quack doctors are beginning to take advantage of desperate young ladies who aspire to enlarge their asses, offering them a cheap and affordable service and at the same time putting them at risk.

Due to the fact that the Nigerian BBL industry is yet to be regulated, it has been posing a grave concern as many young ladies have died due to health complications arising from BBL they did in quack clinics while the fortunate ones are down with incurable infection they got as a result of the procedure. Dr Anu’s (an infamous Lagos-based BBL surgeon) case is one of those that made it to the public hence why we have been raising the alarm that an unregulated BBL industry in Nigeria is surely a death trap.

During Dr Anu’s infamous BBL scandal, more than ten ladies spoke up about the health challenges they have been facing since they passed through the surgical blade of Dr. Anu, in her clinic in Lagos. Some of those ladies unfortunately died.

The Lagos state government may have closed down Dr Anu’s clinic and the medical board may have withdrawn her medical license but there are other numerous clinics out there that have also been risking the lives of young ladies in Nigeria and the cases are yet to make it to social media. Just this year I have been briefed twice by different ladies who are having health complications ever since they underwent a bbl procedure in a popular Abuja-based bbl clinic.

This is why the Nigerian government need to step in to regulate this industry so as to crack down on quack doctors and save the lives of numerous young ladies and here are some ways the Nigerian government can control BBL operations in Nigeria, especially through legislation

1. Legislation should be passed mandating that only licensed and certified surgeons are allowed to open and run a bbl clinic, with this legislation, quack doctors will be fished out and prosecuted. Being just a doctor does not qualify one to carry out a BBL surgery on a patient, BBL is a surgical procedure and it must be carried out by certified, certificated and licensed surgeons alone.

2. Legislations as to standards for the facilities where BBL procedures are performed should be made. It should not just be any kiosk. This standard should include the procedure equipment, location, staffing, post-surgery care equipment and infection control procedures.

3. Laws should be made to place limits on the amount of fat that can be transferred from the stomach to other parts of the body during a BBL procedure. This can help reduce the risk of fat embolism which is one of the complications faced by BBL patients after the procedure.

4. The Legislation should require that all adverse events related to BBL procedures must be reported to the government control board which will now carry out investigations as to what went wrong.

5. Regular reporting and unprecedented visitation by government bodies to the bbl clinics to ensure they are abiding by regulations.

6. Advertising and soliciting especially on social media should be banned. The law should prohibit the advertisements of BBL procedures so as to ensure that patients are not misled or given unrealistic expectations.

7. Continuing education requirements: Legislations can require that BBL surgeons undergo continuing education and training to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques and safety standards.

The earlier these laws are passed the better it will be for the Nigerian society.

The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is expanding quickly, making it challenging to manage this fascinating area. The creation of ChatGPT, a language model by OpenAI that is revolutionizing how we communicate with technology, is one of the most critical advances in AI.

Here are five things you should know if you want to learn more about ChatGPT and how it is altering the AI landscape:

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a language model that creates responses to text questions that are human-like using machine learning. One of the most sophisticated language models in AI, ChatGPT’s powers is constantly growing. It can be applied to many things, like chatbots, client support, and creative writing.

How does ChatGPT work?

A comprehensive neural network with a large amount of text data was used in ChatGPT. The model uses this information to forecast the word or sentence, most likely following a prompt. It can produce responses that are suitable for the context and grammatically correct.

What are the benefits of ChatGPT?

The capacity of ChatGPT to produce responses to text prompts that sound natural is one of its key advantages. This makes it the perfect tool for companies seeking to rapidly enhance customer service or content creators looking to produce original content. Additionally, ChatGPT can be used for gaming, linguistic translation, and data analysis.

What are the limitations of ChatGPT?

Although ChatGPT is a remarkable technology, it has some drawbacks. It sometimes produces incomprehensible responses or overlooks crucial contexts because it needs proper comprehension or critical thinking. Concerns have also been raised regarding the moral ramifications of developing language models that can mimic human speaking.

What does the future hold for ChatGPT and AI?

The potential of AI and ChatGPT is exciting. We can anticipate more sophisticated language models capable of appropriate comprehension and critical thought as technology advances. New opportunities will be presented to companies, artists, and researchers.

ChatGPT is a game-changer in artificial intelligence and will only grow in popularity. You can keep up with the latest developments in this fascinating area by comprehending the technology that underpins ChatGPT and its potential applications.