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| Jibe Ologeh, TV presenter |
She presents health-related programme, Health Monitor, on broadcast stations and this she says makes her embark on research on the topics she features. Jibe Ologeh talks to KEMI ASHEFON about her passion and other interesting issues
Jibe Ologeh is your ‘T.V doctor’. She presents Health Monitor on various television stations in the nation. A graduate of English language from the University of Ibadan, you would wonder how she is able to proffer solutions to some health issues. “I don’t do that alone but there are some invited medical practitioners, who take care of whatever problems viewers send to us,” she explains.
Anchoring a health programme on air has not been easy. To the mother of three, it means going the extra mile. “I read a lot because information on health is very important. I have hundreds of health related sites I subscribe to and I have to surf them to know what is new. I have to update my knowledge on various health issues and the one we are treating currently is diabetes. I have always been interested in human medicine and how I can help people get solutions to their health problems.”
The interest, she says, started years back as a freelance journalist. The Urhobo born broadcaster recalls that: “After my degree in English Language, I was at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria Training school, where I had a diploma in presentations. At a stage, I got interested in broadcasting and was freelancing for some television stations. I was involved in a programme called Sunday Special, which held every Sunday afternoon. There, we had a health segment, where we discussed various health issues. Along the line Health Monitor was initiated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health but it was later dumped. After the ministry stopped sponsorship, I decided forging on in 2001because it had become a passion talking health. I saw people coming down with degenerating diseases when they should not. So many people don’t know how to do the right things when it comes to their health. I saw this as a calling and I realised people were getting results. Therefore I started sourcing for people on the show and sponsorship. The programme has won awards and it is recognised as one of the best in the health sector.”
But she would not forget in a jiffy how certain issues discussed almost put her at loggerheads with some of her fans: “Oftentimes, we discuss extensively on infertility and its causes. There was a doctor who opined that men should stop sucking their wives’ breasts if they want them to get pregnant. By the next episode, we were invaded with some many negative reactions from the men who did not agree with us on why they should stop sucking their wives’ breasts. So, the doctor explained that breastfeeding is a form of contraceptive to the woman. According to him, when the baby puts its mouth on the nipple, the brain receives the message that breastfeeding is taking place, thereby the system does not release hormones that produce eggs for conception. Moreover, when the man is sucking the nipples, there is no way the brain would know if it’s a man or a baby, so it stops sending signals to the hormones that produces eggs. But one of the viewers decided not to suck his wife’s nipples again and today they have their children,” Jibe reveals.
Born in Moore Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State, she stayed a while with her grandmother, was at Idia College, Benin and again, came to Ibadan for her university education. “We were thoroughly spoilt by my grandma,” she reminisces amidst laughter. “But when our parents returned from overseas, we were retrieved from her and had to be straightened up. Our parents had eight of us.”
She looks great for a mother whose last child is 11 years old. Any secret to her beauty? She answers: “I do my water treatment of four glasses everyday and I take my supplements which helps to reduce like ten years off me. I take lots of fruits and vegetables and I exercise too. You see, every human being has both a biological age and chronological age. The chronological age is your actual age but your biological age is how your internal organs are aging. Some women are 45 on the outside but internally, they are 60! You find some people who are 45 years old and cannot have kids again because they have reached menopause. Meanwhile, there are some who are actually 60 years chronologically but on the inside they are just 35 and can have kids! Lately, we conducted a biological test on a 35-year-old woman and on the inside she was 70! That means her internal organs are old and dead! I always advise that people should eat lots of fruits and vegetables that will revitalise their organs.”
Challenges of running a television programme on health? “We also have the programme on various radio stations and that means getting more sponsors. Unfortunately most companies that should be sponsors want to advertise on soap operas and not on health issues. Even the various radio and television stations don’t want to do anything free. I believe any health-related programmes should be given a free slot on air because they educate the public. Moreover, we encounter problems with human resources especially getting the right crew for your programmes.”
As a broadcaster, Jibe says she has also lost her privacy. “I can’t walk freely on the streets,” she enthuses. Recalling a particular day another driver hit her car, she says: “I was driving on Opebi road and a man hit my car. I was angry and decided alighting to see the extent of damage. Before I could say anything, the man said: ‘Jibe, Health Monitor, how are you?’ I could not say anything but drove away. In the market, there are so many women coming to ask one question or the other. There are times I end up not buying anything but talking to these women.”
Married to an Isoko man, she describes him as “an encourager, who supports me in what I do and gives me an opportunity to express myself. Really, this makes me happy. When I went to FCRN training school, I was not employed but he paid my fees. He is a chartered accountant and travels a lot.”
Before she finishes the interview, Jibe advises women that: “A lot of women are not happy because they have not found avenue they can satisfactorily express themselves. A person who does not find such avenue of expression becomes angry, frustrated and they vent it out on their husbands, children, and neighbours. Find your way of getting to your husband and make sure you tell him your desire. Go about it the right way and he would allow you.
Moreover, single girls should have sorted out all these before marrying any guy — know what he wants for you. Have a memorandum of understanding before marriage. There was a man who asked my husband why he always allows me to be free in expressing myself and my husband said he loved it that way.”
source: Punch
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