… as she battles with the philosophy of daring the odds and self-acceptance
Philosophically, what exist between accepting oneself the way one is and daring the odds or challenges presented by life is what I perceive as paradox complex. No doubt self-acceptance is good and daring the odds is even more adventurous. The major issue here is both concepts are antagonistic to each other sense wise. It is so conflicting that each one deals with it according to one’s discretion.
There is a popular speculation that the mistake a lot of people make is being ashamed of what they are; lying about it and trying to be somebody else. Marilyn Monroe’s reflective axiom which says “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are” and Mark Twain’s wisdom which observed that the worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself supports the philosophy of self-acceptance. In the same vain, Siddhārtha Gautama opined that Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without while Heath L. Buckmaster in his inspiring Fairy Tale ‘Box of Hair’ said “Often, it’s not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” 
Then here comes the daring the odds philosopher like George Bernard Shaw who said “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” Kemi Sogunle observed thus “The tests we face in life’s journey are not to reveal our weaknesses but to help us discover our inner strengths. We can only know how strong we are when we strive and thrive beyond the challenges we face.”Summarily, Molière said “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” 
As a matter of fact, Clifford Ella Oche who is today popularly known as MISS SAHARA was a victim of awkward dilemma in the context under discussion hence he choose to dare consequences for personal satisfaction and happiness. According to Wikipedia, Miss Sahara is a British Nigerian beauty queen, fashion model, singer/songwriter, and a human rights advocate. She is known for representing Nigeria in international beauty pageants. In 2011, she became the first Nigerian trans woman to come out publicly on international press during the Miss International Queen beauty pageant in Pattaya, Thailand. On 19 July 2014, she was crowned the first ever Super Sireyna Worldwide in Manila, Philippines. After winning Super Sireyna Worldwide, she founded a global transgender awareness foundation called TransValid. She is also a vocal critic of the 14 years imprisonment law of LGBTQI+ people in Nigeria. “Unfortunately, our situation in Nigeria echoes the hostility channeled towards transgender people in many parts of the world. In so many environments transgendered people are denied entrance like Valkyrie nightclub in Philippines with the bold inscription “No Cross-Dressing”. These are the reasons amongst many why I started Trans valid organization after my coronation as the first ever super Sireyna Worldwide. In tans valid organization, we curate and produce inspiring stories of trans people all around the world”. She said
When I ponder over how Cliff or Miss Sahara today has become a global phenomenon for daring the odds she perceived as a threat to her happiness, I will always say wow! A self-described “fashion and beauty enthusiast” whose catwalk and print credentials ranges from fashion weeks to gracing covers of magazines internationally. At this juncture, permit me to use ‘Her’ as the descriptive pronoun. As his course mate back then, I can tell you she is very happy with herself and what life has turned for her. She was once asked why she like been woman and she replied thus “I could ask you same why do you like being a boy? I am been a woman because that is whom I am and very good at being. Anything else is definitely not me. Again on the question of being in a relationship, she says that she is been single and a virgin. Certainly this woman is so happy for what she has become. By what she has become, Clifford Oche Ella aka Miss Shahara will continue to make headlines until who knows when. Most peoples’ comments are based on what they have heard or read from one source or the other about the man/woman. Nobody seems to have encountered him.
Clifford Oche Ella now Miss Sahara got on board mass Communication department of Benue State University Makurdi in Nigeria with us in the year 2000. Upon your first sight of him, you must look at him again and again because of his conflicting feminine combinations; his dressing is always 75% feminine. His speech and carriage has nothing masculine in them even when he speaks with a high pitched tone. Our class, the 2004 set is one of the most serious class in the entire BSU that is why they never gave much damn about him. Rather being seen as a special specie, he was seen as an object of enigma though some ridiculed him as they quarried what he will gain by twisting nature. You quite understand that the university environment is a free world thus my class quite understood that one needs to mind ones business. Above his funny but real feminine representation, CLIFF still has some strength in singing, cart walking, and relating with everyone not minding your class. He interacts fine though he seems alone in his world. He kept very few close friends. The closest then was one of our lecturers that has slight likely behavior as Cliff. Clifford wears his own type of dresses, shoes and make-up style etc. He likes teddies so much, because the only day I visited him with another friend, I could not count the teddies around his bed. I remember also that he took the teddy that my cousin gave me as a gift the first time I visited Jos. He lived off camp because he is not a hostel type. But, it must be pointed out that aside his unique characteristics, he still had more admires than ridiculers. Again, nothing bad was really heard about Clifford during the time he was in Benue State University with us.
Unfortunately. Clifford took us unawares. For us his class mates, it was an unceremonious disappearance but for him, it was a spontaneous action reflected in tranquility over a long period of time. The Cruz of the matter is that, CLIFF left us at 300 levels leaving no track of follow up. Further information about Oche Ella was that he had his secondary school at GSS BWARI Abuja. And people that schooled with him even at that stage said he has always acted like a girl back in 97/98. He was in the school’s news club and he always read the news during ‘assembly. I guess it has always been inside of him. He walked, talked and acted like a girl as a secondary school student though he hung out with boys and is hardly seen with girls. Wow! All these points to the fact that this man is living his dream!
At one time, it became an issue in our 2004Mass Communication social network. It was raised by one of our course mates on the platform. He wrote “My dearest mates, it’s been a long while I came on this wall. Hope all is well? I just ran into this mate of ours and decided to share his/her picture on our wall. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you all our very own CLIFFORD. He is now a lady. As I came across the image, I was shocked to my marrow to the extent he has gone to achieve his feminine ambition dream. But right inside of me, I was not so surprised. I responded thus on the platform “Incredible, despicable, desultory, excruciating, pathetic, devaluating, devastating, a total digression from the original. This is a complete manhood disenfranchisement.” Others were like “It is like a twist to detritus. What was he really thinking? And what is she thinking now? I feel for his parents. Truly sad for them indeed! Another rhetorical question came as another mate asked “What I want to know is what God is going to do with people like this”?. Continuing, another said “I know Clifford was up to no good. Though beautiful can he/she be a real woman? That I believe is the hard question. In fact, this man has twisted nature”. Another mate said “I just find it disgusting that western influence is beginning to eat up the fabrics of our culture which forbids this act but he can never be a woman. To be a woman doesn’t mean just looking like one and acquiring fake boobs on you. Until they can change their xy chromosomes to xx i refuse to see him as women”
In the same vain his mates in the secondary school made comments through another platform. For instance, “we went to school. His name is actually Clifford, surname Oche. Those of us that knew him were not really surprised by this transformation as he used stuffs like bra back in those days, shave his brow, and wear his blue contacts and heavy makeup”
Furthermore, it is a fact to appreciate that the dude has got only one life and he is determined to live it not minding the embarrassment anyone related to him might feel. The bottom line is that you can be whatever you want to be in this life. The only hindrance on your way is simply you!”
For real, these are words from the people who knew CLIF very well. We all sat in the same class room for three years before his exit. Now he has changed to Miss Sahara. For sure I know some of you will still not believe that Miss Sahara used to be a man. Her transformation is really amazing as she leaves completely as a woman in UK.
Miss sahara’s new life actually began when she moved to Great Britain in 2004. Right away, she began to work on her transition, learning more about gender and gender dysphoria, and seeking professional help for her journey. Then she was able to find her footing in London. She sang at the Madam Jojo’s Kitsch Cabaret for almost a decade, wrote her own songs and modelled for various fashion designers. She was also able to receive a Master’s in Digital Media from the London Metropolitan University. She has participated in several beauty pageants since his amazing transformation and has crowned it all with the 2011 Miss International Queen pageant for transgender, where she did credibly well and came on board as 1st runner up. On 19 July 2014, she was crowned the first ever Super Sireyna Worldwide in Manila, Philippines. After winning Super Sireyna Worldwide, she founded a global transgender awareness foundation called TransValid. She is also a vocal critic of the 14 years imprisonment law of LGBTQI+ people in Nigeria.
MENSTRUAL BLOOD AS PROTEIN-RICH DIET, BEAUTY THERAPY AND WEIGHT REDUCING TONIC
“…it holds amazing stem cells capable of lots of healing” YASMINA
Certainly, recent researches have proven that menstrual blood is no more what so many think and it’s certainly not dirty. We are aware that Traditions, taboos and education have their different schools of thought about the subject matter. According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia so many religions have menstruation-related traditions, for example: Islam prohibits sexual contact with women during menstruation in the 2nd chapter of the Quran. Some scholars argue that menstruating women are in a state in which they are unable to maintain Wudhu, and are therefore prohibited from touching the Arabic version of the Qur’an. Other biological and involuntary functions such as vomiting, bleeding, sexual intercourse, and going to the bathroom also invalidate one’s wudhu. In Judaism, a woman during menstruation is called Niddah and may be banned from certain actions. For example, the Jewish Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman. In Hinduism, menstruating women are traditionally considered ritually impure and given rules to follow. During menstruation, women are not allowed to “enter the kitchen and temples”, wear flowers, have sex, touch other males or females. Western civilization, which has been predominantly Christian, has a history of menstrual Taboos as well.
Menstruation education is frequently taught in combination with sex education at school in Western Countries, although girls may prefer their mothers to be the primary source of information about menstruation and puberty. Information about menstruation is often shared among friends and peers, which may promote a more positive outlook on puberty. The quality of menstrual education in a society determines the accuracy of people’s understanding of the process. In many Western countries where menstruation is a taboo subject, girls tend to conceal the fact that they may be menstruating and struggle to ensure that they give no sign of menstruation Effective educational programs are essential to providing children and adolescents with clear and accurate in Programs led by peers or third-party agencies are another option.
The menstrual cycle is a normal process that happens to nearly all women during their childbearing years, from puberty till menopause. Despite this, there are still a lot of inaccurate ideas revolving around Menstruation — possibly because many women (and men) are uncomfortable talking about it. Each month, a woman’s body prepares itself for pregnancy, but if no pregnancy occurs, the uterus will shed its lining and the woman’s period will commence. Menstrual blood leaves the uterus through the cervix and then it is released from the body through the vagina.
Be it as it may, menstrual blood is different from normal blood due to its composition and its physical properties. Menstrual blood consists of blood as well as extra tissue from the uterine lining. It also can contain the remnants of the egg that traveled down the fallopian tube into the uterus during ovulation and wasn’t fertilized. Put another way, menstrual blood is a blood mixed with secretions from the virginal cervix, old cellular tissues, red blood cell and mucin. The composition of this mission varies according to the various phases of menstruation which starts with an opaque liquid stages, followed by a thicker stage then a clear liquid. The content of menstrual blood varies from one woman to another, from one circle to another and depends on the woman’s age. The thickness of the uterus will also have an effect on the content of menstrual blood. Virginal secretions that are present in menstrual blood are mostly made up of water and electrolytes such as sodium or potassium.
The various substances making up menstrual blood are found in a lower concentration than in ordinary blood, for example, there is more water, less iron and less hemoglobin. The pH level of menstrual blood is similar to that of ordinary blood. The concentration of proteins, cholesterol and bilirubin are also lower than in ordinary blood. Menstrual blood however does not contain elements that are necessary for coagulation and so therefore remains liquid and does not coagulate neither in the body nor outside. The three elements necessary for coagulation are not present in menstrual blood [prothrombin, thrombin and fibrinogen] menstrual blood contains many elements which keep the blood thin. The number of blood platelets is also less than in ordinary blood. The thickness of menstrual blood varies from day by day from one woman to another and according to the composition of the blood and the presence of mucin. Menstrual blood is generally thicker than water and ordinary blood. The thickness of menstrual blood is also dependent on the quantity of cervical secretions.
A woman by Yasmina has gone viral for a unique beauty treatment with menstrual blood. She has credited her beautiful skin to the efficacy of menstrual blood. She uses her menstrual blood on her face, as she believes it holds incredible benefits. “It’s not something that I do every month, it’s just something that I started to kind of experience and explore what it is. It’s a way to let go of the shame about bleeding we are all carrying as women.” Continuing she said “our blood holds amazing stem cells, so it’s a super healthy for us, I have been doing a lot of research she explained. Imagine all the healing we could be doing with those amazing stem cells, we could be onto something”.
In another development, a man who has tried virtually all weight reducing therapy withut result then began drinking his wife’s menstrual blood in an effort to lose weight prevailed. Mr Martin Sanders, weighted over 400-lbs and lost 225 pounds in six months ago when he decided to try a new diet of his own design. He began ingesting small quantities of blood collected from his wife as part of a high protein diet. After the promising results of the first week, he increased his blood collecting effort by asking his relatives, neighbors, and friends and was able to increase his consumption to 500 ml of blood per day. Mr. Sanders testified that menstrual blood is exceptionally rich in iron and protein, making it an ideal ingredient for any weight loss diet. He claims that after the first week of his diet, he had already lost almost 40 pounds and had more energy than he had ever had before. “I tried dozens of diet before without any results, but menstrual blood did miracles for me. The results were immediate and totally amazing.” he intends to fight the taboo that surrounds menstrual blood and help people accept it as a great weight loss solution. I admit that the taste is a little strange at first, but once you get used to it, you actually get to enjoy it.”
Most readers on the social media also seem grossed out by Mr. Sander’s diet, and Miss Yasmina facial skin beautification denouncing as ridiculous, sick or disgusting and several experts, however, have pointed out that human menstrual blood has basically the content as animal blood but is at higher risk of bacterial contamination. Professor Mrs. Betty Williams who teaches Health and Nutrition Sciences at UCLA in United States believes that a diet based on menstrual blood represents a serious health hazard and should not be attempted by anyone.
However, a lot of people has generated a lot of reactions from health experts as well as on social media. Some nutritionists have confirmed that menstrual blood could theoretically be a good addition to a protein-rich diet, but warn about risks of possible bacteria
