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Nigerian senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Rufai Hanga has explained why he donated 2,000 clay pots and 10,500 yards of white cloth (called ‘Likkadani’ in Hausa) to the Muslim graveyards in his constituency.

Recall that the senator came under criticism when he donated the items to 15 local government areas in his senatorial zone last week.

However, reacting to the criticism, Hanga, who is the Deputy Minority Chief Whip of the 10th Senate and a member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, said that he made the donation because he is seeking God’s mercy.

He said the donation was not part of his constituency project as widely reported.

In his first news conference since his election in 2023, Hanga stated that such a gesture was not new. He said it was something he had been doing even before his election.

He added that it was a family legacy he grew up seeing and inheriting, which he hoped to continue throughout his life.

According to DailyTrust, he said: “We made the donation to Kano state committee for the graveyards headed by Dangoribar Kano and district head of Tarauni Local government. We had found out that clay pots were lacking in most of our graveyards and decided to donate.”

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We all have habits we'd like to get rid of, and every night we give ourselves the same pep talk: I'll go to bed earlier. I will resist that cookie. I will stop biting my nails. And then tomorrow comes, we cave, and feel worse than bad. We feel defeated and guilty because we know better and still can't resist.

The cycle is understandable, because the brain doesn't make changes easily. But breaking an unhealthy habit can be done. It takes intent, a little white-knuckling, and some effective behavior modification techniques. But even before that, it helps to understand what's happening in our brains, with our motivations, and with our self-talk.

We feel rewarded for certain habits

Good or bad habits are routines, and routines, like showering or driving to work, are automatic and make our lives easier. "The brain doesn't have to think too much," say Dr. Stephanie Collier, director of education in the division of geriatric psychology at McLean Hospital, and instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Bad habits are slightly different, but when we try to break a bad one we create dissonance, and the brain doesn't like that, says Dr. Luana Marques, associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. The limbic system in the brain activates the fight-flight-or-freeze responses, and our reaction is to avoid this "threat" and go back to the old behavior, even though we know it's not good for us.

Often, habits that don't benefit us still feel good, since the brain releases dopamine. It does this with anything that helps us as a species to survive, like eating or sex. Avoiding change qualifies as survival, and we get rewarded (albeit temporarily), so we keep reverting every time. "That's why it's so hard," Collier says.

Finding the reason why you want to change

But before you try to change a habit, it's fundamental to identify why you want to change. When the reason is more personal — you want to be around for your kids; you want to travel more — you have a stronger motivation and a reminder to refer back to during struggles.

After that, you want to figure out your internal and external triggers, and that takes some detective work. When the bad-habit urge hits, ask when, where, and with whom it happens, and how you are feeling, be it sad, lonely, depressed, nervous. It's a mixing and matching process and different for every person, but if you notice a clue beforehand, you might be able to catch yourself, Collier says.

The next part — and sometimes the harder part — is modifying your behavior. If your weakness is a morning muffin on the way to work, the solution might be to change your route. But environments can't always be altered, so you want to find a replacement, such as having almonds instead of candy or frozen yogurt in lieu of ice cream. "You don't have to aim for perfect, but just a little bit healthier," Collier says.

You also want to avoid the all-or-nothing mindset, which leads to quick burnout, and instead take micro-steps toward your goal, Marques says. If you stay up until midnight but want to be in bed at 10, the reasonable progression is: start with 11:45; the next night 11:30; the next 11:15 … It builds success and minimizes avoiding the new habit.

It also helps to remember that urges follow a cycle. They're initially intense, then wane, and usually go away in about 20 minutes. Collier suggests to set a timer and focus on "just getting through that."

In that waiting period, seeking new sensations can provide useful distraction. You can go outside and feel the wind and smell the air. You can do something physical. Collier also likes using hot and cold. In the extreme, it's submerging your face into a bowl of water, which can slow down your heart rate. But it could also be holding an ice cube or taking a hot shower. "You're focused on the sensation and not the urge," she says.

Accept that success isn't a straight line

As you try to change, there will be bumps and setbacks, which are part of the process of lasting change. The problem is that we're our own worst critics, and some people view anything except total success as complete failure.

Marques says to try to take a third-person perspective and think about how you'd react to a friend who said that having one bag of chips had ruined their whole diet. You'd be kind and reassuring, not critical, so give yourself the same treatment. A lot of the struggle with self-criticism is not seeing thoughts as facts, but merely thoughts. It takes practice, but it's the same idea as with meditation. You treat what comes into your head as clouds, acknowledging them and letting them roll on through. "Everyone has distorted thoughts all the time," Marques says. "It's what you do with them."

It also helps to reduce stress and minimize that sense of failure to know that the goal isn't to make the old habit disappear, because it won't. You're just trying to strengthen the new routine so eventually it takes over, and the old habit isn't even a thought. But it's a constant process, made easier with self-compassion, because there's no way to prepare for every situation or be able to predict when and where a trigger might happen.

"You can't prepare for life," Collier says. "Life is going to throw things at you."

Source: Harvard Health Publishing

Singer Skiibii has shared a video of a friend gifting his a luxury wristwatch that was labeled fake by a page online.

Earlier the singer was accused of wearing a fake luxury branded wristwatch by page on instagram that identifies real from fake brands, which led to his ex mocking him.

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Rising inflation has been a concern for Federal Reserve officials and investors alike, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) release this week will show whether price pressures are continuing to affect the economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will make comments this week at an international conference, while several other Fed officials will deliver remarks throughout the week. Fed officials have said repeatedly that they need to see clear evidence inflation is under control before the central bank will cut its benchmark interest rate.

Several retailers will attract market watchers’ attention this week, with Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), and Chinese e-commerce firms JD.com (JD) and Alibaba Group (BABA) all set to report earnings. Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Sony Group (SONY) will also report this week.

Will inflation hit another “bump” in its path? Investors will find out this week whether the Consumer Price Index release on Wednesday will show the extent of continued price pressures.

After a year of the inflation rate moving lower, 2024 has shown that prices were looking “sticky,” with inflation rates tilting back upward over the past few months. That includes the 3.5% annual CPI inflation rate in March, which rose for the third straight month. Before that, the Producer Price Index release on Tuesday will show price changes for wholesalers, which can be an indicator of upcoming price changes at the consumer level. 

The recent upturn in inflation rates has been characterized as “bumpy” by some Federal Reserve officials, who have taken the jump in prices as a signal that interest rates need to be held at their current decades-high levels. Another elevated inflation reading could further dampen hopes for rate cuts.

Investors will also hear from several Fed officials this week, including Chair Jerome Powell, who will speak to the Netherlands’ Foreign Bankers’ Association on Tuesday. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker are also on the calendar this week.

Corporate earnings this week will center around reports from big retailers, while several notable foreign-owned companies will also issue their financial results.

Walmart leads the week’s corporate earnings calendar when it reports its first-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Thursday. The retail giant projected stronger sales this year, aiming to grow income through new lines of business. 

Also reporting this week is Home Depot, which warned that its sales could decline this year, as customers defer large projects and big-ticket purchases in an environment of still-high interest rates.

Another company that reports after releasing a cautious outlook is Cisco, which in February issued softer-than-expected current-quarter guidance and unveiled plans to slash 5% of its global workforce. 

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Singer Cynthia Morgan, otherwise known as Madrina, has been arrested for cyber stalking the crown Prince of Benin, Prince Ezelekhae Ewuare.

According to a lawsuit filed by his team of lawyers, the singer has been desperately trying to reach the Prince and trailing him on his work days; unfortunately, all her efforts have been futile. Her frustration at not meeting him made her publish lies and defamatory statements against him on Instagram in 2020, and she has continued such publications to date.

The lawsuit noted that rather than trade words with her online, the Crown Prince filed a suit against her, warning her to desist from defaming him, but she ignored all his warnings.

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