News

Couples Who Kiss Regularly Are Less Likely To Get Depressed

Published

4 years ago

April 24, 2022

When it comes to first kisses, scientists agree with those who believe in love at first sight, happy endings and the power of that first glorious embrace. That’s because, Scientists say, a kiss is much more than just a way of saying you fancy someone. It’s an efficient means of working out if your potential partner is the one for you.

In her book: The Science of Kissing, Sheril Kirshenbaum explains: “When we are that close to another person, all our senses are engaged allowing our bodies to assess compatibility and the potential for a long-term relationship.” This behaviour, she says, evolved to help humans fulfill three basic needs – sex drive, romantic love and attachment. “In other words,” she says, “kissing helps us find partners, commit to one person and keep couples together long enough to have a child.”

So how does locking lips help us achieve all these? When you kiss, you can’t help smelling the other person. And biologists have found that women are more turned on by the smell of men who have very different immune systems from their own.

Kirshenbaum says; “This may be because potential children would have a higher level of genetic diversity, making them healthier and more likely to survive. In this manner, kissing serves as nature’s ultimate litmus test to help us determine when to pursue a relationship.”

And once we find our perfect genetic mate, our bodies respond instinctively to his kiss by flooding our systems with feel-good hormones. She explains that: “A good romantic kiss quicken our pulse and dilates our pupils, which is probably part of the reason so many of us close our eyes. Our brains receive more oxygen than normal and breathing can become irregular and deepen. Our cheeks flush too but that’s only the beginning. There’s an associated rise in the neurotransmitter dopamine, responsible for craving and desire.

“Meanwhile, serotonin spikes to stimulate obsessive thoughts about a partner. This is the same neurotransmitter involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OeD), Oxytocin, popularly called the love hormone, is involved in bonding, fostering a sense of attachment. This is the chemical likely responsible for maintaining a love relationship over years and decades.”

We should not underestimate the importance of these chemicals. After all, how many of us have left the cinema after a dull romantic comedy and pointed out the ‘lack of chemistry’ between the couple who are supposed to be mad about each other? Or dreamt about how it would feel to kiss someone we have fantasised about for months – then been disappointed by the reality? For while that first kiss can be powerful enough to spark a lifelong romance, it can also break the spell.

A study of more than 1,000 students by the evolutionary psychologist George Gallup found that two-thirds of women and over half of men had been attracted to a potential partner – until they shared a disastrous first kiss. His team also found that men and women used kissing for different reasons. While the men mostly saw kissing as just a necessary step on the way to eventually having sex, women thought it was much more important. More men than women said they preferred kissing their partners with open mouths and using their tongues. And there’s even a good reason for that. Male saliva contains testosterone so it could affect how attractive the kissers find each other. Some scientists believe that men prefer sloppy kisses because they’re a way of working out how fertile a woman is – by ‘testing’ her saliva for tiny traces of oestrogen.

So when your kids scoff at your memories of that first magical kiss, tell them that without kissing, they might not have been here today. And make sure you don’t get out of the habit once your romance settles down. Research shows that couples who kiss regularly are less likely to get depressed, and those who kiss each other hello and goodbye have happier relationships than those who no longer do this.

How To Tell If Your Marriage Would Last

Are you and your spouse destined to be together forever? You don’t need a crystal ball. Just answer these five questions set by experts, honestly … Can you let things drop? Doesn’t it grate on you that he met his ex for lunch (a year age)? Is he still harping on about how you forgot your anniversary once?

Both of you need to be generous enough to put it behind you and move on. Everyone has got a past: we all mess up sometimes. Can you enjoy doing nothing together? If you can quite happily lounge around together, just enjoying the sound of silence, you work well as a couple. Do you fight right? If he’s a sulker and you’re a shouter. You could find it tricky to get to the bottom of an argument. So think about how you hammer things out and remember it is not about winning or losing – you both want the same thing.

Can you stop trying to change each other? We all try to fine-tune our partners a bit, but if you’re always offering to fix things for him, you will end up disappointed. You need to learn to accept the way your partner is or find someone you don’t need to fix!

Can you share your secrets? If you’ve opened up to him about your deepest, darkest moments but he is reluctant to talk, then you may need to think twice. It is by being open that we achieve intimacy.

Source: VANGUARD

News

CDD Assesses Anambra Guber Poll, Says Vote Buying Prominent In South, Central

Published

5 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Editor

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), has released its preliminary observation in the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, lamenting that voting buying was prominent in Anambra Central and South senatorial districts.

The CDD said these “multiple incidents of vote buying and trading,” often “carried out in full view of voters and officials, directly undermined the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.”

In a preliminary assessment statement read by Professor Victor Adetula, Chair,
CDD-West Africa Election Analysis Centre, during a press briefing in Akwa, said in some instances, party agents used money transfer platforms rather than direct cash payments to complete the transactions.

“In Awka South, Anambra Central, and in Nnewi North LGA, vote buying was observed in high-density polling clusters, including Nodu Village Hall 1 (PU 009, 2,780 registered voters), Nodu Hall 2 (PU 010, 1,983 voters), and Ezinifitte Hall 2 (PU 008, 3,352 voters) and Nibo 002 Maternity I. Voters were seen participating in “vote-and-snap” behavior taking pictures of their marked ballots, likely as proof of compliance in exchange for financial incentives.”

He added: “Party agents offered voters up to ₦10,000 and ₦5,000, depending on the location. For example, in PU 005, Achina Ward 3, and in Aguata LGA, opposite PU 012, Ward 1, agents distributed ₦5,000 and ₦2,000 payments to voters.”

According to the CDD, despite “strong interest shown by youth during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) period, turnout among young voters on election day was visibly low, especially in urban centres such as Awka and Onitsha.”

The CDD said the “contributing factors appeared to include disillusionment with the political process, logistical delays, and perceived lack of impact.”

The CDD lamented that “Women, particularly female candidates, continued to face voter apathy and discriminatory behaviour,” adding that “observers recorded instances where female candidates were subjected to dismissive or sexist commentary at polling units, reinforcing the cultural and institutional barriers to women’s political participation.”

REAS ALSO: AnambraDecides: KDI Decries Vote Buying, Compromise of Ballot Secrecy

“Accessibility for persons with disabilities remained limited in several areas, including Onitsha North and Idemili South LGAs.

“Despite INEC’s public commitment to inclusion, observers reported that many polling units lacked wheelchair access, signage for the visually impaired, or priority voting arrangements.”

On security, the CDD said it observers “observed a high concentration of security officials, media and election observers in polling units associated with popular political figures,” noting that “in contrast, polling units with fewer registered voters showed inadequate security coverage, which aligns with the 12.7% of PUs that had no security personnel present.”

“The absence of law enforcement in these units exposed electoral officials and voters to potential risks and created space for political interference.

“This disparity in deployment raises concerns about strategic allocation of security resources, especially in rural polling units.

“While the overall security coverage was sufficient in most areas, the lack of consistent deployment risks undermines electoral integrity and public trust.

“All polling units, regardless of size or location, require adequate and competent security coverage to safeguard the voting process and ensure that all voters can participate without fear or interference,” CDD advocated.

On BVAS, the CDD said “in 78.9% of polling units, a single BVAS device was deployed, while 18% had two machines available, and 1.5% reported having more than two devices.

“Our observers also noted that in 96.2% of polling units, the BVAS machines correctly displayed the required zero count before the commencement of accreditation.”

News

Yiaga, Kukah Centre, CEMESO, Others, Assess Anambra Guber, Advocate Electoral Laws Enforcement

Published

6 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Editor

A coalition of election monitoring civil society organisations has released a preliminary assessment of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election, focusing on deployment of election materials
and personnel, accreditation and voting, as well as inclusivity and
accessibility, amongst others.

The coalition, referred to as Anambra Election Observation Hub,
comprised of Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press
Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigeria
Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHER, and TAF Africa.

Addressing journalists in Akwa on behalf of other partners, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the coalition jointly deployed 711 citizen observers across the 21 LGAs of the state, Each organization leads on a specific thematic pillar, including election integrity, results verification, election security, disability inclusion, gender participation, peacebuilding, misinformation tracking, and media safety.

He described the election as generally peaceful with a secure environment, adding that election officials and security personnel in polling units displayed
professionalism and adequate knowledge of electoral procedures.

According to him,
while electoral materials were deployed as scheduled
in most polling units, some logistical challenges, such as delays in the arrival of materials
and election personnel, were recorded, adding that these led to the late commencement of polls
in some polling units.

He said BVAS, register of voters, voting cubicle, and Indelible Ink were present in 100% of polling
units observed, noting that election materials like the PWD Voter information and Statistics
Form (Form EC 40H) were seen in 86% of polling units, and PWD Poster (Form EC 30E) in
84% of polling units.

“Additionally, 5% of the polling units had two or more BVAS devices deployed. However,
in 3% of polling units, the BVAS accreditation count were not displayed to voters before
accreditation commenced. This procedural oversight could undermine transparency and
affect voter confidence in the integrity of the accreditation process,” he added.

He said “notable gaps in security coverage were also recorded. In some polling units,
such as PU 014, Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi LGA, voting commenced without the presence of any security personnel. Such security gaps expose polling units to potential disputes,
intimidation, or electoral malpractice, especially in politically tense or high-stakes areas.
It also questions the accuracy of the 55,000 security personnel deployed for the election
as reported by the security agencies.”

Itodo, however, decried the prevalent of vote buying in the election, saying “these acts undermine the
integrity of the election.”

The Yiaga Africa ED, while calling for an urgent enforcement of electoral laws to deter vote buying and selling at election, noted: “In some instances, political agents adopted new and covert strategies to perpetrate vote buying.

“We received reports of party agents recording the details of voters for post-voting financial inducement. POS machines were also deployed at or near polling units to facilitate financial transactions in exchange for votes.”

News

AnambraDecides: KDI Decries Vote Buying, Compromise of Ballot Secrecy

Published

8 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Editor

The Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has decried political parties agents interference and vote trading in the November 8 Anambra State governorship election.

KDI, in mid-electiom findings made available to newsmen in Akwa, said the interference and vote buying by party agents “represents a fundamental assault on the integrity of the electoral process, undermining the principles of free, fair, and credible elections.”

The KDI, in the mid-electiom statement signed by its Team Lead, Bukola Idowu, stated that failure
of INEC officials and security personnel at affected polling units to curtail these
activities raise serious concerns about enforcement of electoral guidelines and protection of voters’ rights.

“One of the most concerning
developments observed across polling units is the pervasive interference by
political party agents in the voting process.

“Our observation documentation
shows systematic violations of electoral guidelines by agents representing
primarily the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress
(APC), and Young Progressives Party (YPP).

“Party agents were observed
engaging in blatant vote-buying operations, approaching voters with cash inducements ranging from ₦3,000 to ₦10,000, establishing “verification points”
where voters received payments after casting their ballots.

“These violations
represent a fundamental assault on the integrity of the electoral process, undermining the principles of free, fair, and credible elections, while the failure
of INEC officials and security personnel at affected polling units to curtail these
activities raise serious concerns about enforcement of electoral guidelines and protection of voters’ rights.”

Key Observations

The CSO said it observers in the field recorded late “commencement was due to absence of
INEC officials in some places, voters and at the instance of INEC ad-hoc officials they link this to the absence of security officials,” adding that compromise of ballot secrecy
across several polling units, and relatively efficient BVAS was also observed.

KDI said despite the huge number of security personnel deployed to the state for the election, troubling disconnect
between these figures and actual ground presence was observed.

“Our observers have documented sparse and uneven distribution of security personnel at polling units, with many locations having minimal or no visible security presence, while security forces appear concentrated at strategic locations – There were report of
security concentration in Anambra South – like Aguata but major urban centers, and semi-urban LGAs seems to have sparse. Reports show that in Awka South
LGA, Ward 19, PU-21, as at 9:57am, no security officer was seen,” it said.

On violence, KDI said it observers recorded “twenty-one (21) incidents of violence across the
over 1000 polling units observed,” adding, “these incidents involved group clashes, voter intimidation and harassment, physical assault, and ballot box snatching.”

It further said: “Of the
reported cases, seven (7) in Oyi, three (3) occurred in Ogbaru, Njikoka, and one
(1) in Anambra East, Anaocha, Nnewi North, Orunmba and Nnewi South.

“The perpetrators were identified as party agents and voters, with one incident
involving a security officer who discharged tear gas at a polling location.”