By Maryamu Aminu
Pulses! Yes, pulses! The UN General Assembly, in all of its dignity and global acumen, has declared that 2016 is the International Year of Pulses (IYP). Seems kind of redundant doesn’t it? If you don’t have a pulse, 2016 is probably not going to be a great year for you, cos your DEAD!! Fortunately, it’s not that kind of “Pulse.”
Pulses are annual leguminous crops that yield between grains or seeds of variable size, shape and colour within a pod. Pulses are consumed as both human and animal feed. The term “pulses” is limited to crops harvested solely for dry grain. So, vegetables which are harvested green do not count.
Pulse crops such as lentils, beans, peas and chickpeas are a critical part of the general food basket. Pulses are a vital source of plant-based proteins and amino acids for people around the globe and should be eaten as part of a healthy diet to address obesity, as well as to prevent and help manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, coronary conditions and cancer; they are also an important source of plant-based protein for animals. In addition, pulses are leguminous plants that have nitrogen-fixing properties which can contribute to increasing soil fertility and have a positive impact on the global environment.
If you aren’t impressed with IYP, maybe this will suit you better. According to the Chinese calendar, 2016 is also the Year of the Monkey. To be clear, I’m not advocating you eat more monkeys. Especially in this time of virulent infectious diseases, such as Ebola. I know them monkeys would prefer that you didn’t. You could consider adopting some monkey-like qualities though. Monkeys have acute mental alertness and possesses high physical stamina. Monkeys are also good with their hands and are very dexterous and can easily master new concepts.
If that doesn’t work either, perhaps the African Union can help. The AU has declared 2016 to be 2016, African Year of Human Rights, with focus on the Rights of Women. This is very interesting because 20 years after the Beijing conference, the world still struggles with the concept that ‘Human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights.” This notably builds on last year’s theme of Women’s Empowerment. As a time while bomb blasts are erupting in all over the world, people are being internally displaced and economies are hurting from falling oil process, it is very important that we place great value and equal value on human lives, and work together to achieve global stability and security.
Whichever theme take your fancy for 2016, what we can say for sure is that every new year is a time for resolution. This year the UN would like you to resolve to lose weight by eating more pulses (and probably less monkeys), and the AU would like you to advance women’s rights. If you aren’t persuaded to make it the year of the pulse, monkeys or women, make it the year of something, ‘cos you’ll need something to get you through the year.
