Life, Love, Literature.

 First of all, welcome to August! Today, I'm all about friendships and bonds. Why is this my first blog post for the month? Well, the month of August is jam-packed with birthdays of friends and people that matter so much to me. It is a reminder of how lucky I am, surrounded by beautiful people and friendships. 👉💝👈 Okay, so I know people that have lots of friends but don't really have any. Confusing? I'll rephrase. There are people that build relationships easily but are not so good at maintaining them. People that have so many views on their WhatsApp statuses, people that you walk with and get pissed because of the many people they have to stop and say hi to. There are people like this that, in actuality, have zero friends. By "friends" now, I mean people they open up to. People they can talk to about their fears, their worries. People they can call when things go south. There are people that are almost invisible. Friends? Maybe two at most. Neighbors you hardl...

You don't like to walk around Tombia because it is a bad-boy nest but you don't really have a choice. You take pride in the swiftness of your feet and hands. Although you are not muscular, you can be very slippery and you know how to fight. It is what you tell your girlfriend, Stella, whenever she panics: That you can fight for her. That your love for her makes you stronger. That there is no man on Earth as powerful as a man in love. That love is your driving force. But, Tutu, you know you are very foolish. You feel it deep within you, every time you buy her gifts. You know she doesn't value you because you are a student and your uncle, Dr. Oyins, has shown his interest in her. You know that she spends weekends in his big house, that the gifts you buy her are nothing compared to the luxury that your uncle provides. You know all of these things.. you know that she is only with you because you have a nice penis and you know how to use it. You know you are nothing, but you try...

I've been in a very terrible place recently and I can't exactly express how difficult it has been for me. I think it's alarming how much of a mess we've become. There's so much pressure from the world and from our own selves to be better than we are, to strive. Look around you, everyone is battling something within. While some people are great at disguising, others just can't hide their pain. They withdraw.  Someone said on the radio yesterday that  " our generation is weak. People slip into depression easily, everyone is sick, everyone is struggling" and while that seems like the very sad reality, I don't think it's because the "generation" is weak. I think the world is tough, I think the world is a lot tougher now. Lol, So many Nigerian parents would find that ridiculous. Why? Because they did not have shoes to wear to school in their days. Because they didn't have phones in their days. Because they had no one to support them i...

I started the year with so much happiness. My sisters and I sang praises and danced until it was midnight, and then we shared hugs, wished ourselves a happy new year and made positive declarations. 2019 was a bad year, I hoped 2020 would be different. I resumed school as a final year student and by my calculations, was supposed to graduate in August. A few weeks in, Corona Virus grew stronger than ever. Some people said it wasn't real, some people held on tightly to their facemasks and sanitizers. Schools were closed down. It became clear to me that somehow, graduating in August wasn't going to happen.  But somewhere in the midst of these spiraling events, I met someone. I fell hard and made beautiful love. I couldn't stand being home all day doing nothing, so I acquired a skill and mastered it. I learnt how to make clothes. I read more books than I had read all my life and wrote often. I started my blog. I started working on my book, made great progress. I participated in ...

I am walking slowly to my mother's house. Under the blazing hot sun and without shoes on my feet. I am walking with nothing but a small bag in my hand. In it, my priceless Jewel and my only piece of clothing.. An old wrapper, my mother's gift to me and my waist beads. I am putting on a big blue dress, but it doesn't hide the bulge in my stomach. The weather is really hot today, and I am thirsty. I have no money to buy water, so I will walk faster. The path looks different. Maybe it's me... I haven't been here in years. Time flies so fast when you're away from home. I am walking around the big mango tree at the village centre. The memories of my happy past warm my weary heart, but only for a second. My troubles are many. Mama is sitted on a stool outside our house. She's singing. It's a familiar song, the one she used to sing for Papa and I on cold nights.. My father's favourite song. I want to sing with her, but I have forgotten how to. She looks th...

It felt weird being in the presence of God again. Seven years and nothing had changed. The walls of St. Martha had not aged a day, and the symbol of the cross still hung above the elevated ground, the altar of God. Efua sat quietly in the congregation, staring at him. He still sat there, in the front row beside his wife, with a pair of glasses and a smug look on his face. When she left the church seven years ago, his eyes were perfectly fine. Now, as she watched him struggle to read a verse from his Bible, the same Bible he went about with years ago, she tried to hide a smile. He was getting old. Something about being back caused a lump in her throat. The service took long hours. Or was that how it had always been? She wasn't really sure. She looked at him again and sighed. It was possible that he never thought of her, that he never missed what they had, that he would not recognize her. She had a lot to say to him. With deep breaths and a racing heart, she walked slowly to where h...

"Chidera, Let's go back home" I tried to keep up with his pace. He was a very fast walker. Sometimes I ran to meet up with him because he didn't care if I was lagging behind. Maybe he did, because he would turn occasionally and tease me about my weight.. say my body was too heavy for my tiny legs. "Chidera I said let's go back home, now!" I yelled. I stood at akimbo. "Why? You're such a baby. Go home if you want to.. I'm sure you just want to go home and eat." I was offended by his rude comments about my weight, but I was used to Chidera. Since his parents died and he came to live with us five years ago, we developed a kind of bond. I used to think he hated me at first.. he called me "Fattie Chinny" instead of Chinwe like everyone else. He made fun of my eating pattern and only bought me Buns so he could say: "See, you look like this buns, that's why I bought it for you." Chidera became nicer to me when he saw me...

While we join hands and collectively try to tackle the inhumane and unjustifiable act that rape is, let us not let misogyny and misandry rise amongst us. Let us not forget that boys are often victims of abuse too.  Most boys at very young ages were used by their aunties, cousins, housemaids, uncles, class teachers, even step parents, for coital pleasure and sexual gratification. Lots of boys lost their innocence to older women that were meant to take care of them. Yes, stories of these are not commonly heard. Probably because boys are taught early to be "strong" and to endure. Probably because these predators are important figures in their lives, and who on earth would listen to them talk? Let us also not forget that Men are not the problem. Female children get abused by females too. This, is also not commonly heard and often dismissed. It doesn't have to be a man. Homosexuality is and has always been amongst us.  Let us not protect the girls from men and watch them be pr...

On the Glorious morning that Susan asked Emeka to marry her, The Earth seemed like it would explode. It was about time. Six years, they had been dating for six years, and she was beginning to feel like it would never happen. She knew he still had a lot of "working on himself" to do and she felt frightened by how long it would take. He didn't say no. He said yes.. screamed at the top of his voice and put the ring she bought on her slender finger. This felt right, to her. Why did she have to wait till he was ready? Who on Earth made the rules?  Emeka was a hard-working man. Even though he dropped out of school and started life on the wrong foot, he was a changed man. In the six years that she had been with him, a lot had changed. He was putting his life back together, for her. "Baby, I get that you're feminist and all but asking him to marry you? That's not something you see everyday. Are you ready for this? I mean, what if he says no?" Kate had aske...