My soul is out there wandering the streets of Jibowu, Yaba in Lagos, Nigeria. But my body sits on this bed typing and listening to songs. I peer at the time. 03:02Hrs. A time when normal men sleep. However, sleep is far from me. I sit here watching myself go back again to Jibowu as…
“A family broke up as a husband and wife were sleeping with each other when their spouses were at work” the black man who sat across from me proffered in halting English “You mean the student who left her husband for another man and he had been sent back to Nigeria? Ola turned towards him…
“You saw how clueless I was when my baby began crying. The women here had to step in and take over. If I was back in Nigeria I would never take a baby out of the house on my own. said a frazzled ‘deji as he started contributing to the discussion” The Nigerian in me…
I shuffled wearily into the hall and sat on the first sofa by the door. Camp was taking its toll on me. The seat closest to the door was vacant and I made a beeline for it. A middle-aged female sat there. I plopped myself beside her. And as it happens, we eventually got talking….
“The way coffee is consumed here is the same way we take soft drinks back home” I pointed to a Coffee Shop as we walked through the Promenade. “Except of course that Nigerians consume more than the other countries” “Not true. The other countries consume more alcohol than us”. Ruqqy replied. We were walking from…
This is a post from my Facebook archives. I shared it with my social media family during the summer of 2017. I am resharing as one of those days during Chemotherapy a friend called me up and reminded me of how inspiring I have always been. Then shared this link. I represent it here…
He picked me up from home and as we drove off I heard the male presenter on the radio talking about Society and Safety Net. My interest was piqued when I overhead Free School Meals and Benefits. The Presenter was talking about it’s accessibility & relevance. Citing an example of why Safety Nets are…
I woke up and a memory from years ago assailed my mind. It was a conversation about spiritual sicknesses and how they are like boils and cancers. An elder from my former church who held me in high esteem and whom I respected a great deal phoned me up after she heard I…
“How were you invited to the party and your brother was not?” I prodded as we cycled around the Park. “I don’t know” “But aren’t you all in the same class?” I tentatively asked during this mother-and-son bonding session. Drawing water out of this well when he does not want to talk is an art I…
The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi celebrates the transience and imperfection of life. It sees beauty where we see ugliness. Detour where we see a cul-de-sac. And from it derives the concept of Kintsukuroi – A word which urges us to accept failings and extend grace to ourselves and others. Kintsukuroi profoundly challenges our grasp of…
