dear daddy, when will you become a man?

Today Prisoner 8493 leaned on the bed in his cell, hands on his face as the painful sobs erupted from deep within. Few minutes ago, he has watched his wife and kids walk away after their monthly visit. She also walked away with the signed divorce papers. Regret chased itself across his features as he […]

step out of the picture and look again

“Ma, look who is here” Samira heard her son scream excitedly She had barely come in from the foodbank and laid down to rest a bit before making Lunch. Lifting herself off the bed, she wearily made her way to the front door. Shock! Was it her eyes? Was she hallucinating? The celebrity pastor stood […]

how to step out from the camera and look again

“Camera One, reset your Focus Assist. You are out of focus” The instruction filtered into my head through the airwaves. And I quickly did as instructed. As I ran my hand over the button, the blue lights encircled the subject in the spotlight. The view was sharper now. The Focus Assist is a camera function. […]

of racism and our red milk of human kindness.

“How is your knee today?” The elderly man [whom I will name baba] asked him “Better, it’s less painful.” Young replied cheerily “Oh, you remembered. Thank you for asking” I said to baba as the minus-1-degree icy cold shook my body mercilessly. “Yes, he was limping the other day and could barely walk” baba responded […]

emotional intelligence is overrated: knock down the restraints

It was my then best friend Ojochide who first pointed out my self sabotage. Unfortunately, my save-the-world glasses were still on then. Teenage friends who met in Jos then transitioned to Lagos. We were at the Tejuosho market, Yaba, that day when I began berating her. Again she had lost her cool with one of […]

the song and dance of battles vs blessings – a lesson from the seashore

Gamziavo! That was my father’s second favourite mantra. Mr. Gamziavo, as he told us the story, was a stoic who puzzled all the villagers. He always seemed unnerved by happenings around him. While others rejoiced, he stood aloof.  When others cried, he remained unaffected. Why was he like that? According to Mr Gamziavo there is […]

the dilemma of saving a life – The Christmas Story

The law was clear on adultery: stone both parties. (Leviticus 20:10). Eventually, patriarchal enforcers flipped it to – stone only the female. Father-in-law Judah, without blinking, passed the sentence on his widowed Daughter-in-law. (Genesis 38). The Pharisees swiftly sentenced the woman caught in adultery (John 8 ) So why did Joseph spare Mary? Instead of […]

echoes from my past -2

“Oh don’t bother moving, I can sit at the edge” “No worries. We will shift for you” The first woman said with a huge smile It was Carol Night at School. Although this boy in my home has insisted I not bother coming out, I went. “Stop behaving like an orphan. I am still here […]

why do you keep going back to an empty space?”

If you acknowledge that; Christ died on the cross, descended into hell, rose from the dead ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father and making intercessions for you Why then do you say bring it all to the foot of the Cross? Who is at the Cross? […]