Jul 12, 2010

By the time we parked at the clinic, I didn’t need anyone to tell me that I was going to have a very ‘interesting’ day. My panic-stricken mother couldn’t lift me because of her huge belly and so my neighbour – who is now old and frail, bless his heart – swung me unto his shoulder and took me up to the doctor’s office. While we ascended the steps I...

May 15, 2010

‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop’ is one of those sayings that only become real to you when you’ve seen them at play or like in my case, when you’ve been a poster-boy for the annoying truths they portray. Indeed I have had my bouts of foolish behaviour that have left me quite regretful, but on a scale of one to ten, this one easily scores twenty...

May 1, 2010

I remember the very first time I had a suitor. Not toaster o…but suitor. The ‘we-saw-a-flower-in-your-garden-and-we-want-to-pluck-it’  kind of suitor. I was fifteen and a fresh secondary school leaver. An old friend of the family, who should actually have known better, came to ask my mother for my hand in marriage to ‘either his son or his...

Apr 16, 2010

I think what immediately caught my attention was the intensity of Femi’s eyes. They drew you in, urging you to know the owner better. And so when Osi introduced us at that chance meeting, I was glad that it morphed into an impromptu lunch; I really was interested in this young man with the dark chocolate skin, piercing eyes and as I found out, impeccable...

Apr 9, 2010

‘What is Biafra?’ I spoke the word like it was the name of a poisonous plant. I thought I was from Imo state and Lagos state like my mother used to say? Imo because it was the land of my ancestors, and Lagos because I was born there…so what did Abba mean by Biafra? ‘My daddy told me, he said you people betrayed Nigeria and then you wanted to have...

Apr 1, 2010

*Abba was my best friend in primary one. I remember her clearly. Smallish just like the regular six year old, shiny-black, white teeth and extremely long hair. We always played together at break time and our seats were just beside each other’s. I loved my friend even though she was a bit of a bully, but not the violent sort. Abba was a mind-bully and I know it...