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COMMON COLD AND THIN WOMEN

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I woke up with a cold. Since I became a Bolt driver I had been a bit worried about how my first driving experience would be. I had imagined one thousand ways it could go wrong- police palaver, crazy passengers, wrong direction, engine knocking, road accidents, I thought of everything. Everything except me sneezing behind the wheels. I would have just cancelled my plan for the day and stayed at home but that would have meant another wasted day. So I made up my mind to face my fears and shame the cold. I went to Oluyole Estate to pick a lady going to the airport. On my way to pick her I was just fine, though the weather was cold I winded down all the glasses so the fresh air could fill up the car. By the time I got to her house, I was almost perfectly okay. I had to wait for about ten minutes before she came out fully decked in all the rainbow colours. She was a sight to behold. This woman was so thin I was afraid she would collapse from the exertion of opening the car ...
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The first day of my life

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I wanted to be a scientist so I went to school. I dreamed of having my laboratory and discovering permanent cures to terrible diseases like sickle cell anaemia and cancer, so I took my education very seriously. I have a university degree from a prestigious federal university for that matter, but Nigeria happened to me. I had big dreams, I wanted to change the world. But dreams don't come to pass overnight. For those of us privileged to be born with chewing sticks in our mouths (never seen a silver spoon in my life), it is usually a long walk to freedom. I completed NYSC about a year ago with high hopes and for the past twelve months, I have lived entirely on hope. It has not been easy. The first two months after NYSC, I spent my hopes lavishly applying to big international humanitarian agencies like WHO, UNICEF, Save the Child, all of them. I got no response but my hope balance was still huge so I shifted to big international financial institutions like PwC, ...
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LISTEN

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Hello. I hope you can see me? I have always wanted to get your attention, talk to you. But I was afraid that you could not see me, that you would not hear me, or that the words won't come out and I'll look like a fool. It took me so long to get here today. I finally had to push myself when it seemed the perfect time would never come. I did not even know if I would be able to say anything, I just knew that I was tired of waiting. Hello. Can you see me now? Uhmmmm. Have you ever sat by the window on a rainy day and felt yourself as if you were not really there? As if you were just someone's imagination, a puff of thought that will be quickly blown away and forgotten forever. As if the rain could wash away every trace of your existence and no one would even notice. Have you ever? It is raining now, but I don't want it to stop just yet. I want it to wash me. I have to something to say to the rain. He knew me. The rain, I mean. He knew I always sat by the window and wa...
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Tomorrow

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When the sun sets and the day ends and I lay down to rest, I remember, I always remember where I slept yesterday. It is a game I play in my mind to check my sanity. It is either a good day or a bad day depending on where I find to sleep. Even if the whole day was dry and I am faint with hunger, if I can find a warm corner to snuggle in I count it as a good day. Because any other kid could have found that place but I did. One thousand kids are going to be cold tonight but I get to be warm, that's something to be thankful for rather than dwelling on my empty stomach. There will be food tomorrow. The universe is aware of me. It's not just a game. It's a reality check, it helps me to stay hopeful in this crazy world. I remember where I come from, where I am, and where I want to be. I also do it for Papa. He used to say that a river that forgets its beginning will dry up suddenly. Papa is gone now but I carry him in my heart daily. I don't want to dry up suddenly. Mem...
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Wine for the Stomach

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Today is a new day. For a lot of us, these days are filled with anxiety about what may or may not be. If you are trying out adulthood for the first time, you realize there is not as much fun as you imagined there would be. It's a hard hard life. But such is life bro. When has any good thing ever been easy? You just have to get on your feet, declare your assets and make a bold move today. Do that thing you've always wanted to do. The first step might be shaky and wrought with valid fears, but it can only get better going forward. I dare you to go out today and be the best you can ever be.  “When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”  –Lao Tzu “You never know what you can do until you try, and very few try unless they have to.”  –C.S. Lewis “Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?” – Michelle Obama “You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery...
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The end of a thing is better than the beginning thereof says the holy book. The end of meat is bone, the end of sex is pregnancy, the end of a new cloth is kitchen rag. But the end of a thing is still better than its beginning, right? At least John believed so when he rose up from the bed this morning. He hoped to find work in the market today. He prayed that good customers will see him but the wicked eyes of the area boys will miss him. He did not waste time daydreaming, no time to waste in the city of hustlers. As he quickly does rub and shine with the bowl of water in the window and as he set his face boldly to today's destiny, the sun on his back and stark hope in his stomach, John has only one end in mind: to find food today. Work starts at dawn, tick says the clock, helter skelter is the market dance. Up and down the music of the market place jives. To and fro everyone in the market tap dance to the rhythm of commerce and profit. And at the back of every mind, buyer ...
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