Black shirtless man cradling a white rose

The Impostor

He was due to arrive in a couple of hours.

Mum had worn her wig and that floral scent she reserved for those times when dad was coming from one of his regular trips.

“Guys, I know I promised we would go to grandma’s place this weekend, but I’m sorry that won’t be possible anymore…”

Before he finished, Ire had yanked off the arm that held him on dad’s lap and flung himself on the blue Persian rug in the middle of the living room.

My younger brother was only seven years old, but already, everyone knew about his legendary emotional reactions. He was quick to get hurt and throw a tantrum, but that was just because he had a soft heart.

Big Brother Naija And The Closet Fans

We have been here before. We are here every year the reality television show makes an appearance. Anytime, the Big Brother social experiment hits our screens, the moral police are always there, waiting in the wings to pounce. It’s amusing to see how they are never tired of deriding a show they claim to loathe so much. I mean…if I hated something or someone, I’d pretend they didn’t exist. I’d do everything to avoid it and do a mental block. This concept is however alien to critics of Big Brother Naija.

Of Vulnerable Moments And Husband Materials

I had quite a few vulnerable moments during my university days. Days when I struggled to juggle the demands of school work and life outside of school. Days when I loathed hostel life and the idea of having a roommate because a girl just needs to be alone sometimes. There were many challenges, and of course, there were good times. But I can never forget that ONE time I was constipated. 

Two women having a conversation on a park bench

The Other Woman

“Mrs Johnson?”

The silence lingered. The park had a sparse human presence. It was Saturday morning, families and picnickers were yet to arrive.

“Hello ma’am, are you Mrs Johnson?”

“Please take a seat, Beatrice.”

Beatrice hesitated.

“Have we met before?” She asked.

Banke’s lips curved into a smirk. She had prepared for this.

“I have seen you, I know what you look like. Take a seat.”

Beatrice wrapped her dress across her slim frame and sat on the edge of the park bench. She took in the dark-skinned woman who was now only a few inches away from her. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties. Her face was unfamiliar, this stranger regarding her.

Don't just go AWOL on people, have the balls to confront situations

Ghosting Is The Greatest Sin

One minute you are all chummy, slapping each other’s backs, and gossiping like best friends, the next minute, there’s a gulf. An inexplicable one occasioned by one person’s decision to sever ties. I had only heard and imagined what it felt like until it happened to me. I had made a new friend (or so I thought), and our relationship was on an upward trajectory. Getting to know each other, hanging out and exchanging phone calls and chats, until one day when they stopped communicating. They not only clam up, but they also hibernated and refused to be reached too.

Only go where you are wanted in 2020

In 2020, Only Go Where You’re Wanted

Happy New Year, folks!! The eagerly anticipated 2020 is here. We are already a few hours into it. I imagine the thoughts that run through your mind: How you’ll smash the goals you’ve set. How you’ll get more people to buy into whatever it is you’re selling. Perhaps how to win more friends and cheerleaders over. This year comes with a little more uniqueness than the years past. It’s the onset of a brand new decade; a few of us would remember the much-touted Vision 2020—the dream year when Nigeria was supposed to have actualised her economic transformation. It’s both sad and amusing how that has turned out.

Sharing the lessons from 2019

2019: 5 Lessons I Learnt

I call 2019 the mixed bag year. It was a year ladened with a lot of twist and turns; a roller coaster run of days–one minute I would be leading my normal life and minding my business–the next, I would be swooning from yet another dart life throws at me. With the happenings this year, I have become further convinced that life never really gets easier, we just get tougher. And so in that spirit, and in the spirit of my yearly tradition, I’ll be sharing five lessons 2019 taught me. I hope it’s helpful to someone out there.

The only shame exists when a person is shameless

The Blessing Of Shame

The feelers we get from the new world is to be liberated in the most unconventional way. It’s the new cool; this campaign for unfettered self-expression regardless of how one is perceived or how it affects others. We are the ones without any scintilla of inhibition. We live for ourselves and ourselves only. We can stand up to anyone. We do not believe that balderdash about respecting people because they are older or on the premise of their senior citizen status. Everyone must prove themselves worthy of our regard else they will be denigrated without a second thought. What’s more, all that righteous indignation about eschewing nudity or being circumspect about divulging details of happenings in our lives are borne out of inexposure and insecurity. We will have none of it.

The Secret

Zita was getting married soon and Nnamdi was not looking forward to the now imminent time when he would be the only child at home.

Her husband, Stanley and his people were due in Mbaise for their traditional wedding in a fortnight.

“I am going to be so bored when Zita leaves this house.” He said

The family was having their Sunday dinner. It was an unwritten rule that they all had their Sunday evening meal together to bond as a family and Nnamdi was worried about he would cope without his only sister.