No longer daddy's girl

Dad has always been my favorite,not because mum died leaving him to take up the responsibilities of both parents but I've always admired him and seen him as a wonderful person. Even when mum was alive I seemed to get along well with him more as mum and I were always arguing and disagreeing. A common phenomenon between teenage daughters and their mothers.
Dads seem to pamper and understand their daughters more.

But no one prepares the daughter for the time she will have to leave her father, for a time when she will have to go far away from home either to work or to study. No one prepares the daughter for a time she will need to find her source of livelihood on her own, no one tells her that a time will come when she will only be able to speak to her father on phone. No one reminds her that her father has his own life to live and is on a journey on this planet like every other person. That her father is just a caretaker who will eventually need care himself when he grows old. No one reminds her that he can't be with her wherever she goes forever. No one reminds her that her father will leave the world someday. No one tells her that she won't be daddy's girl forever.. the harsh realities of growing up.

Today we celebrate all the wonderful fathers in the world. Those men who regard women, those fathers who have given all it takes to care for their children, those fathers who have always been present at every stage of their children's life, those fathers who have laboured on their children, fed them, clothed them, educated them and above all set them up to stand on their own.

Even though the realities of adulthood has set in and i'm closer to becoming a parent myself..remembering all that my siblings and I have been through together with dad I will still send my dad hugs and kisses wishing him a happy father's day..

My KPMG test experience

The fear of being jobless is somewhat a common phenomenon especially in Nigeria, this is what prompted my constant job hunt discussions with one of my friends who was a guru when it came to job hunting. This is someone that can travel to the end of the world for job interviews or aptitude tests.

So when he mentioned KPMG, a part of me wanted to apply, a part of me wanted to decline but after much persuasions and encouragement, I decided to take a cue from him and try, I started the application process. It was tedious, the tedious nature of the application got me wondering “on top wetin?’’. But then I just continued giving the benefit of doubt.

After some days I was able to submit my application in a manner which was to me haphazardly but who cared? after all I wasn’t banking on it. Lo and behold I got invited for the test surprisingly but my joy turned to worry and despair when I saw the venue. A place I totally didn’t know in Lagos. To go or not to go?

Eventually the D-day came and I went. I woke up very early in the morning and I set out, a part of me was eager , another had feelings of uncertainty at the same time my stomach was rumbling, I had used the toilet twice that morning and felt I was ok. I had eaten vegetable soup the night before but I never imagined it could affect me. Having used the toilet twice I felt nothing would make me feel the urge again at least for the few hours I was going to be out. So I got in the bus to Lagos.
Hours after, stepping into Oshodi Lagos, I don’t know whether it was the anxiety of the exam I was going to write or the fact that I had walked around in circles before locating where the venue was situated, I started feeling a desperate urge to use the toilet. The urge was so intense that if not for the fact that I had an examination to write for a stated time I would have found a toilet nearby to use. But I kept holding it, managing my condition as time wasn’t on my side.
I got to the venue and saw thousands of young job seekers, all with either a first class or a second class upper. I even saw friends I knew from my former university, we greeted each other well. I began to lose the remaining hope I had concerning the job seeing the population. We got on queue and I almost cried, I had to endure this queue and the serious rumbling in my stomach and in my bumbum. By the time I was checked in and sat set at the computer about to start the e-exam, the excreta was set to come out of my buttocks.
I half listened to the instructions, I couldn’t hear a thing. All that kept going through my mind was how to get to a toilet and use. I half read the questions before choosing answers, as I clicked on the answers I knew I had no hope in that examination except a miracle happened. I couldn’t take it any longer on getting to question number 27, I raised up my hand and called the attention of one of the examiners. I told her I had to use the toilet, I understood the implications of doing that, I had to submit and walk out of the examination room when I had barely started. I thought to myself better to fail this examination than become public ridicule so I insisted on leaving. The examiner looked at me with pity on her face, she saw the sense of urgency in which I was in then she took my slip from me and led me to the female toilet. So as I let out the waste that had threatened to disgrace me earlier, I began to blame myself for all that had happened. As relieved as I was having used the toilet I felt disappointed, thinking I had messed up my opportunity.
As I made my way out of the building and straight to the car park to start my journey back home, several ‘’what ifs’’ kept coming . What if I had done this, what if I had done that. In the end I concluded that was the way God wanted it. Some minutes after in the bus on my way back home, I got pings from some of my friends whom I had run into at the examination venue. They gave me reports of how they had failed the examination honorably, who knew what the cut off mark was. It all boils down to the fact that job seeking in Nigeria is hard and these companies will try all sorts of discrepancies and cunningness to cut off job seekers and chose who they want. So in the end I hadn’t really messed up per say, what if I had finished the exam truly and still failed, besides I had taken bold steps, registering, going for the examination and submitting when I did. Truly I had learnt my lesson and I also hail myself for being smart about choices.

WAR ROOM

Genre : Drama film
Director : Alex Kendrick
Year : 2015


From the producers of GOD’S NOT DEAD, FIREPROOF AND CONQUEROR comes another inspiring movie WAR ROOM. War room is an American christian based movie, a fusion of film techniques , action and style with many scenes and locations. One can say this movie is a wake up call to all Christians far and wide, a re-awakening call on the importance of prayer , discipline and faith in the race of life. Elizabeth (Priscilla Shirer)and

Tony Jordan (T.C Stallings) are examples of the average Christian society couple, who keep patching things up in their failing marriage, leaving God out of the equation. Educative and informative, this movie exposes the cause of one of the major ills of our society, broken marriages.

The movie further explains how continuous quests for money drives lots of individuals including so called Christians to the extreme, doing the unimaginable for money. Elizabeth and Tony’s daughter Danielle (Alena pitts), a bright young child also portrays the life of an average child who isn’t given much attention by parents. The unconsciously neglected child. Miss Clara (Karen Abercrombie) appears as the savior, who provides solutions to the couple’s hidden problems. She teaches Elizabeth from experience to fight and win her battles in prayer. Explaining that one’s prayer corner is one’s war room. This movie exposes how a great relationship between a father and his child can strengthen the child’s resolve to be successful. Such is the case as Tony joins his daughter and the other kids in the double dutch competition.


This movie also encourages restitution and confession of sin as Tony had to seek the forgiveness from all those he offended including his wife and daughter as well as return all he ever took from the company. War room is a must watch for all young women about to get married or already in marriage.

It is a guide to winning the unexpected battles and challenges usually faced in marriage.

My drug overuse experience

I got back from work very tired as usual but particularly very tired and weak that day. All through the week I kept noticing symptoms of malaria but I ignored it. This particular day I realized I needed to do something fast about my health. I was feeling body pains, headache, sore throat, cold and stomach upset all at the same time.so I spoke to my guardian who advised that I use malaria tablets and septrin. My sister told me earlier to treat typhoid, she told me to get amoxillin tablets but I did not then. so I decided to get all of these drugs now and use at intervals that night because of the way I was feeling. So I used all of these drugs within the space of an hour. Then I used piriton along with it to enable me sleep. So stupid of me right? I don’t know what I was thinking…

After 30mins, I started feeling uncomfortable. I was feeling whozy, dizzy, terrible at the same time. By now it was night and every other person in the house had slept but I couldn’t . I kept turning and tossing. I kept trying to sleep all to no avail. I began to regret using all those drugs at short intervals I kept blaming myself. I started thinking of so many terrible things, my mind flashed back to the various stories I have heard about using drug overdose, have I not signed death warrant by this? Was this going to damage any part of body? My head kept turning, as if I was moving in circular motions on the bed. I began to pray, I didn’t want to be rushed to the hospital, I tried to stand up but I felt like I was going to fall. I was like this for over an hour, then a thought came to mind, what if I managed to get up, get a bottle of water and drink, hopefully this will flush away some of the drugs from my system and the effects will die down gradually.

So I struggled to my feet and went into the kitchen, I drank lots of water, I also washed my face. I went back to the room and sat down waiting for what I done to have magical effects.  Well it did. After another hour I was able to sleep. In the morning , I shared my experience.  All who heard were alarmed and still advised that I do a medical check up. As for me I knew

I was lucky and favored you may say. I had learnt my lesson though.

10 nollywood actors that live in Ibadan

Some of them have lived, while some are currently living in Ibadan. These are great actors and actresses who have in a way contributed to the yoruba movie industry especially.
Some of them have shot great movies in Ibadan too. I have always encouraged nollywood in some of my write ups and unlike most Nigerian youths I believe that the whole of Nollywood in general, the Yoruba movies, english movies, ibo movies and Hausa movies are improving daily.

1. Femi Adebayo

2. Dele Odule

 3. Laide Bakare

 4. Rose Odika

 5. Bimbo Oshin

 6.   Toyin Aimakhu

 7. Adebayo Faleti

8. Kola Oyewo

 9. Peju Ogunmola

10. Muyiwa Ademola

A big house

I walked to the giant gate, I didn’t know whether to press the bell or knock on the gate. I eventually did both, silly you would think but logically I pressed the bell at first  for what seemed like ages and got no response so I had to knock.

After what seemed like eternity she walked up to the gate and opened up for me.Tall and fat, her face was expressionless I didn’t know whether she was happy to see me or not. Her low cut revealed some grey hair, this was my second time seeing her but I still saw new features in her. she led me into the giant house after walking through the massive compound she told me to feel at home while she disappeared into the house.

As I wandered through the sitting room, I wondered why just one person will live in such a big house. She reappeared minutes later and told me she was going out. She showed me the kitchen which was like miles away from the sitting room, I discovered there were three other sitting rooms , one was even bigger than what I thought was the main sitting room.

As she left, a rain so heavy began. I started getting an eerie feeling, that creepy feeling you get when you are in a strange house all alone. I encouraged myself and as my stomach rumbled I found my way to the kitchen holding the noodles I had in my bag. I started to cook, I went to my room to get my phone and I returned to the kitchen in what seemed like a journey.

Back inside the kitchen I felt like I heard voices, I looked around, saw nothing then concluded it was my imagination. I continued again and heard another echo. Voices, was I hallucinating?  I began to panic just as I walked past the entrance I saw wet footsteps. Someone had come in. I was scared and immediately panicked. Who was in this house with me. The raindrops kept falling heavily.

As I rushed upstairs, entering the pathway leading to the ironing room. I ran into two young girls, it was sudden and shocking. They screamed! I was in between screaming and fleeing but then on realizing that I was the new visitor they were expecting , we all burst into laughter. They were the maids, they had been told about me but went to the market and had been caught in the rain. I was never told about them.

Everyone's time will come

I was going to write my NYSC experience, already advertised and prepared to write the article  such that lots of people were looking forward to it. Then life happened. I suddenly became occupied with rounding up at my PPA , sewing clothes  and the most tasking of all assisting my sister with the baby.

Yes ..her time had come to have and  nurture her baby and my own time had come to take up all her other responsibilities and assist her the best way I can. As I sit and write this I remember the days when we were younger, how had imagined that the things which I now do were meant for grown women and big aunties. How I had imagined the time will never come for me to step into that position. How I had imagined it was going to take forever before that time came.

Now I know better, there is time for everything, we individuals run the race of our lives at different pace and time. Your time might say you are in the afternoon, mine might say I m in the evening or in the morning.

My point exactly? Everyone’s time will come, everyone will pass through the morning, afternoon and evening phase of their lives. Everyone will have their own fair share of pain, loss, joy , happiness all the emotions and feelings released to the earth by the creator will be felt by everyone but at different times.

Even when a race is being run, each runner arrives at their destinations at different times. Besides we all weren’t born into the world at the same time. Why then should we expect to move at the same pace?

Always remember, either by predestination, purpose, plan or choice, your own time will come. You will experience the good and the bad. You will learn lessons of life, you will win some and lose some and in the end you will grow, achieve success, have memories and impact lives.

Silence

Silence is the best answer for a ____  goes the old saying. Sometimes silence is just the best answer for anybody. There are situations when we see something so bad, so annoying, so wrong happen in our vicinity and we just have to keep quiet  we do not speak because we know that our  words at that point point in time may appear destructive or in most cases unwanted.

In conflicting and confrontational situations it is usually said that when one of both parties keeps silent he gains respect of all. Even with certain issues silence only is the most needed virtue.

Silence can be powerful, although there are situations where prolonged silence doesn’t connote being powerful but the opposite. For instance in situations where one doesn’t know what to say or the right  response to give or where one has no contradicting response to whatever is being said or stated. Like the popular saying , silence means consent. Let me ask , does silence always mean consent? Do people always keep quiet when they mean yes or indicate positive answer to what is being said?

I want to believe that only strong people have the capacity to keep quiet in raging situations silence doesn’t always mean consent or weakness, it sometimes means “I’m strong enough to make peace, I’m strong enough to let this go for friendship sake or for peace sake, I m strong enough to see that it is wisdom  to keep your opponent or people guessing whats on your mind.

10 THINGS I DISLIKE ABOUT IBADAN

 

Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, is one of Nigeria's oldest and most historically significant cities. Once the heart of the Yoruba empire, Ibadan boasts a rich cultural heritage, reflected in its vibrant traditions, architecture, and local arts. As the largest city in West Africa by landmass, it has played a crucial role in Nigeria's history, particularly in education and politics. However, like any bustling metropolis, Ibadan faces its own set of challenges—from infrastructure issues to social dynamics—that impact the daily lives of its residents. This post is about my honest perspective on the challenges of living in Ibadan.

1. A lot young people have complained that it is not a place to start your hustle from. It is not a place with enough organizations to offer  job opportunities .

2.Lousy people: as friendly as Ibadan people are they can be very lousy. It is usually said that you will never find an Ibadan based person who can’t talk or can’t always give confronting response that is why petty thieves can even be justified against the owners.

3.Ibadan buses : I hate Ibadan buses terribly , only God knows where this buses emerge from.90%  of this buses are very uncomfortable.

4.There are bad linking roads in Ibadan most of these mini roads which are supposed to serve as substitute to the major roads are bad.

5. Apata hold up,  I don’t know about other areas in Ibadan but Apata- campus- Odo ona route hold up can be very frustrating.

6.As much as there are lots of enlightened  people, there are extremely local people residing in Ibadan, people who have  refused to become enlightened those who see Ibadan as an extension of their village.

7. Ibadan has a lot of dirty areas…. I know it is improving there are cleaners on the roads but still Ibadan has dirty areas,  some even throw refuse on the major road. The city is big , there are lots of residents this fact helps to account for the huge dirt.

8.Their yoruba accents easily gives them away  making them appear crude, especially those so into it.

9. A very prominent area along the the entrance into Ibadan is known to be very very diabolic. Women are married diabolically too such that they never regain consciousness  until they’ve given birth.

10. Means of transportation generally, drivers and conductors are usually dirty and hungry looking , both drivers and conductors use their hands to describe their destinations (crude nature) taxis n cabs don’t rush everywhere, leaving one to the mercy of molues and bikes.  Even Ajumose buses have issues.

        While Ibadan stands as a city rich in history, culture, and potential, it is not without its challenges.          From the limited job opportunities for young professionals to the ongoing infrastructure and social          issues, living in Ibadan can be both rewarding and frustrating. However, the city's vibrant spirit              and deep-rooted traditions offer a unique experience that continues to draw people in. For those              willing to navigate its complexities, Ibadan still holds the promise of growth and a deeper                        connection to Nigeria's cultural essence. As the city evolves, addressing these challenges will be             key to unlocking its full potential and improving the quality of life for its residents.

All that glitters...

All that glitters is not gold, the old saying has been since time immemorial. Yet it keeps being applicable to circumstances in our world today. Often times than not we are tempted to assume that something is just by looking at its first appearance, we are quick to assume that a baked dough is bread not thinking it can be puffpuff or doughnut.

About two months ago, I was returning from work, I got to the major market I usually got to before taking another bus. I was about crossing the road when a richly dressed middle aged woman spoke to me in Yoruba (my young lady, becareful o, watch before crossing) I was  touched by her care and concern and immediately appreciated her kind gesture as I crossed.

I continued to trek on the other side, as I waded my way through the crowd I heard the woman call behind me still in Yoruba (pls dear hold on) I thought she was going to ask for directions to a place she was going as it was a weekend and she was dressed like someone attending a party. So I stopped and the next thing was “can you please help me with any amount? I m going to Mokola I still have to return to Lagos today I just need some amount of money to get to an atm machine where I will withdraw money, any amount” I was shocked  at first, so shocked that I stuttered for words for few minutes  then she continued “you should be able to help me it may be 500, 2200, 100 or 50 naira” for  days I still couldn’t match the appearance of the woman with her begging disposition.

 This is just one of the few cases I’ve encountered that further portrays how much seemingly shiny, attractive things on the outside turn out to be the opposite of what they seem.

We’ve heard stories of rich men , gentle men, easygoing and  quiet men who turn out to be devilish ritualists pouncing on unsuspecting young ladies who fall victim. My point is we may not be able to protect ourselves from negativities and dangers 100percent but we can try , we can stick to the path of contentment and caution by reminding ourselves often that all that glitters is not gold.

Keep moving

Remember that funny song “I like to move it, move it, I like to move it move it, I like to move it move it, I like to MOVE IT!” That song truly gets us laughing all the time but I believe the lyrics of the song carry more weight and sense than we can imagine. I remember another word of wisdom “if you can’t fly, run, if you can’t run, walk and if you can’t walk, crawl, whatever you do just keep moving!

How do you get to your destination if you are not moving? How do you achieve your dreams, goals and aspirations if you are not moving? How do you progress if you are waiting to be pushed?

As individuals we need to arise, we need to know where we are going and we need to give it all it takes to keep going. Most great things in life come by force, nothing good comes easy. Let us not just take everything that life throws at us. We should be willing to make progress, achieve something new daily too. We must strive to be better than we were yesterday, today.