OUR STORIES

Love. What does love really entail? I really get confused at times. Love is good but the pain it brings, resides deep within It hurts when I receive acceptance instead of rejection from Him;  Kindness in place of cold-heartedness; And affirmation instead of disavowal. I ask, what do I do with God love? Hold it close or let it go? Incapacitated;  I don't know how to react, For rejection is a constant with humans, But God’s love is overwhelming  And when I sin,  Ooo; that moment when I really do hurt my father.   When I run away from Him,  He still runs after me, bleeding,  With holes in His feet, He doesn't consider his pains.  He doesn't consider how my actions hurts Him.  He considers, instead, that I am hurt: The lost sheep which had wandered off into the dark alley again. He wipes my tears with His blood soaked cloth, I look intently at His face, wondering how He can not see that He is bleeding  How can He be sensitive to my needs and forget His?

'Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are' the saying goes. But how can I point them out to you when they cannot be found?   "20 children cannot play for 20 years" the Yoruba adage proclaims But I firmly believed that we could defy the odds , Probably the proverbs coming from the elders' lips hold more deeper truths within than I give them credit For they can indeed see much farther distances when sitting down at the foot of the valley. While my vibrant youthful eyes can only strain themselves in an effort to know what lies ahead even while standing on the mountain top. True wisdom indeed lies on the lips of the ancients who came to the world ahead of me   But who would blame my infant mind from imagining such fantasies? For I had believed that friendship can lead to brotherhood, For I had believed all friendships could survive the sails on both the calm and stormy tides, For I thought that the uniqueness of the things we shared, could defy

VIGILS are not an easy tasks for anyone It can however be motivated by the desire to live . Vigils are certainly not the inherent desires that fill the hearts of anyone However, desperate times calls for desperate measures . The street is filled with people All engaging in an activity which is anti natural For the deprivation of sleep is certainly not at the top of the body's agenda. Ewu nbe loko Alonge o There is fire on the mountain. For every human in the area is running, While their mouths fervently call out to God or their gods. Jesu oooo Agbanilagbatan gbawa oo (Save us completely) Angeli mimo ode orun ,shey abo fun wa o (heavenly angels guide us) Spona o Strike them dead. Osun the river goddess, Mother of all living creatures; save us! However, calling on their gods wasn't adequate, And further preventive measures were taken. For Fear is a terrible thing. The young, old and the suckling child alike have been forced into becoming olodes. (Night guard w

Let’s talk my friends. I come from a closely knitted family. However, my Life is an Irony, For I am a lonely child accustomed to sitting in the dark; I live in a house filled with people and I know that nobody sees me: I assume I am just a slave where other kings dwell. My heart tells me I am loved. Yet my mind tells me not to desire too much. The unfathomable anguish my soul passes through is too deep for my understanding. My soul longs for a Love that will ravage me; A love that will fill up the sparseness of my soul; My heart desires an affection that will engulf the totality of my being. The changes that accustomed teenage hood, All collided to introduce emotions that were foreign to me. Making me hunger more for an 'insatiable kind of love', And I almost believed I was 'lusting after love'. My desires for such a love, is beyond mere words. And my vocabularies cannot find that very word to describe the longing within. The battles of my heart have

I simply love life and all that it represents. It mesmerizes me the way time reveals its uniqueness. With various lessons, we learn from living: Which mounts up and becomes knowledge that we apply to our daily lives. Each passing day establishes the fact that life is unpredictable: With man's inability to give a detailed description of future happenings. Only giving facts about life than can either be written or told. Nonetheless, the truth about life can be  revealed through living it It is perfectly okay to make mistakes. It is perfectly alright to feel lost at times. It is understandable if a detailed knowledge of tomorrow is unknown. That really is what life is about; we learn the facts and we live the truth. Please sail with me as I tell you a little of life fact I know Life is extremely beautiful. The uniqueness about life is in the thorns and roses. It lies in the sowing before reaping. Life’s beauty depends  on what you focus on Life is in stages; All s

God upon the waters, The earth void of life . God upon the waters , He saw darkness upon the face of the deep and Commanded the existence of light. God upon the waters , Dividing the waters from the waters to create the firmament God upon the waters , Gathering the waters so dry land may appear God now on the lands , Giving commands for the earth to produce  grass,herb  yielding seed,and fruit tree yielding  fruit after its kind , whose seed is in itself God now in the firmament Giving detailed commands for times and seasons ,for light in the firmament of the heaven to give light to the earth For the creation of two great lights and stars Dividing day from night and light from darkness God back to the waters Giving commandments that it brings out living creatures that have life and fowl that may fly above the the earth in the open firmament of heaven Blessing them to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the waters and  earth . God back to the earth Commanding it to b

My aim is to write about Khadija a 8 months old baby that was raped at 6 months  ,I intend vocalising her thoughts and feelings since she is a  child and cannot talk HI My name is Khadija , I was born exactly eight months from now. Sheer joy filled my household as almost every one genuinely loves  a new baby love. Some others, however, had a distorted view of what real love was. As a child, my only duty was to smile when I am cuddled and cry when I am hungry or in discomfort And o my! I cried my lungs out when my Mother’s friend raped me. I, at first, felt he wanted to change my diapers as he removed my clothes I, at first, felt he wanted to wash my bum as his hands caressed my buttocks I also felt he wanted to tickle me as his hands folded my chest area which his distorted view felt were grown breasts. I am, but a child who needed her innocence. But today, I am a child whose future has been changed My small fragile body is in shock and all part of my consciousness just w

He is a man born of a woman! He has an unquenchable desire to conquer. He believes he was born with the right to rule. Yet he is fragile and he runs from hunting in the forest His hands; unable to carry a gun, but can carry a stick. His hands; unable to pull the trigger, but can hit a woman. While real men discuss ways to keep a home, he prides himself with skills of battery. While real men discussed the wars of conquest, he recounts woeful tales of defiling women. While real men protects what they love, he destroyed the uniqueness of what made her a woman AROGUNDADE A man of unrivaled wisdom. He is the king's favorite among all his advisers, popular for his treachery and cons . His devious schemes never failed, careful planning and good tactics has brought kingdoms to knees through his help, for his strength lies in his quick reasoning. I, at times, wonder why the gods bless the bad ones with the best gifts. The villagers expected a full bodied man like himself  to b

Death where is thy sting? I am sure this is a statement you may be familiar with. I wonder today, what my life consists of. I ask myself what awaits me after death. Each passing day brings me close to death, With questions I have no answer to. How will the world react after my demise? Will I be missed? Or will the world rejoice? I look at the people I have impacted and I realise I still have a long way to go. I have quite a big mouth I ponder on the thousands of people I might have spoken ill to/of. I love heaven because its my home. Yet I ponder on how much impact I have made in my temporary abode. Then I look at people who had impacted the world greatly. Great biblical men and women after God own heart who did a lot for their temporary abode Esther. The beauty queen with a selfless heart; Who believed in the power of  bended knees. Orphaned at a tender age, Yet filled with love. A selfless leader. Staring death in the eyes, yet choosing to die for her na

As a child in kingardateen and nursery age, I was required to draw a lot of images. For whatever reason, I never knew. But I knew I was  not too good at drawing I drew well enough. At least I didn’t have ‘oju elegba’ Getting a pass mark scaled me to the next class, Where drawing wasn’t required of me One day, I was struck with the desire to draw a beautiful automobile; With Chairs, Steering, Gear and of course a happy family embarking on a journey. I am not an artist. Just one who is loves drawing and singing. Two things my friends believe am awful at doing (doing justice to them however they try to encourage me, some even go ahead to give me lessons but I just do not make it an  easy task  for them ) Lets go back to my drawing of a perfect Automobile. You see, all I wanted as a child was to draw a ‘Ijapa car’ with chairs inside. However, the only chair I could draw was a dining chair. And I know ‘Ijapa cars’ don’t have dining chairs in them. After watch

She sang beautifully well. I am sure the Angels peeped at her frequently when her voice rings out! I also stared in admiration. Saying to myself …….. "Only if I have a voice like this, I will worship you more Lord" He was absolutely a guru on the drums. I had no music talent in me. "Father, only if you will give such talent, I will make you proud" I thought to myself. The little child's painting held such vivid colors and details. I love paintings and drawings! However the best I can conjure are 'stick drawings' I was almost filled with envy, but I couldn’t because I was conscious of been Christian. "If only I had a gift just like this, I would be an international artist! Showcasing Christ to the world through my drawings" A beautiful writer and editor she is. She had the patience of the godly, Tenderly crossing out wrong letters and inputting the right words. I admire her, Once again, I told the Lord "Only if I had

Good day. Let me tell you about my mind; It is analytical in nature, It appears it has a “mind” of its own” Thinking its thoughts which I never sent it. Constantly thinking of what needed to be “thought” of, Thus it is attentive to very minute details. It sees a bad situation, And goes on a spree of thinking. What made this situation go from bad to good? Could it have been avoided? Afterwards, it analysis how the situation can become better, Then it virtually pushes me to contribute my own quota  . “My mind also wonders what others are wondering”; It wishes it has the power to read thoughts , Thank God it doesn’t For none will  be saved from its scrutinizing research Yet it hears vile words, Condemns it at first, And then goes ahead to admire the rhymes in the vile words. It says to me, "Who doesn’t love rhymes?" Thereafter, it firmly holds onto the rhymes A job, I totally didn’t send it to do. And yet again! It admires a lady well dressed,  Yet at

I have a plan which I share when asked what my goal in life is. You see, I come from a society where you are expected to have a goal. The goal certainly has its rudiments. It typically contains; Making a lot of money; Working as a banker; Becoming a 'big madam' Getting married and having 'fine fine children' Therefore to avoid been tagged as a loser, I answer with the unarticulated laid down pattern, which my society demands from me. Thus, I had to have a plan that portrays me like the society wants. I have different versions of the 'plan' Each plan depending on who  enquires. To the elders I reply ------ "To further my education"; To the white collar folks -------"I am working to become administrative head" To the entrepreneurs ----------- "Being a business woman is my goal" And on goes endless responses. To avoid being tagged a liar, I ensure I remember to tell them the exact same thing I told them when they enqu

Finally she had a man who loved her for who she was, For she had asked the Holy ghost to send her a man after His heart! Outwardly all seem to be fine But her soul had a ranging number of uncertainties. For to her she lacked the gift of discernment, She however had the biblical injunction to be gentle like a dove and wise as a serpent Thus he became a book she studied, One cannot be too careful She further declared to herself She was convinced that Saint Paul through the inspiration of the Holyghost, had written the essence of casting down imaginations bearing in mind she will exist one day, For her imagination had built up numerous things that needed to be cast down. Like a mathematics teacher She scrutinized all his actions For the step by step mechanisms was as important as the answer itself, Increasingly picking out the similarities with the men she had read about, In her record book his actions is likened to the unpleasant stories she has heard! The unpleasan

Hello! let me tell you my story; Attending a wedding reception in an higher institution as a teenager invigorated  my hunger to become a university graduate at all cost. I had a list of things I wanted to achieve before I graduated, You can address me as Beauty and brains! Therefore It wasn’t a surprise when I passed my senior school leaving examinations with flying colors, To a reputable Higher Institution I went . I am both a Fashionista and Efiwe(Brilliant) ! How I manage to combine the two still remain a mystery to all, I had goals ;making a 1st class and flexing at the same time, My innate woman's ability to effectively multi-task was put in good use Believe me honestly I was at the top of my game Every girl envied me..........  Graduating from a University with good grades no be joke, especially for an engineering student like myself, So I never took my losing weight as a big deal, since it helped achieve a flat stomach with no exercise ! I was always feeling fa

Pain is real! This is what I feel Sunday is here again, I wore the same outfit to church weekly That’s the only reasonable outfit I have, Something horrible happened ……………… It tore while I shouted hallelujah excitedly! That is the least embarrassing moment of my life For I had, had worst days. Monday morning It’s the usual hustling and bustling in Lagos, Today I found a new strategy to beg I used the pastor sermon as a guideline It went something like: Isaac sowed and reaped in a land of famine As you give to me God will increase you greatly It worked properly At least I had enough to eat today. Afternoons are my break period, this Tuesday is no exception I came down with a cold  Shivering in the hot sun is no joke! The harsh harmatern cold is worst at night, Staying under the bridge with no walls on the island didn’t help issues either I just need a warm place to stay!! Its Wednesday morning and nothing seems better I am terribly angry today!!!! I am hom

It was dinner time! Every one had a smiling face As usual the food was delicious Mum is like the best cook ever Aunt Tina came to spend the weekend at our place She is Mummy only sister  She is so beautiful and cheerful I want to be like her when I grow up,  She is like the best doctor ever  She gives Mummy medication so she can feel better Mum always told me to be Ladylike just like Aunt Tina    Mummy always has a cold She keeps sniffing all the time  dinner today was no exception Her handkerchief was very wet Her eyes were also red The cold must really be much I thought to myself I do not like it when Mum is sick  Daddy had a frown on his face From what?  I can never tell And bruises on his knuckles I hope he is not also sick Thank God Aunt Tina is here To also make  Daddy feel better I will marry someone like Daddy when I grow up As handsome and fair in complexion like him And be as Lucky like Mummy I always i