CONTRAST

 The weather was stormy, an ancient one already old with time, it was dark and sinister like a haggard old witch with an evil apple. It was one of those times where over imaginative children begin to make pictures of evil scaring them so much, they go to their beds early and shut their eyes.
   Though it was the high noon of the day, it was so dark that you could feel the darkness crawl on top and beneath your skin. The darkness was so thick it could be felt like a big fur blanket enveloping the world. The kind of darkness a blind man saw.     

  The rain was pouring heavily on the roof like little missiles and made a scratchy sound like the fingers of a thousand zombies. The streets were getting flooded and the power had already gone out due to the bad weather. The rain just kept pouring with no sign of stopping and it was so heavy that it’s impart shocked the house to its foundation.   
 
 Following the rain was a heavy thunderstorm with volts of lighting that at some moments suddenly bright up the world around and then the next second sends it to the darkness that seems eternal. And usually after that the thunder comes, booming loudly like the cry of a mountain after it’s inflicted by destruction. The noise is as blinding as much as it is deafing.  

 The only thing louder than the cry of the thunder and more heart-catching than the tears of the lighting was the deep wail of labour as the unknown woman cried out in pains, it seemed like the whole world cried with her and, as she shock so did the world feel her pain and shock with her. Heavy with a baby even she has no idea of its origin, she suffered in labour for the rest she had had the previous nine months.

   The midwives rallied around her and urging and encouraging her to push but it seemed the more she cried, the heavier the rain became, only with the aid of a candle light did the midwives performed their operation which only made it harder. The woman with her swollen stomach tosses and turns on her delivery bed, trashing around in pains as this was no normal delivery. She had been here for eighteen hours and coincidentally the storm had lasted that long so far.

   Finally they can see a head coming out as the whole ground shakes in vigorous earthquake which now makes the nurses extremely scared, the woman is now screaming in pains, unimaginable, unfathomable pain and the weather continues to get worse. At this junction, it was like the weather could not get any worse but it did, the darkness was now choked, it swallowed the candle light and the thunder, louder. The earth shock like mother earth itself was wailing and turning in her wake, most of the midwives without the stomach had left leaving only one who persisted on.

   All of a sudden, the cry of a baby breaks a silence that only began as soon as the cry was let out. The pain is gone like aesthetic was administered, the rain stops like the lids to heaven was suddenly shut, the earthquake stops like mother earth was sang a lullaby and petted to sleep, the lightening stops like an ancient being cut the power, the thunder fades away so far that the cry of the baby is louder than it, the darkness fled like God suddenly shone a giant torch light at the world and it shun so glorious like the first ray of sunlight. The grass was greener and the sky was bluer and there were rainbows in it, everything was perfect and it all happened in an instance, the instant the baby cried all peace was restored and the turbulence and pestilences were gone. Coincidence, I think not.  

MY SAVIOUR, YOU THINK

They say when you die your life flashes before your eyes and usually you get some sort of epiphany, well something like that was happening to me right now, I thought as the man continued disfiguring my face with slaps and punches, and by that time I was already too tired to cry. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I had not planned my evening that I’d get battered and beaten by a white man, but it was exactly where I ended.

I had left the house for the egg store earlier in the hours. Mama had told me not to stay out too late due to the whole crisis and there was going to be a curfew at the black side of town and, I had to get back as soon as I can. So I didn’t even remember to take my jacket because I was in a hurry I hurried down the stairs very hurriedly and was soon on my way where only a black leggings and a skimpy green floral dress on.

“Talia how’s mama and papa today?” mama Rafi asked me as usual as soon as I got in front of the counter. She was one few black people that didn’t hate my papa.

“They very fine” I answered with a smile

As we conversed, all of a sudden there’s a loud noise a gunshot actually, a guy was trying to rob mama Rafi’s store,

“Everybody down” the masked man ordered

“You!” he pointed at mama Rafi

“The money now I haven’t got all day” he screamed at her as she fumbled out of fear to five him the money at the counter. The men had held us for a much longer time I was supposed to spend at mama Rafi’s and after he left, every customer left quickly not wanting the authority around, but mama Rafi did not call the police what the thieves had taken from her wasn’t as much as what the cops would take from her.

I left the store after mama Rafi had calmed down and was soon on my way back home, having it in mind I was going to tell papa about what had happened at mama Rafi’s. I was hurrying home as fast as I could, because it was getting really late. With the eggs in my hand, heart racing very fast and after what had happened earlier at mama Rafi’s, I had no more confidence to face more calamities. As I ran faster and faster, getting closer to home, just around the corner I could see my street up head, feeling a lot safe and no longer scared, I stopped for a minute to catch my breath close to a dark alley very close to the street.

As I stood up to continue, a white hand came out of the darkness and grabbed me by the hair with one hand, dragging me and covering my mouth with the other. I had a small stature and was very young it was pretty easy for him to pull me, I struggled as well and much as I my little strength allowed me but it wasn’t enough to get free from his grasp. He then released me closed to the end of the alley and stood blocking my way. He was a stereotype white man, tall, fat with a protruding belly, he was dressed like a biker with a jean jacket and dirty jeans pants and it was obvious he had been drinking because he so stank of booze and, the look he gave me was so savage, like a predator to his prey but in the present situation I was he’s to prey on.

“Make this easy for me and you’ll be on your way soon enough.” He said referring to me

“But, if you don’t then, we are goanna have ourselves an argument my little sweet thing.” He then added smiling widely and showing he’s dis-arranged yellow set of teeth.

I don’t know what he was expecting but all I knew was that I wasn’t goanna let his man touch me again and as soon as the thought came to me, I made a run for it but he was quite fast for a fat man, and soon caught me as I was about to make it pass him, he dragged me back quite violent that the force sent me to the floor, as I was about to scream he held my mouth nearly breaking my jaws as if he was going to twist them, the pain only made me want to scream more. To me it seemed the more I struggled the more he enjoyed it, and all the while he was smiling, the leggings I was wearing wasn’t a strong material, and he easily began to rip it off my body, as he concentrated on peeling off the leggings, his hand slipped into my mouth and I bit him really hard, he didn’t scream, he just began to batter on my head until I could not take it anymore and let go of it, even though I had the will to keep fighting, I had lost all strength to actually continue. Now he was mad, and I had given up, and, the only thing I begged for now was that he doesn’t kill me.

He continued disfiguring my face with slaps and punches, and at that time I was already too tired to cry. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. I prayed in my heart for a miracle because nothing short of this would have been enough to save me. He had torn open my blouse and bra included and had almost had his way with me and, at that moment, my miracle came.

He was tall, slim, and handsome for a white man with all that was dressed formally. He bashed the molester on the head and while he still struggled to get himself, my saviour, took me by the hand and pulled me away, both running away to no direction in particular. All my concern was getting away from the molester and, after about three minutes of running, we arrived at the front of a classic British sub-urban house and he took me in, it was apparently his house since he had the key in.

On getting in he had offered me his jacket and then gone inside to get some cocoa. He then came back and gave me come clothes to change into and handed me the cocoa and while I took it he asked me to narrate everything that happened and while I did, he listened, after the whole thing, he gave me a room to lay my head due to the fact it was already dark, this was the first time I had ever met a nice white man, I had taken my bathe and then changed into something more comfortable And, laid my head to sleep.

Later that night as I slept on the bed he had provided, I heard the door slowly creak open and due to the fact that the lights were off, I could see the long shadow of the person. It was him, my saviour, Alan was he’s name. I was a bit glad he was around, because I couldn’t sleep and was big scared. I pretended to sleep and he came around to sit at the side of the bed. He tapped me lightly and amorously, and at that moment I turned to face him with a smile on my face.

“I wanted to know if you were okay.” He said smiling at me

“Am much better sir, but I couldn’t sleep.” I answered him trying to sit up but he held me softly pushing me back on the bed.

“What’s with this entire sir? Call me Alan, we are friends aren’t we?” he said again

“We are” I answered smiling back He then began to touch me slowly and then started running his hands on my thighs softly. Now fear was beginning to set in. I was wondering what he was doing.

“Sir, what are you doing?” I asked fearfully as I tried to shift away from him.

“We are both adult and you understand what am doing, to be fair I really like you actually.” He said smiling and trying to pull me closer to himself as I struggled to get away.

“Please sir don’t do this to me, haven’t I gone through enough please sir.” I said pleading with him

“Am not trying to hurt you Talia, I want to love you” he said again still trying to draw me even closer.

Now I was completely scared. How can similar calamities happen to me twice in one night? This time I was willing to do anything to get away from him. I reached slowly for the table lamp beside me and smashed it on his head with one heavy swipe. He didn’t scream but got up staggering and nearly losing his balance. I got up and ran for the door only getting there to find out that he had locked it, I looked back and there he was standing dangling the key in front of me before shoving it in his pocket, the smile on his face had disappear and replacing it was a dark sinister expression less look. It was then I realised that there probably was no escaping this one.

“I cared for you and helped you and all I asked from you was just something small and you refuse me of it. Now am really going to hurt you.” He said not smiling at all As I was trying to plead with him, he didn’t even give me a chance and though he was slim, it turned out he had a lot of upper body strength. He easily lifted me and threw me across the room, my back shattering the table I tried to get up but couldn’t I had lost all strength and I was losing consciousness.

Out of some deep inside of my soul I summoned a strength I didn’t know I had and decided if I was going to go down I'd go down fighting. I lunged at him that it surprised him, but it wasn’t much of a fight, he just slapped me away right back to the bed. This time all I had on was the bath throb he had earlier given to me. Is was easy to get it off me but I made sure it wasn’t easy for him I held onto it strong enough he would have to tear it off my body, but he just continued hitting me until I let go of it. He removed the bath throb exposing my bare body, he started fondling on my just developing breast, and I tried as much as possible to stop him but he was obviously ready to kill me. He had beating me so bad that I could no longer lift a finger to resist and at the end of the struggle I had no choice than to let him have his way with me, I had never had sex before and I had to lose my innocence to a savage white man.

All the while he committed his atrocity, it hurt worse than even the beating I had received from both men that had assaulted me today, even as much as I cried and begged him to stop, he didn’t and just continued to satisfy himself and ignoring my cry of pain.

After he was done, he left me there broken, and innocence lost, there was blood all over from cuts tears and bruises I had gotten, I could not stop crying I couldn't believe this still happened to me, I was stake naked and all he did was get up and leave locking me in. after some minutes, he came back into the room facing me and standing without a single trace of guilt in his eyes.

“What else do you want to do to me, the only thing you can take from me right now is my life and right now I’d gladly give it to you.” I said to him

“Your life means nothing to me, you are worthless.” He said and dragged me out the bed with my clothes all ripped and all, I was screaming but he just hit me even more and kept dragging me until he finally pushed me out of his house and locked the door, where would I go now, it was the middle of the night.

Now am standing at the edge of a bridge completely naked and bruised all over ready to end my life and thinking how my life was ruined in just one night, thinking of the stigma I was going to live with and the things I’d have to face what if I get pregnant and give birth to a white's man bastard? I looked down into the river and without hesitation, let go of the railing and plunging to my death freeing me of the misery of this worthless life.

By joseph Mathew junior

The funny thing about movies

Just think about it, if you were allowed to make or direct you own movie, what would you do, with would it be like? Me for instance anybody that knows me well knows that I love movies, like I'd take time out of my schedule to watch a good movie, and if I'd be allowed to direct my own movie, I'd want it to be good. Am not pro-Nigerian movies or anti and neither am I pro-foreign movies or anti and just pro-good movie and anti-bad movie. My love of movies or basically and anything artistic makes me hate bad movies.

The funny thing about movies expecially Nigerian movies is the fact that sometimes I see some movies been aried and I wonder why it's even there. Their are so ridiculous that as an average movie audience, I wonder if the producers and directors even spent any dedication make it. Sure it obviously not easy to make a movie but I think if I have been making movies for forty years I ought to be good at it or at least better than I started.

I have seen some really good movies, great Nigerian movies in fact, mentioning a few names like October first, doctor Bello and others. October first had one of the most spectacular use of fantastic props I have ever seen in a Nigerian movie and the quality was breathe-taking. The customes were very convincing and so was the location. It made me feel like that must have been how it was in 1960. Though I thought the storyline could have been a whole lot better. But it was pretty good compared to a conventional Nigerian movie.

In an like ours where we have technology that should if not for anything give us quality movies, why do we still end up it lame ones? I have watched some movies and thought to myself "was this really made in 2015" some movies are to bad that if they were made in the 90s they'd still be bad. For having the biggest movie industry in the whole of Africa, we sure do make a lot of lame movies.

For instance, how can you make a movie where some one gets shot in the leg and ends up in the hospital with a bandage on his head. Or in a situation we can actually see that the guns are fake, why would you give a pistol the sound effect of an automatic rifle? As if it's not bad enough, so times you watch a movie and you see knockouts or "bangers" as popularly known in Nigeria jumping already the screen while guns are been shot. We are not stupid you know we can see Em.

Sometimes, someone gets shot and his blood spills on the camera. Isn't that taking it a little bit far. And you'd think in this age of such flamboyant cgi, Nigerian video effects should have improved but they are just as lame. What's with the Len flare they always use to symbolize disappearance?

I was watching a movie just today and you should see what flying looks like, it was just bad. Lemme talk about a movie that's quite popular on African magic, a quite recent movie at that. I won't mention the name but if you've watched it, am sure you would know it as I write along. The movie was so bad, I had no choice but to stop and watch it.

The very first scene I saw in this movie, depicts a man, a popular small person in Nigerian screens, under a mango tree with his so called girlfriend. He is supposed to be a musically talented person in the movie, and he's about to sing for his girlfriend. This is exactly how he looked like. He wore a netted singlet in the colour of the ghanaian flag I think, with an oversized shorts. Then he had something that could easily pass off as the hide of a dead goat on his head for a dreadlocks or "dada" as if all this wasn't bad enough, he had in his hand a broken-down lead guitar that God knows where they picked it from and was playing it, without light or an amplifier. And that wasn't enough or, he was also singing and playing it. But of the sounds where like they were dubbed over the video and it was obvious he wasn't really singing or playing. What would it actually take to actually dread his hair, or just give him a normal acoustic guitar? And every time in the movie he played and sang with the lead guitar without an amplifier and with that dead goat hide on his head.

It seems some Nigerian actors and directors don't know there's something called over acting, that's when your acting looks forced or its obviously fake and yet they dub themselves professionals. If you know your actors are not capable then don't put them in situations that with show their mistakes. And at least you can either re-act mistakes or just crop them out, but no, they are not that dedicated. You're watching a movie and someone just got shot and then they zoom in on the persons face who is supposed to be dead and you can see the person either blinking or breathing. Or someone is hanged or died in a hospital and they zoom in on the person's face and you can see the actor's eyes moving.

That's why it called movie magic. We know it's fake but it should look so real that we doubt that it fake, and kinda believe it can truly happen. Another thing gangstas don't have to dress like fools the way they are shown in Nigerian movies with their stupid fake accent. And not everybody who goes aboard comes back with and American accent. If he went to Britain he should come back with and English accent. And how can come travel abroad and without seeing the airport, the person gets deported and yes comes back with an accent. He was in America for like what two minutes?

Besides what's with the stupid effect of accident. When someone is about you have an accident, you show the car interiors and shake the cameras, so lame isn't there any other way, and also what's with the lame soundtracks that reminds you of what has happened in the movie previously? For instance ngozi, goes to Lagos and gets pregnant so the soundtrack of the movie will play "ngozi leave village go Lagos come get belle what a wicked world, chei ewo" and on and on, just crazy.

As much as there are lames movies there are great movies, that other movies should learn from. And I think there should also be a standard to Nigerian movies, so that not anything goes. And not only Nigerian movies are guilty of all these great crimes against my eyes and ears but others too. I was watching an Indian movie that also had such blunders. The blood looked red, not bloody but red crimson red like the flash. In fact everybody is guilty in fact. I think bad movies should be banned. It's not like we are not trying but there so kind of movies I don't expect to see anymore, there should be improvement. In Nigeria, some commercials or popular called advertises are have some much better quality and cgi than a regular movie why should it be so, Abeg make we improve o. God bless 9ga.

If you have any other blunders from movies that should be addressed or treated don't forget to leave them in the comments and also reactions too, cause I know not everybody will agree with me.

Life's symphony

Hello, this is not exactly an article but it's something I wrote a while ago, it's purely fictional and it's in preparation for my article on child abuse. It's a short story which I hope you guys enjoy.

With its own notes, life is like a symphony, it plays its own tone and like a flute, it is an instrument to different music the music of life makes us dance according to what we hear.  But to me, it’s not a pleasant one, it’s like salsa, very complicated. Its whispers are like the breeze of death to my ears and the pain of nine-inches nails stuck in my eyes. Nobody can adequately answer what life is in general but everyone reads he’s own meaning to life. If you ask me, life is sleeping with your problems and waking to find it multiplied in its folds. It’s the frustration of always trying again and again and failing even worst the next time.  It is the constant hard work that’s paid in sorrows and sadness. It’s the pain of childbirth and the anguish of an ocean of candles to a child’s grave. Life is worse than dying a horrible death. In the simplest of answers, life is hell. This is life from the perspective of a broken soul… You might ask me why but you will never understand even if you work a thousand miles in my flip flops, you’ll get it a hundred percent wrong.

I had not always seen life like this and neither did I start up bad but trust  me, the worst thing that will or can happen to someone is to taste the sweet, amorous and alluring taste of the good life and at the end of the day, crash from it. I had once lived like an emperor, do what I want, when I want but you would have thought all it needed for all that to change was just one, horrible night? My mother was the sole-provider of the family while my dad drank his soul away.  She had built up the family into riches from nothing but starches.  She had burnt herself body, soul and energy to make sure everyone including my wretched dad was comfortable but, yes he wasn’t.  He would come home as drunk as sleep and still beat her up and forcefully make love to her while physically abusing her.  He was a sadist. My mother was once a beautiful woman, a price for every man but now she was barely a shadow of her old self, looking haggard and far older than her real age. It was all out of the stress and abuse. That night, my father came home as drunk as usual; he was puking all over the place as headed for my mum’s room upstairs. And before he got there, he spilled and broke his beer and out of anger and frustration, he began to beat my mom again. He wasn’t always like this this either, but ever since he lost his job when I was seven was when he began his drunk adventure and took his frustration out through beating my mom.

As he beat her, she tried to run away from him but he pulled her by the hair and pushed her on the bed and went on pounding at her. As she struggled for her life, she felt a piece from the broken beer bottle and stuck it right into the side of his neck nearly severing his jugular vein, he fell straight to the ground, holding his neck as it continued to bleed with no sign of stopping. It was then he must have thought he could die and at that moment, he took her by the hair and dragged her down to the garage where he tied her up. As I watched through the keyhole after he locked me out, I saw him pouring some liquid on mum and then he lit a match with hate in his eyes, looked into her eyes and dropped it on her without hesitation. Within seconds, the flames had totally engulfed her, he watched her with a smile of satisfaction on his face as the whole house was drowned in her screams of anguish and pain, and without remorse in his heart, I could see total satisfaction in his eyes. I didn’t realize when tears started streaming down my face. What could I have done, I was only twelve.

He kicked open the door and saw me there. All he did was frown at me and threw me out of his way. Didn’t care for the repercussion of what he had done. He instead went to the kitchen to take another bottle of beer. I couldn’t believe what was happening, was happening. It was like a trance, a nightmare if I would say. How could one night go so horribly wrong? It was then it all sank in and totally mutilated my soul. He had killed her, he really had killed her! I recited in my mind to understand. It was then I did the unthinkable. I took a baseball bat from his collection and bashed him severally in his head while he stared at the TV “you killed her! You killed her!” I screamed. He got up in annoyance and lunged at me.

The rest that happened was just as surprising as what had happened earlier, he slapped me so hard I became disoriented before he tried to have sex with me. My own father was trying to rape me. I fought as hard as I could but the more I did the more he seemed to enjoy it. He went on with the beaten and after he had satisfied his lustful craze he left me beaten and broken down to my soul and went back to watch TV.

My own father no, Not my father, this DEMON couldn’t be my father. It was then I decided. I went to the drawers in the dining where he kept his revolver and picked it and while he still watched TV with his back turned, I shot that bastard. He was unlucky not to have died at once cause I went to him while he crawled on the floor with his last breathe and pumped the remaining five bullets into his head screaming and streaming down tears. Blood and brain matter everywhere. I left the house forever, with its horrors locked deep inside my now cold, dead heart. I now knew what it felt like to kill someone, to be a murderer… BY: joseph Mathew junior

The funny thing about love

Just think about it, what is love, Have you ever falling in love before, if you have, accept my heartfelt sympathy, if you haven't thank whichever God you believe in and a piece of advice stay away for love. If you want to be happy, love is not for you but if you want to be happy still love is for you. You cannot know the true meaning of hurting if you've never falling in love and can only truly feel hurt by someone only when you care for them. At the same time you cannot comprehend what love is if you've never gone through a world of hurt, if someone has never taken you heart, smashed it on the wall, took the pieces, pounded it into powder, blended it into paste and either feed it to you or blew it right in your face, And even after that, you just love the person even more, and then you've loved. I had always thought personal that although love existed, humans were usually incapable of loving and only few of us can actually truly love and even that is relative to an extent.

What exactly is love anyway, a lot of people have said a lot of misguided nonsense about what love is supposed to be some say "love is trust", some say "care", some even go as far as saying "love is the feeling you get like butterflies in your stomach when someone you care for is around you", my dear you go vomit, it's not love you're actually feeling nauseated, some others say "love is when you discover you can't do without or live without someone", my dear have you not be leaving before you meet that person, you're just simply either obsessed with that person or suffering a bad case of infatuation.

But what truly is love? Love is what a mother feelings for her baby as soon as he is born, the only love at first sight that exist actually. Love is jumping in front of a trailer to save someone you've don't know; love is what give mothers the power to lift cars off their babies if they have to. In short love is God and God, love. Am not trying to be spiritual but think about it, for a supreme being to sacrifice his only beget just for the fact that he loves you, and for his beget to willingly agree to the will of his father also for that same love he shares for you if that's not love then I don't know what is. Love is the ability to sacrifice anything including your life for the sake of someone else', love is giving your all to someone no matter how ungrateful and unmerited that person is. Love is when mothers stay hungry to feed their children, love is when fathers carter for the family with every fibre of their being and totally neglecting themselves, love is when your brother receives a bullet for you, love is the ultimate sacrifice you can give to anyone.

Still think you are capable of loving I don't think so, if you still do you deserved to be idolized and made a god, if you don't then trust me you are what you are human, the only true love I believe exist is the love of God. Someone wrote that the greatest gift of mankind was love, but I beg to differ, although love is the greatest commandment and testimony, what exactly allows us to love is hope, hope is the greatest gift of mankind, its hope that allows us to survive, hope allows us to keeping living without giving up, without hope, man would die out, would have giving up anytime new obstacles faced them, man has survival instincts, the drive to survive at all cost and the belief it will survive is driven by hope, that survival instinct is hope.

If you are conversant with Greek mythology, you will know the story of Pandora's box, after man was made, Prometheus the titan of mankind also the first man, was giving a wife by Zeus the king of the gods, called Pandora, she was the first woman and was engineered by Hephaestus with a lot of qualities including curiosity and stubbornness to cause the fall of man unknown to Prometheus, to further celebrate their wedding, Pandora was giving a box by Zeus that was sealed shut and was warned never to open it. And after a period of time she kept to the instruction until one day, her curiosity could not allow her the fact that she didn't know what was in the box, she thought to herself what could one peck do, and decided to look inside the box, at the brief moment she opened the box, every gift of mankind including eternal life went out of the box and when she shut it back the only gift of mankind remaining was hope which was the greatest gift of mankind.

And with hope anything can be lived through believing the future is going to be better and not worst, hope is what allows us to love and live, while achieving love is basically and nearly impossible, hope on the other hand is for everyone, everyone cannot but have hope and anyone can hope, and when life is hopeless then it's not worth living, and there's a popular saying that goes "when there's life there's hope and when there's hope there is life", it's also similar to the saying that goes "when there's a will there's a way and when there's a way there is will", its hope that gives you the will to find a way and keep moving forward, it's that same hope that gives you faith, faith is the evidence of things hoped for and not seen, as much as love is a beautiful thing, its survival is slim without hope. Beyond reasonable doubt, hope truly is the greatest gift of mankind.

Just think about it: The funny thing about education

Just think about it: The funny thing about education: Just think about it, education its not exactly compulsory but necessary, the funny thing is I don

The funny thing about education

Just think about it, education its not exactly compulsory but necessary, the funny thing is I don't even believe it for everyone. You will agree with me that there are a lot of Nigerians who go through school and end up not needing their certificate or end up in the labour market without employment. I saw a picture the other day, of a first class graduate with "juju" broomstick on his neck, trekking with his cv, looking for job.

When am talking about education I mean the formal education. Not everybody is meant to have a formal education. Sure the basics are needed, i:e the basic knowledge to read and write after that, formal education is not quite necessary. From a very young age, it is normal for everyone to grow up exhibiting either the potential for so. Thinbor the love of something. And depending on the talents, parents should know the way to go with the child. Wether formal education is for him or otherwise.

What Nigerian parents do, usually is to disregard this potential for future talent and try to tailor the child to their own taste. Earlier times, there were three professions every child was expected to be. Either a lawyer, doctor or an engineer. If everybody becomes just these three, who will manufacture goods, who will invest or account for money, who will grow food, who will manage the government, Who will do the other jobs?

For instance, when parents notice their child to have a potential for art, let's say the child has been drawing from age two, you would think the parents would encourage it. But instead, they'd beat the potential out of him or discourage him and try to force something else on him. What's wrong with wanting to dance, sing or paint life or marvel the world with poetry or invent something new?

I think to myself everyday that if I had been trained in the ways of business, investing and entrepreneurship from the age of two, I'd be a billionaire now. So instead of spending sixteen years to acquire a certificate I would never use or need only to end up starting a business I would have started sixteen years ago or end up in a job I won't be happy with and be terrible at. Considering these facts, my lot would have been better if I didn't go to school at all.

Nearly everybody who has a talent for arts is familiar with this. You tell your parents about what you like or what you are good at like for instance you meet your dad and tell him I wanna dance that's what I want to do. As a girl, you parents will go "are you crazy, is something wrong with you? Don't you know it's only prostitute that's dance? You want to waste your life Shey? You want to be one of those girls that expose themselves in all those music videos Shey" They say this not understand there are so many forms of dance and if it makes u happy and if you're good at it they should let u. As a guy you look your dad straight in the eye and tell him you want to go into music and he tells you this "is something wrong with you, you most have started smoking, you want to waste your life Shey? You want to be doing nigga, yo, yo on television Shey? Don't you know it's only drop out that do music? You need deliverance." or if you were much younger, your parents would try to beat the talent out of you.

It a good thing, times are changing gradually but the mentality still exist. How many doctors, lawyers and engineers are out there without anything to do, in Nigeria it doesn't matter what you study, the fact still remains if you're not extraordinary, you'd just be like the rest of us. It's different if you have the passion for one of these and you really want to not do for yourself and not because of parental pressure. Passion makes all the differences because passion makes one extraordinary while without passion you'd just be empty, terrible at your job chosen by your parents and living a miserable, unfulfilled life.

Most Nigerians have limited dreams because of the kind of society and family we grew up in or with. A typical Nigerian has very little ambition in life. We are born, we grow up, we go to school, we finish well, we get a good job, we get married, build family, and then we die what's the point? Where's the fulfilment in that? It's like we live to continue the family tree and nothing more, living without making any real impact on society. I grew up in a home were talent especially artistic talent was not encouraged, I had to hide these things I was actually good at and develop them in secret. And when I tried to express them, I would be told I was only thinking like a child. I was expected to read and read only. Half of those times my parents thought I was reading I was actually drawing. After a while, I kinda gave up on been my own individual and tried to flow with the stream of society but deep down, I knew it wasn't my way. Today if I had a child and I discovered that he's good in let's say music, after the basic learning how to read and write, he would do not but music. I'd gt him enrolled into a music school instead of a conventional school.

Now people are finally beginning to understand that it's not just enough to go to school and come out with first class because in the country we live in now, there's no job waiting for anyone, instead onku those with creative, innovative minds are surviving with ease. Now people are trying to go into entrepreneurship after wasting time in school acquiring a certificate useless to them or rendered useless by society. They now try to acquire skills to be self-employed and universities are also encouraging the study of entrepreneurship and adding it to their curriculum.

The most successful people in the world, without mentioning names are either school dropouts or didn't even bother to go in the first and instead used theymir time for better things. Doesn't that tell that though education is good and quite important expecially the basics, it limits ones potential and does not allow them to reach their maximum heights. How many first class do you see today making an impart on society. They are out there with the rest of us looking for jobs from those who didn't bother to either go or complete school.

Parents need to learn to allow their children to grow God giving potentials and creativity rather than force formal education on them. I think the more creativity is encouraged in society, the better the society would be in future and the less we would have bitter, frustrated Nigerians login unfulfilled lives. God bless 9ga o.

Funny thing about abortion

Just think about it, I personally wonder why abortion was made legal in some country, I personally think it's not right. I have seen a lot of girls get pregnant at out wedlock and stuff. It was always cool when you're doing it, right lol But when it backfires, girls go crazy and guys run away. Usually. The funny thing about abortion is that when you ask most girls about it if they can or cannot do an abortion, those girls always tend to go if they got pregnant they would keep the baby and stuff. If only it was that easy, won't we all keep it.

I have girls who went all "I will never do an abortion, if I ever get pregnant ganant I'd keep the baby" and then when they get pregnant the story changes it goes "how will I face my parents, oh the Shame oh the stigma" and the lament about it until at the end go I can't keep this baby and get rid of it. Personally am totally anti-abortion all the way but I usually think to myself if I ever get a girl pregnant, especially a girl I don't like would I be brave enough to keep the baby? Well I often tell myself I would. But the truth is until you're actually faced with that kind of decision, you can't say actually what you'd do.

I really respect girls who get pregnant and had the boldness to face it all and not take the easy way out. It not easy to have an abortion, to actually kill something that's alive, no be beans oooo. As I dey Sef I fit kill chicken. Abortion is not easy o, if you know someone who has done it, ask them. From hear say, I hear it like super painful, maybe labour-pain painful I not sure, and you run the risk of either losing your life or never giving birth again, like if the doctor dey crazy, he will just up root your womb completely. Abortion is so illegal in his country that for even giving someone an address to get it done, you could be arrested. I have an idiot friend who actually feel victim of his from his stupidity and no be him even give the girl belle oo, imagine looking for such wahala.

Anyway doing an abortion takes serious balls but keeping a baby out of wedlock, especially when the guy Denys it or worse runs away to cotonuo, changes his identity and starts selling socks, three for fifty naira to avoid been a dad, is even harder and takes bigger balls. I respect girls who don't do an abortion but frankly I respect girls who don't even get pregnant at all even more. It really difficult to decide to keep a baby even you didn't want. Especially knowing that it would affect everything in your life, you might either have to stop school or go to school heavy making it difficult and you should consider the stigma too. We can trust Nigerians to do that to you. Especially if you're a girl nobody expected would get pregnant. Then all those busy bodies would go "eh so this girl is like this all this while and she was pretending to be good. God Don catch am" No be God catch her, so to speak she was just unfortunate.

Guys Sef, most guys, not excluding me are so reckless. They don't even think about it sometimes. Because no be you go carry the belle Shey? A friend once told me if guys were made to carry the first pregnancy and experience labour and the whole nine months ish, they would never have sex again talk less of an unprotected one. I remember my younger days, I had a girlfriend whom I tot got pregnant for me. I no go lie o, fear catch me. I was so scared like I was thinking to myself I was ready to go married neither was I ready to have a kid. It would ruin my plans for life.

I went home, that was before she got it confirmed, and I was thinking, if she really was pregnant what would I do? Would I have the balls to keep the baby. Though what if she decided she didn't want it. I was so concerned and it was also during exam time. What would happen if she was, I'd be devastated true but I said I'd keep the baby. Then, that day, that was the day before she took the test. I was in my bathroom, I sat on the toilet bowl and prayed for the first time in months and I wasn't close to God then. I said to him "God, if this girl is not pregnant, I would go to church everyday and I would change. I would never look at women again in my life" that was the prayer I made is what fear can cause?

Well the next day she had the test and called me to come over. I was like I don die, this girl Don get belle, my life is over. When I got there, she was like she was pregnant. My heart just cut. Then she said she was two months pregnant and I had only known her for one month. I no go lie o, I had never been so relived in my life. I was like I guess god did not abandoned me, turns out her ex-boyfriend was the father and she had been pregnant the whole time I knew her. Crazy right? Well the point is that she was really brave about the whole thing, though she cried like everyday. True I was relieved but I felt such pity for her to be so unfortunate. It wasn't her fault it was life. I tried to encourage her not to get rid of it, and was there for her the whole time. Not as a boyfriend though but as a friend. And she was really been so brave about it. The only problem was that she then decided to get rid of the baby behind my back and lied to me that a doctor told her something was wrong with the baby and she had to get rid of it. After I saw a conversation she had with a friend about no longer having the strength to keep the baby. The point am trying to make is that it's not easy.

Don't laugh or mock people who get Into though situation. The promise I had made to God I didn't keep, been young and stupid. And still continued. How I never got any girl pregnant God knows. The whole point is that even if though keeping an unwanted baby is probably the hardest situation anybody in that situation will probably ever face and even though abortion seems to be the easy, quickest way out, but at the end, it will pay not to do it, at least in the long run, cause at first you'll probably even regretting keeping the baby, but it's worth it.

The funny thing about suicide

Just think about it, I live in a country where a lot of things happen. But suicide isn't really one of them. Do you know Japan is one of the countries with the highest rates of suicide in the world? People are always killing themselves over very dumb issues basically because their emotional threshold is not as strong as that in Nigeria. We Nigerians can take anything. It like it never happens, like one in a billion. But even in those cases, they are usually new generation Nigerians who act like they are American. Nigerians don't just have the balls to kill themselves. A typical Nigerian who plans a suicide will also plan a rescue mission for himself.

Quick example, a guy is fend up with life and decides to kill himself. He decides he's going to make a cocktail mix of Ariel, make a toast to his life, drink it and die. He takes the detergent looks at it for a while, then pours it in a bucket and begins to wash his clothes realise it's just not worth it.

Another instance where he decides to hang himself, he would take a rope to somewhere he knows someone would pass and see him, then he'd tie it into a nuzzle, stand on a stool and put that nuzzle in his hand and wait. As soon as he sees someone passing, he would put the nuzzle on his neck and then threaten to kill himself loudly saying "I will kill myself o"

Depending on the kind of person that comes by, two scenarios would play. The first one is if the person is nice, he would probably begg him out to do it and being Nigerian and stubborn, the suicidee(allow me to use that made up word ooo) would insist on killing himself, naturally the nice Nigerian would give up and decide to leave him to his decision which would change as soon as the person opinion changes. This will result to him going back home without killing himself.

The Second scenario that might play will involve a Nigeria who probably just doesn't give a shit(mind my language) the same situation the suicidee sees someone coming and screams that he'd kill himself but this time the person encourages him to kill himself that what's he's business. He even goes further been a good, bad Samaritan and kicks the stool from under him. Now on the verge of dying, the suicidee begs to be saved now realising it not worth it, at the end of the day he gets rescued but picks a fight with his good, bad Samaritan for trying to kill him.

Another classic scenario is a Nigerian who goes to the top of a building is in tears and screams that he would jump and kill himself if nothing is done, the police is called and they arrive very late keeping the suicidee to wait for hours. After they arrive, the suicidee repeats he's threats
"I will jump o" he screams
"jump now" replies the police
"we don't have all day joor" They add
"am not joking I will jump oo" he screams again
"ohh if u want to jump, jump some of us have jobs unlike u" They reply back
"I will jump except you gimme money" he says again
Now this time the police lose their patience and says to him "guy, nobody has money to give you,if you wan jump, jump. Abi u want me to come and push you by myself...?" he ask
At this point the man about to commit suicide is now truly scared and then replies "don't worry I will come down by myself"
"guy don't worry don't come down again just jump, in fact am coming up to push you down" says the policeman
No sooner after he said that, the suicidee comes down and they proceed on giving him the beating of his life inches away from death. At this point the man will never try it again. They also charged him for attempted suicide and fraud in the sense that he was trying to scam people by faking attempted suicide end of story

We are Nigerians, suicide has never been the answer, we strive, we survive, we have reasons to kill ourselves but we don't because we hope, that's why we are rated one of the happiest people in the world. I have never exactly been to Lagos before but I hear some people live under the bridges there and yet we don't see a lot of them throwing themselves of it. We are very strong people who survive any means necessary because of how hopeful we are and how adaptive we are, I actually love Nigeria to an extent and God bless 9ga oooo.