The Otula Ite is burnt, some part charred, yet it is the part we fought over. Your value is not in what you look like; it is in what you are inside which is unique in the whole wide world. When I see the Otula Ite now and how it is often neglected, etc, I understand clearly that our value … Read More
‘Otula Ite’ – The Scramble For Joy
A few times while growing up we fought over food. Not because there wasn’t enough food for everyone but well if you said it wasn’t enough you won’t be wrong – there was never enough of the favorite part of the food which we fought over. This food crisis always surfaced anytime the offering was a porridge – Otor, yam, … Read More
Aminu Usman – A Good Man Exits
When she approached us with her tale, we burst into laughter but as the woman’s demeanor dropped we became more empathetic. Aminu took the lead in calming and reassuring her that ‘it is ok’. As the lady strode out to implement the tips we had given her, we descended into the savoriness of the African Pear the Igbos call Ube. … Read More
Content. Untainted. Uncompromised.
Make you full your belle before you go, before you comot from your house Ensure you have had a meal, no matter how meager Then you will not be enticed by their delicacies Your decisions will not be tainted by the snare of a rumbling stomach And you will be telling the truth, When you tell them that you are … Read More
The Dilemma of Reuniting With a Lost Friend
It would be great to reconnect with you, my old friend. How I have looked forward to this day since we parted ways eons ago. But the big question is: what are we going to do & talk about when we meet? Within a few minutes of reconnection after the hugs & back-patting have been exhausted, will silence set in? … Read More
Them Tribute Hunters
Should I say the man is kind, loving, and helpful whereas he is the very opposite, and really is an epitome of meanness? Should I say he is godly and wise and is a scion of integrity whereas we all know differently? ‘Say good things because he’s retiring o!’ They would insist. What if he’s the bastion of corruption, an … Read More
Don’t Envy Her, She Envies You!
lllk Every day they pass each other on the trail, my exercise trail for health, for balance Each of them with some regrets that I could feel One to worship & sad that all her expectations have not been met and what she thinks the other has, she lacks The other to catch some sleep & sad that what the … Read More
Gizzard Wonder
It is still one chicken, one gizzard right? One chicken has to be ‘harvested’ for one gizzard to be available for food. Abi e don change? The number of gizzards I see every day, I am concerned about the number of chickens that must go under the knife. Abi does Gizzard grow in the lab or some chickens grow more … Read More
Naira Round Trip
Will the particular Naira note you spend ever come back to you? That was a question that troubled me as a boy & so I wrote my initials on every note I used to be sure it is the same notes when I received them. As I paid for fuel this evening & saw a signed note among the bunch, … Read More
Bread and I
Whenever the annals of this world are written & earthly delights are collated, freshly baked bread will be in the top echelon. The smell & taste of freshly baked bread has to be among the joys of life. – Weli Kemka Bread and I have had a chequered history. Right beside my school was Unity Bakery, just where the Bus … Read More