Chizoba was it? Maybe Chibuzo. My first experience with love, like most humans, would be with receiving love and care from my parents, the elders in my family then my siblings. But that is expected, it is the way humans are. My first experience with love in a way that was visceral would be when I was 6. The northern architecture is beautiful, so much so that you must experience it to understand...
Today I saw an “elaborate” ghastly accident on my way to work. A truck carrying cement was turned upside down with it’s sixteen tires facing up. I did not see any bodies. I hoped they were no bodies. I found out that the driver of the other car in the collision broke his neck. I do not know how a humans body works when a neck is broken, but I find myself hoping the owner survives the accident...
It was a Monday morning, and my dad was taking me for registration in the most prestigious primary school in Zaria, Kaduna State. I was excited because I had new uniforms, new white socks, a new school bag, new books and pencils, you know the feeling that comes with having new things. I was being registered to begin nursery one. My first encounter with anxiety was a few weeks into the...
There are some things I find questionable about humanity. When asked where I am from, I am expected to say unequivocally where my father is from. I love my father a lot. Almost more than I love my life. So that is not the point of this sentence. Bearing a child does not necessarily make you a parent. Nurturing and raising one does. While it makes absolute sense that a child must bear the father’s...
My time in Enugu taught me a few things about myself, in the way travelling does. I have a great fondness for locales with lots of old trees clustered together. And so I loved the village a lot. It was free, it was fun, I was very happy. Travelling engages you especially for a child’s curious mind. I asked an endless numbers of question on my first sights of many things. The zuma rock was...
Nkita was the first Igbo word I learnt. I do not think I knew another Igbo word for a long time after that. I am fluent in my language now. I will tell you the story of how I learnt to speak it later. During the time I spent in Enugu away from Kaduna, I managed to drink kerosene because I thought it was water. I had my first taste of breadfruit. I did not like it then. I do not like it now. My...
Have you ever felt that nagging voice telling you to take a chance? Some call it gut, instinct, or holy spirit others even call it the devil. Two years ago, I was in a similar situation. To explore the unfamiliar region and embrace the unknown, I felt driven to leave the safety of my comfort zone. I used to consider failure to be a dead end. I resisted stepping outside my comfort zone since the...