Writing Hours

  We finished cooking last night and the traditional eager faces by the door and the queue to go grab plates and head to the stove didn’t happen. Instead, I had to traipse around from door to door,   “Myself and your little brother finished cooking like half an hour ago, aren’t you hungry?” The few who were hungry promised to come eat later.  Later was much later as I already ate and was asleep, their party-like noise woke me up. And I envisioned them walking around the living area, plate in hand, un smoothed semolina and okra soup in the same pasta dish as they chatted about colleagues, classmates, hobbies and what they would rather be eating.  We had God and community while raising the children and I had a lot of good times but last night, I think I stumbled upon the crux of the matter. That they couldn’t wait to grow up so they can do things their way!  Okra has always been a thing to celebrate, even in my late mom’s kitchen so I’m trying to understand. Gggrr...

  Tales from Church.   There’s    days you’re required to enter his gates with praise and thanksgiving then use your shakara to win souls to the glory of God. I had one of those opportunities and I’m horrified to say that I blew it. Despite the fact that I had a modest book business of my own, I was a teeny bit scared of the boss at the other side gig so I tried to texturise my hair and accidentally fried it.  Then reduced my work wardrobe to an array of assorted black trousers and different coloured blouses. Then one day, I watched myself walk past the usher at church in his gorgeous grey suit in my black trousers and the purple top I wore to work on Tuesday. Then I was purchasing    tops from Oxford street, we ran into a Nollywood actor in front of Dorothy Perkins, stared at him then walked past. It’s not every time you run into photo ops with the daughter! I kept my old Nokia N97 after their satellite was shut down and didn’t get the iPhone my local...

  One day, I was working in a new school I’d never been to before from my education agency. It was a winter’s early drizzly morning outside which meant it was still dark outside. Reception was closed so the people who let me in pointed me to the staff room. The headteacher came in and assigned me a class before he left early.   Someone else came in much later and asked me if I came from an agency. I said yes.  She asked what class I would be working with and I told her, year four.  Later as we were leaving the staff room, someone’s mother started screaming and shouting that she came to work with year four. She was being really loud and tried to drag the bannister on the stairs with me till she was restrained. She now told them her name and her agency and that she was sent to work with year four instead of me.  They then asked me and I told them my name and my agency name and offered to show them my id. I also told them, I spoke to the head teacher himself in the...

 We found feminism in the Holy Bible and thought we’d share with you today.  In the olden days when children went to apprenticeships instead of school, it meant that you could send your daughter to be an apprentice dressmaker in exchange for the dressmaker’s son coming to be an apprentice media mogul in your company. Feminism now means that she can choose whether to be a dressmaker or a media mogul. Praise God! Hurray!  Also it appears Tonto Dike reached out to help single parents and abandoned children like a true African Auntie and Nwọkpụ.  Meanwhile,  Job 42:15 KJV And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. Disclaimer; I am a woman and I work towards the liberation of women.

  When I was little, I thought that the adults went to funeral wakes so they could ambush the spirit of the deceased leaving their body and yell at them, “ Where do you think you’re going? Who are you leaving your responsibilities for? Get back in there! And if á burial happened afterwards, it meant they failed.  🥲  And you know African mothers know how to shout at you,  spirit and body to the point where you hear it in a previous life.  You’re just sitting there eating a cold lunch in front of your blue screen with emails to write and some woman starts yelling at you. You complain about it and they tell you, it’s your fault. You must’ve done something… And they failed a lot till one day, one guy walked into his own funeral and everyone ran away. Which made me wonder if they really did want what they claimed to be looking for.  😁

  When I was little, I thought that the adults went to wakes so they could ambush the spirit of the deceased leaving their body and yell at them, “ Where do you think you’re going? Who are you leaving your responsibilities for? Get back in there! And if á burial happened afterwards, it meant they failed.  🥲 And they failed a lot till one day, one guy walked into his own funeral and everyone ran away. Which made me wonder if they really did want what they claimed to be looking for.  😁