So, I remembered a man today. I remembered a man who preaches the word of God along the road to a campus in my sister's university. Almost all the students who attend or have attended the University of Port-Harcourt for the past five years will not deny the fact that they have met this man once in their lives. What is unique about this man is the fact that he has been doing what he has been doing for more than five years!
So, I was thinking about him today. I was trying to understand how someone can become so faithfully dedicated to a particular cause. This man, who is the hero of today's entry has spent roughly every single day over the past five years with a microphone on his hand, under the hot sun of Nigeria, rebuking people for their wrong and calling them back to do the right thing. My thoughts are with him, and although he may not be an agnostic like me, I still respect the consistency he possesses.
My birthday was not celebrated the way that I wanted. There was no cake. There were no balloons. Just me and Uncle Max taking biscuits and groundnuts from a large tray with a lotus symbol at its centre."So how old are you today?" Uncle Max asked."I am plus one," I said with such confidence befitting of a native fowl that is about to prepare for defeathering."So you are not going to tell me your age?" Uncle Max persisted."I thought I told you now.""When?""Come on, Uncle Max. I am plus one. That is my age."Uncle Max shook is head in a way that signified he wasn't afraid of questioning me until he got what he wanted."Plus one is an addition not an age," Uncle Max argued."What is the meaning of age, Uncle Max?""If I must tell you, an age is the number of full years, months, days, hours, etc., that someone, or something, has been alive.""Good!" I complimented. "So you agree it is a number?"
Is it crazy when you walk up to a girl and put your hand across her shoulders when you just met her for the first time? Is it silly to stick your lips for a kiss and close your eyes when your lover is looking away? Is it stupid to tell your uncle that you felt bad when you saw him kissing his lover? Lots of silly and crazy things happen everyday and the beautiful thing about life's design is the possibility of every human being to be a part of it like I was part of the swimming pool show on my birthday."Are you feeling better?" Uncle Max asked me today."No I am not. Leave me alone."
I was in my room studying for my fifth WAEC exam when Uncle Max informed me that he was going out with Miss Bisi. He placed some naira notes on my bed and told me I was free to use them whenever I wanted. Of course, I knew I was free to use the money for whatever I wanted and whenever I wanted but it was like a basic requirement for Uncle Max to show me the way before giving me the privilege to proceed of my own accord. Understand?Uncle Max and I sat for a while, our bodies far apart as if the room was bigger than the way it already was. His lips circled then stopped. He opened his mouth and let out some fresh air."Thank you for understanding how I feel. I wanted to say something the other day," Uncle Max said, pressing his palms together. It was only proper for me to keep quiet and give him the opportunity to express himself, but I did not care; there were a lot of things going on in his mind that I didn't care about."The time is running as fast as lightnin
Goodness would have refused if he was given a second chance to express his views concerning the issue but he had gotten caught up in his own thoughts and resisted any further reasoning. He tried to talk again, but he found himself held in place by some unseen force. Not the kind of spiritual force that most Nigerian televangelists will be eager to attribute but the solemn voice of his heart reminding him that he had made a decision that he couldn't change."Do I have another chance to reject what I have said," Goodness said to his father as they sat under a mango tree close to their house. He felt himself grow faint and imagined falling forward, catching himself on the table in front of him and then vanishing with no trace."I can't go the northern part of Nigeria," Goodness continued. "It is too hot and I have no word to describe the terrorism.""No one wants this as much as you do, Goodness. Breathe peacefully and let those evil thoughts end right along
I started today by thinking about life and a huge aspect of me that I haven't shared with some of you who are reading this book if not all of you. I want to share that aspect of me now.So there is this feeling you sometimes get when you think you have met someone who will be important in your life. This feeling serves as a drive to your work or as a motivation to keep on going even when you feel you are no longer getting to somewhere reasonable. I know some of you have had this experience sometimes. You may be taking a walk through the sidewalk or probably pondering how miserable your life has been that day then all of a sudden you see that special someone among the midst of a crowd of people and your heart will just rejoice and take a giant leap.Well, this is not an entry you should waste your time reading but a way for me to assure you that there are still some good people in this world that you are yet to meet! A lot of us here have been involved in bad rela
She is the beauty you never seem to notice in a crowd. Yes! I am referring to Miss Bisi! She is the silent noise that never yells. Yes! I am still referring to Miss Bisi! I guess I always knew that Uncle Max would find someone special in his life. Oh! I am just grieving for a love I never knew or probably a love I never thought existed. Just not being important in a gathering is like attempting to break a hard rock. But, when comfort comes from a stranger who lives miles away from home and you wake up in that stranger's bed, you tend to view life in a different way. Am I right?I don't think love existed! I don't think love exists! There is just some unnecessary attention directed towards you and then you start to feel better than the rest; you start to feel like you are flying on top of a moon, wearing a short and a shirt with frayed arms. Some days we don't like to talk about certain things due to the fact that they all se
Dear Delaney,Is everything alright? Do you remember when we used to run on the streets with our hearts at the top of the world? Yeah, those days were quite interesting. It was great to hear from you. It is always great to hear from you, Delaney. Do you miss me a lot? Because I do miss you a lot!I couldn't send you a message or a letter for some obvious reasons. I watched a great movie today. It was really good and I thought about you after the movie. I know we didn't really get on the right path because I was really over demanding. I know I hurt you and I am really sorry for that. I hope this message brings peace into your heart! I hope you fulfill all your dreams!Hey! I will have to admit that I have thought about you several nights. You know I don't believe in God but I still managed to pray for you a few times, wondering how you were doing, and when I read your letter in Port-Harcourt, it made me sm
A lot of people have told me once or twice that I have an insatiable desire for knowledge and I agree with them, I just can't stop learning."You know there is going to be a ceremony when I propose to Miss Bisi," Uncle Max announced as I sat at the back of Miss Bisi's car."And that is only if she agrees to be my wife, because if she doesn't, there will be no ceremony. I will make sure there will be no party in any place close to my house," Uncle Max added."But who is going to marry me if it is not going to be you?" Miss Bisi asserted, smiling to herself."We just need a ring and an audience," Uncle Max repeated the same thing he said a week ago; a day after my birthday."And who is going to get the ring if it is not going to be you?" Miss Bisi fired again."Me! Me and me alone!""No, I am serious, Max," Miss Bisi insisted. It was the third time I heard her call Uncle Max by his first name."I am serious too. I will get you the ring w