THE DYNAMIC HAJIA

  ''There is every tendency that you will make the best research and yet, give an ineffective presentation" - Seyi Odebode. The maxim above will forever linger in my memory. And each time I remember, reasons to never allow the mistake I made on the 11th of February, 2020 reoccur strike me. Long before I gained admission into higher institution, I've always written beautiful piece and thus gave me the confidence to grasp, with no iota of doubt in my ability, at the opportunity to represent my department in the debate competition organised for freshmen in the faculty. Yes, I prepared assiduously for the competition but ironically, my performance was far from being efficient and the reasons are not far-fetched. First, the various facets of arts (writing and speaking being vital) but sadly, I hadn't understood this concept at the time of the debate. Dating back to elementary school, I've always being eager to speak as much as I write then and recounting all the tim...

  After pushing the publish button on the 4th of March, 2021, I knew it would be a goodbye till the end of the semester. Have you ever been in a situation where no motivation could stop you from bidding a farewell to what you love the most? Dear dynamite, never have I thought I'd go into a 'writing recess' for this long. I know you never did too. I'm sorry for being away for eons (pardon my hyperbole. Lol). Over the past few months, several loyal readers of my articles have DMed me on Whatsapp with questions like, 'have you stopped writing?', 'have you really been so busy?', 'where have you been?', etc. To kick off with my explanation/answers to those questions, I need you to know that I will NEVER quit writing. The very first moment I penned a piece down, I vowed not to to quit and yes, I'll never revoke the vow. Dear reader, if you are doing anything of value, do not ever stop, yes! the world would give you reasons to withdraw and discard i...

  Waking up to Dups every single rise of the sun; the light peck on my cheek, the long, warm hug and the gaiety on his face all account for my joy as a woman. Even as a teenager, I found myself in the midst of handsome, dark, huge guys and luckily, the man I am married to is all I've longed for.     A one-time queen of my faculty, I have the mesmerising charisma that would render any man agaze, so I am not astonished that the 'ladies' man (Dups) became my king. Dups and I had our first meeting during the freshers orientation program in our college, he sat by me and in no time, we engaged in a conversation but unfortunately, we forgot to exchange our contacts. Few weeks later, we bumped into each other and that time, we conversed more. It was during our conversation that I got to know that we were in the same faculty, he was a medical student while I was a nursing student, how great that was! His alluring personality couldn't make me decline his offer of friendship on th...

VEILED  Old Mamman : Forever would you be in bondage In your life book, sadness shall dwell on each page You would wear beyond your age For you have been bereft and thrown in cage  Lady Maryam :  Beneath my veil I merry and gale For in spirit I am hale And I stand tall beyond your tale Old Mamman : How pretty you look uncloaked Wit' your silky hair being flicked You could be mistaken for a mermaid So sad you choose to veil up like a maid Lady Maryam : Have you heard of the inner beauty? Which outshines that of the bona vardering peacock Even the rose's petals bow For my heart is clean, hence, my beauty cannot escape  Old Mamman :  Art thou not abashed? Your sheen hair veiled and your voice hushed Your loose dress like chemise Has kept away the charming Prince  Lady Maryam :  Look you, Fortune Hunter My Rabbi hath made for me my destined lover And forever shall I shield my hair For the man who is my dear. #Dedicated to all Muslimahs across the globe ...

  Nigeria, September 24, 1999. Grumbled to fly out of the bed My Eyelids clung fondly to each other I was --------- not blind, but lost sight My darling pupil lost its potency -------- it was all dark Goose pimples resonated with the contraction of my hair erector Hay! My legs rejected impulse from the effector My legs shook in pity ------ they were useless My heart raced faster than Usain Bolt In the eighth minute My inner spirit whispered 'Anike, you are in the land in yonder' 'Oh! I'm dead', I muttered I was woken by grandma's voice She came to drop the goods invoice I sat jumbled ---- I narrated my ordeal Grandma bewildered, she shouted, 'you were dead but Eledumare returned your spirit' * Paris, December 27, 2006. * Still in the yuletide mood The jolly was in its highness in my hood Big Cousin and I toured the street and many girls were wooed Accolades to our feet, we would have been sued I tucked in my bed in the third hour ...

From the merry of the Yuletide celebration to the felicity of the New Year jubilation, lo and behold! here arrives a new dawn; a new dawn not to start all over but to build upon all that have been acquired in the previous year and eliminate/ discard those which would wreck us. One of the bloopers we've made over years is believing that a new year metamorphosizes to grant us the best, nay! life doesn't give us what we deserve but we demand and strive for. It's just a complete revolution of the earth around sun, buddy, hence, nothing's gonna change unless you catalyze it. I have not written this to dampen the hopes you have for the new 365 days journey but to help retract your heart from building a castle in the air and further motivate you as usual.      While we were young, we urged our parents to get new set of stationery for us for it's the beginning of a new year! little did we know that  we were meant to constructively build on our 'A, B, C' lectures fro...

 BROBDINGNAGIAN BLOOPER The title sounds suicidal, right?LOL Well, it is simply an enormous/gargantuan mistake. As I held my pen to make jottings on the topic, several common mistakes we make as sapiens diffused into my cerebrum, some of  which would be highlighted in this article. Before proceeding to read the critical aspect of this article, I would like to call your attention to some things, dear reader; mistakes are inevitable and consequential part of our lives, hence, they are things that distinguish us as humans and if you're a victim of any of the mistakes to be mentioned, I'd congratulate you because this piece has specially been written for you. Happy reading! Read, diffuse, infuse and eject  the common mistakes below; TRYING NOT TO MAKE MISTAKES; 'To win, you must lose, like wise, to achieve perfection, you must make mistakes', yes! you read that correctly.  In one of my previous articles where I stated that failure is a recipe for success, I got some peop...