IN THE AIR
It’s about 7 pm and you can hear the excited intrusion of sirens blasting in the distance. I move away from the window and my eyes catch the strenuous rise and fall of Baami’s chest. Baami had come down with a strong fever, but we cannot get him to a…
DASHED HOPE
Oseaguina was perplexed to hear his wife say, “Papa Ehijele, dis year go beta for us.” Like him, anyone in his place would have doubted the optimism of his wife, Betty. Though he was a very hard-working commercial bus driver, the breakdown of his vehicle…
JUST FOR THE RICH?
“Where is your mother?” Friday thought he heard his father’s voice ask. Obiora stepped out of the cluttered room he shared with his wife and youngest son, and stumbled slowly into the adjoining living room, while bemoaning the heat in their small and…
CONSANGUINITY
“Thank you Femi.” Asabi thanked her nephew at the door, while her daughter stared at her with a scorching gaze, “God bless you my son.” Drawing the curtain, Asabi cradled the basket of food he brought for them to her chest, like a miner’s gold. She…
LIFE IS HARD!
Soon, mom would walk through that door reeking of sweat and exhaustion. Her face would be ridden with a strain that marks any mother of five. And when night falls, Chike would scuffle in too, more beat than mom would be. This has become our life since…
A LASH GONE SOUTH
“Hey! Stop there! I say stop! You no dey hear word, kwo? I go burst your tire!” Danjuma seethed. He thought he had successfully boycotted these unlucky fellows, by following a shortcut through the streets. Now they were here like fierce…
THIS ONE WILL PASS!
I have known poverty and it is not just the scarcity of wealth but the dearth of hope. I remember that morning in June when papa came in much earlier, the schools were on break and Adanna and I played video games in the parlour. He walked briskly past us…
I AM NOT A THIEF
Fear was nothing compared to what Olufemi felt as he ran for his life. An angry mob wielding Sticks, Machetes and other dangerous objects pursued him, shouting in his local Yoruba dialect “Ole! Ole!!” which means “Thief! Thief!!”. Recently, perceived…
BROKEN!
I was in school when it started, that was in March and the news was all over the media. It was no longer rumour that covid-19 has found its way into Nigeria. The number of cases increased each day, and the death toll was rising too. My school passed a…
INDELIBLE EXPERIENCES
“Where is mummy?” my younger sister enquired. “Why is she not eating?”I looked up from my breakfast of watery tea and a nearly spoilt loaf of bread to mum’s seat.Empty.“Recently, she has been skipping breakfast and lunch,” she continued. “Why are we even…