Category Stories

When my daughter was born, we didn’t have a normal naming ceremony. You know the kind with happy faces and congratulatory stares. There were sad faces and gloom in the air. We all knew there was a problem right after…

My parents kept trying to have a boy but ended up with seven girls. I am the last of the pack of seven (now six). I am fond of saying I come from a “girl’s hostel”. Back then, people would…

You could see the concern on their faces. My family was used to seeing artists by the roadside, trying to sell portraits of celebrities and politicians to passers-by. I had taken an interest in art, and they were afraid for…

My daughter Beulah was born with a congenital limb deformity.  In the first few years after we had her, I was devastated. She was to be amputated at 27 months old, and I cried every day non-stop for those 27…

I can remember, my mom would trek long distances to fetch clean water for me and my eight siblings. This wasn’t our reality alone, it was for a lot of people in the community. My community had a lot of…

I loved watching my dad dress in his robe, and a wig on his head. As a child, he was my first introduction to what a lawyer looked like and what the justice system was. I grew up to dislike…

Alhaja gave me the name Abimbola which means born with riches. “I come from a bloodline of very strong, selfless women”. I have worn many hats in the course of my life, but this one describes me the most. My…

I remember telling my parents I was not going to be a missionary.  My dad, displeased with what he was hearing, said to me “we will see about that”. My mom, however, asked me one day “David, do you know…

My journey into the world of mental health is a deeply personal one, filled with experiences that have shaped my passion for helping others navigate the complexities of their own mind. In 2017, just six months after giving birth to…

Many years ago, my father came to Kaduna as an Almajiri child. The odds were stacked against him, there was no way he wouldn’t live all his life on the streets. Unlike many of his peers, he was able to…