Maintain your lane- Golden Rule of a successful Marriage An older woman told me a story once, which at the time I felt was totally unsolicited and unnecessary but that’s story for another day. The story goes thus. In the olden days a young woman married the love of her life and was very content. Her husband was a hard worker and supported her as best as he could. She was a stay at home mum. All was well until her friend who we’ll call ‘Tojubo’ started to visit. Tojubo would tell her how lovely Mr Tojubo was and...

NO MORE SHADES by Yemisi Wada   When the slap landed on her face, even before Abiola could process the pain or feel that her jaw was shaking, the first thing she did as usual was to look around as usual to see who saw what happened. To see him beat her up again. The only person she saw was Tosin her and his little princess. ‘Oh, she thought, that’s okay, its only our daughter. Little did she know that years and years after she had died, that was the same thought floating through Tosin’s mind as she was...

As the Christmas approaches I’m very excited. I start to make plans. I can’t wait for the children to start coming home. ‘Which of my children finish early?’ I wonder. I excitedly call my ‘guys’ at the Airport. Putting them on notice that my treasures are coming home. I’m not scarce at the Airport, as the Yorubas would say. Changing dates and just hanging around Airline staff like they could bring my children quicker than planned. I smile to myself at the thought of how grown they must be and how my mother would be so excited to see...

What age am I? This thought came to me recently very strongly. It all started when I saw my 13-year-old son off at the Airport in London and the Nigerian guys behind me were whispering. They were gossiping about me though it was flattering I suppose. They said they couldn’t believe I was the mother of a son that grown. It gave me immense pleasure to explain that this grown boy is infact my 4th child and I have a 26 year old who is married hence soon going to be a grand mother by the Grace of God....

My sister and I try and sneak into the wedding reception as quietly and as incognito as possible. As usual we are terribly late even though it is our cousin’s wedding. Just as we thought we had made it and miraculously found a table with two free seats close to each other, somebody taps me on the back. ’That woman is calling you’ she says. I look up hoping to ‘eye’ the person calling us to silence that person till our operation ‘sneak in’ was complete, but alas, it’s aunty Oye. our mother’s bestie. So, mission aborted, we walk...