Saturday, December 31, 2011

Imagine me!!


This song, for me, is simply the song for the season! I fell in love with it in a really funny way. Back in 2005 I think, Cool fm always played it in the middle of the night (I think it was Kaffy’s show) n ‘cos I always slept with the radio on, I would wake up with this feeling and then just catch the end of the song. I can’t really describe the feeling, like I’d just had a really nice dream, and this was before I even knew what song it was, who sang it or what the song even said. It just always had this sweet, calming effect on me. I could have bet a million bucks it was a love song! ;D So I did the typical Tope thing, I chased the song down and we hence began our love affair…
One of my bestest memories of it is me sitting in the passenger seat of Yetunde Ayinde’s car with ‘Detayo in the driver’s seat while waiting for Yetunde to drop something off at someone’s house, and then hearing the song come up on the radio.  I really heard the words then and they made me cry ‘cos that was the time when well, I was going through a really bad triangle time. Now, when I hear the song, it reminds me not of those bad times but of ‘Detayo in a very vivid way and it brings tears of a different kind to my eyes….
Imagine me
Loving what I see
When the mirror looks at me…

I used to hate mirrors, not just ‘cos of the superstition that if you look into a mirror when lightning strikes, your face’ll get all old and wrinkly (as in really?!!!), but ‘cos I never really, well, liked what I saw. I didn’t like my nose ‘cos I thought it was too big (I still think it is!) and my eyes were funny and I had loads of pimples…the list goes on. Then came a time when I couldn’t bear to look myself in the eyes, when I couldn’t bear to face myself. Loving what I saw on the surface and beneath it, sounded impossible. These days, I still might not like all the things I see (did I mention that my nose is still waaaaay too big?!), but the good thing is I’m looking, I’m not running away from me anymore (at least, not all of the time) and I’m beginning to learn to love me and to deal with the un-loveable bits.

In a place
With no insecurities,
And I’m finally happy…

Gosh! Thinking about it makes me feel like omo,  even if wishes were horses…I had too many of them and dunno, it felt like I always would. And there were so many times I used to wonder if happiness was made for some of us. Now I’ve learnt that happiness isn’t sort of like a destination but a state of being. You don’t work sooo hard doing sooo much to be happy but you learn how to take joy in the little and big moments of life. Even when your world is going up-side-down, you can still find you inner peace. I know I’m not making so much sense, my thoughts are all over the place and writing right now feels as scattered as my thoughts, but I’ll steal a saying I came across somewhere: Peace isn’t the absence of trouble but being still within the storm. I know I still have a few of my insecurities (errr, maybe more than just a few) and maybe I’ll discover a new one each day. The difference is that I’m learning to take them on and deal with them, rather than be defeated by them. The road might be long and I know the fights ahead are tough, but at least, I’m fighting. I might not be shrieking with laughter and I might have more teary days than dry ones, but I’m not going to let me sink beneath them. Imagine a place with no insecurities, a place where I’m happy. I know I’m gonna get there, one tiny step at a time. The one thing that’s kept me going, even when everything else fails, even in my worst moments, is the fact that there’s Someone Who never gives up on me…

Saying “No!”
To thoughts that try to control me,
Remembering all You told me…

I miss the girl I used to be. Sometimes I have flashes of memory. Sometimes I come across old diaries, old letters, stuff I wrote and I remember how it used to be and I find myself wondering what happened to that girl. I wonder where she went and who the stranger I live with is. A part of me knows when I lost her even if I can’t explain how or why it happened. A part of me wonders what I could have done differently, how I could have stopped the things that broke her and took her away. I find myself wondering if and when she’ll be back. I find myself longing and yearning for her, praying for this phase to be gone. A part of me fears she’ll never be back again…
I miss the woman I could have been. Looking back on the dreams I had, the plans I made, how I was gonna take the world by  a storm for You, the fires that burned in my bones, the passion, the attention I paid to detail, how meticulous I was’ the things I thought I knew I could do! he once told me I would be the best ever! Then I had to get fixed cos there was no broken between U and S…well, like they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In that case, it’s time to throw the good intentions out the window! And good riddance too! Time to get some real work done, enough talking, enough itentioning, time for some doing! If I can’t get the girl I used to be back, if I can’t be the woman I could have been, then I’ll be the woman He wants me to be…

Imagine me,
Being free, trusting You totally,
…it was hard to see You being in love with someone like me…

Sometimes it’s hard, really hard, especially on those days that I don’t have any explanations for the sad, those days that I don’t have any answers, those days that it all don’t make sense, those days that life seems to throw His words right in your face, mock you with them. It’s so hard to hear or see or feel Him, it’s hard to even remember what you believe, it’s hard to believe what you believe. But someone once told me that trust is holding on even when there seems to be nothing to hold on to. You grab a fistful of air and hang on for dear life. Trust is when the things around you say otherwise, trust is holding on when there aren’t any solid rocks or any thundering voices or any rushing winds or any awesomeness to see, trust is grasping the fringe of that hem even when you’re in your deepest and darkest hole.


…glad I have another chance…
Letting go of my past
…don’t have to read that page again…

There are so many pages I wish I could erase, so many pages I wish I’d never written cos no matter what I did, I would always have those pages right before me, I would always remember. And you know, there are those situations where no matter what you did, you always end up losing! Well, I’ve come to realise that even if I can’t blot some memories out, I can learn to look at scars without opening up the wounds again. I can learn to make peace with the past and not let it dictate the path the future will take. I can look back on my mistakes without beating myself up. I can learn to appreciate the light from memories of the dark days.

I really love this song! It’s a song of hope, a rebirth, new life. I really don't know how to put my scattered thoughts down, the words keep escaping me! It’s one of the few songs that haven’t faded with the seasons (I errr usually have seasons with almost everything! I might go crazy over a song for weeks or even months and then one day, I just can’t stand to hear it!) and with each season of my life, it makes me reflect and literally pull myself up by my boot strings and helps me keep going. I have quite a number of ‘ever green’ songs that do it for me, but like I said, this one is the song for the season for me (even though it’s not a Christmassy song). Another year has rolled out and it’s had its fair share of up’s and down’s (maybe a lot more of one than the other) but through it all, I can honestly sit and imagine me…

'Cos it’s all gone!




Sunday, November 27, 2011

Omo Dudu ati Omo Pupa III


Finally,
Marilyn and Sara
Break the bonds of Brotherhood.
Finally,
We remain not the same.
Thick as thieves, but worlds apart
Bonnie and Clyde
Soon will part.
We cry, then we laugh, then cry a little more.
Finally,
The wedding bells toll.
Finally,
The aso ebi will dance,
The families will gather,
Yams, and kola, and salt, and honey,
Not in Oyingbo, but in our family house!
Finally,
There will be Ida ana, momi nmo e
One face will be veiled with aso oke,
The other will look on, just another in the crowd.
Bridal shower, Hen party.
Inseparable we were, severed we are
One pea will leave the other in the pod
Because even the peas will speak different languages from now on
Eyes will see different landscapes on the same canvass,
Different citizens will inhabit minds once in sync,
There will be no more strolls through Oyingbo market,
No long talks, no laments, no reminiscing about the Queen’s city.
There will only be veils and tiaras, dress fittings and bouquets,
There will only be a march down the aisle,
A lonely stroll through the park,
There will only be singing and dancing,
There will only be silence…
I know we should be doing this together,
I wish we were doing this together like we both dreamed!
I wish we could be sisters forever,
But even though we can’t, I can’t help being happy, ecstatic!
Sometimes, I feel awful about it, but I’m walking on air!
I’m so excited and can hardly wait for the D-day,
Marilyn my dearest cousin is getting married!!!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Mon père est de soixante aujourd'hui!

Yay! Dada is 70 today and I baked him a double-choc cake! ;) #pridingmuch! Btw, he’s got a sweet tooth so 70 or not, he’ll enjoy and relish every bite of it! 
;D with MRS!!!!
Hmmmnnn, I remember his 50th – we had a big bash  and funny enough, I remember every bit of it like it was last year n not 20 years ago. I remember what he wore (he and mum did anko n changed about twice, normal owanbe parry stuffs), I remember the cakes and how me and deejay stole into the ‘spare room’ where they were kept the night before n pinched d icing n then worried in bed all night that mum would notice and give us a good spanking! :D I remember we both wore matching dresses (hers was green n mine pink) to the church service n Baby Winchi wore the pink fluffy dress. Dunno why buh I remember so much about it vividly, I can almost hear the music blarring (mostly Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade  and Orlando Owo, Dad’s favs back then). I wonder if any 8 year old should pick up so much detail and hold on to them, probably just another perk of being weird me, whatever, back to the baidei bloke!


...I wonder where BWinchi was. That's me clutching her beret n deejay was giving the camera her signature smile!





Baby Winchi finally showed up! ;p


You know, this year’s birthday was special in a funny way. When Philla and Deejay sent their cards today, we found out that they had both bought the very same card! Then Wendi’s card arrived all the way from Manchester and it was the very same card too!!! Then dad opened the card from Naomi and the one from Ara and Tomi and guess what?! All grand children had sent the same giant Happy Birthday to a special GrandPa card with the bespectacled monkey on its front! Cool huh?! Dad was so tripped about it! He said that was the best part of the whole day!!!




One of my earliest memories of dad was about age 3 or 4, my fat stubby arms wrapped around his neck, thinking smugly to myself that I could protect  him from anything! ;) yeah, super Tipsy! Right on the heels of that is the memory of him force-feeding me panadol dispersed in water when I was ill! (errr, I wonder why they didn’t invent the syrup earlier, they bursted my super Tipsy bubble!) L then I remember the trips to MtSinai Hospital n how dad was the only one who could hold us still for the injections (notto worry, super Tipsy will still protect  her dada despite all that!).
I remember being about 6 or 7, and dad sitting me in the passenger seat of his car (the Peugeot 507, reg no. LA 570 LND, I remember cos that car stuck around until I was 16 or 17!) and explaining to me how the engine managed to turn the wheels while I starred in wonder at my whine-up toy car. I was so, so awed by him n tot he was the smartest person in the whole world! I remember how we used to sing whenever he got home from work "Daddy Oyoyo! Daddy Oyoyo!” (yeah, everyone of us did that – Wendi, Philla, Deejay, Tipsy n BWinchi!) :p.  When we were little, he gave us these silly nick-names – Keredu, Katabu, can’t remember the rest! L I remember that daddy never spanked us. His signature look always did the trick! And the worst punishment?! “Go and face the wall!!!” choi, I remember the time me and deejay were squabbling as usual and he banished us to the much hated spot by the doorway. Even while there, we still continued to poke and pinch each other. Then we got tired of being there and it seemed like we stayed there for like forever! Before we knew it, everyone went to bed and daddy put out the lights in the sitting room! Unknown to us, he’d forgotten we were there and had gone off to sleep! You can bet we didn’t dare move from the spot! We forgot all about our squabble and clung to each other in the dark, crying cos we were both afraid of the dark. Wendi n Philla snuck out of the room and tried to console us from the hallway cos they didn’t dare come right out and stay with us! Finally, daddy heard all the sniffling and whispering and came out to see what was going on and he was like, why didn’t we just go on in! imagine, after hours of terror! Thinking about it still leaves me in fits of laughter! One day, me n deejay (again!) squabbled about whose turn it was to ride our little paddle car n both of us ended up squeezing into the tiny seat n got suck! We both sat there, crying our eyes out until he found us!
Dada, Philla, Deejay, Wendi n Momma - Baidei galore!!!

I remember his flower pots and birds, I can’t ever forget about the birds! We each had our own canaries n he eve taught us how to whistle to them ( I always believed the canaries understood me and that, err, I well, understood them too!!!). I always heave a sigh of contentment thinking of those lay Saturday afternoons…oh, I remember the pigeons too n how I learnt their morning song n how all my friends in primary 5 thought I was weird cos I could ‘sing’ birdsong! (if they’d only known about me n weird back then!). then there was Napoleon, mean Napoleon the pig whom dada loved so much and how hard it had been for him when Napoleon died on the 31st of December (btw, I enjoyed eating Napoleon!!!).
with Tomi, Ara n Nai. See aw they were all sitting like gentle shildrens!!! Only  Dad can have that effect on  them!

I remember daddy’s fav glass cup with the star on it n the transparent  glass bowl that was specially for his eba! Back then, that bowl had seemed MASSIVE to me and had diminished in size over the years. I wonder what happened to them (I probably broke them! Have I mentioned that I was a clumsy kid apart from being weird?! ;D)
I remember bashing his car one time like that when he was away (thankfully, not the legendary 570!) and I wondered how I was going to tell him. The day I finally gathered the courage to tell him, the first words he said to me when he called were “Hope you’ve not bashed my car yet oh!” Even though he’d been joking, I lost my nerve and didn’t tell him until he got back home! ;) I remember telling him matter-of-factly (age 4 or so) that I was going to be an artist when I grew up! I wonder what he must have been thinking at that moment!

The memories are endless and they feel like several life-times, not just 70 years (well, the twenty-something years for which I’ve had conscious thought). It would probably take the rest of my life to finish up this blog entry (I’ll probably keep editing and adding new bits until I probably hit a word limit and then there’ll be part two…;D). there have been the times he's made me laugh, the times he's made me cry, the times he's amazed me, left me dazed with a surprise, the times he's driven me crazy (you know, sometimes, he can be so maddening and I'm like MR!!! sometimes, he's like a naughty child n I just want to give him a good shaking and tear out my hair! Now I know where the grand kids get their ways from! :p I’ve probably done my fair share of driving him crazy and sometimes, I wonder if, just if, he sees right through me and knows just how mahdt I am! ;D), how he can be so, so stubborn at times (I sooooo didn't get that from him!), the times he's burst my bubbles, the times he's fuelled my dreams on, dared me to believe in myself, dared me to challenge myself and most importantly, the times he’s believed in me....through it all, the good and the bad, I love him to bits and I would like to raise my glass to a legend, my Hero.... He taught me one of the most important lessons I've learnt in life, and that is to always hold on to what is true and honest and right no matter what. Paraphrased in Yours-Truly-Tipsy's words: If you can't beat 'em, kick their butts rather than join 'em, be unique in being different. Even if the whole world loses its integrity, I know just where to find the last man standing.

 Yo! That's me looking all sexy, posing with Dad! ;p

Friday, November 18, 2011

Omo Dudu ati Omo Pupa II


Marilyn and Sara,
48 fortnights later,
Ourselves we found again,
Meandering through the stalls of Oyingbo,
And if it was even possible,
Dudu was blacker than ever and even more beautiful
And Pupa, more fetching than ever before
Still, our songs we sang,
Of love, and hope, and dreams,
Of tears, and heart ache, and disappointments,
Of resignation,
Of determination
Even Oyingbo, dearest Oyingbo, had not changed much.
It still sang its songs around us,
Shombo still as red!
Tolotolo still as loud!
The calls?! As persistent as ever!
But we lament on,
Because not the picnics in Hyde Park,
Or the boat rides from the Embankment Pier
Have yielded the desired results
“It was so romantic!” Marilyn exclaims. “Dry white wine and long stem roses, with the sun setting behind us!”
“He had such beautiful eyes!” I gush. “They were so sincere and open.”
“Imagine, a proposal on the Thames!” Marilyn says wistfully.
“Imagine, the most beautiful of days, the most amazing man in the world!”  I gush. “ Those life altering words, I love you… the tender way he held her hands, kissed her lips, it was like watching a replay of my life!” I wonder to myself how I could have missed seeing it in the beautiful eyes.
“And then the surprise party, waiting for us back at his apartment, his wife and kids!” Marilyn shakes her fist furiously!
Alas, when it seemed we shifted our allegiances to another Brotherhood,
We received the shocking blow,
That both brotherhoods were one and same,
That a proposal and a breakup were one and same,
And boatman and pretty eyes?!
Brothers in their own way!
Peas in their own pod!
Eye catching,
Smooth talking, just like our tolotolo!
So we sojourn through this land still,
Ploughing bravely on,
Warriors who will not accept defeat,
Defending the Brotherhood till the death,
Resting not,
Till the bouquets are thrown….

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Christmas came early!!! :)


The shop attendant wondered why the lady wanted to order a Christmas tree. He gave her an odd look and asked again how he could help her. Maybe he’d heard wrong the first time.
            “I want your largest Christmas tree.” She said again unfazed, bright smile still in place.
            “Well,” he replied slowly, trying to pick his words carefully. After all, the customer was always right! “I’m pretty sure we can get you a tree as big as you want but we don’t have them in stock now. You can place your order from the first week of…”
            “Oh sorry! You got me wrong!” she was still smiling.
He heaved a mental sigh of relief and returned her smile. The smile died with her next words.
            “I need a tree now, not in December!”
He was speechless for a moment. She kept smiling.
“Well… I’ll see what we can do about that. Just give me a moment.”
Time to get the manager to handle this one, whoever wanted a Christmas tree in May?!
Well, Miranda did. And it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, she was going to get the biggest tree she could possibly find and Christmas was going to be a blast, her very best ever!    ….because the doctors had said there was nothing they could do. They’d said her mother had 3, at most 4 months left.
…because they’d said chemotherapy would be futile, the chances were close to nothing, it would only make a hard journey harder.
…because her mother had decided she wanted to spend what little time she had left surrounded by her family. Make up for lost time. Make up for time to be lost. There would be no birthdays or vacations or Thanksgiving. She wouldn’t be there when the baby arrived. All the memories that would never be made, the ones that would fade with her.
Then Miranda realised that there were things she couldn’t change, things she couldn’t fight. But that which she could do was not waste the little time she had left with her mother on regrets, on past hurts, on un-resolved issues. It was time to make the memories, build bridges, tear down walls. So much to do, so little time! Call her brothers. Wrap the presents. Plan the menu. Put out the stockings. Get out the turkey baster. String up the lights. Hang the holly, tell her mother a million times in a million different ways she was loved. Oh, and the tree, a very big tree, how could she have forgotten that?! It would be the most beautiful moment ever when her mother came home finally from the hospital. Well, even if she was powerless to do anything about her mother dying, she would put the spark back in her eyes one last time. Christmas had come real early… 

One Perspective on Faith...


Was going through a daily devotional today and something in it struck my mind, so I decided to share.  1st Peter 5:8-9 is one of those passages of scripture that we’re all most likely familiar with. It says: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith. I’ll lay emphasis first on the part that says he “walks about”. That means the guy no dey rest! He is single-mindedly committed to his task, 247, 365. Ephesians 6:12 is another familiar verse: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Not only is he relentless, he’s got an organized system that would make the mafia look like child’s play. He’s detailed on every level; ‘principalities’, ‘powers’, ‘rulers of the darkness’, ‘hosts of wickedness’. I’m sure on some level or the other, we all kinda understand the goal of the devil. We all know he’s up to no good, we probably think well, yeah, he hates us and wants to make us all go to hell. We know he’s all out to make our lives difficult, make our Christian walk a living hell, make us stumble, fall. All very true. But here’s another truth. He’s not just interested in frustrating us and  making our lives miserable. He’s not just interested in hitting us with illness or poverty or one disappointment after another. He’s not just going to hit us with one calamity after the other, ravage our bodies with diseases, take our loved ones from us, throw all manner of temptations at us or set people against us to persecute us. H wouldn’t even stop at killing us physically! All that would just be the beginning, all that would just be setting the stage, because, like with Job, he knows that the real triumph wouldn’t be with afflicting a man’s body or taking his possessions, but with ultimately breaking his spirit, messing up his mind and then claiming his soul. His ultimate goal is to completely and totally devastate us, kill not just the body but the mind and the soul. John 10:10 says: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. He’s not just going to steal, he’s prepared to kill, and then to destroy, bring to absolute ruin physically, spiritually, emotionally and every other “ally” you can think of. The guy is not smiling at all, as in ko w’oju uche! I’m seeing John 10:10 in a whole new light and I dunno if I’m expressing what I’m feeling properly here. My issues with being broke, school, getting a job or even broken relationships are like appetisers in the grand scheme of things! He hates me so much, he’s determined to destroy me as in DESTROY! That makes me pay better attention to 1st Peter 5:8-9. Peter wasn’t trying to take out all the fun in life when he said to be sober. He didn’t mean to go about with a sombre face, looking like Christianity is a sad and miserable way of life. I think what he meant was that in everything I do, I should always bear in mind that I’m in warfare, I should never let anything, anything at all, make me forget that truth for a moment because there isn’t room for any sloppiness. My adversary, the devil is always on top of his game, I would be a fool not to be on top of mine.
The purpose of this article is not to scare you or make you live in fear of the devil, not at all! It’s just to make us “wake up” so to speak. One thing I know without a doubt, no matter how awful my situation is at any point in time, is this: God never leaves His own. He would never leave us at the mercy of the devil to do with us as he pleases.  He always takes care of us, on every level, if we let Him.  We can put our trust in the truths of God’s word, in the rich promises which assure us without doubt that the adversary has been defeated by Christ and that as sons and daughters of the most High God, we are already victorious…for I know the plans I have towards you…plans to help you and not to harm you, to give you an expected end… the One who is in you is greater than he that is in the world…they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony…for thus says the LORD, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you.…for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil . . . having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross….all of my help comes from the Lord…Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence, He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.…there is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!….God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfil…it goes on and on. All these wonderful promises are ours if we hold on to them, not jut out of fear of the devil, but when we genuinely have an understanding of them and the God who offers them. 1st Peter 5:9 says: Resist him, steadfast in the faith. He doesn’t ask us to resist the devil in our own capacity or with our own strength. He asks us to effectively stand against the devil by being steadfast in faith. We build our faith and remain steadfast in it when we set our eyes on God and His word which never fails us. Ephesians 6:11 tells us to put on the whole armour of God so that you can stand against all the devil’s schemes. The belt of Truth. The breastplate of righteousness. The helmet of Salvation. The shield of Faith. The sword of the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit. The gospel of Truth (Eph 6:14-18). James 4:7 says: Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Three things: Submit to God. No hanky-panky here. No short-cuts. No pretence.  No sitting on the fence. No Sunday-Sunday medicine. If our lives aren’t right with God, then the whole connection gets broken from the very start. We can’t lay claims to protection from the evil one, or even the promises in scripture if we haven’t surrendered our lives to Him. Remember, the Bible isn’t just a book of wonderful promises. It is the totality of what and how our lives should be. It is the revelation of the wonderful God that made the wonderful promises. Don’t get so caught up in the promises that you forget about the One who made them. Submit to God, simple. Then and only then can we resist the devil. Resist him, steadfast in the faith. Faith that you wouldn’t have without submission anyways. Steadfast. Not blowing hot one day and cold the next. Not when it suits us or when we’re in a bad situation. Not just the easy parts or the parts that are within our comfort zones. Not just when we have people watching us. Ain’t easy. Ain’t just a piece of cake, but His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. He sure takes care of everything, doesn’t He?! You wanna be mouthed enough to resist the devil? Then live your life right. Then he’ll flee from you. Shikenah. Problem solved.

Prince Charming in a Chopper!!!


Okay, I know what I’m about to write is really silly and pretty obvious, but well, the irony of life is that we often fail to see the things that are right in our faces and most of us are usually very silly about the obviously obvious! Take Hiroshi for example…
Hiroshi used to live in Sendai, on the Japanese island Honshu. On the 11th of March, he was on his way home from an early shift at the restaurant where he worked when the earthquake hit. In those first few moments when it seemed all hell had broken loose, Hiroshi wasn’t worried or even afraid. You see, Hiroshi was a Christian and he loved God very much and he was very confident that God would take care of everything and everyone. In fact, that very morning, before heading off to work, he’d read the 121st Psalm and he knew without a doubt that God would come to his rescue. So while his world went down in rubble around him, Hiroshi was calm and at peace, his trust in God stronger than even the 9.0 earthquake. Before long, Ying, a waitress at the restaurant, came along in her sputtering 10 year old Cherokee jeep.
            “Hop on!” She shouted out to him, “Met report says to get off the coast and move inland where it’s safer. I’ll give you a ride!”
            “You’re a darling Ying!” Hiroshi exclaimed. “You go on, there are other people who need the ride more than I do.”
            “But you’re in danger here! Come on, let’s get going!” Ying urged.
            “Not at all! God’s promised to take care of me! I’m waiting for Him!”
A bewildered Ying left Hiroshima standing in the rubble. About an hour later, the tsunami hit and undaunted, Hiroshima clambered onto a tree that was still standing. Along came Kaito, navigating his leaky little boat around the floating debris.
            “Oi!” He called out to Hiroshi. “Hop on!”
            “T-t-t-thanks-s-s-s m-m-m-mate.” Hiroshi replied, shivering. “G-g-g-god’s on His way t-t-t-to get m-m-m-me. You go on a-a-and help someone else who n-n-needs to get to safety, I‘ll be just f-f-f-fine!”
Kaito’s boat was beginning to fill up with water, so he had no choice but to leave Hiroshi behind. A while later, a rescue worker came whooping along in a helicopter. On seeing Hiroshi hanging onto the tree branch, he threw a rope ladder down.
            “Hold onto the ladder, we’ll pull you in!” He called out through his bull horn.
            “T-t-thank-k-k-kou!” Hiroshi’s voice was hoarse from the cold. “G-g-god’s g-g-gonto c-c-comans-s-s-savem-m-me in a bit I’m sure!”
Unfortunately, he wasn’t heard above the whooping of the chopper.
            “Hold onto the ladder!” The rescue worker urged again.
            “G-g-g-g-god’s comtog-g-g-get me!” Was Hiroshi’s reply.
After hovering for a while, the rescue worker spotted someone else in danger and went off to save them. And Hiroshima? He held on to that tree branch, reminding himself, I will lift up my eyes to the hills…all of my help cometh from the Lord…He shall not slumber nor sleep…He shall preserve my soul…and that brave man of great faith, held on tight until he well, got to Heaven’s gates!
            “But I waited for You to come and rescue me!” he exclaimed when he saw God. “You said You would!”
            “Dear child,” God said to him. “I did come to rescue you, three whole times for that matter!!!”
That left Hiroshi stumped. He sure hadn’t seen God! Not even once!
Silly story. Silly Hiroshima. The koko of the whole story is way too obvious. This story is for toddlers in Sunday School, of course we know these things! Or do we?!
Sometimes, we’re so desperate to hear God or feel Him that we fail to realise that He’s right there in front of us! And even if He were to literarily bite us on the nose, we still wouldn’t see! So, maybe we’re still waiting for a great wind with rumblings from heaven to accompany God’s arrival in our situations (come to think of it, Hiroshi got a big dose of all that and he still didn’t see God!), maybe we’re waiting for some prophet to come with a big revelation, or some might even imagine Him riding in on a big, shiny horse like prince Charming! And maybe, just maybe there are some of us who really, really want to see God that bad and who fancy Him coming right down from heaven Himself to sweep us up from the storms and tsunamis of our lives (believe me, I sooooooooooo want to see Him too, but that’s most likely gotta be on the other side of heaven!). Remember, He could be in the still small voice. Learn to see Him in the little, seemingly insignificant things in life, the tiny details we often take for granted, in a whispered endearment, a fragile flower, a beautiful sunset, a gentle smile, a touch, a word, even a sputtering car or a leaky boat. And if you insist on a windy and noisy entrance, He just might be in a chopper!! J

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Baba Lasisi is my shepherd, I shall not lost!


“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”Psalm 23:1

My father is not a shepherd, at least, not in the dictionary sense of it. He is a business man and he deals in cement, not sheep. In fact, he has no sheep at all and the half dozen or so goats that can usually be found roaming about our big compound in Isale Eko are more like pets than well, goats! No matter the number of goats in the compound, my father made sure each one had a name. Everyone on the street knew about Baba Laisis the cement merchant who named his goats. Long before the sun came up every morning, even before the calls to prayer came from the mosque four houses down, my father would see to his goats, making sure they had food and water. Only after that would he get ready to go to his shop at Ita-Garawu market. It seemed like the goats came first for him. Me and my seven brothers would grumble and moan whenever it was our turn to clean out the goat pens or if we had to do the feeding for any reason. We often had fights over the cleaning roaster and we would usually bully our four sisters into doing most of the work. The only form of relationship I had with those goats was an eating-relationship. For all the fuss me and my siblings made over taking care of the goats, we loved them because their presence meant that every festival was a meaty one in my compound. I bet the whole street loved my father’s goats for the same reason! The good thing about having eight boys, four girls and two wives in one family was that there was never a dispute about who to slaughter the goats or who would skin or cut it up and most importantly, who would cook and fry it. Talk about the most effective division of labour!
Whenever my father was home, he would spend time with his goats, talking quietly with each one like they could understand him and to an extent, I think they could. Of all the goats, the one I would never forget was Yekini. He was the oldest and the biggest of the goats and he was a natural bully. You can bet it wasn’t just the other goats he bullied! He had a mean face (and a temperament to match it!), with his vicious horns and long beard! I lost count of the many gorgings I endured at the hands, or should I say horns of Yekini ages ago. He was a law unto himself, strutting around his little kingdom with the adoring females flocking around him and the cowering males making themselves scarce. It was also obvious that my father loved Yekini very much and that he was my father’s favourite. Sometimes I even wondered if my father loved the bloody goat more than me, I mean, why did I have to be Lasisi and the goat Yekini?!!! Yekini sounds so much more sexy!!! L Yekini’s annoying braying woke us up every morning; there was no way to lock out the annoying sound. Once Yekini woke up, no one else slept! Soon we found out that a handful of salt was all that was needed to shut his royal majesty up! Don’t ask me ABOUT the physics of how that works; you want a moment of peace, get the salt!
So, one fateful day, we all slept past dawn. My father woke us up grim faced and we all feared the worst, that Yekini had keeled over and died (not that we all hadn’t wished for that several times) right before Sallah. Why couldn’t he have ended up in the pot instead?! However, the trail of salt from the goat pen to the gate of the compound told the whole story: Yekini was going to make it into the pot that Sallah after all, it just wasn’t going to be ours! The search for Yekini proved futile, no one on the street had seen or heard anything. It was then that I started to really get a grasp of the relationship my father had with his goats. It went beyond rearing goats that taste good or even about having something to kill during all the numerous sallahs. It was more than just having pets or indulging in a hobby. I remembered when one of the goats had wandered from home and had fallen into the public pit latrine. My father personally got it out with a rope, poop and all. My father cared deeply about each one of his goats and he mourned the loss of Yekini, it felt more like he’d lost a good friend. Somehow, it made us all sober up and we started to see the goats a lot differently.
Two days before sallah, my father and I went to the next street to pay one of the shop owners, Salau, a visit before heading off to Ita-Garawu. The man had been ill and hadn’t been to his shop for a few days. No sooner had my father entered the compound and called out a greeting to Salau than a flurry of fur and horns came bounding from the rear of the compound! Instinctively, I took to my heels! Yekini’s last gorging was still fresh on my mind, there was no way I was letting any other crazy goat knock the breath out of me! Salau came out of his house when he heard all the confusion and asked why my father was trying to steal his goat! From my safe spot on the roof of Salau’s derelict pick-up truck, I saw the goat nuzzling my father’s legs, braying his head off! If anyone was doing any stealing, it was the goat trying to steal my father!
            “Yekini!” my father exclaimed.
            “Meeehhhhh!!!” the goat replied!
            “This is my goat!” My father said to Salau. “What is Yekini doing here?!”
            “Meeeehhhhh!!!” the goat replied to its name again!
            “What do you mean?!” Salau challenged. “I bought this goat for Sallah!”
            “But I know my goat!” my father continued. “He’s got the funny patch of grey in his beard and can you see the slight limp he walks with?! Yekini ree ke!
            “Meeehhhhh!!!!!” chorused Yekini!
            Wonders really would never end! The goat was Yekini!!! And come to think of it, now that my father mentioned it, Yekini did have a slight limp, I had always thought the mean thing was strutting! I came down from the truck and took a good look, I never thought the day would come when I would be happy to see that goat, I had actually missed it!
“Limp my foot!” Salau retorted. “I want you to leave my compound at once!”
            “Yekini!” I exclaimed in wonder. The goat spared me a mean look before it continued to nuzzle my father’s legs.
            “Who did you buy the goat from?” my father asked Salau.
            “That is none of your business, leave my house now!” Salau snapped.
But Yekini wasn’t going to let us leave him behind! He stuck to my father’s side and every time my father spoke, he interrupted with his meeehhhhh which sounded more like yeahhhhhh to me! To cut the long story short, Yekini settled the whole issue. It was obvious to the Imam who was called in to settle the dispute that Yekini belonged to my father because he knew my father well enough and even recognised my father’s voice. In fact, it was the sound of my father’s voice that had brought the goat bounding out in the first place that fateful morning.
…the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out…His sheep follow Him because they know His voice…I know my sheep and my sheep know me… John 10:3-4, 14
So, people, learn a thing or two from Yekinni the goat, know your Shepherd! Take your relationship with the Shepherd beyond food and shelter and all the other trivial things that crowd our minds. Do you listen to your Shepherd’s voice? Do you even know His voice?! Even if like Yekini, you get led away for a little pinch of salt, will you still be able to retrace your steps at the sound of your Shepherd’s voice? Will you stick with him and refuse to budge even when the thief threatens to throw Him out? Truth is if you do not have that much of a relationship with Him, then sorry mate, he a’int your shepherd and if He a’int your shepherd then you shall not not-want. Don’t expect that psalm to apply to you if you don’t have a relationship with the Shepherd, if you won’t go beyond just being a part of the crowd, just being another warm bum on the pews, if you won’t really listen to His voice or be led by Him. And if you can’t manage to get past the first two lines of that psalm, don’t even bother about the plenty-plenty things that follow in the other verses! Get to know Him intimately…or else, you’ll end up in sumborry’s pot of Sallah soup! :D

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Friendship mii toh sure ju!!!!!



Eye see, I knose!!!
Hmmmnnn...we took this picture during watch-night service in 2006 I think...as always, we sat upstairs in the gallery and goofed around all night with the others. We took this picture with my loooong Nec phone! :) I don't think I've been able to go through another singing of "Awa yin O" without tearing up...

 This was your birthday 2005 or 2006, it was either election day  or voters' registration or sumfing lyk dat, so we had to stay home. I remember the sleep over, how we didn't actually sleep cos your fone rang off the hook...I think it was the year Ty-Fajj did the shout out to you on live radio...choi, remember your room and all the looooong gists...





This was way back, Easter of year two, that musta been 2005, we both got to church extra early, from your place I think, and we were the only ones in the basement and we had to escape from the mosquitoes!!!

...this was one of those Saturdays, after rehearsals in the basement, setting up for service the next day...hmmmnnn, that looks like Deji Obagbenro and I can bet I remember that fone in ur waist band!!!
Bi-yo-la, Oyinda, Toyin Fajj, GYO, Tayo n Ayodotun
 you and the Y-Family in your final year



..some more basement sturvingz!!! ;D choi! I miss those saturday runs! I can imagine what you were saying here: "...you're just a fish!"



this was one of those days in the Sunday school. We were probably decorating for an event...remember the night we stayed there till about 11 and then I think the whole thing fell down!!!

your final year Trad day...
the caption on this pic read "modelicious Tayo", im no lie!

...with the Y family



hmmmnnn, year 3 I think (MTH), and that luks lyk GYO in the corner!!!



this was in Mayowa Adekoya's house 
during his birthday, I think in 2005


 

 

with Bj
this was when we were setting up for Pejus Buffday, 2005 I think
"....ehn?! Na wah oh!!!"

 I think this was taken at the Amund's place


Weird enough, I remember you going to Iya-Ahmed's place in Bariga to get these braids done! :s

 with Peju on a Sunday




with Mayowa Adekoya, Bluetooth sturvingz!
with Shola and Bi-yo-la!
with Yinka Amund




...wish there had been camera fones when we were kids, there would have been some really interesting pics to put up!!! ;D All those Girls' Brigade days, Youth Council camps, Sunday School, Easter Picnics, Bazaars...



  ...this was the last day I saw you alive... Boy's Brigade enrolment,19th August 2007...


 SAF FYB Dinner

...this, however is how I remember you - beautiful, full of life, mischievous, large-hearted, inspired, creative, very naughty...that is why this is a celebration of life, something to look at and smile and be happy, it's something to bring back sweet and fond memories, a reminder of the fact that you live on in our hearts and out tots and that not even death can take away the impact you had on so many lives...luv you Babes, somehow, it feels like we're looking over these pics together, having a laugh. Ore mii toh behd, sleep tight! <3
250384-091007