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  • Story 12 – My Stepfather’s Mistake

    Story 12 – My Stepfather’s Mistake

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    My stepfather as at the time I grew up to know him is a man of God who serves God day and night. He is a very gentle and well-behaved man. Until one day, my mother told me he had a woeful past that he is still suffering from the consequences. He was nurtured and raised up by his aunt in the paternal side.

    His biological parents involved in a fatal accident that led to their death. He was just at a tender age with his older sister who was only two years older. His aunt, Mrs. Olunloyo Grace, had no children but she was married. So, she took her cousins as her own children. His aunt was a rich woman and she spoilt the children with her wealth. Then, he was just a ready homemade spoilt child growing up in one of the old streets in Ibadan. He related to bad friends who are nothing but goons and he was influenced by their bad attitudes. He started leaving the house without informing anyone about his whereabouts. He took alcoholic drinks every minute of his life. Of course, cigarettes became his favorite diet; he arrives home very late in the night. He had no respect for anyone and nobody could talk to him to change his ways. His youth life was very awful but to him he was living his life to the fullest.

    During his early twenties, he got back home drunk one day. It was very late at night. Moving unconsciously, he went straight to the housemaid’s room and raped her. She refused to tell her boss with the fear of probably being chased out. Aftermath, what was kept as secret became known to everyone when the housemaid began to show the symptoms of pregnancy.

    By then she confessed and Niyi did not deny. Later, his aunt concluded that she would accept the baby but would not allow him to marry her. Why had she said this? She knew the kind of lady the housemaid was. If two wrongs cannot make a right, definitely, two bad companions cannot bring forth a good result. On the other hand, Niyi refused and insisted on marrying the housemaid. He married the lady and both of them were being taken good care of by his aunt.

    He had no specific job, he was asked to further his education but he refused. All of a sudden, he turned a new leaf but his wife made him know peace. It was by this time he married my mother who had to keep a distance from him because his first wife had started acting like a witch. She even trained her children to hate their father.. life became more difficult for him when the aunt died. Now, he is seriously ill with diabetes. He cannot walk and hardly eat. The first wife doesn’t allow anyone to take good care of him and she herself is not taking good care of him. He had made a mistake which he is now regretting.

    Lesson Learned

    I have learned that the kind of wife I have determines how I will live the rest of my life. Behind every successful man is a woman and behind every unsuccessful man is also a woman.

    About The Writer

    Adebisi Babatunde Ademola is an actor and a math amateur. He is also an aspiring Mathematics Educationist in the Premier University of Ibadan.

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  • Story 9 – His Father’s Namesake(Oyiri nna ya)

    Story 9 – His Father’s Namesake(Oyiri nna ya)

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    I know a man, whose name I wish not to mention. But whose story I have heard countless times and have wondered, “how did he make it?” To say that there is a man whose countenance roars from within him like a lion is but an understatement. His beginning was that of a bit of misfortune for his family. He was named after his father, an Igbo man would say “Oyiri nna ya”. It is said that on the day he was born, his father’s shop where he made solid income, burned to the ground. His goods and fame went along into the ashes, never to be heard of again. Oyiri nna ya began life with little food to his stomach as his mother did all she could to sustain herself and the newborn. He wasn’t the first, he wasn’t the second.

    He came as the third born, and he looked just like his mother’s father. What a surprise! Growing up wasn’t easy as other siblings came along and the need to select who would go to school began. “Oyiri nna ya, you have to wait for some time for your older ones to go to school.” Years went by and the story changed “Oyiri nna ya, your younger ones are already progressing and you need to take care of them”. Ha! When would he start schooling himself? He decided he was going to take a step and leave the comfort of his home, in search of education and some sense to have as a grown man.

    By that time it was obvious that he was one of the eldest in class. He had begun to stay with an uncle, whose wife did not extend the kind of motherly affection to him. Yet he endured. The soup she would cook would be the soup of several days which he and some other young chaps would eat – it was never the fresh soup. He became used to her pattern and was blessed with a younger relative who loved him as her own child. To him, this was comfort and a way to learn all he could about life. When he started to go to Secondary school, this special aunty was there to encourage him to save up money for his WAEC.

    Even while in school, he struggled to read and understand as his Primary school days were nothing to write home about. He saw he was deteriorating, and wouldn’t be able to amount to anything in life. So he had to change his thinking pattern. Before, while in class, he would sit at the very back with all the other bench warmers who couldn’t care less about learning. Then one-day Oyiri nna ya said to himself, that he too could become like one of those girls who took the First position in the class. He made a bold step one fateful day to sit at the very front of the class so he could pay attention.

    The entire strata of students were so disorganized by this new arrangement that another guy took the bold step of moving to the front seat! And so, friendship like no other began. Seriousness began. He was even liked and admired by most teachers, trusted even to handle financial contributions by his peers. Oyiri nna ya became a pacesetter. Something, he never thought he could do had he not had encouragement at home and within himself.

    Fast forward to the end of his Secondary school days and he needed money to register for his WAEC. Of course, senior aunty and uncle refused to help him even after seven years of living with them. It was at this point that he left the home he had known for years with nothing to call his own but the savings he managed to raise with his aunty. Rather than him going home feeling dejected, he bought gifts for the children around his uncle’s home and shared with them. They were overjoyed and prayed for him, even going the extra mile to escort him as far as they could. His hopes grew and he completed his Jamb.

    He made a single prayer and said something like this “Oh Lord, Abia State University is my first choice. If I do not get it, then I am done with school”. He applied and when admission lists began to roll out, lo and behold he made it! What a surprise to his family! He had finally made it! He would shuffle from his hometown to school after performing some menial jobs with the help of his mother who gave foodstuff for school. Never did he miss his exams.

    And in the year 20…yeah! He bagged his certificate! Looking back at his journey he would tell me, Ngee I really suffered in life. And I would tell him congratulations, you are indeed a victor. You just cannot give up in life when God has not thrown in the towel. Where there is life, there is hope. Only but begin, take a step even if it is one done with trembling. Believe and the universe will respond to your actions. Oyiri nna ya is an example of a victor.

    Lessons Learned

    Don’t let what others have determined about your future be the final say. Play that ball! And make sure you score in life’s net of “no’s and you can’t”. It only takes determination and a brave heart to soar.

    About The Writer

    Ngozichi Atasie is a Mass Communication major at the Abia State University, Uturu.

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  • Story 1: Better Late Than Never (My Education Journey)

    Story 1: Better Late Than Never (My Education Journey)

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    2009 was a year filled with excitement and great expectation. I was about to write JAMB Entrance Examination (The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board) so I could qualify and gain admission into the University. I was very prepared for the JAMB test, so when the time came, I scored 225. I was very excited because the cut off mark for the University I was interested in was 180/200.

    I traveled to the East for my Post UTME (Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination). I wrote the examination and got admission into the University, to study Public Administration. With great enthusiasm, I started going for lectures and when the time came for our first-semester examination, I prepared myself and wrote the exams with confidence. The results came out the next semester and I couldn’t find mine, so after making inquiries I found out that my result didn’t come out because my registration number was the same with someone in my department. I went to the School Administration to verify and rectify the issue. After rectifying it, I thought it was over and moved on with my academics.

    How time flies, before I knew it, I had written my final exams and project in 2013, I was so excited. However, my excitement was short-lived, when I was invited to the School Examination Malpractice Board. To my greatest surprise, they told me I was involved in examination malpractice and was caught by the exam supervisor. So, while my mates were doing their clearance and registering for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), I was busy going to the Examination Malpractice Board to face the panel, which took about 5 months.

    At the end of the interrogation and investigation conducted by the Examination Malpractice Panel, it was discovered that the culprit for the allegation was a student in the mature student program, however, the student was in the same department as me. So I was told to proceed with my clearance and NYSC registration, where I found out that I couldn’t go for the NYSC program because my registration number was the same with some in a different faculty. I was devastated and very frustrated, at that moment my whole world came crashing down.

    Questions like “have I wasted all these years for nothing”, “God why me”, “What do I do next”. So I called my Mum and told her everything, She instantly broke down in tears, I could tell she was in so much pain. I was not from a very rich family were going to school again was an easy feat, so imagine my pain and confusion. I shared my problem with some people, they told me that the problem is not a big deal and can be solved if I can pay three hundred thousand Naira. I told my Mum and She was willing to raise up the money to pay, but I refused because there was no guarantee that such an illegal act won’t fail or come back to hurt me.

    I traveled home to meet my parents, my Dad asked me what I wanted to do next. I told him that I want to go back to school, He then told me, He has other kids to train in school. I was not discouraged for my mind was made up. I called my Aunt and pleaded with her to give me a lifetime loan by paying for my school fees, then I made a deal with my Dad to take care of my house rent, while I take care of everything else. Just like that, I traveled to the Benin Republic to apply for admission to study International Relations at a private University. I didn’t want to undergo JAMB again or ASUU Strike, because I didn’t want any unnecessary delays. I started my lectures soon after my application process. The lecture hall was very uncomfortable for me, because I was one of the oldest in my class, there were many students as young as 16 years in my class. However, I was not discouraged, I made this choice, so I must see it through.

    Around 2016, I received an invitation from my former school in Nigeria that I should come and collect my statement of result. So, I traveled back to the east to get the result, then traveled back to the Benin Republic to complete my program. In the year 2017, I was done with my final exams and project. I came out with a 2.1 Upper-Class Division in International Relations and completed my NYSC program in November 2018. I now hold 2 Bachelor’s Degree.

    I am presently working as an Administrator in Federal Capital Territory Administration. The lesson to be learnt here is “Never give up”, “It is better late than never”.

    Lesson Learned

    “Never Give Up”, “Better Late Than Never”.

    About the writer:

    My name is Ejiogu Emmanuel Mario, I am from Imo State, Nigeria. I am a graduate of International Relations at ECOTES University. My goal in life is to be a diplomat, an ambassador, a philanthropist, and an entrepreneur. I am a sketch artist, I love art and music.

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