THE HORROR

The horror never stops and I’m not sure it ever will. I look around me and all I can see is the horrifying truth of what the rest of my life will be like. I know they say when there is hope, there is life but at the moment, I prefer death to this sad life I’m forced to live. I can’t even imagine what mama will be going through at home but I’m glad she doesn’t have to see me this way. It is selfish to say but I never want to return to her, ever. I doubt if I’ll ever be normal again. If I would be able to leave the confines of my room without the fear of what might happen to me out there. I’m not even sure I would be able to look at my father and brothers without screaming or cringing. I am terrified that I may wake up one night and stab them all to death without flinching. I’m terrified of the animal they have turned me into in just two weeks, I’m terrified of myself. I’m terrified because despite everything that is going on around me, there is no tear for me to shed. Although at first, I had cried till my eyes were red and swollen shut. I cried for myself, I cried for mama, I cried for papa, I cried for my siblings, I cried for others who had been lucky to escape this horror when they died, I cried for the unlucky ones like me tied to the trees waiting for them to decide our fate. I cried when the first girl was taken and raped right in front of us. So many of the soldiers took turn in raping her till she passed out. I cried when I was called with two other girls to carry the body out and dump it in a dark room that smelled worse that the unwashed bodies of our abductors. The tears flowed freely when one of the girls resisted being raped and was slaughtered right in front of us. Her head was cut off from her body and the blood kept sprouting from her neck. They did not even tell us to bury the body; they set it right in front of us a reminder of what can happen if we try to resist them or run away. Even when I had witnessed the rape of so many girls, I could not stop crying when the large manhood of a soldier ripped my hymen and many other took their turns on me. The tears would not stop then but it has stopped now. The fear has been replaced with a murderous hatred for everything that looks like a man and that is why mama must not see her precious daughter this way. The eyes that was once filled with life and happiness is filled with hatred. It will hurt mama that the heart once capable of love is now cold and has plotted the death of these creatures. The once long and soft hair you loved plaiting has been shaved off, mama. Everywhere I turn in this forest, all I see and smell is death and horror. It drives me crazy, that this may be my fate till they finally get tired of us all, kill us and then abduct new girls. Now, I can feel the tears. Tears for innocent lives walking out there with their fates unknown to them. Written for the 200+ abducted girls and the victims of Boko Haram. I have deep pain in my heart and I know only God can help us. Culled from "theinkheartblog". ...2014

A LETTER TO DAME PATIENCE JONATHAN ON THE ABDUCTION OF CHIBOK GIRLS. #bringbackourgirls

1. Dear Patience Dame Jonathan, I want to use this medium to congratulate you on the just concluded wedding of your Daughter. 2. I really do wish her the best of connubial bliss. 3. Dame, there is this issue that bothers me and every other well meaning Nigerian. 4. This issue i suppose is pertinent to you and the natıon, ıt degenerates the brand Nıgerıa, but you seem mute over it. 5. Its about Mrs Halimat Galadama, her name doesn't ring a bell right. 6. Mrs Halimat is at the base of the heirachy prism of social and financial strata, Nigeria doesnt keep birth record, so you cant find her in a non exıstential Data base. 7. She is a middle aged woman about 42, she resides in Chibok, an obscure village in Borno State. 8.Mrs Halimat's daughter(Zainab) is amongst the 234 girls who has been abducted for 15days and taken to a certain sambisa forest. 9. Mrs Halimat fought "tooth and nail" to see Zainab and her siblings get education, even if it was not of high quality. 10. She had so many conflicts with her husband and in-laws about the girl child not going to school and getting married off at thirteen!. 11. She was ready to oppose the predisposition of illiteracy, "yerima marriage" and recycled poverty. 12. After much marital pleading and confrontations, her husband agreed to send Zainab to school, and not beyond secondary education. 13. Dats why Zainab is 18 and still in JSS3, a rare occurence in the south-west region. 14. Even though Zainab is still in school, she had been betrothed to a certain Mallam Nuhu Shinkafi. 15. Nuhu Shinkafi is the younger brother to the village head of choibok, he his 42 and has 3 other girls betrothed to him already. 16. It's been over 2 weeks and Zainab along other gırls are still missing. 17. Mrs Halimat doesnt understand why Zainab and other girls were abducted in school. 18. She has been wailing consistently for two weeks. 19. She has turned pale, she has not been eating her low nutritional content meal. 20. She is bewildered, confused, heart-broken and has started experiencing trauma. 21. Two days ago, she called out to Zainab and see if she would answer but there was no response. 22. She goes to her room every morning trying to wake her to get to school; she has been hallucinating. 23. Her husband has put all the blame on her, "i told you, I didnt want to send this girl to school he would say" 24. He has threatened to throw her out or into the sambisa bush, if she doesnt bring back his child. 25. This implies that there is automatically no education for Mariam (her younger daughter). 26. Mrs Halimat just wishes she could turn back the hands of time. 27. The atmosphere in her home is precarious, her husband is getting aggressive. 28. He hit her so badly a forthnight back, tore her veil and pushed her out, where she spent the whole night wailing. 29. She has been to the office of the local goverment at Chibok,  Herself and other bereaved women. 30. The chairman says, the situation is beyond his political might. 31. He recommends she directs her pleas to the state Governor and other security agents. 32. Herself and other women decided to go in search of their daughters in company of local security watchs. 33. With poorly oiled lanterns, in the direction of sambisa forest they marched. 34. A lantern is a mesolithic lightning system before the wide spread of electricity in sub-saharan Africa. 35. A march of anger, sorrow and tears into the forest of human demons. 36. Amidst the poor ecological ambience of the savannah plate, snake bites, tree tears and whistle, yet they march on. 37. As they marched local farmers shooked their heads in pain and pity. 38. Suddenly, they came to a halt!do not go beyond this boundary,a wretched old man adorned with dirty beards said. 39. The last ones who crossed here didnt return and their bodies were dumped by men who had guns and catridges around their body, he said. 40. Their corpses rotted away and some others were feasted upon by hungry vultures. 41. Mrs Halimat became volatile to these hearkenings, she flung the lantern in her hands and threw herself on the ground.

42. There was a palpable silence, all mothers with heads bowed, engulfed in disappointment of not finding their daughters. 43.  They retreated, surrendered their frail weapons of hoes and cutlasses, Mrs Halimat dropped a note at the boundary foot hoping the human demons find it. 44. The note stated thus "Ya'yanmu mata na da laifi, ina roƙonka ka bar su su je" which literally translates to "our daughters are innocent, please let them go". 45. They had lost a war that hadn't even started.   46. She travelled back in her memoirs, during political campaigns, she stood four different days under the lashing and scourging sun. 47. She thumbprinted during elections, giving her mandate to an unknown, but believing hope was on its way. 48. She remembered giving birth to Zainab amidst labour pains, the harsh treatment in the hands of the mid wives. 49. The men whom she entrusted her mandates of civic rights have failed her. She was hopeless and helpless. 50. The dreams, hopes and fears she shared with Zainab as a child, all were heading into a mirage. 51. A'a, AllahYa sa ni? she muttered to herself, she is never going to meet with Zainab again as tears begin to cascade down her face. 52. She tries to imagine the situation of Zainab; the carnage, lust, defilement and forceful marriage. She closes her eyes and stops the imagination. 53.Mallam Nuhu Shinkafi is back, an ultimatum has been issued as an agreement was reached. 54. Mariam will be paying for sins even Zainab didn't commit. 55. Mariam's forceful child marriage to Mallam Nuhu holds Next week at chibok in Borno state, its not going to be a gala event. 56. Dame Patience, i suggest you just returned from your elder daughters home and the little one is doing just fine in your bossom. 57. Dame, the women of chıbok and well meaning Nigerians needs you to emphatise and act on the releasal of over 234 innocent girls. 58. Mama P, you have been too mute on the chibok perilious ambience. 59. Mama P, you sure have the political power, the human capability but its the will i am not sure of. 60. Mama P, 234 mothers dont know where their daughters her, 234 mothers cant sleep, 234 mothers are in trauma and 234 homes are ın agony. 61. What a life for Mrs Halimat, Zainab is missing and Mariam is being forced into early marriage. 62. I commit Mrs Halimat and traumatised mothers to God and the word of His Grace. 63. A well meaning Nigerian, Aladeniking. Babatunde "Aladeniking" Aladeloba is a prolific writer and public speaker. You can follow him on twitter @aladeniking. Gracias!

' The wealthiest spot on earth is not the oil fields of Kuwait, Iraq or Saudi Arabia; neither is it the gold and diamond mines of South Africa, the uranium mines of Soviet Union, or the silver mines of Africa. Though it may surprise you, the richest deposits on the planet lie just a few blocks from your house. They rest in your local cemetry or graveyard. Buried beneath the soil within the walls of those sacred grounds are dreams that never came to pass, songs that were never sung, books that were never written, paintings that never filled a canvas, ideas that were never shared, visions that never went beyond the drawing board of the mind, and purposes that were never fulfilled. Our graveyards are filled with so much potentials that remained only as potentials. What a tragedy!' A statement of Myles Munroe Culled from Jimi Tewe's "Free from Corporate Slavery" 2011...

How deep the father's love for us

A real touching story I must say. Saw it somewhere and couldn't but share. How deep the father's love for us indeed... After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high that, even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized." The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in the story. The aged minister continued with his story. "Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of the waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!', he threw out the life line to the son's friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered." By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that He could do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of the life line." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service, the two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely said one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian." "Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. Sorrow began to overtake the old man's smiling face as he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm here today to tell you that I understand more than most the pain God must have felt to give up His only Son. For you see, I'm the man who lost his son to the ocean that day, and my son's friend that I chose to save is your pastor." Folks, please let's not allow the sacrificial death of Jesus be futile over our life. Days are flowing fast, the end of time comes fast, people are dying by the second too. It's high time we took that decision, of where we wanna spend eternity. Please give your life to Christ today, 2mr might just never come.

Iowa Couple Married 72 Years Dies Holding Hands, an Hour Apart

A devoted Iowa couple married for 72 years died holding hands in the hospital last week, exactly one hour apart. The passing reflected the nature of their marriage, where, "As a rule, everything was done together," said the couple's daughter Donna Sheets, 71. Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife Norma, 90, left their small town of State Center, Iowa, on Wednesday to go into town, but never made it. A car accident sent the couple to the emergency room and intensive care unit with broken bones and other injuries. But, even in the hospital, their concerns were each other. "She was saying her chest hurt and what's wrong with Dad? Even laying there like that, she was worried about Dad," said the couple's son, Dennis Yeager, 52. "And his back was hurting and he was asking about Mom." When it became clear that their conditions were not improving, the couple was moved into a room together in beds side-by-side where they could hold hands. "They joined hands; his right hand, her left hand," Sheets said. Gordon Yeager died at 3:38 p.m. He was no longer breathing, but the family was surprised by what his monitor showed. "Someone in there said, 'Why, then, when we look at the monitor is the heart still beating?'" Sheets recalled. "The nurse said Dad was picking up Mom's heartbeat through Mom's hand." "And we thought, 'Oh my gosh, Mom's heart is beating through him,'" Dennis Yeager said. Norma Yeager died exactly an hour later. "Dad used to say that a woman is always worth waiting for," Dennis Yeager said. "Dad waited an hour for her and held the door for her." The inseparable couple was engaged and married within 12 hours in 1939 on the day Norma Yeager graduated from high school. "She graduated from high school on May 26, 1939, at about 10 a.m., and at about 10 p.m. that night she was married to my dad at his sister's house," Sheets said. The vibrant duo had a "very, very full life." They worked as a team. They traveled together, they were in a bridge club together and they worked in a Chevrolet dealership, creamery and other businesses together. "They always did everything together," Sheets said. "They weren't apart. They just weren't." Dennis Yeager described his father as an "outgoing" and "hyper" man who was still working on the roof of his house and sitting cross-legged with no problem at age 90. "The party didn't start until he showed up," he said. "He was the outgoing one and she supported him by being the giver. She supported Dad in everything. And he would've been lost without her." Dennis Yeager said it is strange today to go into his parents' home and see the "two chairs side-by-side that they sat in all the time," empty. He said it was in those chairs that his parents cheered on the Arizona sports teams they loved and rarely missed an episode of "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Price Is Right." According to their obituary, besides their children, the Yeagers are survived by her sister, Virginia Kell, and his brother, Roger Yeager, as well as 14 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Their grandson Randy Yeager said he has been inspired in his own 13-year marriage by his grandparents' loving and lasting marriage. "Grandpa and I were talking this summer about all of the people getting divorced for this reason or that and he mentioned that nobody stays together anymore," Randy Yeager wrote to ABCNews.com in an email. "I told [him] that my wife Mara and I would never be getting a divorce and he said, 'That's because you're old school, like me!' "That was one of the greatest compliments I could have ever received and one I will strive to live up to for the rest of my life," Randy Yeager said. The couple were put in a casket together holding hands for their funeral this week, but are being cremated and will have their ashes mixed before burial. "All their life has been together," Sheets said. "So, when it came to the funeral home, the family asked, 'Can we have them put in the casket together holding hands?' Because that's the way their life was." (Culled from abc news, Aug 28, 2012; Original Story by: Christina NG, Oct 24, 2011)

ODE

Life, as said and as agreed by many, is in phases,
And its prices and prizes also, in stages,
The man with the least chance of success is the one who never started,
So our hearts leaped with joy, at the qualification to climb another of life's major ladders,
'Only the strong will survive, Only the wise will excel....', so we brimmed with confidence in our physical strengths and mental vigour,
Onward we moved like Soldiers matching off to war,
Every pace bringing about a new phase, in our quest for the ultimate prize,
Like the proverbial dog of old, we refused to yield to the warnings from our major haunter- failure's whistle,
Together we rolled adventurously and happily like a school of whales with a sole target,
But beyond all the ranting,
There was this gradual freezing out that I noticed,
A constant leaking of ultimate fitting,
A natural grain-shaft separation mechanism,
A once-a-while outbreak of some major inferno,
Extinction thus became inevitable for the few who get burned,
So we got acquainted with some good fire fighters,
To the fire-fighter's house we ran at the slightest of gentle fires,
So the arduous task was being carried out enjoyably,
Because as soldiers, we knew when to attack and defend,
And of course when to flee,
Reality however dawned on us when we found out that even the fire-fighter has his own fire to deal with at times,
Our hearts groaned because prophecy caught up with even the most fervent of prophets at some time,
So this spurred us to learn to solve our own issues by ourselves independently of external help...
The journey was a bittersweet experience,
Filled with highs and lows, ons and offs, pluses and negatives, goods and bads,
And every other description you can give to a double-edged sword,
Like pencil marks on papers, we were constantly threatened with erasers,
Today we look back happily, though exhausted,
We have finally made it to the pinnacle of the ladder,
Against all odds, we have surpassed even the mountain top,
And I cannot but thank all and sundry for all supports in all forms,
I take the opportunity to apologize for all wrongs committed, both willingly and unwillingly,
To everyone with whom I ran the race, I say 'May God renew your strength, for there are still many more mountains to climb and rivers to cross,
May the good Lord keep us all, amen...
But shortly before I cap my ink,
I pay a tribute out to the fallen foliages,
I remember the fallen stars,
I pay another respect to the fallen souls,
The ones with whom we set-out but couldn't make it to the end,
May their souls be granted eternal tranquility,
Nonetheless, it has been a journey worth it,
I weep for the lost dreams and dashed hopes,
For the loss of directions and backwards movements, I drop a tear,
For the circumlocutory gyrations and the ceaseless perambulations,
For the number of times my dog went back to its vomit,
For the amount of re-ensnaring that my extricated prey did to itself,
For the times when my 'bull's eyer' acted dumbly blind,
And for the days of foolish longing for some good old days,
I tender myself a big apology, Accepted?? Sure!!..,
Today our eggs have become fathers to the hens, who laid them,
Once we were sons, but today, even our sons are fathers,
With nothing else to say, I will only ask that you be on the look-out for us,
Because another star has just been sent into the galaxies,
With just one purpose: to light up the nations...

PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE

Hi Peeps, I thought it will be nice to share this with you to begin the week with. I guess we have seen this before, but bringing it anew cannot be so much of a bore.









One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered:

"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.


We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

We Live in Constant fear not to lose what we have, but they have nothing to fear about.



The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have...

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your family and friends!




"Life is too short and friends are too few."





Wish you all a very wonderful week