Sweet Escape With Voke

 Here is a thought! Why do Nigerians love answers especially when bad things happen?  In the olden days, prior to the colonial masters and even after the colonial masters came to Africa, our forefathers practised divination, poured a libation to the ancestors and tried to find out why certain predicaments befell the people.  They got answers quite alright. With the witches taking the bulk of the blame or it was the god’s way of helping them find their way back and rethink their decisions.  When the people left the way of their fathers after much persuasion from the foreigners. How did the foreigners do this? By demonising the way the people worshipped.   So the people accepted the new religion but it did not stop their curiosity. It only doubled the need for answers. Churches sprang up in all corners.  The advertisement employed by these churches pointed to solutions in a bid to attract the people. So you read Marine ...

             With a Pandemic before us and the constant advise to wash our hands, social distancing, quarantine. I feel like the best buddy these times is really a book. Not just any book! A good book.  So I recommend the following books knowing that you should like it because they are really good. 1.  Pride And Prejudice by Jane Austen   Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is set in a different time so you get to escape from the happenings around you and find solace in a different time. Like a handy time machine. And it is also about love so how about that?   2.  A Religious Book. As we try to just stay calm and far away from others as much as we can. If you are religious like me, you may cling to the Bible, the Quran, according to your faith. This I know is very rewarding. Like a personal counsellor.  3. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah.  Details the childhood of Trevor Noah. Really fun and i...

Putting together the perfect Mother’s Day message is never easy. This year, I kept staring at the blank sheet and all I could think of was how flawed my mother really is.  On days like this, people really just like to highlight how much of superhero mothers are. However, even though my mother loves attention so much. She is just another human.  A  human who makes mistakes. Capable of forgetting to put down the food from the fire, Coiling up and falling asleep on the couch, biting her fingernails, Irrational and impulsive at times, grumpy and sometimes lose her temper.  My mother some days appear from her room looking like a fashion killer and somedays she just walks out of her room wearing a rumpled shirt and we have to persuade, beg and pacify her to go change.  She's got a sharp tongue that could draw tears from your eyes and can set the entire house on fire. When the ball of drama starts to roll no one can escape it.   Miracl...

Corona Virus reared its head fully in 2020 although the virus is not new, it has been around since 2019. Coronavirus manifested in Wuhan China until the virus spread its tentacles to other parts of the globe.  World Health Organisation projected a new name for the disease COVID-19 and watching the level of it’s spread went further to declare the disease a pandemic.  What really is COVID- 19?  COVID-19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Coronavirus can be very infectious as it can be passed from one person to another through respiratory droplets. Hence people have been advised to correctly wash their hands, cough in a civil way i.e the vampire cough/sneeze- The vampire cough/sneeze means coughing or sneezing into your elbow instead of your palm in order to avoid spreading any disease, practising social distancing. Common symptoms of the disease include A fever, Coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat. Symptoms may progres...

I know a place filled with a carefree lot. The citizens love living life fast and on the edge. Lord knows how hard they dance on the edge despite knowing that the rock might tilt and they end up at the bottom of the hill. Another thing these people love besides living fast and loud is Hope. One would not blame them because hope seemed to be the only constant thing in their lives. Hope was always there. They could be in a vehicle that is about to explode and their general thought would be;  I know this vehicle is about to go up in flames and we will all die but I, however, HOPE!! it does not happen before I get to my destination.  They make all sorts of wild decisions;   Let us build our houses close to oil fields. And in times of an explosion, we grieve and continue living there anyway.  What happens when a pandemic occurs? They fold their arms and hope somehow it will just go away.  And with a government that does not put the ci...

For Nigerians, there is only one solution to a shut door and that is breaking the entire building down. This is because Nigerians always find a way to get through. The fight is never easy. This is why the older generation always dishes out nuggets on survival to the younger generation.  You just have to survive! Even if it means changing a lot of things about yourself like your complexion, age, accent. Today, I am going to focus on fake accents. This almost every Nigerian is guilty of. Sounding foreign in order to be steps ahead of people who sound “ local” .  With this fake accent, you can penetrate into almost any space in the society. Does not matter the nationality you represent as long as you sound foreign.  One would assume this must be pretty frustrating. Yes, it is. How is this frustration eased?  By making fun of those who still speak with a Nigerian intonation by calling them derogatory names when in truth, the individual with both a Brit...