FERT

Humans of Lagos "I've relocated more than three times, moving within cities before arriving Lagos; yet like a shadow with a hollow, pain from the past sticks to my gut. My struggle continues within Lagos, where I've unrelentingly moved from one place to another like six times. Still my old self clings to me like an infant to a mother's breast. I thought time heals wound. But it's a lie, time doesn't heal any wound. It only allows you live with the pain. Bibitayo, my counselor sees time as an illusion in healing.That, what heals our pain is building resilient and strength through the vulnerability we go through with time . Perhaps. I now know that leaving the country without consciously healing my pain and trauma will only make them follow me like a plague wherever I go. Time may not heal this pain but my effort will, with time." © FERT, 2018

Humans of Lagos "When I said I am irreligious, he asked: "So what moral do you want to teach the pupils?" My opened mouth only oozed of the stale smell of my frozen mind. He felt justified for calling me out. My colleagues, cowered on their seat at the rising terror of getting a rejection from the project under review. All because of me, this deal is falling through. The man cleared his throat so loudly it blended with the humming of his office air-conditioning system. "Without religion, evil will be so much in the world. And human freedom will lead the world quickly into an irredeemable destructions." He boasted like a conqueror of the battle of the hades. He won the round. I was too disoriented to make a sound. Before we got dismissed for the day, the man asked us for another meeting in which we should all be religiously inclined and represented. "You can go now," He ordered. I regained my senses before I gathered my defeated ass o...

Humans of Lagos "In this city, leaders of most religion organizations are quick to rattle on on how they feed the poor, house the orphans and so on. They make charity works look like they are the only one into it. And I'm like, in this slum that I live; I'm popular not 'cos of my "crazy" fro but 'cos of people I've helped in one way or the other. I'm as broke as hell, yet, I don't call for seeds sowing. I just give like that. So what's it with these cleries? This riled me up. In my area, a woman with fibroid was duped by fake healers and I felt sorry for her. I stepped in and suggested she considered surgery. Unfortunately for a "philanthropist"  me, I had to sell five of my best outfit to add to her surgery fund. I also went ahead to donate blood. Well, that blood donation was not a charitable move but rather an opportunity to run a blood work. Still, I am of the opinion that these religious leaders are smart thiev...

Humans of Lagos These ladies in my area keep becoming pregnant by strange men. They claim to be prostitutes, yet, they could not just be professional with their jobs. Like use proper condoms or get on contraceptives! Bringing a child you have no plan for to this hectic world is the greatest sin I ever known. I fear for the future of these kids, I'm scared about the kind of contributions they'll bring into the society with impending dysfunctional upbringing!  Deadbeat fathers with reckless mothers birth disasters for the society. © FERT, 2018

Humans of Lagos "Despite arriving at the venue eight minutes before I was due, I was not attended, none of us was, until an hour has passed. And when they began calling us for the interview,  it was haphazard. They never followed how we had arrived. Some of those I came before got interviewed before me. When they decided to called me in, two other interviewees were asked to join. When we entered the company's conference hall, we met two gentlemen (a white man and Nigerian), and a pretty lady. We were asked to introduced ourselves, the two other fellow actually applied for the post of business development executive while I applied as a script writer. The interviewer focused more on these business developers, as he threw more questions to them while I was ignored. I wasn't following them. I was rather disinterested. I heard the two guys disagreeing with the interviewers on a business term. But still no interest to follow their discussion. Then from nowhere t...

Humans of Lagos "I'm not too happy to share my mind right now. I obtained a HUGE loan from an elderly woman a few months back and now I am trapped. I couldn't pay on the date I promised so I stopped picking her calls. I began to avoid her. Yesterday, I got the money and I decided to pay her with ginormous interest. Hours later, I tried calling her to confirm my payment but her phone number was unreachable. This morning, I realized that she actually died a few hours before I made my payment. I'm so sad, I could have called her before my rash decision to pay first and call later. Her death could have written off my debt!" © FERT, 2018

Humans of Lagos "Allow me tell you to something. Many years ago, when my late father, retired and was to return to his village far away from Lagos, my mother took a decision. The decision that defined who I am now, and will be. So as to keep his company; my father had wanted me follow him to the village. Being  the last child. However, my mother disagreed. She considered, the quality of education I'd get in the village, and how they at their old age wouldn't be able to raise me well. Without my mother's objection, if I relocated to the village; I'd not just have the H factor, but also succumb to the external  struggle to pronounce CH, SH, V, and F sounds. If I'd grown up in that village, before age 15, I'm sure I'd be father to at least 3 kids from different mothers. But instead and yes, I later  became a politician by career and profession. To back track, my mother handed me over to my brother's fiancee. She washed my clothes, bathed ...