Here's another great piece by Anike Alli-Hakeem (this geh is jes too talented and intelligent) It's titled 'Hold my hand'....Enjoy. BTW, we are going to Las Vegas together.

You see, I’m a girl with too many hobbies. I love to do many things. I love to sleep, eat ice-cream and travel most of all. So, I woke up this morning and for 10 brief and hazy seconds, I was trying to ascertain what city I was in. The thing is, I live in Lagos and Abuja (don’t ask how I manage that alongside having a 9-5 job). I love both cities dearly. When I’m in one, I crave to be in the other, so I devised a plan which works for me.

When I’m in Lagos, I have to be physically at the office. On my way to work each day, I see a man selling plastic buckets in traffic just around Ojuelegba bridge. This man cannot be 25 years old. One can safely assume that he has a family he caters for. If selling plastics is all he does for a living, I really do not know how he can afford to eat two meals in a day. I had ice-cream for dinner yesterday. It was like a meal because I was full, yet, ice-cream is just dessert. Imagine that man. He must have his dreams, his hopes, his aspirations. Me, all I want is just to be able to travel and eat ice-cream and laugh and love and live. What can I possibly tell that man? *sigh*

So, this is what I will do…….. I WILL travel through the eyes of people like that man. When I see the smiles, I would appreciate it just as much as if I were walking around the arc de triomphe in France or planning a trip to Las Vegas with my friends or eating ice-cream for dinner.

I may not be able to make the whole nation smile, but I can start, a city at a time. I may not be able to make the whole city smile, but I can start, a person at a time. I may not be able to do it alone. I do not have to. I have 11 people holding hands with me and all individually saying; “all I want for Christmas, is to be a blessing”.

October 4th.............Why is it so important?

It's 4th October.................guess what it is today ? Please stop rolling your eyes, yeah, it's not a public holiday. It is the bestie's birthday today. God, I love that girl to bits. She can be mightily annoying and very rude(she still doesn't' get it...I'm older than her, 8 months is no joke).

How did we meet?

I think she wrote me a 'please be my friend' letter when we were kids, but she will not agree, anyway, that's what is in my head. Anyway, we became friends, cute friends I might add. We went to the same secondary school and university. I was the timid one, she was the outgoing  one. She actually bullied me in secondary school, can you imagine that? So one day I accidentally cut this girl's sandals and she said I must pay her, I really begged her o, she refused. She now went to bring some of her wack friends and they were threatening me, on our way home that day, I refused to talk to her and I started planning bad things for her and the day came, she came to my house, entered my room and I quietly went to lock the door, I pushed her on the bed, sat on her and started beating her, oh lawd, I can never forget that moment of victory.

This chic made me understand the power of influence, quiet, gentle me, suddenly became an extrovert to the surprise of everyone, and the reason was very conspicuous, 'Jennifer Adinga' happened.

We've had great moments, days of laughter, days of tears, days of craze *we can eat corn on the road, we just don't send* I can be myself around her, I don't have to pretend. She defends me and is always there for me. She's one in a million. I'd also like to add that it's best not to get involved when we are quarrelling, for your own good. We've grown together, from the time we started dancing to 'Barney' in front of the TV, to 'Busy body'- P square...lmao, and now we are bigz gehs fixing human hair.

I'm sorry honey that I'm not around as you turn 21, but it's not like you came for mine. Two can play that game....hehehe

xoxo