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”.