The Epiphany

She struggled within her
"You are just a child, little one", the voice said
"Why do you think of yourself as anything more than that?"
"What do you know? For how long have you lived?"
"How can you even dare to stand among the big guns?"

The Girlfriend's Solution To Husband Problems

"If the grass is greener on the other side, it's probably AstroTurf!"

The thing about a good story is that it has the ability to speak to you and teach you sound wisdom without you having to allocate a lot of brain power to analysing it. The words just float into your subconscious and get lodged in there. This right here, is what I call a good story. You'll want to read this to the end:

The Secret Of Hands To Die For

I have a particular friend whose hands I love to shake, not only shake them but also hold on to them for longer than necessary, and no, it's not about a crush, it's because his hands are soft like a baby's. I really don't know how he does it, and if we weren't so close, I would feel embarrassed about letting him touch my hands at all since mine feel so hard compared to his. I figured it should be the other way round, what's a guy doing with hands so soft anyway? (I think it's just his genes anyway, considering all the hard work he does with those hands!)

Tyre Safety: How To Avoid The Unimaginable

Early last year, my best friend was out of town for some reason and needed me to help him get some new tyres for his car before he got back. New tyres, right? No big deal! At least that was what I thought until he started telling me repeatedly to check the expiry dates on them before the purchase. Shuo?! Tyre dey get expiry date? I didn't even know. To make sure I knew what he meant, bff went on to sent me two PowerPoint presentations on tyre safety, I started to wonder why it was so much of a fuss. 

With the recent unfortunate accident of the labour minister, I was reminded of those tyre safety presentations I read then. So, it's important to know some of these things after all! I got a helpful message on whatsapp about tyre safety, let's circulate this information. Who knows, it could save a life!

A Practical Guide To Help You Extend The Life Of Your Smartphone

Smartphone business is one of the booming industries in Nigeria today. Every time I go to a phone shop, I'm always amazed at how much traffic they get at all times of the day. Sometimes, it seems they even get more customer traffic than shopping malls! The needs of the customers range from wanting to upgrade their phones to the newest flagships available to buying accessories or fixing damages such as broken screens or bad batteries. From experience, I know that none of these come cheap. Even fixing a broken screen is sometimes as high as a quarter of the original price of the device (if you are getting original parts). It's way cheaper to use your devices in a way that you don't need to change them as often or do frequent repairs. These are 10 practical ways to get the mist out of your smart phones.

Youth Engagement: The Game Changer For Africa's Development

This expository paper was written by Peter Olufemi Eludini as part of a Project for the World Bank Group Course titled “Engaging Citizens: A Game Changer For Development”. The author's words stem from his passionate zeal to see Africa transformed as the youth are given a chance to step up and take their rightful place in the scheme of things. 

The Shopping Mall Stalker

It was a fine weather day and a young man was browsing through the shelves at a shopping mall, picking the things he needed into his shopping trolley. The trolley was almost full when he stood in front of the soap and detergent section, his eyes darted across the shelves as he sought his regular brand. Suddenly a lady popped up behind him, "good afternoon sir" said the girl. The gentleman turned to see a young woman of slight frame who looked like she was just fresh out of her teenage years. He saw immediately that she was a salesgirl. She was wearing skinny jeans and a branded T-shirt, complete with a face cap, sneakers and a sling bag dangling across her body.

Cheatsheet: How To Turn Heads Without Baring

There is a lot of pressure on ladies to dress indecently so as to be attractive these days, it's very unfortunate. We need to realize that it's far more attractive to leave that little extra up to the imagination. Somewhere along the line, fashion rules started to dictate that ladies have to reveal a bit of cleavage to make the heads turned, and somehow, we all accepted it as standard.

Believe it or not, you can be attractive and draw attention without even being indecent or immodest. Here's how to strike the balance.

The Gentleman's Rulebook

How would you describe a gentleman? Someone who is decently dressed, well mannered, cultured, humble, polite, and well educated, right? Well, a gentleman is all that and more! According to the gentleman's journal, these are the 30 life rules every gentleman should live by.

The Special Breed Of Super Humans

A while back, I shared an article about the man who went to complain to a psychologist that his wife was a full time housewife who "doesn't do any work" When the psychologist was done interviewing him, it became obvious that the one who 'doesn't work' was probably working as hard as the complainer, maybe even harder, but just in different ways. I read the article below recently and it made me recall the one about the wife who does not work. A woman hardly ever has the luxury of just sleeping off, there is always something more to do!

10 Terrible Choices You Make For Your Kidneys

Do you remember Muna Obiekwe of blessed memory? He was a well loved Nigerian actor who died in January 2015 of kidney failure. Needless to say, his passing was tragic. A couple of weeks ago, I got to hear about the relative of a friend who also lost his life to kidney failure early this year. What makes it more painful is that these deaths are needless and often caused by the victims themselves due to poor lifestyle choices. 

When Love Became Quantum Physics

Today, on his Facebook wall, a friend shared this thought: "I think these days there are too much lectures on relationship/marriage issues. On TV, radio, Internet, religious houses, and through any medium possible. They all focus on what couples are doing or are not doing or should be doing. All of a sudden, romance has become quantum physics. So difficult and complicated a subject."

I smiled when I read that, and then gave it some thought. I think the subject of love has always been something humans have found rather complicated and difficult. Its just that there has been a lot more talk about it recently. However, if you think of it, there has been a lot more talk about anything and everything recently. Everyone wants to talk, wants to have their voices heard, or simply even hear the sound of their own voices! There has been something said about every single subject you can think of. Run a Google search of something as silly as 'how to poop' and you'll see so many results come up. Love and romance is just another one of the many topics that makes for interesting discussions and online trends.

Our Exciting And Wholesome New Addition To Mealtimes

"I want a new addition to my meals", my dad said to me this morning. "Henceforth, I want lots of fresh tomatoes and onions at least 1 - 2 times a week". I wondered where that was coming from. Being a Nigerian family, a Yoruba one at that, tomatoes and onions are part of our daily diet already! We make stew from a blend of tomatoes, pepper and onions, and we get to eat that every single day in one form or another, so why did dad suddenly want even more? " While I was thinking about this, he continued, " I want plenty of tomatoes and onions to be fried briefly and used to make egg sauce, you can also steam them for other meals". Hmmn, dad wasn't the first man I knew paying special attention to tomatoes and onions (especially tomatoes) in recent times. Has there been some kind of campaign or tomato awareness program targeted at men recently?

Operation Buy Naija, Grow The Naira!

May I invite you to join the #BuyNaijaGrowNaira campaign that some of us are so excited about? The Silverbird boss, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce wrote an article inspiring Nigerians to keep our money at home. I have taken the liberty to share a copy of his article here because I think he makes sense. The one point on which I beg to differ is saying Nasco cornflakes tastes the same as Kellogs. Haba! How can? As Yoruba people will say, 'don't tell us that a dog is a monkey'. Infact, how can you use pap to compare oats? Anyway, despite Oga Ben's controversial nature, let's forget about the bearer of the message and focus on the message itself. Personally, about the central point of this message, I concur with oga Ben. I am ready to produce Naija, buy Naija and grow Naira! You nko?

Ridiculously Easy Ways To Keep More Money In Your Pocket Everyday

Recently, I got lured by an advert I saw to learn how to make 20 different cocktail mixes in an online class for N1000. Being the food and drink enthusiast that I am, I was ready to sign up for it. That was before my best friend (bless his kind heart and analytical mind. Lol) pointed out to me that I could find loads of free resources online that would give me the same knowledge or even more and would cost me less than N1000 to learn in data cost. Of course, I didn't sign up for the class again and yet I will probably be in a position to teach you how to make 25 different cocktails soon! That experience got me thinking that there are so many ways in which we spend unnecessarily everyday.

Who  doesn't wanna keep more money in his/her pocket these days?! These are some pointers to help you do just that:

Broke At 21, Millionaire By 30: This Was How

"If you're born poor, it's not your mistake. But if you die poor, it is your mistake."

A couple of months ago, I shared this story about how a young 21 year old man went from broke to made in 7 years. In the face of all the recent economic upheavals, now is the time we all need financial wisdom the most. This is why I think it's a good idea to put this out again at this time. I hope you can find a bit of help from this post in this troubled times. For me, the second and fourth points are so spot on! Particularly for us Africans.

Brown Vs White: The Battle Of The Rice Grains

Is brown rice really healthier than white rice? My mum practicallly swears that it is and I know that is the popular opinion, but how about getting some actual facts? ( by the way, I've always told mum that maybe we Nigerians just need to stop heaping mountains of rice on at every meal and rather have it in small quantities as a side dish, then it won t even matter if the rice was brown or white!)

The facts: 

Choosing the right grain is not as simple as you think. An expert explains why white rice may be the healthier option after all.  

Stuff Is Just Stuff: Breaking The Hold Of Materialism

In the materialistic world that we live in, we worship objects and derive pleasure solely from them. We want to possess more and more, thinking that only this way we can live in joy. Our thirst for more material things is never quenched, and we end up even more thirsty, addicted, sad, exhausted.

Short Story: Games Of The Mind

Alice thought hard and fast. She had no idea of how she had gotten to this place. One minute, she was falling asleep. The next thing she knew, she was here. It was not a dream; she had already convinced herself of that. She had slapped herself and pinched as hard as she dared. No, this was no dream, and it wasn't the time to wonder on how she got here. Her survival instincts had set in.

When Bingo Died

Who knew any Nigerian could be so pained by the death of a dog? After all, some Nigerian tribes even slaughter dogs to make a delicacy. How then could this poor man mourn the death of his dog so deeply to the extent that he is waiting for the same death that killed his dog to come kill him too? You will need to hear from the horse's mouth.

Are You Ready For A Little Bit Of Crazy?!

I have a question for you. Just one question, but before you answer the question, you'll have to read the story. So, here goes the question: Did this poor man whose story is below have a right to go crazy? And now, to his story:

Slow Fade: A Story Of Love That Once Was...

Tope had been uncomfortable all afternoon. It was Valentine's day and Bayo was taking her out later in the day, she should have been very excited about that, but Tope was anything but excited.

She and Bayo had been together for two years now. She had first agreed to date him on February 14,  two years ago, so today was not just Val for them, it was also their anniversary. Their 1st anniversary last year had been magical, but a lot of things had changed since then.

The Guy Who Thought He Was Being Nasty

Have you ever been angry or bitter at someone for no good reason? Or maybe even for good reason? Did you try to hurt that person or just do things to make the person feel bad?  You should be careful about doing that though, because sometimes, you find that the joke is on you...

Kitchen Hacks That Make Cooking A Breeze

Most men I know don't know how to cook. The few that know how to cook don't like to cook. Whenever they do cook, they make it seem like it's rocket science. It takes unnecessarily long time and they make a fuss about the whole thing and then overhype their efforts at the end. Then there is that small group of men that know how to cook and also actually love to cook. I will do everything possible to make sure my sons belong to that final category (the daughter in-laws will thank me someday. lol). Pardon me, this is not attack on the male folk, I was just saying. But the point is this, no matter what gender you are, cooking is actually easy and you can come to really love to cook. These hacks are not exhaustive but they will really help. You might want to print out this list and keep it handy somewhere in the kitchen for reference till you get used to all the stuff.

For The Love Of Food: The Making Of Moimoi Rolls

I'm very 'heggzited' (Falz style) about this recipe. You know I can't pass by good looking food without giving it a second look. 9ja foodie has totally done me in this time! Making moimoi has never been easier (or prettier!) If you run into me at any shopping centre today, it's parchment paper I'm looking for o, and the other ingredients to make this gengen dish. This one must not pass me by na! I don't think it should pass you by either, so therefore, dear OOB reader, kindly help yourself to the exciting rolled moimoi recipe and prep method as succinctly spelled out by 9ja foodie!

The Scary Thing About Our New Generation Schools

Shout out to all the mommies and daddies and uncles and aunties and all other categories of people who have wards or kids in school today. I remember those days back in school, I had this class mate whose mum was always coming to schools to make scenes and call-out teachers who were 'maltreating' her child. The child in question was actually very naughty and always attracted beatings. It seems parents and guardians still have to pay several visits to schools these days, but for vastly different reasons now. Some of these schools and teachers just need to be set straight. Wouldn't you go to a school where they give your child the kind is assignment in the photo below? I think you would, at least to go and ask just what exactly they mean to achieve.

Can't Do Without The Heels, Can Do Without The Pain!

Wearing high heels improperly can cause a lot of physical pain and may even pose serious risks to one’s overall health over time. This, however, does not mean we all have to bring our heels out to the city square, set them on fire and dance around them with hands raised high. We only need to learn that there is a right way to wear them so we do not hurt when the sun sets. Here are a few tips to help make high heels comfortable. 

Recognizing A Killer In Our Midst

During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) ...she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.