AFRICA

(3th of September)

I woke up by 5:43am this morning, I had a fantastic night sleep and yes it was wonderful, I got up and hurried as I was already late for prayer, I hurried to the mosque in which I prayed before returning home and I also went straight to my bed as I went back to my wonderful sleep, which was not that wonderful at all, because I was constantly woken up by one thing or the other.

I was not going to work today as I already called the office to inform them about it, I was tired and felt like I needed some rest, and besides it's not like I had anything to do in the firm again because of my promotion.

I woke up and it was already 8:30am and I walked straight to the bathroom to clean my self.

I was done now, and so I went to the kitchen.

"Tood mourting ta" I heard the voice of my little baby sister zainab, she was talking to me.

"Hey, how are you?"

"Taine"she was only two and managed to pronounce these words.

" Where is your mom"I asked as if she was not my mom

"da, da, Dada, Dada,"she said repeatedly as she opened her hands, signifying a huge

" My baby how are you?" I said as I picked her from the ground and carried her to the kitchen she was on the floor of the parlor.

"Tine" she replied while playing with my singlet, she was trying to see what was under but somehow she still was not satisfied with what she saw.

"Mom" she was pointing her tiny hands towards the kitchen, wow I never knew that children was this smart.

"Okay"

I carried her as I went straight to the kitchen, I saw mom there, and she was preparing breakfast, I entered, and she started.

"Salam" she greeted

"Walaykumusalam" I replied her greeting

"Oh my baby how are you?" She said with a worried look on her face.

"Mom I have seen better and worst days, but Alhamdulillah, I am still thankful to God either ways"

"Soooooo"

"How is your husband, and your children?"

My mom and dad have four children, but I am the first child and the rest of my siblings are in school.

"Lahiyakalo, ka gan suna acikin gida a lagas suna gin zahin lagas fa, but munachai Alhamdulillah fa"

"What?"

"Don't tell me that you don't understand Hausa"

"Yeah, yeah, it's not my mother's tongue"

And besides she more than anyone should know that I have not spent up to five years in Nigeria, so where do you want me to learn their language from.

"He is fine, they are all fine love, and how is my baby?"

"Better mom"

"How is your job?, and how are they treating you?"

" Nice and getting better by the way"

"Soooo, any news on that case?"

"Mom our new boss asked me to forget about the story ?"

After a long while she kept quiet before saying.

"You don't mention"

"Will you

"Of course, do you want me to lose my job"

"No, my baby but is it fair, my love is it, why doesn't she want the publication of the story ?, she doesn't like it or what, let's eat"

"Hmm"

"Babe you know I don't like this house you live in I want you to be comfortable you know your dad and I can afford to buy you a bigger house and a car, you know that right?"

"Mom, I just got a promotion and the new job actually pay well, so thank you very much I would be able to buy a house for myself"

"Okay"

"So, that's nice to hear"

"Yeah I guess it is"

"So how is your boss?"

"No idea mom besides I don't even know her, so please let's eat, besides I got a promotion in my work and I think that celebration that you've always wanted"

"Hmm, is it the promotion you told me about on the phone"

"Yes ma"

"OK, but whatever sha, I wish you the very best my love"

"Thanks mom"

"So let's eat"

"Yeah"

And with this we concluded the conversation and headed off for the parlor my apartment was not huge but it was okay and enough for me if you'd ask me.

We went to the parlor and sat down the food was already dished into two different plates and a sub plate for zainab to eat on.

We sat down together on the sofa, which was inside the parlor it was pretty soft if you asked me, it was nice as I helped her place the food on the table. I turned on the TV and it took me time before I could locate the news station the truth was that I hardly watched TV, cos I don't see any essence in so, not because of anything but because it is time-wasting and stressful, it also gives head aches and the list goes on.

I finally found the station I was looking for, it was a news station I tuned it to, and so we were going to watch it, there were talking about a program for children but it was based for the less privileged and this time there were talking about African children.

"Mom, don't you think that Africa needs help" I was asking for Africa at large.

"Yes she does, she is in great need for help, she is bleeding away her natural resources, living her people with abject poverty, she is fading away into a dark whole, into the stars and I don't think she could be brought back"

"True"

"Why?, we don't have good leaders and are not having the developed materials to improve her stander if living"

"We do need a solution"

"And what could that be"

" maybe a foundation for the making illegal of some of her practices"

"Like"

"Tanquuchi, I watched a program on it yesterday, not until then I did not know that such a barbaric act still leaves in Africa, it's a system whereby women and children are been sacrificed the practice needs one female member per family to sacrifice as the goods wife's to protect the rest of the family from the curse of the goods, they end up becoming the priests wife's, and they leave their family in such a tender age, it is a way of child labor and slavery because these girls are below fifteen of age, which has now been made illegal, but they still Cary out the practice"

"Haram"

"It is done in countries like Ghana, amongst many others."

"What can we do to help those Young innocent girls"

"For now only the law of those countries can help themselves"

"Hmm"

"I think if Africa is going to be food for better it will be its people that will drag it name from the mud that as swallowed her body to her neck."

"Yes"

"What about Nigeria, I know gentile mutilation is still practiced but not in most part of the country"

"Sadly it is practiced by the Hausa amongst few other ethnics, it is dining to reduce a woman's sexual urge"

"Does it really work"

"I do believe so, recently I heard about a practice whereby a girls' vagina will be down and only the part for urinating, and mensuration will be left for the girl and on her weeding night her husband will cut her loose from the sewing, yes I know it is hard to think about but just for one seconds imagine her pain"

"Inalillahi waina ilyahiragion, may God help and protect us"

"Amen"

"How can we stop this"

" son by creating public awareness I guess, we can also try and leave the rest for God and civilization "

"We need to help these children image the amount of pain they fell daily"

"And our government are busy playing games with our lives"

"Ain't it obvious"

"Son do you think we can help them, have we even talked about...."

"Child marriage"

"Yes, which is as regular as rain here in Nigeria, and the sad part of it is that they cover it with Islam not knowing that they are ignorant of the religion"

"Mom I wonder how someone will cut their child off from school just to put her in pains emotionally and physically, and also abject poverty"

"Marriage is not all pleasure"

"How will they know?"

"Its so sad that even here in the country's capital we will find people who are not able to communicate in English"

"Mom, what about child labor, I bought pure water from a four years old boy one time he was so quiet and innocent"

"How can they give birth to children they cannot afford for"

"God is wonderful, and the messenger of Allah peace and blessing of ALLAH be upon him said we should multiply his followers and Allah will provide for you"

"Son, don't forget that he also said that, we should have a birth space of two years which they don't follow"

"Well"

"OK, son explain the boko haram insurgency, I thought the messenger of Allah peace and blessing of ALLAH be upon him said seeking for knowledge is compulsory for all Muslim men and women, so why did they say learning is forbidden in Islam, or did the prophet said we should abduct children and rape them did he say so, did he say we should force the Christians and the Jews to turn Muslims by?, force did he?"

"Mom, you should know I don't support them a hundred percent"

"And the president is just there doing nothing as people lives are wasting"

"Because they don't care about them, I guess"

"Ain't it obvious, OK just image that the crisis in Kaduna is happening in Abuja, God forbids, tell me and f they will not do more, what if the shouting is been done in the central area tell me"

"I know they will be a drastic turn of event if all this happens in a place where the rich stays"

"Look at chibuk, in borono that place will never be the same again, there are just too many winds and blood on that land"

"Mom I fell pity for those girls"

"May Allah protect and guide them"

"Amen"

"OK, let's move on..... let's talk about illegal migration"

"Soooooooo, what about mom"

"Do you know that two third of Africans abroad went there through illegal ways"

"Africa is really bleeding"

"Not to talk about the king of all"

"What?"

"PROSTITUTION"

"Oh, yes it's true, it has eaten and is still eating from our youth and children every day"

"I watched a program that talked about these girls, and all their pain, most of them, are being drugged to do all this and some are been physically abused"

"And emotionally too you know"

"Well what do you think is the cause of it"

"I believe it is the belief that somewhere is better than home, and you can be successful in a different place"

"What about the government and its system"

"True!"

"What are they doing to help he is poor masses"

"The only thing they do is to fraud and buy our votes"

"But the sad part of all This is that we have the brains, the resources, and the zeal to work, we just lack good leaders and that is the begging of all our problems, and also we lack proper knowledge of some resources and ways to utilize them"

"What do they gain from eating up public funds, and making people hate them"

"Rich!, what else"

"But how rich can a man get?"

"Hmm"

"What are they going to do with all the money"

"Pill it up for their unborn children and grandchildren who else"

"Sooooooo, selfish of them"

"I once heard of a boy that was given birth to in the year 1996, but he started working at the year 1992"

"What?"

"Yeah, this is what the country is tuning into oh"

"I can't believe"

"You better start....."

And so time passed, and we continued chit charting all day long, but mom left later today's but I had a great time with her either ways, I was grateful to God for today, for my life my parents life and their wealth.