The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • My parents leave sex smell everywhere

    I know you will say is it too late in the night to text you, but please I need your help. Whenever my parents finish having sex everywhere begins smelling, not heat because there is always light. I am SP by name.

    Dear SP, the first thing you must realize is that you came into being through sex. For your parents to continue to build a happy home for themselves and the children involved, they must continue to have sex.

    What they do in the bedroom is their business and there’s no how you can come in. Yes, it may be very annoying if they leave annoying smell behind. Sex shouldn’t come with horrible smell anyway, except the people involved are not hygienic enough. The smell of un-deodorized armpits and dirty body can give off a foul smell after sex, and that can be ugly. You can introduce both your parents to deodorant or talc powder to use every day. Simple lessons in hygiene gently delivered to them will help take care of this smell problem.

  • Get trendy with blazers!

    Get trendy with blazers!

    JUST like other important fashion accessories, your blazer can either make or mar you on the red carpet. Among the fashionable men, buttonless or single-button blazers are receiving the most attention now.

    Smartly sown blazer of any colour or design is now worn on jeans trousers and mostly without ties, although they could also be worn with ties. And the reason may be because they are suitable for both formal and informal outings. It is perfect for today’s men who do not always want to dress up for all formal outings. Dressing casually cool, especially with any of these blazers, is one way to keep you from looking shoddy.

    Indeed, suit combination, designs, material and usage have undergone a revolution. Blazers and suits without ties create a distinctly up-to-date taste. They are particularly great choice to match with jeans. Stylish suits combined smartly give the wearer a classy look that no other fashion is ever able to give. So it is no surprise that man, especially the fashionistas and career types, are spending fortunes to get classy suits. Nowadays, blazer suits are used to make a fashion statement. They are trendy and eye-catching. Gone are the days when only a few guys go for blazers and other trendy suits. They are soaring high and gaining popularity at events. The interesting thing is that some old school jackets are also a part of the new trend. These jackets are simply beautiful.

  • 37-yr-old woman Loses two kids to kerosine explosion

    37-yr-old woman Loses two kids to kerosine explosion

    Husband critically ill

    Mrs. Jane Olisakwe’s heart bleeds. Last Wednesday when the reporter encountered the woman at a down-town pentecostal church, she was distraught. Although, she had been seen among other brethren in a concert of praise and hand-locking prayer session but when she opened her mouth to reveal her pains, her inner tears flowed like a running tap and she let the reporter know that she truly needed the divine to overcome her predicament.

    The 37-year-old trader and National Diploma holder in Business Studies has just lost two children to a ravenous fire and may also lose her husband, who hovers between life and death on hospital bed, if help eludes him.

    The Olisamekas were swindled of their relative happiness on December 26, 2012 following a kerosene explosion that rocked their two-room apartment at No 14, Ikire Street, off Akeredolu Street, Olambe, Ogun State.

    Jane’s husband, Emmanuel Olisakwe, a tricycle operator, was returning home when he asked his wife to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner. He was, however, told by his wife that there was no enough kerosene to power the stove and lantern at home.

    Emmanuel was to later branch off at filling station in Akute, Ogun State, to purchase a three -litre of kerosene and headed home. A few minutes later, he poured some of the kerosene into a lantern, while his wife was busy preparing the meal. As Emmanuel tried to light the lantern, it exploded and killed two of his children. He too sustained stubborn wounds that have not only refused to heal but left him bedridden.

    “The incident happened that day at about 7 pm. My husband had asked me to prepare yam and fried egg for dinner and I told him that there was no kerosene at home to fuel the stove. While returning home, he bought kerosene at a filling station in Akute. I was trying to slice some yam when I heard my 10-month-old baby’s cry. So, I quickly left the yam I was slicing to attend to the baby who was with one of our neighbours. Since it was nightfall, my husband was about lighting the lantern after putting kerosene into it when the lantern exploded and burnt him and my kids,” recalled Jane amid tears.

    As gathered, the fireballs landed first on the couple’s five-year-old son, Miracle, burning him beyond recognition. He died the next day. Their eight-year-old daughter, Ebube, would have escaped unhurt but the fire balls landed on her newly fixed hair and was severally burnt. She battled death for 17 days before she died in hospital.

    “My husband was trying to strike the match when the lantern exploded and fireballs caught Ebube and Miracle, who were seated beside him. They were burnt beyond recognition. Neigbours helped us to take them to Ikeja General Hospital where my daughter died the next day, while my son died precisely on January 11, 2013.”

    Life has indeed turned nightmarish for the mother of four and an indigene of Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, whose husband is now lying critically ill at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUCOM) as a result of the injury is sustained from the fire incident.

    “Since then, my husband has been lying critically ill at the Burns Unit of the hospital because his two hands and legs were severely burnt. However, his hands have healed, but his badly hurt legs have refused to heal. We have just spent the sum of N200, 000 on a surgery that was carried out on his legs yesterday. But by my calculation, I could not have spent less than N2 million so far on his treatment through the support of family members, friends and associates. Yet, we still need more money to take care of his accumulated medical bills running into about N600, 000.”

    An attempt by our reporter to speak with Olisakwe at LASUCOM was turned down by an employee of the hospital on the grounds that “the man you are looking for just underwent a surgery and cannot have access to visitors because he is to undergo strict observation for some days.”

    The gaping hole which the unfortunate incident has created in the fortune of the Olisakwes is fast rubbing off on their children.

    “We have just moved into the house about six months before the fire incident. And because of the trauma, I have since been living with our 10-year-old son, Victor, who is about entering secondary school and it has not been easy coping with other domestic responsibilities. In fact, my son’s education would have been truncated but for the intervention of the proprietress of his school and some of her teaching staff who offered him a lifeline.

    “I have been married to my husband since 2001 with four children but have lost two of them now. I have since been squatting with one of my friends because I cannot cope with living in the same house where the fire killed my son and daughter and has rendered my husband incapacitated. He is a native of Nnewi, Anambra State, and my husband was a former employee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). He lost his job following a major shake up in the firm and has since been operating a commercial tricycle to earn a living.”

    Those who are willing to offer any financial assistance can forward same to Mrs. Jane Nkechi Olisakwe’s First Bank account-3069048378, while she can be reached on 08139234474.

  • My honeymoon is in danger, says South Africa returnee arrested for robbery

    ONE of two suspected armed robbers arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command has said it is wrong to tag him an armed robber when the police did not catch him in the course of the four robbery operations he participated in before he travelled to South Africa.

    Twenty-seven-year-old Gideon Obinna Ibe says the police ought to concern themselves only with recovering a Toyota Sienna car he stole from where the owner parked it. He also confessed that he sold the car in question for N250,000 and shared the proceed with the second suspect and trailer driver, Onyeka Ude (22).

    In a chat with The Nation, Ibe, a native of Okigwe, Imo State, said he was into buying and selling of cars, buses and trailer batteries.

    He said: “I have a shop where I sell these items at 42, Akogun Street along Olodi Apapa Road, Lagos. Earlier in 2012 when the Lagos State government was constructing roads and got some shops demolished, it affected my shop. But I was not discouraged. Rather, I continued to hustle to survive in Lagos.

    “I used to hang around Trinity Market to do runs. If I saw a customer who wanted to buy a car or a car battery, bus or trailer, I assisted him and collected 10 per cent as commission. When the sum I targeted to get visa, passport and ticket to South Africa could not be realised, I organised a small gang to rob traders. We used to be three or four then, but we never killed any of our victims.

    “At times, if somebody came to buy a car, bus or trailer, we would trail him or her to the bank where he would withdraw the money. The moment he came out of the bank, we would pursue him with our motorbike, cross his car and order him at gun point to hand over the money to us or risk losing his life.

    “At times, we would go for car or bus snatching. But the problem we used to have after snatching a car or bus was that the buyers at times failed to pay us the amount they agreed to buy it. For instance, If a buyer agreed to pay N500,000 for a Toyota Avensis, he would first pay N50,000 or N100,000 and the balance would be stories. Each time you go to him to collect the balance or part of it, he would tell you that he had not sold the car or that the police had taken the car. They would tell us to be patient till only God knows when.

    “Throughout the period I robbed people and snatched their cars or buses, I was never caught. We always planned our operations very well because we believed that only a person caught by the police while carrying out an operation is a thief. The police cannot prove that I am an armed robber because I was not caught. Neither was the gun our gang was using recovered.

    “I even sold the gun we were using before I travelled to South Africa. It was the money I saved from robbery and car snatching that I used to travel to South Africa. It was in South Africa that my trouble started.

    “When I got to South Africa, I saw some of the boys I knew in Nigeria, especially those who were hustling with me then. I stayed with them so that the little money I came with would not be exhausted on hotel bills.

    “Unfortunately, I did not know that the guys were into hard drug business. In fact, they were living big, feeding me and making life more comfortable for me in South Africa until the police raided our house. Being a new person in the area, I could not run when the police came. I was the only person they arrested and they took me to the police station.

    “After two weeks in the cell, I was repatriated to Nigeria. When I landed Nigeria, I went through hell to survive.

    “Before I travelled to South Africa, I was doing battery business and I used to get as much as N50,000 a day. When I lost my shop and started doing market runs like off-loading of tyres, I used to get about N2,000 after offloading about 100 car tyres. At times, I helped people to buy a car or bus, and that fetched me a commission of N50,000 or more per car or bus.

    “But when I was repatriated to Nigeria from South Africa, life became more difficult for me. Nobody wanted to assist me because I did not tell people that I was repatriated. They thought that I had money, having travelled to South Africa and came back.

    “Fortunately, I met Onyeka, a trailer driver, and he agreed to make me his ‘motor boy’. We were managing life when the devil struck again. The trailer he was driving had mechanical fault and his boss parked the trailer and collected the keys from him. In short, he was sacked because his boss said he failed to remit the agreed returns. At a point, he was not delivering even a dime to the owner. Since he collected the vehicle, we became jobless.”

    Asked why he was arrested, he said: “People used to give me vehicles to sell for them, but I sold one and spent all the money. It was a Toyota Sienna bus. I sold it for N250,000 while the actual price they asked me to sell it was N1.2 million.

    “The buyer was a pastor with a popular pentecostal church. I also sold one Toyota Camry to the pastor at the rate of N350,000. This particular money (N350,000), I did not collect a dime from it. The pastor said he would renew the expired papers of the vehicle before he would pay any money.

    “Unfortunately, the day he asked me to come and collect money was the day I wanted to travel to South Africa. So, the pastor tactically hid himself and I could not see him where he said I should come and collect the money, knowing full well that it was the day I would travel. Hence, I travelled without seeing him.

    “It was in April last year that I started hustling again at the same Trinity Market. I was arrested in April this year on Governor’s Road, Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government Area in the morning. I was arrested as I was trying to sell another vehicle.

    “I lied to the police that the vehicle in question belonged to my elder brother who lives at Yaba Street, Ondo. It was only one Sienna bus and four Toyota Camry cars that Onyeka and I had snatched and sold before we were arrested.”

    Giving details of the process that culminated in his arrest, he said: “SARS operatives had first arrested the pastor. The police used him to track me down. Pastor called me on the phone and told me to come to Governor’s Road, Ikotun to collect the money for one vehicle we had sold to him. I did not know that SARS operatives had laid an ambush there. The moment I got there, the operatives appeared and arrested me.”

    Asked what his regrets were for being arrested for armed robbery, he said: “I am not an armed robber because I was not caught during the four armed robbery operations I led before I travelled to South Africa.

    “My only regret is my wife. I am newly married to her. Our honey moon is endangered. I don’t know when this journey will end. Will they allow my wife to be visiting me in prison yard if I am eventually jailed? I am finished! Please, help me beg them to forgive me in the name of God the Father and God the Son Jesus Christ. I will never do it again. If I do it again, kill me.”

    He admitted lying to the police in order to escape arrest, saying: “The first one is that I told the police that my father had two wives and that all the vehicles I stole belonged to my stepmother’s children. I said that Onyeka and I stole the vehicles because they did not take care of me. Even my brothers were not taken care of.

    “The second lie I told was that I was a car dealer and that I bought the vehicles from Cotonou (Benin Republic). But when the police demanded for documents to prove that the cars were bought in from Cotonou, I lied to them that the documents were in Imo State and would be produced if I was given time to go and bring them.

    “The third lie I told was that my elder brother gave me N700,000 to buy for him a bus he wanted to use for commercial services in Ondo State. But when the police saw my brother’s wife, she told them that her husband never gave me any money to buy a bus for him. Even when my brother, Emma, was asked, he equally said that he never gave me any money to buy a car for him.

    “The fourth lie was that my wife went to Ishasi Police Station and reported that her husband got missing with his Toyota Camry car. The operatives of SARS followed her to my house and saw my picture which enabled SARS men to know that I had a base here in Lagos, contrary to what I had earlier told them that I was based in the East. My wife also told the police that I had a car stand at Berger on the Apapa Expressway, and that I imported cars through Apapa Wharf. When the police met my father, he told them that he had only one wife, contrary to what I earlier told police that he had many wives.”

    Onyeka Ude (22) said: “I am from Orifite in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State. I am a trailer driver based in Lagos and I used to scout for jobs. I used to drive from Lagos to Anambra, carrying goods.”

    Asked how he met Ibe, he said: “I knew him as a car seller. I used to see him at Berger, Apapa area where they sell vehicles. He later travelled to South Africa and before he came back, I had become a trailer driver.

    “I first met him where he was playing football at Beachland field in Apapa and I parked my trailer and went to meet him. He told me that he had not been able to secure any job since he came back from South Africa. He asked me whether I would allow him to become my conductor and I said why not?

    “I used to pay him according to how much money we made. There were days I gave him up to N5,000. Trouble started when the owner of the trailer collected it from me because of the incessant complaints that the vehicle was faulty.

    “When we exhausted the money we were managing to feed with, Gideon told me not to panic, saying he had one Sienna bus which he wanted to sell in order to get some money that we could manage with for a month.

    “When we got to Berger Cement to carry the bus, he used the master key and took it to one pastor who was waiting to buy it because he had already been told that the vehicle would be stolen and brought to him. It was even the pastor who told Gideon (Ibe) the type of bus we should snatch.

    “He bought it for N250,000. Gideon gave me N100,000 and pocketed N150,000. I later travelled to my home town in Anambra state to enjoy my money before coming back to Lagos to face hustling again. But as I was coming back to Lagos without a penny, Gideon called me on the phone and said somebody who owed him a huge sum of money had asked him to come and that I should follow him to go and collect the money. I did not know that SARS men had laid an ambush to catch me. The moment I got there, SARS men arrested me.

    “I was never involved in robbery before Gideon became my conductor. He was the one who lured me into snatching cars. My only regret is that I did not object when he brought the idea that we should go and remove a car from car park.”

     

  • Issa’s designer quits label

    Issa’s designer quits label

    ISSA’s designer Daniella Helayel, who catapulted to international fame when Kate Middleton wore one of her trademark jersey dresses to the royal engagement announcement in 2010, has left the label she founded. According to WWD, her parting was not entirely amicable: She reportedly wasn’t getting along with majority shareholder Camilla Al Fayed (daughter of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed) who acquired 51 per cent of the company two years ago with the intention of expanding the label worldwide. Helayel released the following statement:

    The time has come for me to move on to focus on my art, travel and other interests. Creating Issa has been one of the most rewarding things in my life. I may be leaving, but the Issa girl will live forever in my heart.

  • I don’t have resources for marriage, but I can well handle a sexual relationship

    Mum, please I will ever live to love, support you, and assist advertise your impact on humanity; kindly help me this first time.

    Simply, I’m a grown up young man, and for now, I don’t have resources for marriage, but I can well handle a sexual relationship. But as a result of my background from childhood, I can’t talk to and convince an opposite sex for this; kindly use your position, influence and impact to approach, talk to and convince a nice lady for me or rather give a genuine connection either by sending phone number to her or show my number to whoever.

    I don’t have much to say than to ask you to wait until you have money for marriage before you start looking for sex. So, you want to sleep with people’s children, knowing fully well that you don’t have money now to marry them. You’re looking for poor girls who would donate their bodies to satisfy your fantasies. To make it worse, you’re looking for such girls through me! You try! Most good girls want marriage the moment they go into a relationship; not sex. go and convince those who will listen to you with your own mouth. Count me out of it.

  • Make a joyful sound in the bedroom

    It has come to my notice that so many of these women who cheer pastors up in their churches or make the most noise at A-Sallat programmes are deaf and dumb in the bedroom. Common, listen to me, there are so many things your religious leaders won’t tell you, which I’m giving to you

    free of charge on this page. If you like, pray to God to help you change that man so that he won’t look at other woman outside, if you’re not playing your part, his eyes and body will be forever for the woman that gives him what you can’t give him. He’s playing his roles in the house as a good husband, so play yours and give him warmth the way he wants it.

    I have committed so many years into counseling youths and making sure that they get the right lessons about life and the opportunities they have. For the sake of youths, I avoided talking openly about marital sex on my page.

    Now is the time to help couples give to themselves the best of time in and out of the bedroom and make room for a very happy home.

    So tell me, why would your husband touch you and you cringe? Why wouldn’t you express yourself in the bedroom and make him feel like a hero. Common, even if you were a virgin when he married you, the moment you had your first sex is the moment of opening up and asking for more.

    I must have listened to more than a hundred men in the last two weeks who are just putting up with their wives for the sake of the children.

    Some of these men are having their fill outside.

    Take a look at the mail I got from a fan for instance:

    “Good day ma. I read about a man whose girlfriend is demanding for sex too much. I’m a married man and I would prefer that my wife makes advances to me, but this she never does. Instead, she does what I hate during sex – she refuses me to kiss, romance or touch her breasts and worst still, there is no joy on her face during sexual acts. We have been married for years and this marriage is boring. I expect my mate to present her body joyfully before and during sex.” – Christian.

    If your man can’t touch your boobs (even if they have sagged), he cannot kiss you and no romance at all, tell me why he won’t go and look for a woman who would give him all these and more and even add love to it – a woman who would make a joyful sound to him for doing a good job.

    So, why should girls/women moan during sex?

    Alice (www.goaskalice.columbia.edu) says , “Oh, oh, yeah! Moaning is a way for people to communicate or express excitement and pleasure. Some women and men moan as a signal to let their partner know that the sensation feels good. Others utter sounds and let their bodies move freely as they “lose control” and allow themselves to be part of the sexual and satisfying experience.

    Movies, television, and music present us with idealized sex scenes or lyrics of people moaning and panting at the height of passion. In reality, while some people are vocal and may moan and groan until the sun comes up, some folks may muffle any sounds with a pillow, while others do not make a single peep. Some express themselves by twitching or moving their bodies rhythmically as a response to sexual pleasure.

    Moaning doesn’t only happen during sex. Some people make small sounds while kissing, giving or receiving a massage, or snuggling. Others don’t have to be sexually excited to make a sound. While humans don’t typically purr, some people may make a soft moaning sound when their hair or head is stroked — just like a cat might if it were being petted. There are also times when someone might be eating something really fantastic and a light “mmm…” escapes his or her lips. This sound can be used to express the way s/he’s feeling as s/he is savoring the taste.

     

     

     

    You may or may not want to expand your moaning repertoire. However, if you’re a screamer, you might want to be considerate of your neighbors and think about turning it down a notch. For more insight into moaning, read The Woman Who Loved To Make Vaginas Happy in The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, or see the play, possibly playing at a theatre near you”.

    See what guys have to say about moaning

    Kind of important makes me feel like I’m doing something. All I need is a little moan nothing major. When they are screaming it gets annoying but no sound would be bad, I would have to stop because I would just feel she was not into it. – Dr. Authur.

    All moans are good. But it’s not important but it does intensify the sex. I mean when girls moan it just makes the guy feel he’s doing such an amazing job and usually he’ll do even better to get you to moan louder. It also turns on a guy more too. So it just makes it feel better. – Matthew.

    Pretty damn important. Means we are doing something right. Don’t fake it though… that’s just lame.- Alh. Gazali.

    If you’re faking it then don’t bother. A real man wants to know that his woman is truly, honestly getting off on whatever they are doing.

    Moaning, screaming and begging for more or for him to do it harder or deeper is great. A real man doesn’t want to think that he has his dick stuck into a piece of liver or that he’s doing a mattress so the more enthusiasm the better for a real man. Telling him that you are coming and begging him not to stop is powerful to the man too. – Mr. Oseni.

  • Crime of passion (2)

    Try as I could, I was unable to dissuade Jake from going after Grace. I was so mad at him that by the time I dropped him at his house, I could barely speak to him. But he ignored my dark mood and was his usual ebullient self.

    “My mum’s birthday is in two weeks. My father is organising a party for her. I will be expecting you,” he said.

    Normally, I would have been more than happy to attend a party at his family home. But I was still too upset with him then to think of going.

    “I’m not sure I can make it. I will be in Ibadan then on business,” I stated curtly.

    “Well, try to return early so you can attend as my mum has been asking after you. Besides, “ he added as he got down from the car, “There’s somebody I want you to meet you. A lovely flower I bet you will like to pluck,” he said, laughing as he walked away towards the house.

    Thing is, I was not interested in any flower. It was Grace I wanted, that I longed for. But from all indications, Jake had beaten me to her. What could I do? No matter how mad I was with him, I just could not bring myself to start a fight with him over her. So, I decided to put her out of my mind.

    But it was easier said than done. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get her out of my thoughts. Some days later, I found myself heading for her sister’s shop. It wasn’t for any serious business with Madam Betty. I just wanted to see Grace and maybe talk to her.

    Grace was no where in sight when I got there. Her sister was absent as well.

    “She didn’t come to the shop today. Madam sent her to see one of our customers at Ikeja,” a sales girl told me. I felt disappointed as I so much wanted to see her.

    “Tell her to call me on this number when she returns,” I stated, dropping my office number with her. This was in the early days of the introduction of GSM in the country when not many people had mobile phones. I waited a few days and when she did not call, I felt deflated.

    Meanwhile, I did not see Jake for sometime after our argument over Grace. Then a few days before his mum’s party, I ran into him at the office canteen.

    He had finished his lunch and was on his way out. With him was a young lady I had not seen before.

    “Conny, this is my best friend Ray,” he introduced us. He did not explain who she was but from the manner he was holding her by the waist, I suspected she was one of his numerous girlfriends.

    We stood chatting for a while then parted. He reminded me again about the party, stating that everyone in the family was expecting him.

    Though my anger and resentment against him had cooled down, I had still not made up my mind about going to the party. The trip to Ibadan that had been planned for that weekend had been postponed by my boss. So, I did not have any serious commitments that could keep me away.

    Besides, I thought about all the love and affection as well as the help Jake’s parents had given me over the years.

    ‘I will look like an ungrateful person if I don’t go,’ I thought.

    So, I attended the party.

    Looking back now, if I had known what would follow as a result of going to that party, I would have stayed away. But I’m getting ahead of my story so I will stay on track.

     

    Pleasant surprise

    I bought a gift for the celebrant and after I had given it to her and congratulated her on attaining the ripe age of 60, I went to seek out Jake. He was in the midst of a group of ladies, chatting and holding court like a Prince.

    I stood watching for a while, smiling wryly to myself.

    ‘Playa. He will never change,’ I thought.

    He saw me then and hurried over.

    “Ray! Where were you? I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he exclaimed, clapping me on the shoulder.

    “It didn’t look that way a while ago,” I retorted, my eyes going in the direction of the girls who seemed to be waiting impatiently for his return.

    “Oh, that!” he stated with a grin. “You know the ladies won’t just let me rest.”

    Then taking my hand, he said:

    “Come. Someone wants to see you.”

    I followed him to one of the tables where a couple of ladies sat.

    I recognized Nelly, a cousin of Jake. I was wondering if she was the mystery person when the other lady turned towards us.

    My heart raced at the sight. It was Grace!

    “What are you doing here?” I exclaimed when I got over my surprise.

    She glanced up at Jake, her eyes shining.

    “I invited her,” Jake said. A look passed between them then he said:

    “There are some very impatient ladies waiting for me over there. So, I will leave you two for a while. Nelly, come with me,” and he grabbed his cousin’s hand and dragged her away.

    I sat down, feeling confused and a bit foolish.

    “What’s going on?” I finally asked Grace. If Jake invited her, he should be with her. Why was he throwing us together like this…

    The mystery was solved a short while later.

    Grace who had been silently watching me, a little smile playing around her lips, finally spoke.

    “This place is a bit noisy. Why don’t we go somewhere quieter?”

    The party was being held in the large courtyard of the house. We went outside the compound and sat in my car.

    It was there she told me the whole story. Jake, she stated had told her about my interest in her.

    “It was a few days after you came to the shop with him. He came to see me and said you liked me a lot. But because of your reticent nature, you might not open up about your feelings for me. He wanted to know if I liked you too. When I told him how I felt about you, he now worked out a plan.”

    The party, he said would be the ideal setting to meet. “So, he insisted I must come and he would make sure you came as well,” she added, smiling at me.

    I could not believe what I was hearing. Here was I nearly going crazy with the thought that Jake had snatched her from me. Yet, he was going to all that trouble for my sake!

    ‘That rascal! I will deal with him today!’ I thought.

    But there was no anger in me. Instead, I felt relief and gratitude towards the good friend who had brought my love to me.

    I took Grace’s hand and drew her to me, holding her in my arms for the first time.

    From that moment on, I began to enjoy the party more. I danced with Grace several times and a couple of other female guests but she was the one I wanted to be with all the time.

    “I see you two love birds have sorted out your differences,” Jake said sometime later. I had been sitting down, enjoying a cool drink when he suddenly appeared at my side. This time, there were girls hanging onto him. Grace had gone to chat with a guest she knew from school.

    I turned to him. He must have seen the look of gratitude in my eyes for he quickly said:

    “Don’t bother thanking me. What are friends for?”

    “But you never even gave a hint of what you were planning. And I was so angry with you, thinking…” I said.

    “I know. You thought I was interested in her. Actually I was initially. But when I saw the way you were looking at her that day at the shop with love-sick eyes, I had to back out. Besides, I have too many women in my life already. Why complicate my life more?” he stated with a grin.

    “But you insisted that day that you were going to get her. Why?”

    He shrugged.

    “I did that to fire you up, so you can make a move for her. But knowing you and how you can be about these things, I decided to take matters into my hands before someone else gets her. I’m glad things worked out for you,” he stated.

    “Thanks all the same,” I said, meaning every word.

    “Yeah. We are best friends and brothers for life, aren’t we? Friends should look out for each other, my old man often says. I like Grace but our friendship means more to me. I can’t allow it to be destroyed because of a woman!”

     

    Happy times

    That was how my relationship with Grace began. She went back to school after the holidays. Due to a strike by the lecturers, she had to spend an extra semester in school before graduating. But we kept in touch through phone. Once in a while, I would also visit her in school. With time, I got to meet her parents and I introduced her to mine as well. Seeing the love we had for each other, most people who knew us expected we would end up at the altar. They were not wrong for I was already thinking about marrying her when she graduated.

    Such plans were however put on hold when Grace decided to go back to school for a Masters degree after the youth service programme.

    I was not too keen on it as I was so anxious to make her my wife.

    “It’s only for a short while sweetheart. Soon we will be together again and nothing can separate us then,” she pointed out when I raised objections about her going back to school.

    I backed down then.

    A few years later, we got married at the completion of the programme. It was a happy time for us. To add to our joy, Grace gave birth to a baby boy about a year after our wedding.

    I named him Robert, which was Jake’s middle name. He felt touched at my gesture.

    “You could have named him after your dad or even one of your ancestors. Why me?” he queried.

    It was a few days after the naming ceremony and I had gone to thank his parents for the wonderful gift they had sent the baby. We were sitting in the living room upstairs while his parents were downstairs with some visitors.

    “You deserve the honour. Without you, all this would not have been possible. Grace and I might not be together today,” I pointed out.

    “Yeah, you are right. You are a real Baba go-slow when it comes to women matters. You find it so difficult ‘toasting’ them. Were you a monk or something in your previous life?” he stated teasingly.

    “You dey crase! Na you be monk!” I fired back.

    “Ha ha! Me, monk? You know I will make a terrible priest. I will cause so much havoc among the female folk that I would be derobed in a short time!”

    We both laughed at that.

    Grace and I had just marked our fourth wedding anniversary when my boss called me into his office one day. We had just returned from a trip to the East to assess the sales of our company’s products in the region. Thinking he needed the report he had instructed me to work on, I took the file along.

    “Congratulations, Ray! You are now a full sales Manager!” he announced as soon as I stepped into his office.

    I stood, simply gaping at him, too stunned

    to speak.

    “Surprised? You shouldn’t be. You’ve worked hard for it,” the man said, smiling genially at me.

    “Here’s the letter of promotion. There’s something else, though as you will see from the letter,” he said, offering it to me.

    I opened the letter eagerly, a feeling of euphoria washing over me. Then as I continued to read, my joy at my promotion was replaced by utter disbelief, then shock…

    •To be continued

     

    •What was in the letter that so shocked Ray? The mystery will be revealed next Saturday so don’t forget to book a copy of your favorite The Nation on Saturday!

    •Have a great weekend, everyone!

    •Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity.

    •Send comments/suggestions to 08023201831(sms only) or psaduwa@yahoo.com

     

  • Uchenna’s Top 10

    Nollywood actress, Uchenna Nnanna, reveals her favourite things to Kehinde Oluleye

     

    Favourite shoes designer

    Christian Louboutin

     Favourite bag designer

    Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton

    Favourite wrist- watch designer

    Tag Heuer

    Favourite earrings

    Chandeliers

     Favourite car

    Porsche and Buggatti

    Favourite perfume

    Jo Malone London

     Favourite fashion designer

    Alexander Mcqueen and Rikaoto

    Favorite sunglasses

    Ray Ban

     Favourite drink

    Courvoisier x.o

    Favourite

    dinner wear Short dresses, because the legs are one of the assets

  • Clutch it!

    Clutch it!

    BIG multi-coloured handbags may appear to be kings of bags at the moment, but clutch purses are the true social and dinner bags of many discerning women of style.

    Clutch purses are not new a fad. It is the new attention that they are getting that makes many people to feel that they are new. Clutch purses are popular all over the world. Before fashion got crazier and trendier, it was majorly used as a dinner bag in the Western world.

    Clutch purses are mostly carried in the hand or their straps are made to rest on the wrist. Some Nigerian women prefer to carry it under their armpit. Although big, oversize, and large bags are the rage of the moment, clutch purses usually dominate high-class socials and dinners.

    Clutch purses are of different classes and grades, how “solid” a clutch bag is, is usually determined by the quality of the accessories used in making it. Compare to other handbags, they are elegant and stylish.

    Clutch purses or bags are usually strapless, but some of these bags sometimes have short straps made of chains, leather, rubber or beads. In most designs, these straps are detachable.

    These purses are usually small and are getting crazier in shapes, sizes, designs and styles. Most clutch purses are beautifully crafted with delicate embroidery and some are designed with exotic stones, sequins and beads that give them distinctive features.

    This small but unique purse is comfortable enough to be carried all day. In fact it is undoubtedly the official bag for most, if not all of our celebrities at social functions. The good ones come in stylish and exquisite types that are always a beauty to behold.

    Because of the small sizes of these beautifully crafted bags, they can only carry or hold few necessities, like money, handkerchiefs, mirrors etc. It is also not for everyday use like normal handbags, it is mainly used for social outings.