Just 4 Rubies

What happens when a girl-child is forced into marriage- when her childhood is violently taken away and she is thrust into a phase of emergency motherhood? Hon. Funmilayo Tejuosho of the Lagos State House of Assembly says the consequences are grave on both the family and society. “A child is a child, be it male or female and should not be subjected to the trauma of child marriage because the consequences of child marriage are not only devastating on the child but also on the society.”  Speaking recently at a seminar on Protecting the Rights of the Nigerian Child , at the Lagos Television premises, Ikeja, the lawmaker stressed that “A child is a boy or girl at any age between infancy and adolescence; not fully an adult. Our constitution defines the age of maturity at 18. Marriage is for a man and woman becoming legally. A child cannot get into marriage because he/she thinks and acts like a child. A child does not have the capacity to consent or for a contractual agreement”. ...

There is no perfect family. We do not have perfect parents, we are not perfect, we do not marry a perfect person or have perfect children.  We have complaints from each other. We disappoint each other. So there is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is vital to our emotional health and spiritual survival. Without forgiveness the family becomes an arena of conflict and a stronghold of hurt.  Without forgiveness, the family becomes ill. Forgiveness is the a sepsis of the soul, the cleansing of the mind and the liberation of the heart.  Whoever does not forgive does not have peace in the soul nor communion with God. Hurt is poison that intoxicates and kills. Keeping heartache in the heart is a self-destructive gesture. It's autophagy.  Those who do not forgive are physically, emotionally and spiritually ill.  That is why the family must be a place of life, not of death;...

Never Say Never! A couple in Albany, New York, who have been married for almost 40 years, were never able to have any children, although they’ve tried many times but with no success. At the age of 59, Akosua Budu Amoako and her husband Isaiah Somuah Anim, who is also 59, probably thought that day would never come. But the couple still kept hope alive, as she began fertility treatments in hopes of becoming a mother one day. Reportedly, Akosua Budu Amoako gave birth to her first and only child last month. Unable to conceive with her husband, the couple took part in fertility treatments and at age 59 those treatments have paid off, as reported on Abc7chicago. Amoako was able to carry her pregnancy to full term and deliver a healthy 7-pound, 4-ounce baby boy named Isaiah Somuah Anim, after his father. The child was born in Niskayuna, near Albany, on June 15th at Bellevue Woman’s Center. Mom And Baby Doing Fine   Dr. Khushru Irani, the delivery doctor stated on Monday, ...

For the almost forty million children in Nigeria, there is no denying the fact that there is a huge gap between health caregivers and patients, especially when it comes to issues wellness. The reason is simple- there are less than one thousand Paediatricians and healthcare providers nationwide to cater for and address the thorny issues of children-related health. Tucked in the midst of these medical practitioners are few outstanding Paediatricians who do not only practice as professionals but much more as Changemakers in this special field. One of them is the ever-bubbling, resourceful, pragmatic and graceful founder of Ask The Paediatrician Foundation ; Dr. Gbemisola Boyede, a Consultant Neurodevelopmental Paediatrician at The Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria.   Dr. Gbemi, as she is fondly called is a Paediatrician of repute, a much-sought after medical practitioner who demonstrates uncommon passion and commitment to the wellbeing of Nigerian chi...

A man has confessed that looking at his mother's nakedness and watching her undress made him become a chronic masturbator.  A Nigerian man, Kolawole Ladipo has shared an intriguing message to parents concerning some habits and sexual behaviours that could ruin the life of their kids. In a recent post, he narrated how a boy became addicted to masturbation by always seeing her mother undress before him at an early age. Ladipo wrote: I counselled a young guy who was addicted to masturbation. He told me he can't do without masturbation. One thing that struck me in his confession was when he said: ''My mum caused all this for me''. Curiosity got hold of me and I asked him, how? He said: "I started masturbation since when I was 4 years old; my mum has always been dressing up naked before me, I am used to seeing her nakedness. I am not moved to have sex with her, but I always long to see mature ladies naked just the way I always see my mum dressing up naked...

Abraham Lincoln on his first day in office as President of United States of America entered the hallowed chamber to give his Inaugural Address. A Rich Aristocrat stood up and said: "Mr. Lincoln, you should not forget to tell us that your father used to make shoes for my family".... And the whole Senate laughed. They thought they had made a fool of Lincoln... But certain people are made of a totally different gene. Lincoln looked at the man directly in the eyes and said: "Sir, I know that my father used to make shoes for your family, and there will be many others here too, because he made shoes the way nobody else can. He was a creator. His shoes were not just ordinary shoes because he poured his whole soul into them. I want to ask you, have you any complaint? Because I know how to make shoes myself. If you have any complaint, I can make you another pair of shoes. But as far as I know, nobody has ever complained about my father's shoes. He was a genius, a great c...

For those who complain about domestic violence against women, here is a different prospective Sam Hart wrote.... Everybody is hung up on domestic abuse by men against women. Nobody spares a moment to find solutions to the equally devastating verbal abuse men suffer in the hands of their wives. It is worse because men can't discuss what their wives do to them for fear of scorn and derision. They suffer in silence. Unfortunately, the Nigerian society has little or no support systems for this kind of situation. Little or no counselling services. It's been mostly left to the church to deal with. What happens when the man doesn't go to church? What happens when the woman doesn't believe in spiritual intervention? These women are raising daughters. Their daughters are hearing and seeing how they speak to and treat their husband. What kind of wives will they grow up to become? Those that treat their husbands as kings or those that believ...

Why on earth would a woman give birth to a baby and then kill him? Why would she endure the pains of pregnancy and labour; only to give birth and dump her new-born in a trash can or garbage bin?   Time and again we hear the stories of teen mothers strangulating their new-born or throwing them away; and most times, this comes after several attempted abortions have failed. One cannot help but wonder why such girls would not rather give the baby up for adoption or take him to an orphanage for fostering instead of wasting the life of an innocent child in such a despicable manner. Very recently, an undergraduate student from one of the tertiary institutions in Northern Nigeria was intercepted at the domitory toilet after killing her baby and attempting to flush her into the soak away tank. Her mates, who stumbled on her while engaging in this dastardly act, had raised alarm, which brought some other hostel mates into the restroom. With their booing and ranting, they got her to pick ...

The Supreme Court has voided the Igbo law and custom, which forbid a female from inheriting her late father’s estate, on the grounds that it is discriminatory and conflicts with the provision of the constitution. The court held that the practice conflicted with section 42(1)(a) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution. The judgment was on the appeal marked: SC.224/2004 filed by Mrs. Lois Chituru Ukeje  (wife of the late Lazarus Ogbonna Ukeje) and their son, Enyinnaya Lazarus Ukeje against Mrs. Cladys Ada Ukeje (the deceased’s daughter). Cladys had sued the deceased’s wife and son before the Lagos High Court, claiming to be one of the deceased’s children and sought to be included among those to administer their deceased’s father’s estate. The trial court found that he was a daughter to the deceased and that she was qualified to benefit from the estate of their father who died without a Wil l in Lagos in1981. The Court of Appeal, Lagos to which Mrs. Lois Ukeje and Enyinnaya Ukeje...

1.      LEARN TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN HAPPINESS. # No one else has the obligation to make you happy...not even your   spouse, children, house, money or cars. 2.      CHALLENGE YOUR OWN STORY OR SITUATION. # You may need to change your perception of your situation to truly appreciate that things are really not as bad as they seem.   Stop tormenting yourself. 3.        ENJOY THE JOURNEY OF LIFE . # The journey is as important as the Destination...we often times delay our   happiness till we have accomplished this or that. For example, we say "I won’t be happy till I am married with children or till I make my millions." 4.      MAKE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS COUNT . # No one exist alone…learn to enjoy the company of others. 5.      BALANCE WORK WITH PLAY . # Always find something to play about while you are at work. There is   more to life than...

She has been there; she has been through an abusive marriage. She tried to fix it but later walked out when things didn’t work out. Today, she is a counsellor and mentor to many battered and abused women.   In this interview, Abiola Abiade argues that survivors of abusive relationship need not to be ashamed; rather, they should celebrate themselves and move on. Despite increased sensitization and laws prohibiting domestic violence, cases of such has remains unabated. What do you think is responsible for this? It has been in existence from time immemorial but people are just learning to speak out. People are now getting more informed due to enlightenment via social media and other platforms; so lot of victims are now speaking out unlike in the past when they suffered in silence. Loved ones are now reaching out to their relatives that are going through any form of violence. We are into women and youth empowerment; we help women who are victims of domestic, sexual abuse and all...

The Executive Director of Fate Foundation, Mrs Nike Adeyemi, has appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria to implement the teaching of entrepreneurship education in the nation’s primary schools to fast track economic growth. Adeyemi made the appeal on Monday in Lagos during a panel discussion at the launch of a Minipreneur Book. Minipreneur is a 40-page lessons and tasks book that would assist children within theages of five to 12 years to understand entrepreneurship and business. The book was written by Mrs Olanrewaju Oniyitan, the Chief Executive Officer, W-Holistic Business Solution, a Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) for Bank of Industry (BoI). Adeyemi noted that the teaching of entrepreneurship education at the primary school level, as contained in the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN) MSME Policy, has yet to be fully implemented. “Most schools do not teach what should be the center-piece of a contemporary education which i...

The 2017 commemoration of the International Widows Day in Lagos State will for a long time remain memorable in the lives of the 103 widows that were recently empowered by the mother of the state, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode under the auspices of her non-governmental organization, Hope For Women In Nigeria Foundation (HOFOWEM). The event, which held last Thursday 29 th June 2017 at the Excel Event Center, Oregun, Lagos brought together indigent widows with a view to raising the stakes and creating a safe space for those of them that are still in their active years to have a new lease of life through economic empowerment and entrepreneurship skills. Speaking at the event, Mrs. Ambode explained that her foundation was established with the overriding objective of addressing major challenges confronting women and children, including poverty. She said widows as the most vulnerable in society, need support, hence the move by the foundation to empower them for self-reliance towards earning regul...